Last week Sacramento State beat NAU 76-63 in the Big Sky tourney title game to earn an automatic bid to this week’s NCAA tournament. The Hornets lost to NAU in OT in early-February but have won 9 in a row since then and clinched the 1st NCAA tourney bid in school history. Earlier today HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to speak with Sacramento State SR G Kahlaijah Dean about being named conference POY.
You played basketball/track/volleyball at Independence High School: which sport were you best at, and which sport did you enjoy the most? I was best at basketball, but I most definitely enjoyed both track and volleyball (volleyball a little more than track).
You began your college career at Oakland, where you were named 2020 conference 6th Player of Year: what is the biggest difference between starting vs. coming off the bench? The biggest difference is having to keep that momentum going or giving your team that energy when you are the 1 coming off the bench. I think you have more pressure coming off the bench because you have to give a little bit more and (depending on how long until you enter the game) you have to be ready to go at all times.
Why did you decide to transfer, and what made you choose Sacramento State? I chose Sacramento State because of the bond that I built with Coach Mark Campbell. He stood out the most from other schools and he wanted to know more about me than just who I was as a basketball player.
1 of your assistant coaches is Nyara Sabally, who was drafted 5th overall by the New York Liberty last April: what makes her such a good coach, and what is the most important thing that you have learned from her so far? Having Coach Sabally as an assistant coach is such a huge blessing. She is a woman of few words but they are very meaningful words. She is very honest with me about how I can become a better player. She makes sure that I play my best everyday and everything she has taught me is important.
This year you averaged 21.1 PPG/4.7 RPG/5.8 APG/1.4 SPG en route to being named conference POY: what did it mean to you to receive such an outstanding honor? It was a blessing to receive the player of the year award. I do not really work to get accolades: I just play to win but it is good to see all of my hard work paying off. I could not have achieved that honor without my teammates/coaches: they are the ones who trusted me and put me in the position to be able to earn this award.
You also improved your 3-PT shooting from 28.2% last year to 38.5% this year: what is the secret to making shots from behind the arc? I just made better decisions with my shot selection in addition to taking what the defense gave me. Getting shots up in the gym on a consistent basis has also helped me grow as a player.
Last Wednesday in the Big Sky tourney title game you scored 16 PTS in a win over NAU en route to being named conference tourney MVP: what did it mean to you to win a title, and what was the feeling like in your locker room afterward? It meant everything to me to win a title. I have been playing basketball since I was a kid and it is what we as players dream of. I am glad that our team was able to make our dream a reality: it felt very surreal. Playing three games in three days was not an easy task, but every time that we stepped onto the court we truly gave it our all. The feeling in the locker room was very exciting…other than trying to run away from my assistant coaches Nyara Sabally/Minyon Moore because I did not want to get sprayed with water! People who know me are aware that I am not much of a fan of cold water. They chased me down and soaked me, but it was smiles/laughs all around the locker room. We did something that had never been done before at Sacramento State.
Your cousin Joey Porter won Super Bowl XL with the Steelers: who is the best athlete in the family? I mean he played at the highest level so he may have me beat. His son Joey Jr. did such a good job as well as a football player at Penn State and will soon be drafted into the NFL. Maybe we will all have to meet up one day and see!
How do you feel about being a 13 seed? Seeding does not mean everything to me and will not define who we are as a team. We will prepare for UCLA and continue to play our game no matter who our opponent is.