Q&A With Josh Kroenke
12/5/2001 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 5, 2001
Q: What's your favorite non-basketball part of MU?
JK: "Through basketball you meet a lot of people but I've also got a lot of friends in fraternities and I can really get away from basketball and have a different group of friends that I hang out with."
Q: What kind of perspective do they provide for you?
JK: "They don't really know what goes on with the team-they just come to the games and see us play. It's nice to have friends that aren't constantly talking about basketball, to go to a movie or just hang out-it's fun."
Q: What made MU stand out from the other schools that recruited you?
JK: "I really liked Coach Snyder. When I met him, it was at an all-star game and he shook my hand and I was impressed with the way he handled himself. Then he came up to prep school and I met him again and we hit it off and he related to me very well. I liked MU and growing up here, I always dreamed of playing here, and when Coach and I hit it off, it seemed like the right fit."
Q: What's it like being the only player from Columbia?
JK: "It's a lot harder than most people think. You're under the microscope. A lot of the guys are under the microscope when they're out, doing their own thing, but for me it's kind of double because I know a lot more people than they do. It's hard, but I can also give back to the community that way (by staying home to play)."
Q: What's your favorite class?
JK: "I enjoy economics a lot."
Q: What do you like to do in your spare time?
JK: "Hang out with friends, play video games, play golf in the summer."
Q: If you weren't playing basketball, what sport would you be playing?
JK: "Soccer-I played it growing up and I thought I was a heck of a lot better at soccer than basketball but my family kept telling me, 'You're going to be tall, so we want you to pick one and try to excel at it.' So I picked basketball."
Q: What's in your CD player right now?
JK: "My friend just made a mix CD so I've got that in right now."
Q: What's the hardest part of being a student-athlete?
JK: "Definitely, time management. You have to learn how to structure your day to fit everything into it. A lot of people say, 'you guys have it totally easy with playing basketball and you get a free meal every day,' but if they went through one of our days, to see what we do, they'd be shocked at what we go through. We have to get up and go to class, practice, study hall, and finally you have free time, where you usually have to do more studying. It's hard to find free time to hang out with your friends and stuff."
Q: What's your favorite place to play basketball other than Hearnes?
JK: "I like to play Kansas because I enjoy hearing the fans. They have great fans down there. I also enjoy playing at Kemper Arena."
Q: Why do you wear 15?
JK: "It was my third choice of number, actually. I came here and my first choice was 24, and Jeff Hafer had that, and second choice was 5, because that was my soccer number growing up, and 15 was my summer league jersey number that I had worn the last couple of summers, so 15 was it."
Q: What was the last movie you saw?
JK: "'Shallow Hal.' It was funny. I enjoy a good funny movie."
Q: Do you have a favorite movie?
JK: "I enjoyed 'Snatch' a lot, it was a really good show. I also love 'Forrest Gump.' I like 'Tombstone' as well."
Q: What's your favorite basketball memory?
JK: "Last week stands out in my mind. Beating Iowa was an amazing game. Also, when Clarence hit that shot against Georgia (in last year's NCAA Tournament)."
Q: What question do you get tired of answering?
JK: "Stuff about my family. A lot of people think I'm on the team because of my family, but I don't think coach Snyder would put me in the game if I wasn't any good. It's really frustrating and I wish people would leave it alone, but I know it's never going to go away."
Q: Is there a certain basketball player you emulate?
JK: "That's tough. I emulate a lot of different styles of a lot of different guys. Jerry West shooting the basketball. As far as guys in the NBA right now, there are such great shooters like Peyja Stoyakovic of the Sacramento Kings. He's great shooter. I wasn't gifted with a lot of athleticism like someone like Rickey (Paulding). I had to figure out a way to score and shooting became my strong point. I like watching them, seeing how they get their shot off against different players."
Q: What was different about prep school?
JK: "Prep school was a big culture shock more than anything. I came from Columbia which isn't a huge city, but is still 80 or 90,000. At prep school I went to a town of 500 people and 300 of them were students in my school and it was very regimented. We'd get up every morning and at 7:30 go to class until 3 and then report to the gym and practice and then have dinner and study hall and then have a free hour and lights out at 11, every day of the week. During the winter we went to school on Saturday. I met a lot of great friends. My best friend from prep school, Tom Coverdale, is the starting point guard at Indiana now, and we still keep in touch. Our post guy plays for South Carolina. Our league was great. A couple of them are in the NBA, a lot of them are playing college basketball now."
Q: Why did you decide to go to prep school?
