Will

Location: San Antonio

Question: Which aspects of your background in the U.S. Air Force have translated over to the realm of Spurs head coach? Thanks for your time and more importantly your service.

Gregg Popovich: You know, I guess in the military you learn a lot about organization and teamwork. It takes a group of people to get a good result and to be successful and that certainly all carries over.

Josh

Location: San Antonio

Question: What are your thoughts on Aron Baynes? What do you expect him to contribute this year?

GP: We just expect him to start to learn the system. It’s tough to come in late in the season with what we do and know exactly how to operate, so, he’s just getting used to both the NBA and our system.

Eric

Location: Burnsville, Mn

Question: This year's defense has been better than last year's. What has changed despite personnel being the same for the most part? What’s the difference in the teams defense being better?

GP: It’s mostly focus and repitition. We made a commitment at the beginning of season in training camp that we have to become a better basketball team at the defensive end and through the teams focus and acceptance of that fact, we’ve repeated it over it over whenever we get time to practice this. They have become one of the top five defensive teams in the league rather than you know, 15th or 16th in the league like we were last year.

Austin

Location: Kingsville, Texas

Question: Who was your biggest influence in your life? Either personal or professional?

GP: A guy named Robert [Vogel] who was the dean at the college in Pomona when I was there as a coach was kind of a father figure to me in the sense that he had great demeanor, great judgment and great overall view of the world and I learned a lot about judgment and objectivity from him. He was a fine man.

Nicholas Silva



Location: San Antonio

Question: I understand that the All-Star game is more fun than serious, but how was the opportunity to coach such wonderful talents like Griffin, Paul, Durant and Bryant as part of the same team? Did you learn anything from the experience?

GP: Well no one ever expects to be in the position where you get to be in the same room with the greatest players in the world so it was both an honor and a real thrill. To see those guys all up close playing together, interacting together and to know that you were there with them will always be a great memory.

John L.

Location: USA

Question: What is your favorite city to stay in for an extra day between games?

GP: You know, it’s always a discussion with our guys between San Francisco, Chicago and New York. But, I think New York probably edges it out a little bit

Charles Park

Location: Irvine, CA

Question: With the passing of Jerry Buss, I was wondering if you could touch upon how important it is for a franchise to have an owner be on the same page with the front office.

GP: Well there can’t be any success without that and Jerry Buss was an icon in a way that he was a visionary in basketball as far as ownership was concerned and really did it the right way. He did it with class. He didn’t interfere. He was really a model in that respect we’re fortunate enough that we have the same thing here in San Antonio and there aren’t a lot of franchises that can say that. That’s where it all begins; if ownership is not sound, in a variety of ways, it can’t get done.

Dave Garcia

Location: San Antonio

Question: First and foremost thank you for four NBA championships, and your hard work and relentless dedication. My question is, who do you see on your current squad that someday might make a great future nba head coach?

GP: Well you know, we hope that everybody at some point makes a decision that’s right for them but most guys are smart enough not to get into coaching. It’s a tough business but you know, when I look at the team obviously the guys that seem to be most interested and have the greatest capacity for wanting to watch film and put practices together and have the tenacity to stick with it as a coach would probably be Manu Ginobili. But, he’s so competitive I think it would be difficult for him to become like a Michael Jordan coach. It would probably drive him crazy. Tim is too smart to do it and Tony has so many other interests that I don’t think he would want to do it so at this point there’s nobody like an Avery (Johnson) or a Vinny Del Negro or Monty Williams that jumps out at me and really shows a love for that side of it.

Bernardo Cavanagh

Location: Argentina

Question: Coach Pop, I would like to know if you think the Spurs philosophy of scouting players from all around the world, not only the NBA, has made a difference on how the other NBA teams look at foreign players now?

GP: Sure. That’s old stuff now. Everybody knows the great players all around the world. It’s very hard to hide somebody and people don’t go undiscovered so, finally, everybody realizes it’s a worldwide sport.”

Raman

Location:Edmonton, AB, Canada

Question: First of all, a warm hello from all Spurs fans in Canada. My question is, how would you say the game has changed since the Spurs won their last championship in 2007?

GP: Well not much. It really hasn’t, you know, maybe even more great perimeter players and less great big players but in general, it’s the same game.