Wake Forest Athletics
My Basketball Journey: Denmore McDermott
3/11/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 11, 2011
This article was originally published in the March 3 edition of Wake Forest's basketball gameday magazine, which is given away at all men's basketball home games.
Q: What is your earliest memory of playing the game of basketball?
A: My first memory is when I started playing rec league when I was eight years old. My mother just wanted me to be active so she took me to a rec league that was around the corner from my house, and I've been playing ever since.
Q: What is the one area of your game that you have had to work the hardest on to improve?
A: I think the area that I've had to improve the most on is definitely my stamina and conditioning. Everything else came with a lot of practice. Shooting, offense, defense and everything, but definitely conditioning and just getting up and down the court consistently.
Q: What is the one area of your game that has just seemed to come naturally?
A: I'd have to say posting up. I've always been one of the bigger kids on the court. Except for when I made the team here playing with seven-footers, but I was always one of the bigger kids. So just getting my footwork together and being able to use my size and my strength to get positioning under the basket, that was always one of my strengths.
Q: When did you decide that you wanted to walk onto the basketball team?
A: My sophomore year. I was approached my freshman year to consider it. One of my friends had already made the team, but it wasn't until sophomore year that I really decided that basketball wasn't over for me and that I still wanted to continue playing. Thankfully by my junior year I was able to make the team.
Q: What is life like as a walk-on?
A: Being a walk-on is definitely an interesting experience. I may not necessarily be guaranteed playing time every single game, but I still get to play the game that I love every single day and the competition is always there. [Having] the opportunity to play something that I really love and have a passion for is something that I would never turn down.
Q: What opposing player has been your favorite to imitate on the scout team?
A: It's always fun to imitate players [on the scout team]. I'd say that one of the players I love imitating the most is Tracy Smith because I have a lot more freedom on the court. He's a post player and his game is similar to my mid-range game and a wide array of post moves. Whenever I get to be him it's kind of like just being myself out there.
Q: What is the best memory of your high school career?
A: One memory that always sticks out is of working in the offseason with my teammates prior to my senior year and getting into the best shape we possibly could. I remember the coach had us wear weight vests while we were running. Even during running suicides, I'd be running with a 25-50 pound weight vest on in the heat of the summer. Not exactly the best experience in the world but it sticks out more than any others.
Q: What is the best memory of your Wake Forest career?
A: New memories come every single day. I'd have to say my first year with the team was definitely a cool experience since everything was so new, especially when we got into the NCAA Tournament. Before then I had always watched it on TV and had never thought I'd actually be able to be on a team that was actually in the tournament so that was a great experience; especially when one of my teammates last year, [Ishmael] Smith made the game-winning basket to get the win over Texas. That was definitely a great experience.
Q: What do you see yourself doing after basketball is finished?
A: Right now I see myself going to graduate school. I'm trying to get my master's in management here at Wake Forest. I can't really think of a better school to continue my education. If everything goes well, I'll be attending Wake Forest again next year to get my master's, and from then on the sky is the limit.
