Stanford University's Official Athletic Site - Men's Basketball

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Casey Jacobsen

Peter Tovar (Los Angeles, CA)
Congratulations on your season so far! After having a hot hand againstWashington State, you cooled off considerably against Washington. Is this afatigue factor? How do you cope with days when shots just don't seem tofall in? By the way, keep up the defensive intensity!

Casey Jacobsen: It definitely wasn't a fatigue factor. As a shooter, there are nights whenthe basket seems huge and there are nights when the basket seems like it'sa little thimble up there and you're trying to shoot the ball into it. Thething that I try to do is take it to the basket more often when my shot'snot falling, and I didn't do that as well as I have in the past in theWashington game, and I think that's why I didn't score as much.

Irina (New York, NY)
Stanford is No. 1 in the nation now. Have you ever thought that you wouldsomeday play for a No. 1 team?

Casey Jacobsen: No, I never did. Of course not (smiling). Obviously it's every kid's dream,but to tell you the truth I didn't even know if we were going to be rankedin the top 25 at the start of the year. Now that we're No. 1, I'msurprised. It's an honor. People always ask, do you want to be No. 1? Is ittoo much pressure? I say, no, bring it on. It's always nice to beconsidered at the top of your competitive level.

Warren Swanson (Redding, CA)
Casey, my daughter, who is a sophomore at Stanford, told me about yourpre-game ritual of taking a one minute reflective moment in the corner ofthe court. What are you thinking during that time? I want to thank you forthat metaphor of life. You have inspired me. Whenever I get a little downI'm going to take a "Casey Jacobsen" moment in the corner of the "court"and reflect on how truly fortunate I am.

Casey Jacobsen: Wow. That's nice. I take a moment and I just stand on the baseline and Ilook around. My favorite time to do that is when we play at Maples. I do iton the road too, but my favorite is to take that moment at Maples and lookaround. I glance at the Sixth Man and just enjoy their enthusiasm --they're so excited to be here, to be watching the game and to be watchingus. All these people that pay money to come see us. I feel so fortunate tobe here. I feel so fortunate for the gift of basketball in my life, I justnever want to forget it. That's why I take that moment every now and then,just to remind myself how lucky I am.

Jerry (Van Nuys, CA)
Besides the athletic experience and classes, what impresses you most aboutthe Stanford "experience"? I recall the stimulation of debating with othersand a wide range of issues, and the diverse backgrounds of the studentbody. Any surprises about your education there after several months?

Casey Jacobsen: Surprises? I mean I've never worked so hard academically. Obviously whenwe're on road trips it's difficult, so I think it was surprising to me howmuch time you have to devote to stay on top of basketball and academics.What I enjoy most about Stanford is the people there. People always talkabout basketball, and how it's so popular on campus, but you know what?There are so many talented and smart people at Stanford. Everybody has onething, and basketball just happens to be my one thing, and it's just sonice to walk around and meet people who are talented in other areas besidebasketball, which I really respect.

Justin Hell (Stanford, CA)
How did it feel to score your 3,000 point in high school? As the leadingscorer on the #1 in the nation, have you thought about bolting to the NBAor do you plan on getting a degree from Stanford before you turn pro? Andfinally, do you know what you want to major in yet?

Casey Jacobsen: Scoring that many points does feel awesome. When I broke the record in highschool it was one of the best days of my life. I remember it like it wasyesterday. It was a moment I share with my family and friends at home and Idon't think I'll ever forget it. As far as the NBA, I'll cross that bridgewhen I come to it. I don't know what my future holds. I definitely want toplay in the NBA; it's definitely a goal of mine. It's possibly the nextbig, big goal that I have as far as my basketball career goes. If it'sbetter for me to leave early, I will consider it, but I want to stay andget my degree here. I want to stay four years, but if it's better for methen I'm going to work from there.

Eric Seedman (Palo Alto, CA)
I am a huge fan of Stanford Basketball. My wife & I have been season ticketholders for over 15 years, and are excited about all of the success inrecent years. You have had tremendous success in your freshman season, andI am wondering where you think your game needs the most improvement. Whatdo you plan to work on most in the off-season? Good luck with the balanceof the season!

Casey Jacobsen: There's a few things that I want to work on, that both happen to beoffensively. One, a majority of my off-season work I think will go tofree-throw shooting. I think if I were an 85-percent free-throw shooter I'dprobably be averaging 16 or 17 a game, which makes me really upset. I candefinitely help my team a lot more by making all my free throws. I'mdisappointed in my performance from there this year, and it's kind of aconfidence thing so I need to get back into a smart mentality. The secondoffensive thing I want to work on is being able to break down peopleone-on-one a little bit better. I know that will be more beneficial to meand my career in the long run, so why not start now.

Pam Reed (Fremont, CA)
What are your thoughts when you read about the seemingly increasing numberof college athletes who are being suspended or quit school because ofrules violations?

Casey Jacobsen: It disappoints me, but I understand that some kids come from backgroundswhere they need money, or they think those things are right. It's a reallyfine line. You can't judge those players for the decisions that they make.Obviously, sometimes they pay a harsher penalty than some of the thingsthat they do, but rules are rules and they apply to everybody, so I guesseverybody's got to follow them. We seem to not have a problem with therules at Stanford. Good thing.

Vanessa Smith (Palo Alto, CA)
What are your thoughts going into the March 9 game against Arizona? What doyou see yourself bringing to that game personally?

Casey Jacobsen: The game against Arizona at Stanford was one of probably my worst thisyear, so it's definitely going to be added incentive for me to play and tryto erase that horrible performance that I had here. I pretty much can'tplay worse than I did here, so it's only looking up for me. It's a hugegame, obviously. Everybody's been talking about it for the past severalweeks now. We know what we have to do. It's just going to be two really,really talented teams going at each other, and there's a lot of luckinvolved too. Whoever might be hot that night is going to win. But we havea championship mentality, and I think that game's going to really show whatwe're made of.

Michael Hopwood (Los Altos, CA)
You have obviously had a tremendous 1st year playing but what has been themost difficult part about your first year @ Stanford?

Casey Jacobsen: The most difficult part is coming to work day-in, day-out, going to schoolday-in, day-out. There is no break. As soon as basketball season started,it started before school even began. I lift weights often and I go topractice every day and I've got classes and obviously I want to have somekind of social life. I think all that time is difficult to manage andsometimes you don't get to do things you enjoy as much, and that'sdifficult for me. I like to relax, have fun often, and I haven't really hadthat off time yet, so that's been saddening for me.

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