Wednesday was NBA Draft Media Day, and the top prospects were made available for interviews at the Westin Hotel in Times Square. Some spoke about their draft stock, others spoke about their time in New York City and their plans for the future.

Here are some of the best quotes from the afternoon:

Frank Kaminsky (Wisconsin) on hearing his name called:

“I’m just ready for (Thursday) to be here. How hectic this is, I just want to know. I’ve been in this state of curiosity and nervousness for two months now. I’m just curious to find out where my next place is going to be.”

Kelly Oubre (Kansas) on working out for teams: 

“I just got my swagger back. Like, you know, being able to compete against great guys who were names in college and being able to pretty much just show what I can do, shows some of the things that I wasn’t able to do at school. It just gave me my swagger back. I never lost it, but it just put an exclamation point on where I’m at.”

Devin Booker (Kentucky) on if it was hard to decide to go pro:

“It was. People think it’s easy to go. Go to the NBA, go get money, things like that. But at the end of the day, you only get to be in college one time.”

Kevon Looney (UCLA) on if his family wants him to play close to home in Milwaukee:

“I don’t know, I don’t know. I think she wants to go to L.A. too.”

D’Angelo Russell (Ohio State) on rumors he doesn’t want to be drafted by Philadelphia:

“I just don’t pay attention to it…It’s a great place, why wouldn’t I want to be there?”

Bobby Portis (Arkansas) on if he knew he’d be drafted someday:

“I always knew I would be here at some point. But I didn’t know when I would be here…It set in probably a couple months ago.”

Karl-Anthony Towns (Kentucky) on playing against guys that he knows in the NBA:

“Almost every night you’re going to be playing against the kids or a player that you played against in AAU or in high school.”

Sam Dekker (Wisconsin) on staying in Wisconsin: 

“If I went to Milwaukee, God would definitely be saying, ‘You should not leave Wisconsin.’ I grew up there, high school there, college there, and then potentially pros there. Who knows?”

Jahlil Okafor (Duke) on if he doesn’t get drafted first or second: 

“That’s what I’m expecting. I’m expecting the worst, which isn’t that bad. I’m still going to be a top five (pick).”

Myles Turner (Texas) on if he just wants to get the draft over with: 

“Yes and no. This is a fun time. This is fun time for my family. It’s a great time for everybody that’s around me. So I want to (enjoy the moment).”

Jerian Grant (Notre Dame) on what he plans to do with his first NBA check:

“Nothing special. A car, I haven’t decided what car yet, but I think I need a new one. My Jeep is an ’02.”

Cameron Payne (Murray State) on having made it:

“Trust the process. Cameron Payne, trust the process. I wasn’t ranked Top 100. People didn’t know me. It’s just crazy how I get on the Murray State basketball team and we made big things happen. And now people like, ‘Where Cameron Payne be?’ I been right here. I been right here the whole time.”

Stanley Johnson (Arizona) on his fluctuating draft stock: 

“I don’t know what’s true. My agent knows what’s true.”

Justise Winslow (Duke) on favorite part of last few weeks:

“Just the different things I’ve been able to do in New York. Hang out with my family and friends. Enjoying the city. Walking around different parts. Sporting events. Boxing matches, Yankee games. Been a lot of fun, just kind of enjoying the New York life.”

Kristaps Porzingis (Latvia) on what he would say to people that would rather draft a college player: 

“Don’t be scared to draft me. I will prove that my work ethic, whenever is my moment, I will be ready for it. If I play a lot in the beginning or not I will keep working, keep the same mentality. There will not be a moment that I break or give up.”

Willie Cauley-Stein (Kentucky) on the large number of Kentucky players:

“Yeah, that’s the cool thing about it. You have a lot of familiar faces everywhere. It would be a lot worse if you were here by yourself and had nobody to talk to.”

Published on June 24, 2015 at 4:10 pm

Contact Sam: sblum@syr.edu | @SamBlum3