JK: "My first week of practice my senior year I dislocated my kneecap and I chipped a lot of cartilage in my knee and got it scoped. It wasn't a big deal, but when I started practice we had our first game about two-and-a-half weeks later and there was a lot of pressure to get back into it. I came back but was never really full speed again. A lot of colleges dropped me from their list and said that if I'm going to play college basketball, I might as well give it one more shot and go to prep school and play against top-notch competition."
Q: What's it like having the only other person in your recruiting class be Kareem Rush?
JK: "It's been so much fun getting to know Kareem. We knew each other for about a year before we came here. I don't think I've ever had a friend like Kareem. Not a lot of people realize that but I don't even think of him as Kareem Rush. He's my best friend out there killing everybody. I've seen him develop and he picks things up really fast."
Q: How did your friendship develop?
JK: "Our freshman year we lived in the dorm with all the other college freshmen and he didn't have a car down here so we were basically inseparable. Everywhere I went, he came, whether we were in the car, walking to class, going to practice. We got to know each other really well that year and then last year, the relationship continued to get stronger. We know a lot about each other. I can tell what he's thinking just by looking at him, it's one of those things, and it's great. I had a lot of great friends in high school and I love those guys to death, but I've never been on a level in a friendship like with Kareem. With basketball, and personality-wise, we're so much alike."
Q: How often do people spell your last name wrong?
JK: "A lot. Kit (Lisauskas), our equipment manager, sent our uniforms in this year to get our name on them and it came back and the 'e' and the 'n' in the middle of my name were switched. So he had to send it back, but in all our team pictures, my name is spelled wrong, except it's just the front of my jersey, you can't see the back. But they had to send it back after pictures to get it re-stitched."
Q: How old were you when you started playing basketball?
JK: "I'd go out in the driveway with my dad when I was 8 or 9 and I started playing with teams in fifth or sixth grade and all through junior high and high school. I got serious about it my freshman year of high school, that's when I picked basketball over soccer."
Q: Describe yourself in three words.
JK: "Honest, fun and outgoing."
Q: Do you get nervous before games?
JK: "Not really before games. I get nervous when I go to check in. I'm playing behind Kareem and Clarence and Rickey, and DJ (Duane John) and me are battling for playing time so when coach is like, "Josh, get Kareem," I jump a little. You get to the scorer's table and then the first couple of plays, I'm tense out there. I want to get loose and get into the flow of the game. A lot of people have told me to shoot the ball when I get out there. If my first touch, I'm wide open, I don't feel comfortable yet. I have to get into the flow of the game, just playing basketball and having fun."
Q: Who's the most famous person you've ever met?
JK: "Michael Jordan. This summer Kareem and I worked his camp in Santa Barbara, Calif. We were counselors and worked stations all day, but at night, we got to scrimmage. Pros from L.A. would come out, like Darius Miles and Quinton Richardson from the Clippers and a lot of college kids were there like Jason Williams and Mike Dunleavy from Duke, Casey Jacobsen from Stanford, Drew Gooden from Kansas. It was really fun. The first night, I didn't even know if Jordan was going to play or not, I hadn't even seen him yet and we were warming up and I looked down and he was on the other team. I don't think I've ever had a feeling in my stomach like seeing Michael Jordan on the other team. He's a really nice man."
Q: Isn't that odd saying "pros like Darius Miles?" He's younger than you are.
JK: "It is weird, but I don't even think about it like that. Those guys are so talented and so good and they make it look so easy. They're a joy to watch."
Q: What's the coolest place you've ever traveled?
JK: "Probably the Caribbean. I've been to a couple of places down there with my family. It was beautiful-crystal waters, sandy beaches, it can't get much better than that. I love warm weather."
Q: Personal expectations for the year?
JK: "I don't really have any. It's just to get better. Against Jackson State, I got into the game and it was easier than a practice. I told my father that and he said that was good because one way to get better is to keep battling in practice. I've got two of the best guys in the country to go against in Kareem and Clarence and I got out there and realized how good those guys are and how good our team can be. Whenever they need a breather, Coach might put me in and I'm just going to try and help us out."
Q: Expectations for the team?
JK: "The sky is the limit. Our team can go as far as it wants to go, I think. But it all relies on our leadership and our character. We have to keep staying together as a group and it shows in plays like Rickey's dunk against Jackson State. Clarence had a wide-open lay-up, instead he throws it up and Rickey comes in and gets a crowd-pleasing dunk. Everyone's out there having so much fun playing, they'd almost rather see the other guys succeed than themselves. Our team is really coming together."
Q: What do you want to be when you grow up?
JK: "I have no idea. I've learned a lot about the real estate business from my dad. I love basketball, I've always thought about being a coach somewhere too. I'm just going to explore different options and someday I'll realize what I want to be when I grow up."
