The Chicago Bulls and Great Britain forward on Cesc F�bregas's future and why he'd like to live in the film Avatar
Hi Luol how are you? Good. How you doin?
How confident are you feeling about this summer's Eurobasket qualifiers? I'm excited, we've got a young team, a very athletic team. We lack some experience but I'd say it will be fun.
Is there more pressure on you with Great Britain than when you're playing with Chicago ? with you being the man and having to carry the team? Yeah, definitely. The other difference is that in Chicago it's 82 games, here it's eight games and you've got to qualify. These are really like play-off games. Every game if you lose, it really hurts you.
You personally are one of the big reasons to be hopeful about this GB basketball team's prospects at the 2012 Olympics, but we hear you're also pretty good at football. Clearly we need some help there too, so do you think you could be persuaded to switch codes? [Chortling] I think I've got to find out exactly where my skill level is. I haven't played since I was 14. Back then when I played I was really good at it. But it's been a while so I'd really have to test where I'm at.
Small Talk envisages a role for you as a big target man to replace Emile Heskey ... I played midfield and I played striker. I kinda played a little similar to [Patrick] Vieira but a lot of times I ended up playing striker.
You're known to be a big Arsenal fan. Do you think they should sell Cesc F�bregas? I think he's going to stay. I hope he does.
You must move in the same circles ? do you ever hang out with the guys on the team? I used to but I haven't in a while. Back when [Thierry] Henry was there I knew a lot of guys on the team then, I was going to practice and stuff. But the last person I really kept in touch with was Philippe Senderos. But I haven't spoken to him in a while.
What's the worst film you've ever seen? The worst? Nobody ever remembers the worst film they ever saw.
On the contrary, in Small Talk's experience everyone does. Nobody. I remember the best, I don't remember the worst. Damn, what's the worst movie I ever saw? See ? I don't remember the name.
What's the best, then? Recently Avatar was the best I've ever seen. I wanted to go and live there. If I could find Avatar I would leave right away and go live there.
Really? Not put off by the enormous dragons, shiny panthers and hamfisted scripting? I like all that though! If I go to Avatar, I'd have some long hair, I'd connect it to the horse, I'd get on the dragon. I wouldn't need gas. Gas costs a lot of money.
Small Talk likes to hope they're paying you enough in Chicago that you don't have to worry too much about gas money. [Laughs] Yeah, but still. If I'm in Avatar I won't need no money, I won't need no credit cards.
Do you believe in aliens then? I definitely do. I believe it's a big universe, there's something out there somewhere. I think whoever reaches the other one first will probably have the better technology.
Yeah, if they get here first we're probably toast, right? Well if they get here first they'll be able to go away and come back. We won't be able to chase them.
What would you do if you were invisible for a day? Wow. I wouldn't like to be invisible for a day. But if I was ? I'd probably be up to no good. I don't know if I can even say that, but I'd be up to no good.
Spying on people? I wouldn't spy on people but ? uh ? I don't know. You know I wouldn't want to be invisible I don't think. I don't like sneaking up on people.
OK, so you don't want to be invisible, but if you could have one super-power what would it be? I always used to say when I was younger that if I had one super-power I would want to read minds. But the older I got, now I really don't want to read minds because I don't want to know what the other person is thinking.
People think a lot of bad stuff ? Maybe I'd travel through time. I would go back all the way to my ancestors and see how it really was back then. I think I would love it ? it would just show you how they had no worries back then.
What's your favourite vegetable? Man, I hate vegetables.
But you're an athlete Luol, you have to eat a lot of vegetables. No, trust me, I eat a lot of vegetables, but I hate them. It's one of those things, it's like doing sit-ups. I hate to do sit-ups, but you know you're going to look good. So my favourite vegetable ? maybe carrot? Is carrot even a vegetable.
It certainly is. Cheese or chocolate. Chocolate, for sure.
Steak or cake? Cake.
Jam or jelly? Jam or jelly? Jam and jelly are the same thing.
Bah ? Small Talk was attempting to test your British credentials after so long in the States. Nah, I go for jam innit.
Good man. Lastly, can you tell us a joke? Can I tell you a joke? Nah, I can't think of one. I really can't ? you've put me on the spot. Even though I joke a lot, I can't think of one.
How about you tell us about the best locker room prank you've seen in your time as a player? One time a rookie ? I'm not going to tell you his name ? was trying to be smart so what the vets did was they took his clothes from the locker room while he showered after the game. And you know after the game you have nothing there. The equipment guy takes everything away and you have to go out because your family's waiting. But he just stayed there for hours. Eventually the equipment guy, who had gone home, had to come back to the stadium because he just wouldn't leave.
A classic manoeuvre. Thanks for all your time Luol, good luck with the qualifiers. Appreciate it, thanks.
British Basketball and the GB Men's and Women's team are sponsored by Standard Life, the leading long term savings and investments company. Standard Life has over 6 million customers worldwide and provides an extensive range of products and services, aimed at meeting the financial requirements of customers throughout their lives.
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