SAUL LOEB/Arizona Daily Wildcat UA junior shooting guard Salim Stoudamire earned Pac-10 Player of the Week honors after averaging 27 points per game during the Wildcats' pair of home wins last week.

Stoudamire torches Trojans, Bruins

The Pacific 10 Conference named UA shooting guard Salim Stoudamire its Player of the Week after the junior posted back-to-back impressive outings during Arizona's blowout wins over Southern California and UCLA. Stoudamire scored 22 points against the Trojans Thursday before hitting for a career-high 34 against the Bruins on 12-of-17 shooting from the floor and 7-of-9 from the 3-point arc. The Wildcat sharpshooter sat down with the Wildcat to provide some insight on what makes No. 20 tick.

Wildcat: You're heading home to Oregon this weekend. Do you have a lot of family and friends coming to the games?

Stoudamire: Yeah, I'm excited to go. I haven't played well there, so I want to change that.

Wildcat: Last year you had three (points) against Oregon State and six at Oregon. What do you think you have to do this time to change that?

Stoudamire: I don't think I was aggressive.

Wildcat: You've been pretty aggressive the last few games. It seems like you're driving to the basket more instead of just pulling up for shots, trying to take more of a leadership role.

Stoudamire: I've been the key guy here for a couple years now, and I've been through some things that other people haven't. I just have to pull them through situations that are foreign to them that I've already been through.

Wildcat: Is that the difference for you between the last three games and before?

Stoudamire: I think before I was always worried about what the coaches were saying, and it would kind of mess up my head while I was out there. I would be one-dimensional and shoot 3s and stuff, but lately I've just stopped listening to them and have been playing (laughs).

Wildcat: It's been well documented that (NBA guard) Damon Stoudamire is your cousin. Was he one of the biggest basketball influences on your game? Who else has influenced you on the court?

Stoudamire: Damon was really influential to me, but when I was coming up I always watched Michael Jordan. He's always been my favorite player. I would memorize all the words to his videos and stuff and then go try to imitate him.

Wildcat: One of the Wildcat writers said you changed shoes before the game against USC. He said you changed to a pair of '97 Jordans or something like that. Is there anything to that?

Stoudamire: (Laughs) You can't wear the same shoes for the whole season, man.

Wildcat: What do you guys do on the road to have fun and relax? It seems like it's so serious during games. I saw a bunch of the guys walking around Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco during the Bay Area trip, having fun. How do you guys cut loose on the day between games on road trips?

Stoudamire: Well, if people have family there, they usually go out with them. And if it's a place where there's stuff to do, we'll definitely go out. So it just depends on the atmosphere and if you can spend time with family.

Wildcat: Does winning Pac-10 Player of the Week mean much?

Stoudamire: No. Not at all. I don't care.

Wildcat: What is your actual goal this season?

Stoudamire: Of course, to win a national championship.

Wildcat: What makes this team different than teams in past seasons, to be able to win a title?

Stoudamire: I think we play together more.

Wildcat: How?

Stoudamire: I think the last couple years, certain individuals ÷ I'm not going to name any names ÷ they always wanted to be heroes, and with this team, a different guy can be a hero each game. It's not like I have to be the hero or he has to be the hero. Anyone.

Wildcat: People say you don't like to smile. I can't say it's something reporters see that often, either. What does it take to make you smile, or to look like you're having fun?

Stoudamire: When people don't sweat me about not smiling. I've got to be comfortable around the person to smile and laugh about stuff.

Wildcat: You aren't the most public player on your team. Is there anything you want the public to know about you, or about you and your teammates?

Stoudamire: That we're regular people, too. It's cool to have positive things said about you because of basketball, but we have lives outside basketball, too.

Wildcat: So you don't like the attention sometimes?

Stoudamire: It's another reason why I think I'm humble. I don't need the attention to like what I'm doing. A lot of other (athletes) think they're better just because they can play sports. It's not like that. I'd rather have somebody judge me from the inside.