This week, the Clarion sat down with basketball player Duke Douglas.

Q: When and how did you begin playing basketball?
A: When I was five my dad took me to the park, they had peewee basketball and I started playing that.
Q: When did you start playing competitively?
A: I started playing school ball when I was in the fourth grade. I played club ball in a league, too.
Q: What capacity did you compete in during high school?
A: I played club ball in the summer and I played school ball in the winter. Club is how you get recruited for basketball.
Q: Was your high school career successful?
A: Yes. I was captain my senior year. I was the MVP for the city’s small school division senior year and I was on the state’s All-Star team.
Q: Why did you choose DU?
A: I came to DU because it’s a good school and I really liked it when I came to visit, so then I signed and came here.
Q: How was your freshman year?
A: Freshman year season was uneventful for me. I was redshirted, which means I didn’t play, I only practiced. I eventually found my spot on the team. It was good because I got practice and now I get an extra year to play.
Q: How was this season different from last?
A: This year we weren’t as good of a team for whatever reason. Maybe our competition was better, but the team struggled. We just have to make transitions from here.
Q: What was your season highlight?
A: I had an offensive rebound at one of the conference games and that sealed the deal for us. It wasn’t that big of a deal, but it was for me.
Q: What do you see in terms of personal and team improvement moving forward?
A: Personally, I just have to get better with my offensive game and my defensive one-on-one game. As a team, we have to be better and be more decisive, especially when the game is on the line.
Q: What do you do to get pumped before a game?
A: I usually take a 30-minute nap, then I eat a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and I listen to Meek Mill.