March 7, 2008

Hornets.com caught up with Washington third-year forward Andray Blatche for a recent interview:

Hornets.com: You are a fixture in the Washington D.C community. What is it about giving back that interests you the most?
Blatche: I love putting a smile on people’s faces. Doing the little things like spending time with kids and giving gifts to those that don’t have much are things that I enjoy doing and makes me feel better as a person. I try to do as much as possible and reach out to as many people as I can.

Hornets.com: How do you feel about your role, having re-signed this past offseason?
Blatche: I feel good, glad to be back here with this team. Right now, we’re just trying to get healthy in getting both Caron and Gilbert back on the court and make a run in the Eastern Conference. We’ve done a nice job with them being out, guys like DeShawn Stevenson, Roger Mason to name a few have really stepped their games up, along with Antawn, who’s as steady as they come.

Hornets.com: What are your thoughts on how DeShawn Stevenson has developed this season?
Blatche: DeShawn is one of those players that can take over a game whenever he wants to. He’s a great player and is tough to guard due to his size. He’s made some big shots for us this season and I’m sure he’ll continue helping us get to where we need to get to this season.

Hornets.com: What are some things that you still feel you can improve on to make you a more complete player?
Blatche: I’d have to say my mid-range game, really my all-around game. I really never had the time to work on all aspects of my game, so I look forward to putting in work this summer and coming back strong next season.

Hornets.com: What advice would you give young bigs that are coming into the league?
Blatche: [grins] I’m not a big, what are you asking me that for? I’m not a big! I’m a point guard, OK maybe not a point guard, but I’m definitely not a big [overhearing this, teammate DeShawn Stevenson says to Blatche “Man you are trippin’!”] I’d say I’m more of a swingman (small forward). This is my first year really playing down low, but I’m not a big!