UC Guard CJ Fredrick Media Day Interview
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SportsTranscript
00:00 said he only shot like four threes last year.
00:03 Would this be my first year being here?
00:05 He shoots the ball so well, and it's just surprising to me
00:07 that he only took four attempts
00:09 because we have a lot of faith in him
00:10 shooting threes this year, and he's shown in practice
00:12 that he's capable of stepping out and hitting those for sure.
00:15 Back in your hometown, what are you most excited about,
00:18 being in front of these Bearcats fans,
00:19 the place I'm sure you've experienced
00:21 growing up and being at?
00:22 Yeah, you know, I think I'm just, like you said,
00:25 most looking forward to just being home.
00:27 I'm a Cincinnati kid through and through.
00:30 I love Cincinnati, love Cincinnati sports.
00:32 So running out here Monday in front of all the Bearcat fans
00:36 and having all my family here
00:38 is going to be a really special moment for me.
00:40 You and Rayvon kind of share that bond,
00:43 knowing what it's like to play high school basketball here,
00:45 knowing what it's like to have that kind of -
00:48 that small town but still in a big-town feel.
00:50 Right, yeah.
00:51 You know, Ray and I have already pretty much,
00:52 you know, connected over that.
00:55 We've known each other for a little while, too.
00:56 Like you said, just playing sports in Cincinnati
01:00 and growing up in Cincinnati.
01:01 But, you know, definitely we can, you know,
01:03 share a little history of Cincinnati
01:05 with the other guys on the team, for sure.
01:06 Coach Miller kind of emphasized
01:08 on how this is one of your first healthy off seasons
01:10 in a couple of years.
01:11 Talk about how you're feeling heading into it.
01:13 Yeah, it's been a blessing, honestly.
01:15 I think this is my first complete off season
01:17 I've had in two years.
01:19 Been either battling a surgery
01:21 or recovering from a surgery in the off season.
01:23 So it's been big for me to have a full summer
01:26 and, you know, a full fall coming up to the season
01:29 just to be able to, you know, play live,
01:31 play 5-on-5, work out, do all those things.
01:34 So, like I said, just super blessed
01:36 to be able to be healthy through the off season
01:38 and, you know, put a lot of work in this off season.
01:40 Are you still able to improve your game
01:42 when you were going through those rehab problems?
01:45 Like, does it make it really difficult
01:47 to keep getting better when you're having to keep
01:48 running in the rehab room?
01:50 Yeah, you always try to find a way to get better,
01:53 whatever that is.
01:54 I was just limited.
01:56 You know, I was really limited form shooting when I was hurt.
02:00 You know, not a lot of moving.
02:01 And, you know, the way I play, I like to move a lot.
02:03 I like to cut. I like to shoot off the move.
02:06 So that kind of limits me with the way I play.
02:08 But, you know, I always try to find some ways
02:12 I can still get better, but, you know,
02:14 not having any restrictions while I work out
02:17 in the off season is for sure a huge help for me.
02:22 You mentioned your relationship with Coach Briggs.
02:25 How is that relationship going to evolve
02:27 during this off season?
02:28 Yeah, you know, Coach is, you know,
02:30 one of the main reasons I came here.
02:33 Also just being from Cincinnati, but, you know,
02:35 just coming in here every day and, you know,
02:38 in the off season just getting to know each other
02:39 a little bit better. You know, I love Coach Miller,
02:41 and I think it's definitely grown since I committed,
02:44 just, you know, a more strong relationship,
02:46 being able to come in here and compete
02:47 and both winning mindsets.
02:49 So it's definitely grown for sure.
02:51 What is your game fitting for the style
02:53 that you want to stand for?
02:54 Yeah, it's a free-flowing offense.
02:57 You know, I like to play in actions.
02:59 We have a lot of actions that we go off of,
03:00 you know, running transition,
03:02 just, you know, high basketball IQ players playing off flow.
03:05 And I think we have a lot of guys that, you know,
03:07 make the right reads and play the way I play,
03:09 just kind of, you know, just go with the flow
03:11 and play off action and random back screens, back cuts,
03:16 just a lot of random offense.
03:18 You've obviously been playing for a while.
03:19 If you could go back and tell your freshman self
03:22 maybe some advice or something that you'd tell
03:24 these true freshmen here at Cincinnati,
03:25 what would it be?
03:28 If I was to go back to freshman self,
03:30 I would definitely go back and just tell myself
03:34 to really, really take care of my body.
