00:00Really excited to jump on the Rude Guest Hotline and welcome in Will Riley from the Washington Wizards.
00:05Will, thank you so much for making time for us, man. How are you doing?
00:08Hi, how are you guys? Thank you.
00:10We're doing well, man.
00:11Dude, I gotta say, I'm a born and raised D.C. kid.
00:15I've rooted for the Bullets, the Wizards organization my whole life.
00:18And I know you guys aren't getting the results you want in the win-loss column,
00:22but just as a fan, I am really enjoying watching you guys play.
00:26And watching your development over this season has been awesome, man.
00:30How are you feeling about where your team is and where your game is?
00:35I feel like we're in a really great spot, honestly.
00:37I feel like all of us are growing. We're all young.
00:40We got a lot of development, good floor balance.
00:43So I feel like we got a lot of room to grow and, you know, bright future ahead.
00:49Played 40 minutes last night, 4 of 8 from 3.
00:53That, you know, that Pistons team you're playing is pretty darn good.
00:56But what's it like being part of this young core with Trey and Saar and Bub and Bilal
01:02and, you know, just all the young guys that are kind of coming together?
01:07Yeah, honestly, it's really good.
01:09I think it helps my development especially.
01:11I feel like having a bunch of younger guys on a team is very good
01:15so we can grow together and learn together.
01:17And we can just pick up little things together.
01:20We're not in this alone.
01:23We all have each other's Dax and Leon, so it's good.
01:26It looks like you all have a lot of fun together,
01:28but you can also see that little competitive edge.
01:31Do you notice that as well?
01:34Yeah, we're all competitors at the end of the day.
01:37We all want to win.
01:38So right now we're just competing, striving for greatness, all of us.
01:44So, you know, it's a good group for sure.
01:47So as much fun as you're having with the young guys
01:50and understanding he's working his way back from injury,
01:53what's it like for you to play with Trey Young now?
01:55I mean, how crazy was it when you heard that news
01:58and now that he's a part of the squad?
02:01Yeah, no, it was really crazy, you know,
02:04seeing him get traded to our team and stuff like that.
02:09I feel like he opens a lot of, you know, opportunities for all of us.
02:14Yes, he attracts so much attention on the floor.
02:17So it just is very easy to play with him.
02:20He's a very good playmaker.
02:21He'll find you.
02:22He's a really good leader slash role model.
02:26So he's just been helping me with my development especially.
02:29And, you know, he's just a really good teammate.
02:31Well, you know, as a fan, as media people,
02:34we look at the team and we understand how they're trying to rebuild this thing.
02:39The players, though, see it totally different than us.
02:42What's been your mindset as they began to tear down and try to build back up?
02:48Yeah, I feel like we all have a – all of us have a winning mindset.
02:53We're all competitors and we want to win.
02:55So just growing and learning together has been the biggest key for us.
03:01We've got great chemistry already.
03:03We've only been with each other for not that long.
03:05So it's amazing to see us build.
03:08And, you know, what we're building here in Washington is special.
03:12Talking with Wizards forward Will Riley here on the Rude Guest Hotline.
03:17Will, you've been cooking really since the All-Star break, averaging 14 per game.
03:22Has something clicked for you or is it just more opportunity?
03:26What has gone well for you?
03:29Yeah, I feel like it's a mix of both, opportunity and confidence, that type of stuff.
03:34Just grasping a feel of how the NBA works, knowing where you're going to find your shots,
03:39knowing the spots you're going to be able to get to.
03:42And watching a lot of film with my trainer and stuff like that has helped me a lot too.
03:48Yeah, just I'd say a big key in watching film is just figuring out what spots to get to
03:54and reading other guys' tendencies.
03:57So just little things like that help you get along with.
04:00Well, when you leave from college, you go to the pros, no matter which sport it is,
04:04you have a particular mindset of what you think something is.
04:07What's been the thing that's been the biggest difference that you thought was
04:11and now you find out it's totally different since you've been here with the Wizards?
04:16Yeah, I feel like I knew the guys were going to be a lot bigger, more athletic coming into the
04:21NBA.
04:22So come to find out that was true.
04:28But, yeah, so just having to get more size onto me and eat a lot more,
04:33work on my diet and stuff like that has been helping me a lot.
04:36And I just have so much more room to grow in that aspect, so I've just been working on that.
04:41As a pro football player, I found out that I had more time on my hands than I could think
04:46about.
04:47You all basketball, I don't know the exact way that you all practice and things of that nature.
04:51Do you have a lot of time, and how was that to try to get a hold on managing your
04:57time?
05:00Yeah, it's a lot different than college.
05:01College college, you've got school, everybody around the campus, all that type of stuff.
05:07But here it's just straight basketball.
05:09I love it.
05:10It's just all I do is think, breathe, and live basketball.
05:14So that's all I can think about all day.
05:18I have my side hobbies, but I feel like it's been good for me.
05:23That's great, man.
05:24So I'm curious.
05:25They list you 6'10", 196.
05:29You mentioned you obviously want to add weight to your frame, add muscle to your frame.
05:34I could tell you some stuff that could get you fat, because I know what I eat.
05:37But how do you...
05:39Tell it, Will.
