I admit, I am still getting back in the back from vacation grind and catching up on a lot of UK articles and I found an article that Larry Vaught had done where he interviewed Larry Orton, Daniel’s dad. It’s an interesting read and I have to admit, I have more interest in Orton since I am in Orlando, but I thought I would share Vaught’s interview with you since you may have missed it like I did.
Personally, I am rooting for Orton to succeed. He has a good opportunity in Orlando and has a couple of great tutors to learn from in Dwight Howard and Patrick Ewing. I was happy to see from Vaught’s interview that Howard seems to have taken Orton under his shoulder a bit and leased him a car. I know that a lot of UK fans have soured on Orton, but I always root for the misunderstood ones … so here is Vaught’s interview with Orton’s dad.
"Question: Did we ever get to see the real Daniel Orton at Kentucky? Larry Orton: “No. Hopefully maybe he can do it at the next level. He has to develop and show what his game is like and all the things he can do in a game of basketball.” Question: Was this year even more difficult mentally or emotionally than most people realized because of the loss of his mother, coming back from a knee injury and having to come off the bench in a limited role? Larry Orton: “I don’t think the playing part was all that hard mentally for him. He was just a freshman. The hardest thing was his mom and seeing how she passed away and taking that with you, and her not being here to see him play his first game and not around to do things with him or see him get drafted and all that. Just his mom not being there was hard. She was there for 18 years and then gone. I think that was the hardest thing for Daniel right there.” Question: Didn’t Daniel thoroughly enjoy his year at Kentucky, even though it was reported he said he wished he had gone to Kansas? Larry Orton: “All kids say things when things don’t go the way they want them to go. If he had played more and played well, what would he have said — Kentucky was great and the perfect place for me? “I just throw that out. All kids say things. How many kids that didn’t play this year would say Kentucky might have been a bad choice for me? Everybody has opinions, but when you let things play out and you look on down the road, you see it was a great choice. But when making emotional decisions, kids that are 19 will say things they shouldn’t.” Question: Looking back, are you still surprised that Daniel was drafted in the first round and did not stay at Kentucky at least two or three years? Larry Orton: “Yes I am. The way things happened so fast is what really got me.” Question: Will Daniel be happy in Orlando? Larry Orton: “I think anybody ought to be happy on a NBA team. I don’t care where you go. But just knowing he will make the playoffs and play against the best center in the game (Dwight Howard) every day and can talk with him is unbelievable. “The first year he might be in awe and just basically looking around and everything. He will get on a private plane that looks really nice, and here you are flying out at 1 in the morning. It will be a different deal.” Question: Is it true that Howard leased a car and gave it to Daniel to use? Larry Orton: “They take care of one another. That was really nice of Dwight. Daniel is a real good kid, too. He just has some other issues he is dealing with. Once he gets rid of those issues, Daniel will be fine.” Question: Did it surprise Daniel when Howard did that for him? Larry Orton: “I don’t know. I know him and Daniel had talked, but I don’t know. I never met Dwight Howard to know what they talked about or had planned.”"
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