Chasing A Dream: Garret Siler's NBA Summer League Recap

By: Matt Barnes
By: Matt Barnes

After two weeks of playing in the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, former ASU center Garret Siler recapped his time on and off the court.

Editor's Note: Garret Siler is a former ARC and Augusta State basketball player. He earned All-American honors in his senior year at ASU, helping lead the team to its second straight Final Four appearance. This summer, Siler is participated in the NBA Summer League with the Minnesota Timberwolves, hoping that a strong performance would land him a contract with a team for the 2009-2010 season. Siler talked with News 12 to recap his time in Las Vegas.

Q: What was it like playing in the NBA Summer League?

A: It's a whole another level. It's just real fun. The competition goes up. It's just crazy. Everybody just going for the job to play in the league. I love it. I get to bang against these big bodies, just have fun and go hard everyday.

Q: You played at ASU so you've played with lots of pressure before. What was this pressure like? Because this amounts to a 5-game job interview.

A: Basically, and the practices were tough too because a lot of the big guys from the team you're playing on are there. They're looking at you just like any other team is looking at you. So, it was tough. Also, a lot of running, but being from Augusta State and having to deal with [Augusta State head coach] Dip [Metress], I'm used to the running drills.

Q: Were you happy with your play?

A: Yeah, I was. I played my game. I wasn't trying to do anything special and that's what I think a lot of coaches and players respect. I'm not trying to go out and shoot the three or do all this other crazy stuff. I'm just gonna do the same thing that brought me out there.

Q: What did you think of Las Vegas?

A: Las Vegas was amazing. I enjoyed it. It's a whole different kind of pace. Everybody always said 'make sure you bet on black'. (laughing) But I enjoyed it. Make sure you know how to hold onto your money. I was a smart gambler and I did enjoy myself out there. It's all what you make of it and this was my first time in Vegas.

Q: So what's next for you?

A: I got invited to the Hawks veterans camp, so that'll be either late August or early September. And I also got invited to Minnesota's veterans camp. That's basically the camp right before you make the roster so that's like the last camp. And Charlotte wants to invite me to their mini-term camp so I just have to figure out where I want to be and then from there, it's just kind of of working out in between then.




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