University of Georgia Athletics
Quick Chat: Nicolas Claxton
February 01, 2019 | Men's Basketball, The Frierson Files
By John Frierson
Staff Writer
When Nicolas Claxton sits down in one of the comfy chairs in the front room of the Georgia men's basketball offices, it's striking just how little of the 6-foot-11 sophomore's long and lean frame is actually in the chair.
The Bulldogs' do-it-all forward, often a point-forward these days, Claxton's numbers this season are dramatically different from his freshman year when he was a complementary player off the bench most of the time. Claxton, the song of former Bulldog big man Charles Claxton, is second on the team in scoring and leading the Bulldogs in minutes, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks.
During a recent Quick Chat, Claxton talked about playing with his dad, handling his increased role this season and much more. Here's some of what he had to say:Â
Frierson: If you could be great at any other sport just for one day, to experience what it was like, what sport would you choose?
Claxton: I would definitely say football, because besides basketball that's my favorite sport. I would love to be able to tee it up between the hedges.
Frierson: Would you be a receiver?
Claxton: Yeah, I'd be a big-bodied receiver. I used to play football but I stopped playing and decided to focus on basketball in the fourth grade.
Frierson: What other sports did you play besides basketball and football?
Claxton: It was just football and basketball, really. I played soccer when I was really young, but that was brief.
Frierson: AÂ guy with your size and athleticism could probably be a star in soccer. I'm thinking about all the corner kicks sent your way that you could head in for goals.
Claxton: I'd probably be a goalie if I played soccer now.
Frierson: What were the one-on-one games with your dad like? I've got to imagine that they got pretty competitive and intense as you grew up into the player that you are today.
Claxton: My last time playing him, I think, was in the 10th or 11th grade, and we played and I was winning and he stopped playing. He said his hamstring started hurting, and that was our last time playing. I never got to play against him again after that.
Frierson: Was that your first time beating him?
Claxton: Yeah, that was my first time beating him. I was a little bit too quick for him, I had a little bit too much skill. That was the first victory, right there.
Frierson: Do you ever bring that up to him?
Claxton: Oh, yeah, I'll ask him about it. He still says it was his hamstring so we had to stop playing. Technically, I never got to actually beat him.
Frierson: Now that you're well into your sophomore year, what do you know now that you wish you'd known when you first got to college?
Claxton: I would say, maybe just time management, as far as academics and making sure you're doing a good job of balancing everything. What people don't see a lot of times is everything that goes into what we do, whether it's tutoring — throughout the week our days are pretty much packed, from 8 o'clock in the morning to 10 o'clock at night. It can really be like a full-time job, so doing a really good job of managing your time is very important.
A lot of times fans just see us going out there playing; they don't see all the work, all the hours that we put in behind the scenes.
Frierson: What about other athletes and other sports, who have you seen that's really impressed you? You can walk be and see that the GymDogs are doing pretty much every day.
Claxton: The sports here are amazing and we're all like mentoring together. The gymnasts, when I see what they do and going to their meets, that's an extremely impressive sport and I know that takes a lot of practice. And, of course, football, just watching them and seeing the success they've had, it really motivates us to try to do better.
Frierson: How do you not get tired? With everything you're doing on the court this season, it seems like it would be taking a pretty heavy toll on your body. Have you had to manage your body differently this season?
Claxton: Yeah, definitely. My workload has increased big-time from last year to this year and I'm just making sure I stay hydrated and putting the right things in my body before the game and throughout the week. That's something that's big and that's something that I'm trying to focus on more as we're starting to get deeper into SEC play. I'm just making sure I'm putting the right stuff into my body.
Frierson: If you could steal one move from a past or present NBA player, what are you stealing?
Claxton: I would say Dwyane Wade's pump fake, just how he gets people off balance and gets them off their feet, and sometimes he gets and-ones. That's one move that I would like to have.
Frierson: Who is somebody that inspires you on a daily basis?
Claxton: I would say both of my parents, just the way that they raised me. I feel like they did a great job raising me and molding me into the young man that I'm becoming.
(This Q&A was lightly edited for length and clarity.)
John Frierson is the staff writer for the UGA Athletic Association and curator of the ITA Men's Tennis Hall of Fame. You can find his work at: Frierson Files. He's also on Twitter: @FriersonFiles and @ITAHallofFame.