03:37 You know, coming - when I was a senior,
03:39 I could not stretch and go out and hoop and do the same thing.
03:44 But then when you get to this level,
03:46 it's - you really got to take care of your body,
03:48 extensive treatments, getting in before practice,
03:52 getting in after practice, stretching,
03:54 getting in the cold tubs, you know, all those things
03:56 that are going to make a difference
03:57 when you play 30-something games
03:59 and sometimes three games in a week.
04:02 You mentioned Rayvon a couple of minutes ago
04:04 to talk about another freshman in just the game.
04:06 What's you've been able to see from them for this offseason?
04:08 Yeah, you know, two tremendous players,
04:11 great athletes, play the game the right way.
04:14 It's been awesome just to be able to get on the court
04:16 with them and, you know, try to share
04:17 some of my knowledge with them.
04:19 They love to work.
04:20 That's the one thing I've noticed.
04:21 They love to work, and they're always willing to learn.
04:23 So, you know, when you love to work
04:26 and you're willing to learn as a freshman,
04:27 you can be pretty successful.
04:29 Lots of depth and professional versatility on this team.
04:32 How has that helped with the development
04:33 of the entire roster?
04:34 It's huge. You know, we can play -
04:37 we can play different lineups.
04:38 We can go small. We can go big.
04:42 You know, just a lot of diversity
04:45 with the length we can use and the sizes.
04:49 So, yeah, it's going to be tremendous just to have,
04:51 you know, just a deep lineup
04:52 where we can give teams different looks.
04:55 Your guys shot over 45% for an extensive stretch
04:59 in your career from beyond the arc.
05:00 Is there, like, any three-point feat
05:03 that sticks out to you either in-game in your career
05:05 or, like, maybe how many -
05:07 what's the most threes you've hit in a row in practice,
05:09 something like that?
05:10 Is there any kind of shooting feat that sticks out
05:12 that you've been able to pull off over the past few years?
05:14 Um, I think when it comes to shooting threes,
05:18 the one game I remember most, I was at Iowa,
05:22 and we played North Carolina.
05:23 It was the COVID year.
05:25 And it was - I was, like, five for seven from three.
05:29 My buddy Joe Weiskamp was, like, six for eight from three.
05:32 My other buddy Jordan Mohanan was, like,
05:34 six for eight from three.
05:35 Like, we were just - we just shot an insane clip from three.
05:38 I think we had, like, 20-something threes
05:40 between the three of us. It was - it was insane.
05:43 But that's one that stands out.
05:45 And Coach West, do you see any similarities
05:47 to Coach Califari and Coach McCaffrey?
05:50 Yeah. You know, a lot of those teams -
05:54 it's been an easy transition
05:55 because a lot of those teams play fast - fast tempo.
05:58 And, you know, coaches kind of the same way.
06:00 You want to get out and run and, you know, play free.
06:02 So, yeah, definitely some similarities.
06:04 You mentioned having a lot of family and friends
06:07 for the home opener on Monday night.
06:08 Do you have an estimate of how many fans and friends
06:10 are going to be there for your homecoming?
06:13 So -
06:14 Full section?
06:16 I - I get four tickets.
06:18 So I'll have - that'll be my mom, my dad,
06:20 my fiance, my grandma.
06:23 And then my uncle has, like, four season tickets.
06:26 So that'll be taken care of.
06:27 And then my cousins are coming, which is - that's six of them.
06:31 And then I have four or five friends coming.
06:34 So that's - that's, like, 20 - close to 20 right there.
06:37 So it's going to be close to 20 night one.
06:40 Being a Cincinnati kid,
06:42 what does the CrossTown shootout mean to you?
06:45 Yeah, I've been asked this question a lot
06:47 since I've been back.
06:48 That's the one thing, you know, people love to talk about
06:51 is the Crosstown shootout.
06:52 And, you know, it's - it's unique for me
06:54 because I have so many great memories
06:56 growing up with that rivalry.
06:57 You know, I remember the big thing in my family
06:59 was my dad would always -
07:01 the treat would be on Crosstown shootout night,
07:03 he would bring Skyline home and we would watch the games.
07:05 And just wars, absolute wars.
07:09 So I'm - I'm super excited to play in that.
07:10 You know, it's a big deal for the city of Cincinnati
07:12 and Cincinnati fans.
07:14 You know, so hopefully we can teach some of the guys
07:17 a little bit about the rivalry.
07:18 I sure have a lot that I remember.
07:20 But super excited for that one.