Q&A with Tiger Basketball Player Jeffrey Ferguson
1/21/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 21, 2003
If you watch closely, you can see sophomore Jeffrey Ferguson coming into his own out on the court. The lanky freshman who was pushed around all year last year by junior Arthur Johnson, is becoming quite a second-year talent and one of the Tigers' most fundamentally sound post players.
Ferguson has developed great range and a sweet shooting touch which makes him even more of a threat for Mizzou. Tiger Court Side's Samantha Kilgore talked with "The Bird Man" about superstitions, inspirations and aspirations for this year's squad in this edition of Tiger Q& A. Q: Do you have any nicknames besides "Ferg"? A: Some of the guys on the team call me "Birdman".
Q: Where did that come from? A: Because when I'm dunking I'm getting up high, and some of these guys are like 'you can fly like a bird'.
Q: Do you have any pre-game superstitions? A: I always wear a black band on my left arm.
Q: How is this team coming together compared to last year's team which began to click late in the season? A: I feel like all the guys are in, truly in it together. We're starting to hang around each other a whole lot and are leaning on each other more and things like that. We're relating in a lot of ways. We're helping each other out, we work hard in practice.
Q: You have a great natural shot, are you planning to work that outside shot in a lot? A: Yeah, that's the goal. Coach has been telling me to work on my outside shot, so he gave me the green light to shoot anywhere around the perimeter as long as I it's a good shot.
Q: What type of music do you listen to? A: I like JayZ.
Q: How about movies? What type of movie gets your attention? A: As far as movies, I like to watch adventure movies.
Q: Do you have a favorite actor? A: Denzel Washington.
Q: Who would you say has been your greatest basketball influence? A: For me, my basketball influence is my coach back in Michigan, his name is Lewis Harvey. He inspired me. He helped me take my game to another level. He helped me out with fundamentals when my game wasn't really fundamentally sound. He helped me understand the game.
Q: He's your inspiration. Do you have a role model in the game now? Is there someone you model your game after? A: I really like Kevin Garnett's game. He's who I look to pattern my game after.
Q: What part of your game is the biggest contribution to this team? A: I try to get in there and crash for a lot of rebounds and hit the open shot when I have it.
>Q: How different is it this year being able to really scrap around a lot in practice now that the team is deep at the post position? A: I think it makes us stronger and a lot tougher. When you go out and play with people on the floor I think it makes it easier because they're not as big and mobile as the guys on our team.
