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THE INTERVIEW WITH REGGIE DILLARD
Greensboro Day, junior, boys basketball

Reggie Dillard, 18, helped Greensboro Day win its 10th Pizza Hut Invitational boys tournament championship last week, allowing the Bengals to tie Dudley for the most titles in tournament history. Dillard, a guard, played for Dudley last season, when he averaged 19.7 points, 4.6 rebounds and 3.3 assists as the Panthers reached the first round of the playoffs.

Q: When did you first get into playing basketball, and why have you stuck with it?
A: I started playing basketball when I was 5 years old in the Y league, and I just loved it. My cousins, they’re really big basketball fanatics and all that. They made me play and I really liked it. My cousins are older than me. They lived in Georgia but always came to North Carolina every other week.

Q: What are your expectations for yourself this season?
A: To do everything I can to help my team win a state championship. That means always coming through in the clutch like I have been doing lately, playing great defense, being a leader on the team, just doing everything I can so we can win a state championship. Lately I’ve been struggling with my shot and things like that, so I want to get that back to where it used to be, where it was, and just keep improving my ball handling and work and some footwork stuff.

Q: What do you think about your experience at the Pizza Hut Invitational?
A: It was great. It was the first time I ever got to play in front of my family and my friends during Christmas, and to win it for my school and bring home a championship is always great. The fact that we got to win it in Greensboro made it really great.

Q: You provided a strong defensive presence, but struggled offensively at times during the tournament. How do you overcome shooting trouble?
A: I know as a shooter that you move on to your next shot. My teammates, they’re always telling me to move onto the next shot, “Reggie, we need you for the next shot.” And that’s what I did. I stuck with it and got some big-time rebounds that put me on the free throw line. I saw the ball come off the rim (in the final seconds of a slim semifinal victory) and I didn’t want to leave anything to chance, so I pursued the ball and we got the victory. It was a little scary, but you know, I’m glad we got the W.

Q: How do you like playing for Greensboro Day School?
A: I’m liking it a lot. Over at Greensboro Day, the term brotherhood, that’s really what we have over there. We’re always hanging out with each other. We have a good chemistry on the court, the coaches haven’t tried to slow up my game or anything like that. It’s been a really good experience.

Q: Why did you decide to transfer from Dudley to Greensboro Day this summer, and why did you reclassify as a junior after being a junior last season?
A: Educational reasons and it was a decision me and my family, we sat down and talked about it and we thought this was the best route to go with. We talked to (Dudley) coach (David) Price and he’s always going to support me. That’s one thing that really helped me out with the decision, always knowing that my old high school coach always has my back through thick and thin.

Q: How do you get prepared to compete in a big event?
A: With my teammates, I’ve got about two or three teammates … we get relaxed and cool out. We play around a little bit. We talk about what we’re going to do, but just get relaxed and prepared. I always pray right before I walk out the locker room. I play around a little bit, just to keep my mind calm. I don’t want to get tensed up before a game. It’s always important to play loose.

Q: Do you have any superstitions or any routines that you follow?
A: Right before I walk out the locker room, everybody walks out before me and I always stay back to pray. I want a quiet locker room. I say the Lord’s Prayer. And I always eat a Reese’s peanut butter cup. And I always eat frosted flakes in the morning.

Q: What does it take to compete at such a high level? What do you do to train?
A: It takes a lot of dedication. I’m always in the gym. After practice, I’m always for about 15 to 20 minutes after practice every day, I’m always in there with a coach, working on shots, ball handling, things I can prepare for the next game. I get my proper rest. I eat very healthy. Coach (Freddy) Johnson, he’s always a stickler about eating healthy, so I just try to take care of myself and do all the right things so I can stay playing at a high level every night.

Q: You play AAU ball with the CP3 All-Stars, right? How do you like that?
A: It’s lovely. We travel everywhere. We have fun. We go to the greatest tournaments and play against the best players in the country. It’s fantastic playing for CP3 All-Stars. My 10th grade year I started. I was with the Greensboro Warriors and they came up with a great opportunity, so me and my teammates … we went over to CP3 and it was one of the greatest moves I made. They take great care of you and everything.

Q: Have any thoughts on where you might like to play in college?
A: VCU, Virginia, Tennessee, they came in to watch me practice and in some games. I’ve heard from those three, and so I’m not really worried about that right now. I’m just focused on our season. But when the time comes I’ll sit down with my family and make a decision. I just want to go somewhere that I’m comfortable and I’m in the best situation for me to succeed.

Q: What’s something interesting about you that most people don’t know?
A: I sing a lot. I’m always singing. It doesn’t matter. I can be sitting right next to you, and there be no music, but I just start singing in my head. It’s mostly recent music, that I really know the words to, like the new song Mary J. Blige just came out with, Mr. Wrong. That’s a little weird, but I sing that sometimes. Or I might sing some Beyoncé sometimes. And in the shower I definitely just let loose.

Q: Do you have any tattoos?
A: No, I don’t. My grandma, she died of cancer and she asked me to promise her that I wouldn’t get any tattoos. I’m going to stick to my promise. She passed away about six years ago.

Q: Do you have any pets?
A: I don’t have any pets. We were going to get a dog one time, but I’m hardly at home and if I get a pet I want to be able to be responsible for it. I don’t want it to be starving and then I go to jail for abuse or something. One day I’m going to get me a dog though. I’d want a big dog. I’d want a friendly big dog. I don’t know what kind, though.

Q: What bothers you more than anything else?
A: Not being on time. I hate being late. I just think that you should respect time and it’s something my dad, and playing with the CP3 organization, Chris Paul has always expressed being on time. First impression can make you or break you. Being on time can definitely start off with a great impression. I don’t like people having to wait on me.

Q: What do you enjoy doing in your spare time, other than playing basketball?
A: Hanging out with family and friends. And then I love to watch movies. Like new movies that just came out. I may see a movie once a week. Me and my dad, we’re liable to just leave to go see a movie at any point. You know the dollar movies at the Sedgefield Crossing on High Point Road? We go up there a lot. They probably know us on a first-name basis. You can’t beat a dollar movie. And whenever a new movie comes out, maybe 2½ or three weeks later, they get the movie.