22 replies to this topic

[Bonehenge]

Was just listening to an interview they were doing with him. Wow. He's not exactly a wordsmith. Some of his answers to question could be summed up as "Um...um...um." That's it. I'll give him somewhat of a break as it sounded like he was in a busy airport and he is only 19 after all, but jeez.

[MusikmanLP7]

You should give him more than a bit of a break. The man has a speech problem. I don't care if the man was a damn mute as long as he plays for us like he played in college.

[GotSwag?]

MKG isnt Cam, but this seems like a similar pick. People are nitpicking MKG.

Folks...hes the real deal.

[cdandi1]

He has a speech issue and it obviously gets worse when he is excited and/or nervous..aka every interview he has done leading up to and after the draft. There are some very good speech therapist in the Charlotte area..so I'm sure he will be able to work on his speech. Add time with a speech therapist with him becoming comfortable in Charlotte..and his interviews will be much improved. His comfort zone should be higher than most rookies as he has family in both Charlotte and Winston-Salem.

[God]

yeah...i definitely wouldnt judge his interviews, they arent his strong suit.

[savage]

he has a huge stuttering issue.

[koolkatluke]

Bill Walton had a speech impediment now he's a NBA broadcaster. So it can and will improve.

[SOJA]

wow seriously?

[Tensor]

Yeah, I'd cut the guy some slack. When I hear him talk I don't think "man this guy is stupid." It's very obvious that he has a speaking problem and I'm sure being in the spotlight has made him very self conscious about it. It's a tough thing to break.

I didn't really want us to draft him, but now that we have, I hope he is a star.

[fieryprophet]

His "impediment" disappears when he's comfortable. It's a nervousness thing; he hates public speaking. He just wants to play basketball and win.

[God]

i just disliked the kid mostly at first cause hes a UK turd but im warming up to the guy.

[carolina-chuck]

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[carolina-chuck]

Speech problems and issue talking in front of cameras!!!!

Didn't we have this same topic in another thread!!!

Damn some people def never keep up with anything until the day of the draft and all these stupid people starts popping out acting like they know $hit!!! Go back in hibernate !!!!

[Proudiddy]

Yeah, I don't mean anything when I joke about his speech issue, b/c from what I've noticed, it's not a speech issue at all. It's a social anxiety issue, which I completely understand and relate to. It's clear he doesn't like talking in front of cameras, or at least around people he isn't familiar with.

Only thing I wouldn't consider a anxiety issue that he does is he makes a noise sometimes between saying stuff, which can be a nervous coping mechanism. If you go back and look at Kenyon Martin interviews when he was in Cincy, he did the same thing but A LOT WORSE.

He'll get better once he gets settled in here. I'm sure he still won't prefer to do interviews, but he'll do them a lot more naturally once he gets to know the local guys and his teammates.

[Lomez]

Yeah, I don't mean anything when I joke about his speech issue, b/c from what I've noticed, it's not a speech issue at all. It's a social anxiety issue, which I completely understand and relate to. It's clear he doesn't like talking in front of cameras, or at least around people he isn't familiar with.

Only thing I wouldn't consider a anxiety issue that he does is he makes a noise sometimes between saying stuff, which can be a nervous coping mechanism. If you go back and look at Kenyon Martin interviews when he was in Cincy, he did the same thing but A LOT WORSE.

He'll get better once he gets settled in here. I'm sure he still won't prefer to do interviews, but he'll do them a lot more naturally once he gets to know the local guys and his teammates.

Exactly. I don't think any of us really love public speaking--he just has a different way of dealing with it. And remember he's still just a teenager. I'm sure he will get better with this. You can tell in the training video in the other thread that when he's comfortable the interviews flow much easier.