Miami Heat Guard Norman Powell Talks Adjusting to Miami & Hockey Connection

WQAM-AM / AM 560 Sports WQAM

Miami Heat Guard Norman Powell joins the show ahead of his first season in Miami! Tobin's Instagram "research" pays off when we get to the bottom of the hockey connection to AJ Greer. How is Norman adjusting to Miami? Is he prepared for hurricane season?! Will this be the year Miami brings hell to face offensively and defensively?!

Transcript

00:00how about this ladies and gentlemen norman powell stepping up to the uh to the show right now as

00:06we're excited to have him join us for the first time here on tobin and leroy as the miami heat

00:12making the uh the deal for norm this year from the la clippers and uh he's already got my favorite

00:17instagram page leroy because like he's just doing boxing all the time he's in vegas at the ufc

00:23performance center okay norman who did the ufc let me say this this he he's a fight guy yeah he's

00:29a fight guy he does dirty boxing he does it he knows all the names he can't speak english but

00:35he can pronounce every fight name perfectly nice i said norm who came up with uh working out at the

00:43ufc facility first you or kyle lowry oh my gosh uh probably kyle because he was in vegas before me

00:48okay i was wondering that i was like because we always would see kyle there and i was like oh

00:52norm's doing that too so that that became your home vegas what did uh what led you out there um well

00:57won the taxes um you know uh financially um it was better but i've always loved vegas growing up

01:03um so uh being able to go out there and uh you know um settle down and call that home um has been

01:08amazing and super chill slow key uh from what other people think of just going on a strip and partying

01:13the whole time when you're a resident's there um it's definitely a different vibe and a lifestyle

01:17well we love going out there for the fights we saw you went out for uh for crawford canelo how was that

01:22um it was amazing um it's that floor side um uh being in vegas you know a lot of the fights are

01:27out there so i've been able to see um a lot of fights um uh which is actually cool i did uh went

01:33to the sphere and the shawshan o'malley and marab oh man so uh that was cool too um i've been to a few

01:39canelo uh fights uh when he fought bevo um so uh uh it's fortunate being in vegas and uh being able

01:47to go see those fights but that turns crawford and uh canelo fight was definitely amazing

01:51see basketball players a little bit different because i stayed in i didn't know whether i

01:55where i wanted to live because i played in cleveland so i didn't know why so i picked a bunch of spots to

02:01live a summer yeah i stayed in off season in vegas but the problem is in january in december january

02:10and february the weather is miserable yeah in vegas it's cold it's windy so i didn't end up getting a

02:17place i just spent like one off season there yeah but your off season is a little bit different

02:23yeah exactly it's hot but it's hot but yeah it's cool it's peak time yeah so i don't know that though

02:29that vegas is super cold cold windy it rains like you want to talk about it's like if it rains for like

02:37five minutes in vegas they act like a hurricane came through like category five it rains two inches

02:44the um the sewage system there is yeah so it floods and everything right it's crazy it was crazy

02:50so uh i mean just what is it in your first uh reaction to being in miami man like what have been

02:54the been the uh the first things that have popped out of you being down here um i need bug spray

02:58the humidity is crazy so it brings out a bunch of mosquitoes and things like that so um no but uh

03:08it's been great um you know just being here uh meeting the guys getting uh uh situated getting a

03:13lay of the land um you know everybody's been so welcoming um i'm just excited to get going i'm excited

03:19for training camp i'm excited for the year um i think we have a great opportunity ahead of us i think

03:24we've got a great group of guys that are hungry and ready to prove themselves um especially the young

03:28guys um i think we have um experience um you know top to bottom from veterans from me wigs bam

03:34who have been through it um and know what it takes and uh is ready to go out there and um uh you know

03:40be a team that uh uh people don't want to see um offensively and defensively um a team that's a

03:47a top team in the east going into the playoffs yeah from your standpoint uh you know i know you said

03:54when this initially happened there was a bit of a shock to your system but like when did it settle in

03:57like that you were genuinely excited about the opportunity because you go from a team that was

04:01very good in la and you're having an amazing year there and now you have kind of this new thing in

04:05front of you did that take a minute to settle into your mind and then like when did it go into

04:10excitement yeah um yeah the initial just just like what you said you know you're coming off uh the best

04:15year of your career you know um you're talking to a team about contracts extensions and then you get

04:20traded um but i think um the moment i got back because i was traded in venice um when i was on

04:26vacation uh when i got back uh during summer league and uh my first uh weekday monday uh for my

04:33workouts coach bro brought you know front office uh coaching staff um out there to watch my workouts

04:38and that's when it like really officially like settled in uh where i was like i'm here you know

04:43and um uh hearing them and talking to them and just hearing them on the sidelines of me uh watching

04:48they're watching the workouts and i'm going through my workouts you know and they're talking about

04:51different things and excited you know it was a great workout for me too so um that was a plus

04:56but uh that's when it like kind of like hit me that like i'm here and uh there's a great opportunity

05:00in front of me and they're excited to have me um and that's when the excitement really started to

05:04kick in could you move any farther away from where you were too i know it's great like it's it's a uh

