One-on-one with Travis Niesen

Before heading out on the basketball team's trip through Southern California to play Loyola Marymount and Pepperdine, sophomore forward Travis Niesen sat down with Sports Staff Writer Aaron Juarez. The Mission Viejo native talked about the importance of this weekend's trip to Southern California, Santa Clara's position in the West Coast Conference, the Lakers' injury woes and how its Shaq's world and Kobe just gets to live in it.

AJ: So you guys are heading down to Southern California this weekend. Since you're basically going home, does a lot of your family show up to catch your games?

TN: Yeah, I'll have a few people there. It should be fun, I always like going down to SoCal. The weather is always a little better and anything closer to home I enjoy.

AJ: So how was the adjustment to Northern California?

TN: It wasn't bad at all. I had a few choices where I could go to school, but I thought Northern California and Santa Clara had a lot of similarities to SoCal. It's a lot easier distance compared to a Spokane or Portland. Since I'm an outdoor guy I can't do a lot of outdoor activities like surfing in Spokane or Portland, where it rains a lot. Ha, ha. There's not a lot of surf in Portland, by the way.

AJ: What other schools were taking a look at you?

TN: I had about six offers from the WCC and one from Oregon State. I kind of made up my mind to stay on the West Coast, but Santa Clara was for me all the way. Coach Davey, I came here because of him, he's the man.

AJ: Did you follow Santa Clara in the past, the Steve Nash days?

TN: I did have a background knowledge of Santa Clara history in the past. Steve Nash, Kurt Rambis and whatnot, and Coach Davey, who is a legend in the industry and is well-respected by many coaches.

AJ: With the road trip coming up and holding onto third place, with the team's struggles on the road, is there something about the environment holding you guys back or are things just not falling into place in the games?

TN: I wouldn't really say that. There are just different things that need to come together for the win. We need to play as hard as we can every time we go out. Being on the road is much more difficult. I would imagine that a lot of teams have difficulty winning on the road. When we go down to Pepperdine, we can't expect the same thing as when we beat them here. If we don't match their intensity, it's going to be a long second half because we're on the road a lot.

AJ: What will taking a couple of road wins in the next couple of weeks mean to your momentum heading into the WCC tournament at home?

TN: It's huge because we'll be heading back home, where we know we can beat anyone. We had Mississippi State beat and we beat Gonzaga for 30 of the 40 minutes of that game. So we just have to go out and get some wins so we can come home with the momentum.

AJ: Out on the court, we see you and Jim (Howell) banging bodies in the paint. In high school, were you this physical of a player or did you ratchet it up a bit when you got to college?

TN: In high school, I really wasn't as physical. In high school, you can rely on your talent more, but in college, everyone out there is a good player, an all-league player. So I have to go as hard as I can, be real physical to blow some people up.

AJ: Like the scuffle with (Gonzaga's Cory) Violette two weeks ago?

TN: Ha, ha. Violette and I are friends, he just hurt me because all 260 pounds or so of him was on my back, so I shoved him off. Off the court, he's a nice guy, but on the court, I don't like him. Ha, ha.

AJ: Ha, ha. Nobody can be friends when they're wearing the other colors. Is there anybody from the NBA that you modeled your game after?

TN: I've always been a Lakers fan and wanted to be like Magic Johnson. But Doron (Perkins) is closer to Magic than I am and that frustrates me. But Magic was all about winning and whether it was him or Kareem or Cooper making the game-winner, he was the Man.

AJ: What's going on with the Los Angeles Lakers right now?

TN: They just need to get healthy! I'm really glad you asked me that because I have a huge take on this. First of all, with Malone, Payton, Shaq and Kobe, they shouldàbe taking 90-95% of the shots when they are all healthy. I don't want Fisher, George, Rush, or Medvedenko taking shots. All those shots should be taken by the Big Four and they should only have to shoot lay-ups.

AJ: Do you see Kobe leaving after this season?

TN: No. If he does, it will be the biggest mistake of his career. If he leaves it will probably be to San Antonio.

AJ: Can he and Shaq co-exist?

TN: Yes. Kobe needs Shaq. Shaq without Kobe can take the team by himself. The team was built around Shaq. He just needs to be more sensitive to Kobe's feelings. Ha, ha.

AJ: So if the Lakers take the title, are you going to miss seeing Mark Madsen dance at the championship rally?

TN: Ha, ha. No.