April 1, 2010

Greivis Vasquez

On his initial thoughts about winning the 2010 Bob Cousy Award:

"It was unbelievable. It was a blessing. I would like to thank my teammates, my coaches, my family, my country and everybody that voted for me in the whole community. That's something that I felt was kind of impossible. John Wall and Evan Turner are good players and winning that award not only says a lot about me, but my team and the people surrounding me. I'm so thankful and I'm really happy. I can't believe how I feel right now. If you would have told me my freshman or sophomore year that things would have happened like this or that I was going to win these awards, I probably would have doubted it a little bit. I'm just thankful and I'm shocked. I want to say that I worked extremely hard. My team has helped me to become who I am, and I'm going to stay humble and continue to work hard for the rest of my career."

On his expectations when he decided to return to school for his senior year:

"I expected a lot of different things. I wanted to go to a Final Four and win a national championship, but this is a new experience for me and like I said, I'm thankful. I came back to school with one goal, which was trying to get better as a player and as a person. I also wanted to make my teammates better around me. At the beginning of this year, people doubted me and I knew my time was going to come because I worked so hard all summer. Getting all these awards is just unbelievable. I tell myself that how I work really pays off."

On what distinguished him from other candidates for the award:

"I just tried to play my game and make people around me better. I was trying to win games instead of worrying about how many points I would have had at the end of the night. I was thinking more about my team and putting them first and myself second. This is a tough call. John Wall, Evan Turner, Scottie Reynolds and Jon Scheyer are all good, and Scheyer is playing in the Final Four."

On anxiety prior to the NBA draft:

"I'm excited. I wouldn't say I'm anxious. I already went through the process and I'm more patient and more mature this year. I know what the teams are looking for me to improve on. I'm just taking everything step-by-step. I'm going to start working out next week here at Maryland. I'm looking forward to the whole process. I'm really excited so we'll see what happens."

On how winning the award helps put his career in perspective:

"Our team was such a great team in a way that we really cared about each other. We went through obstacles the whole season and we passed them together. Our chemistry was so good. We were a real family. Everybody cared about each other so much, so losing like that was really tough. It's something that I will always have in my heart and that loss will always motivate me to work harder."

On which accomplishment or victory this season stands out from all the others:

"One thing that I really wanted to accomplish in college was graduating. That's probably the most important thing for me and my family. Getting a good degree from Maryland is a blessing and I'm truly excited about that."

On what he's done since the season ended:

"I've been watching games and shooting basketballs. I haven't really been working out because I want to give my body a little rest. I'm really excited about working out next week. The most important thing for me is working on my strength and quickness because I need to improve a couple of things. I have to continue to work hard and put a lot of emphasis on those. The next couple of weeks are going to be very important to me."

On his thoughts about the team next year:

"I have a great amount of trust in Sean Mosley, Cliff Tucker, Jordan Williams and Adrian Bowie. Every year, people are going to doubt you. But to me, life is about working hard. Coach Williams is going to make sure those guys work hard and Sean will, too. Jordan Williams is going to have a big role next year and people are going to look at him differently because he will have a little more pressure. Adrian and Cliff know they have to work hard. It will be their turn to shine and do something special. I'm looking forward to it. I'm going to support this program for the rest of my life."

Head Coach Gary Williams

"Greivis has been an outstanding point guard for his four years at Maryland and will graduate this May. Whether it was passing, rebounding, playing defense or making big shots, Greivis made our team better. Greivis did whatever was necessary to help us win games. He was a great leader."