05:11i don't think i've ever had to go that far but is that a big you know like a change like you just

05:18talking about the bugs and humidity like you spend your whole life until unless you travel

05:23against another team you ain't dealing with humidity in la or in vegas and then you come

05:28here it's like yeah i think it's just getting used to it again because uh my first couple years i was

05:33in toronto that was different because i came out of college so you know you don't expect but um you

05:38know getting back uh to la you know your socal kid family's there everybody's able to come to games

05:43holidays things like that you know and now it's a big shift from that you're being comfortable in

05:48that little box right there i can go to vegas i can go to san diego i can go back up to la

05:51right um now coming all the way back to the east coast um you know being away from family and missing

05:56those special moments that you used to you used to miss and you got the chance to experience again

06:00going back to missing them i think that's going to be a little bit of a change but um it comes with

06:04the territory and a job um uh but yeah i think that's the biggest uh change that i gotta uh get used to

06:10again i gotta ask you about a south florida sports connection because we've been noticing this i'm boots on

06:13the gram right how does your relationship where does it come from with aj greer from the panthers

06:20what that seems like such a random connection i'm trying to figure that one out what what is the

06:25the deal there oh yeah we both uh attended a program with fanatics um and they had this athlete

06:30immersion uh into business um where uh they took some players from uh hockey um basketball i believe

06:39the nfl yeah because i met todd girly there um and we uh had it was a three three four day experience

06:46and you're sitting down in these um uh workshops and uh taking these classes with different professors

06:52and in business and uh just learning how to use our brand and our uh our platform uh to get us ready

06:59uh for the business side of things post um our sports and uh he was there and we're able to talk

07:03and connect uh super cool um so now that i'm down here um hopefully we'll be able to connect again

07:09and link up and uh support each other yeah he's a pure maniac yeah i mean he's like one of these guys

07:13that just bashes everybody's face literally literally uh but yeah off the off off the ice he was super cool

07:19um they're all like that yeah it's the craziest thing right like basketball is the crazy guys are the

07:26crazy guys all the time right but football there's a little bit is a mix but hockey it's direct opposite

07:34yeah what you got to do on the ice is not who you are off the ice for sure and they're sitting there

07:38talking like when the group of them they're talking about the you know the times they've uh played and

07:42met and this and the other and the different like hits and things like that like if somebody hit me

07:46like that there's no way we're friends there's no way we're friends away from this right right

07:50before we get you out of here norman uh so that you talked about that spell meeting a little bit but

07:53like these the the early talks with spo like what what's kind of stood out to you the the plan that

07:59he's got for you how fired up is he uh and and how fired up are you for what uh what he's got for

08:03the table for i'm super excited one um to be um you know finally playing under him and um and seeing

08:08him work and his approach to the game everybody that i know that have uh come through this uh ma'am

08:13he organization has nothing but great things to say about um coach spo um and what he's able to do

08:18um his mindset and just the way he's able to manipulate the game and put guys in

08:23position for them to succeed um i'm super excited about that and then um just uh uh how he sees me

08:30uh alongside tyler i know that he's hurt but i'm being able to use both of us on both sides of the

08:35floor uh one in one corner one in the other corner uh playing off each other coming out that uh dho's

08:41uh catching shoots um being able to you know be put in different positions to to succeed um he

08:46definitely uh wants me uh focused on the defensive end as well um so i'm excited about being challenged on

08:52that side of things um but uh definitely uh opening up my offensive game and being aggressive

08:57uh being a go-to guy and guys playing you know off of me uh bam and wigs um so it's a more

09:04responsibility um but this is the responsibility that uh i've been uh looking forward to and i told

09:09him that uh he can count on me in whatever situation uh he has me and i'm ready for it and last one um

09:16saw that you were very excited that you get the opportunity to play with kalalware that's a big

09:19lob target yeah how does that chemistry develop like uh you got a great year with zubach and

09:24and everything you guys did with uh with the other like do you see that see elements of like how you

09:29can get that connection going with kalal or do you kind of feel that out in camp yeah um i think uh

09:33it's going to be uh a fill out process all year you know talking to him uh getting uh that chemistry

09:38built um it starts in camp uh you know how how i like screen set where i want him to be in the pocket

09:44uh when to roll out reading uh the level of uh the the defender uh in the screen the center that's

09:52guarding the pick and roll um and areas and spots that i want him to be in um for those lob threats

09:57uh for them pocket passes um and just playing that weak side dunker when i'm attacking and looking for

10:02those uh lobs there drop off passes it's going to be a lot of communication um staying after practice

10:08and working on a few things so we can get that timing um down so there's no moving screens for him as well

10:13um so is this going to be a development um all year long i've learned from kyle and how he worked

10:18with mercosol and serge i've learned from dame how he worked with nurk i learned from uh james and how

10:24he worked with zoo and they were able to build that connection and always finding and knowing where

10:28they're supposed to be at so having khalil and then having bam as well um in those pick and rolls

10:33and things like that being able to play through those guys will be huge for my game as well no pal

10:38welcome to miami man we're happy to have you down here appreciate it

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