Kanaan Carlyle feels like this season will be a movie for Stanford MBB
Before the season, Stanford men’s basketball freshman point guard Kanaan Carlyle caught up with CardinalSportsReport.com about how he’s feeling about the upcoming season and how he’s liking life on The Farm so far.
VIDEO: Kanaan Carlyle feels like this season will be a movie for Stanford MBB
Carlyle said life on The Farm has been treating him amazing so far. He is loving the support of the community and coaching staff. It’s been fun.
Carlyle has been focusing on eliminating turnovers, his 3-point consistency, and improving his pace. Those are the three things he’s honing in on. He’s excited to show everyone how he’s improved in these areas.
Carlyle chose Stanford because he feels like it’s a place that will challenge him mentally and physically. Athletically and academically, Stanford is a top school and he’s ready to get Stanford back to where he feels it belongs as a top program in hoops. He said the degree matters a lot to him.
Looking back on his time with Overtime Elite, he said playing for them was a big part of his development. They taught him how to get a better feel for the game, making the right reads, and also how to play with and against other big time players. Learn how to share the ball and not get the same volume of shots that he was getting in high school.
Coming from the state of Georgia, Carlyle feels like that prepared him a lot as well. Georgia is a state with a lot of talent in basketball and that pushed him to be the best he can be. Always someone out there is who is after your spot. Every game in Georgia he said is a battle and he loved that part of it. Collin Sexton and Jared Harper are two guards from the state of Georgia who he really looked up to.
Carlyle is excited for the upcoming season. He said they all say as a whole they’re going to try to win a national championship and make it a movie.
In addition to Sexton and Harper, there are a lot of point guards who Carlyle has looked up to: Darius Garland, De’Aaron Fox, Damian Lillard, Stephen Curry, and others. He likes studying other guards and trying to implement what he can into his own game. All about learning how to play on and off the ball.
Carlyle has had fun playing with Jared Bynum, a grad transfer from Providence. He feels like Bynum has taught him a lot. Just about being a professional and how to approach the game the right way. He’s thankful for all that he has done for him so far.
What Carlyle most likes about being at Stanford is how genuine everyone is and how friendly the community is. He likes how everyone respects everyone. The community aspect he feels is Stanford’s strongest point.
On his defensive tenacity, Carlyle said it comes from his dad growing up. His dad told him defense is what would set him apart from others. As a result, he has always focused on his defense and made that a top priority. Learning angles and quickness he feels are the biggest keys to being a good defender. Understanding player tendencies. All those things coming together.
Carlyle said they are taking things one day at a time and not looking too far ahead. Getting better one percent every day. He said they’re excited for the upcoming season and ready to see what happens.
On the foreign trip to France and Greece, Carlyle said it was a great experience playing in the three games that they did. While they couldn’t win all three of those games, they still learned a lot. Carlyle’s favorite country of the two was Greece. More low-key and relaxing than Paris. It was his first time in Europe and second time out of the country (Tijuana, Mexico with USA Basketball). He enjoyed it. Carlyle hopes to travel the whole world and see different cultures.
On the basketball they played against in Europe, Carlyle said the pace of the game was different going up against professionals. He said they know how to use their bodies, read a defense, etc. He feels like they played great for the first three quarters and then dialed down in the fourth. Now it’s just about improving and raising the level of play all game.
Carlyle is loving his African American Studies classes right now. Just learning about his culture and heritage is stimulating for him. Finally, Carlyle shared his favorite flavor of Gatorade. Watch the end of the interview to find out what he selected.
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