Yesterday afternoon, recent top Sixers pick Evan Turner was kind enough to sit in on a conference call with some of the Philly sports blog cognoscenti. The Villain talked about matters ranging from NBA players similar to himself (prefers the likes of Penny Hardaway and Grant Hill to the more traditional Brandon Roy comp) to Philly cheesesteaks (been to Geno's and liked it, yet to try Pat's), but perhaps the best quote of the conference came when he was asked if he'd gotten advice from any other Philly athletes about how best to handle the city. Ryan Howard, who knows a thing or two about the highs and lows of being on the receiving end of Philly fandom, had thoughts to share.
"He said you gotta compare Philly to like a big brother...some days he's gonna like you and some days he might not like you, but he still loves you, and it's all about what you do and how you do things...but it's always having the support, no matter what."
Sounds about right. Though I don't think "not showing enough hustle" was ever one of the main points of contentions between me and my big bro.
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Philadelphia sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
More quotes from The Extraterrestrial after the jump.
-On what he brings to the table for the Sixers: "I think my mid-range is pretty good, I think I have a pretty good IQ, I think I can rebound well for my size...what I need to work on is moving off the ball and my long-range shooting."
-On being able to play with Andre Iguodala: ""I think Andre and I are all about the team and winning, doing the best to try to help the team out and win...All we have to do is be coachable, and play how we play, and everything will be fine."
-On who he's looking forward to playing against in the NBA: "Kobe. You just keep hearing all these things about how he's the best, and how hard he is to play against, and I just wanna see how it is."
-On what he's learned from a lifetime's worth of injury and hardship: ""I can pull myself out of any slump, I always have the confidence that I'll persevere, and come out on top no matter what I do."
-On the difference between Coach Collins and his Ohio State Coach: "Coach Matta is a little more relaxed, gives you a little more freedom. Coach Collins wants me to learn a little bit first...that's the only thing I can tell. He knows the game a lot. He's all about helping you get better right away and trying to perfect your game."
-On whether the Heat or Lakers should be title favorites: "I think the Lakers are still the team to beat...they brought home the trophy, and until somebody proves them wrong, that's still the team to beat."
-On bringing excitement back to Philly hoops: "I'm just one part of the team, one cog in the system...I think as a unit, we just need to play as hard as we can and play with passion...I think if it's the right steps and the right direction, we'll just start winning and getting that city excited."
-On sports blogs: "Naw, I don't read any of that stuff."