05:40You want to be fit.
05:41I just started eating some deep-fried ribs.
05:43They're phenomenal.
05:44But that's probably not in your diet plan.
05:46But how do you go about adding weight the right way and bulking?
05:52Yeah, I could eat those deep-fried ribs.
05:54They're banging, dude.
05:55They're really good, though.
05:58But yeah, no, you just got to eat more calories than you burn.
06:02So I've just been focused on that.
06:06And yeah, I've been just trying to gain weight.
06:09I've been taking a slow approach.
06:12I don't want to do it too quickly.
06:13Just make it more natural.
06:15Well, and off-season might be helpful too, because I mean...
06:18Yeah, 100%.
06:19The amount of calories you're burning playing NBA basketball, people don't realize the speed
06:25and athleticism, unless you're...
06:27When you get to a game, especially if you get close down to the court, it's unbelievable
06:32the cardio you must be doing to your body, I imagine.
06:36Yeah, no, just playing a whole game like that, you're going to lose a lot.
06:41So having to recover after that and eat a lot after that definitely helps.
06:45When you're not playing basketball, what are some of the things that you like doing here
06:49in D.C.?
06:52I honestly haven't got around too much in D.C. to see a lot of different things.
06:58But I really enjoy it.
07:00I play the piano a lot.
07:01I love music.
07:01I love art.
07:02I love looking at art stuff.
07:03I draw, I like to juggle and stuff like that.
07:09Obviously, I play video games a little bit.
07:11So I have a bunch of different hobbies that I like to pick up, but you know.
07:15So we...
07:15You and Mikey Sanricio from the Commanders need to hook up.
07:18Mikey does a lot of music as well.
07:19Yeah.
07:20I read that your first Welcome to the NBA moment was purchasing a grand piano.
07:25Is that right?
07:26Yeah, correct.
07:28Is that with you here in D.C.?
07:30Or is that back home in Toronto?
07:32Where do you keep it?
07:34Yeah, I had a bunch of big mover guys help me bring it into my apartment.
07:40That's awesome, dude.
07:41So when you're on the piano, are you playing kind of classical stuff?
07:45Are you playing pop music, a little bit of everything?
07:47What are some of your favorite things to play?
07:51I like French music.
07:54I feel like they got good stuff over there.
07:58But, you know, I just play whatever I listen to.
08:02I don't really know how to read the music.
08:03I just listen to it and play.
08:05So do you kind of do your own thing?
08:08Yeah, that's an incredible talent.
08:11Yeah, I just listen.
08:14I just do my own thing.
08:15That's awesome, man.
08:16I like that.
08:16I also wanted to ask you, you played your college ball at Illinois.
08:20The Illini looked damn good last night.
08:23You had a game, obviously, but do you make time to try to keep up with March Madness
08:28and what your alma mater is doing?
08:31Yeah, lined up perfectly right after the game.
08:34They basically started, so I was able to watch the whole thing.
08:37It was good.
08:38That's cool, man.
08:39The other player I wanted to ask you about, and I know he hasn't played with you guys yet,
08:43and frankly I don't know if he's still in D.C. or rehabbing on his own,
08:47but I imagine for you growing up, you watched a ton of Anthony Davis.
08:52What was it like to kind of get to meet him, for him to become your teammate,
08:56and to think you guys are going to be in that front court together?
09:00Yeah, I grew up watching guys like that all the time, so it was cool to meet him,
09:10get some tips from him.
09:11Very great teammate, great person, huge work ethic, so he's a good role model for us, I feel.
09:18That's so cool.
09:19Will Riley from the Washington Wizards joining us now.
09:22Last one for me, so tomorrow night at Cap 1 Arena, you guys are welcoming the Thunder to town.
09:28Obviously defending NBA champs, the Thunder are kind of the example of building it the right way
09:35and having a young nucleus come together to emerge as a championship contender.
09:40What's it like for you to be hosting the defending champ and just knowing how good they are?
09:47Yeah, I feel like we have the same mindset coming into every game, just going to compete.
09:53Just, you know, try and win and, you know, just compete honestly.
09:56So we have that same mindset coming into each game, and we're not going to change that.
10:01Just watch the scale.
10:03I'm going to do, I'm going to watch my film and stuff like that, and, you know, same thing.
10:09All right, man.
10:10You got to get ready.
10:11Hey, Will, we really appreciate you making time, and we're excited to watch you down the stretch here, man.
10:16Good luck.
10:16All right.
10:17Thank you, guys.
10:18All right, bro.
10:18Thank you, man.
10:19Will Riley from the Washington Wizards, very, very, I mean.
10:22Lay back.
10:23Yeah, dude.
10:24That's a worldly dude, man.
10:26Yeah, yeah.
10:26Playing the piano, playing French music, you know, from Canada, goes to Illinois.
10:30Now he's in D.C.
10:32That's a young man with a lot of experience.
10:34Yeah, he can ball.
10:34He can ball, dude.
10:35He can ball, man.
10:36He has a great first job mindset.
10:38Yeah, absolutely.
10:40Yes.
10:40I really enjoyed that.
10:41Stallion, well done.
10:42Thank you to Wizards PR for connecting us with Will and getting him on the show.
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