Sports Radio Interviews

Channing Frye Making the Most Out of His New Opportunity in the Valley

At one point, Channing Frye was the 8^th overall pick in the NBA Draft. Everybody knows the draft is a crapshoot and not an exact science, but when a team drafts a guy in the top ten, they tend to think they are going to get a pretty good player, if not an All-Star caliber player. However, it doesn’t always work like that and it hasn’t worked that way for Channing Frye. So far, it’s safe to say that Frye hasn’t lived up to his top-ten draft position. When he came into the league with New York, he averaged 12 points per game and nearly six boards. However, since that time, he struggled to get consistent minutes with New York and was then buried on the depth chart in Portland.

This offseason, Frye left Portland as a free agent and went back home to Arizona where he played his college ball. It looks like that was exactly the move that he might’ve needed to rejuvenate his career. While it has only been five games, the Suns are undefeated at 5-0, Frye is averaging a career-high 17 points per game and he’s splashing threes like he’s Dan Majerle out there for Phoenix. I don’t know how long he can keep up his hot start, but Channing Frye has new life in Phoenix, is now playing in a system that is perfect for him, has Steve Nash getting him the ball, and most importantly is getting consistent minutes. Frye joined XTRA 910 in Phoenix with Bickley and MJ to talk about why he chose to go to Phoenix in the offseason, dealing with adversity in his career, playing in this system and getting to play with Steve Nash.

On getting an opportunity in Phoenix:

“Yeah, I guess I do. I’ve been through a lot in my career. A lot of ups and downs. I think for me right now, I think me being back home, with the team that’s here with me, being 26 and married and just very calm about everything. I’m really just trying to take advantage of this opportunity and enjoying it for what it’s worth. I’m just taking it game by game. I know that sounds cliché, but that’s really how I think”

On why he chose to come to Phoenix:

“It was a combination of three things. It was definitely the system, how they play. Each year you can see how each player is getting better. When Amare (Stoudemire) came here he wasn’t really known for being a shooter, but now he can spot up, he can face up, he’s making moves and he’s done a great job of trying to get better at playing defense. You look at Steve (Nash) who continues to flourish here. J-Rich (Jason Richardson) did great last year, Boris Diaw, I can go down the list of players that have really nourished and flourished here that may not have had an opportunity somewhere else. For me, just talking to Grant Hill and Steve Kerr, those guys definitely influenced me a lot to come here. Coming back home doesn’t hurt. Being a hometown guy doesn’t hurt, but it does put a little bit of extra pressure on you and I kind of like that.”

On playing in the system that Phoenix plays:

“The thing is, on a lot of teams, a lot of people worry about ‘well am I going to have to create myself or am I going to have to do this tonight and can this guy guard me.’ In this system stats are based on how other people play and what they’re trying to give up that night. For us, it’s really about you get Steve open, roll hard to the basket, and make sure you give him some space so that he can throw you the ball. That makes your job easy. I don’t go into the game thinking ‘oh, I’m going to get 20 tonight or I’m going to get 30.’ I go into the game thinking defensively I need to get stops, I need to make sure I’m on the glass and I just need to give Steve and Amare their space so that they can do what they do and after that I will be all good.”

On playing next to Amare Stoudemire:

Yeah definitely. I think the fact that we can switch is huge. I think the fact that both of us run, can get the ball out, can play different positions and I think the attention he draws on offense is huge. On defense, he is really great being on that weak side and I think it takes a lot of pressure off him on the defensive end. So that he can roam around and just use that athleticism, get a bunch of blocks and get out on the break. He’s one of the fastest big guys in the league.”

On playing with Steve Nash:

“He’s the best in the league. I’ve never been around a guy like him. It’s like the guy has 1,000 eyes. He sees everything, the game moves so slow for him and you never have to worry about ‘am I going to get the rock or not.’ It’s just a matter of if you’re supposed to get the rock. Everyone trusts him. It’s just an opportunity for everybody to make things easy for ourselves and it’s really fun to play out there. I’m having a blast.”

On the chemistry of the team:

“It matters 110 percent. In my two years in Portland, we had great chemistry, but I don’t think I’ve ever been on a team like this. It’s almost like a college atmosphere where everybody does almost everything together. In training camp everybody went out to dinner. There’s never two or three guys just by themselves. It’s always seven or eight and nine and the other four had to stay back with their family but they were like ‘we wish we were there.’ It’s just like everybody understands everybody, we all get on each other like brothers and I think there’s just a respect factor there that you know that there’s three huge guys here. Amare, Steve, and Grant. Then J-Rich is right there with Leandro (Barbosa). The rest of us are just here to be complimentary players and we’re down with that. We’re ready to win. The better our record is the more everybody is going to be taken care of and the more fun it will be. There’s no reason to have egos and there’s no egos on this team. Everybody just wants to work hard and continue to get better. The fact that we can yell at each other and not take it personal just shows you the kind of chemistry that we have. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I’ve been in the league for four years, this is my fifth and I’ve never seen anything like this. For me to be here, it’s a great opportunity and a blessing.”

Tags: Bickley and MJ, Channing Frye, NBA, New York Knicks, Phoenix Suns, Portland Trail Blazers, XTRA 910