Composer. Producer. Musician. Actor. Dancer.
There's more to Darnell Gant (left), Washington's junior power forward, than meets the eye. He's a young man of many blossoming talents.
First and foremost, he's focused on basketball, the Huskies and the upcoming season, which promises as much as last season's campaign that finished in the Sweet 16.
As a redshirt freshman, Gant started 33 of 34 games and averaged 18.3 minutes per game alongside future NBA players Jon Brockman and Quincy Pondexter. Last year, however, he appeared in 35 games, but started 11. Gant averaged 11.7 minutes and the decreased playing time caused a dip in his scoring (3.1 to 2.5) and rebounding (3.3 to 2.4).
While the 2009-10 season was a success for UW, admittedly Gant struggled with off-court issues that affected his play. In Part II of our interview, he opened up about those issues and talked candidly about his undefined role on the team.
Photo credit: Getty Images - Jeff Gross
(I know last year was tough personally. Are you okay to talk about it?) "I'm fine."
(So what happened?) "Last year was real hard because in the beginning of the year, we started off and I had a family member that was close die and pass on."
(Who was that?)"My cousin. Then after the Midnight Madness I got sick and I was out for a week and I lost weight and I was real behind. I had to get back in condition and everything."
(I remember a lot of guys got sick back then. What caused that?) "I don't know what caused it. I just got real sick. Then later on, my grandfather got put in the hospital and he was in there for awhile. And later on, after the season he passed. But I'm going through games and practices thinking about him and thinking about what's going on back home. He was sicker than what I thought he was. It was just a lot of stuff like that. It was tough because I'm trying to focus and do what he would want me to do on the basketball court, but I'm worrying about so many other things and it was hindering me. I don't know, I got into like a stupor or something. I was off. But at the same time I knew I couldn't stray away from the team. Even though I wasn't playing as much, I'm on the end of the bench cheering them on. I felt like that was my job. I couldn't be selfish and get all into myself and not care about them. We had a goal as a team from the beginning. And I'm always down for my team. They're my brothers. They're like my family."
(For the past two years, you've won the Coaches Award [that's given to the UW player with the best attitude], which says something about your character and your commitment to the team.)
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