ZS: Judging by your film Dylan, it's clear you have the potential to be a dual threat guard who plays both sides of the ball. How would you describe your game?
DA: First and foremost I am an attacker. I pride myself on being a guy who can really slash and get to the rim. With my strength and scrappy nature, I am able to finish with either hand inside.
I also pride myself on playing an unselfish style of basketball. Therefore, I am able to read the defensive schemes and hit the open man. By picking up on my teammates' tendencies and understanding their skill-set, I'm able to playmake with the ball. I really like to cater to their strengths when I am controlling the game.
ZS: How did you develop the natural ability to knife into the rim with such ease?
DA: Honestly, I have been playing basketball since I was 11 in the UK. I stuck with it and wound up representing my city (Birgmingham) as one of the area's top-tier guys.
I always looked to penetrate and score on the big guys at the rim, because that's how I grew up playing.
That's a challenge I presented myself with early on. Beating guys off the dribble and using my strength to fend them off on my takes to the rim, there is a certain challenge I embrace in it all.
ZS: Despite growing up in the UK, it seems you have knowledge of the American game and a skill set which aligns with the American style of play? How did this all develop?
DA: Really I think watching old school NBA guys and developing a passion for their style is what molded me as a player.
I watched plenty of film on NBA guys like Steve Nash, who was a supremely gifted passer who really knew how to spark the attack.
I watched guys like Mark Jackson in his Knicks heyday.
Man, he played with such a swagger and a tenacity it was something his teammates just seemed to feed off of. I try to emulate that in how I play the game.
I also watched a lot of Reggie Miller, who was extraordinarily clutch. His killer instinct and mental fortitude under pressure really intrigued me. I remember when he scored eight points in about nine seconds against the John Starks and Patrick Ewing-led Knicks back in 1995.
He was just a special, uber clutch player. All of these guys intrigued me growing up.