start of last season<\/a>, Victor Wembanyama said playing defense was \u201cnon-negotiable\u201d as a Spur. With Quaintance joining the backcourt, it feels like the team added another player fully aligned with that same philosophy.<\/p>\n\u201cI feel like we\u2019ll really be able to shrink the floor and make it hard to score in the paint,\u201d\u00a0Quaintance, 18, said when asked what the Spurs\u2019 defense will look like with him and Wemby playing together. \u201cUse our long wingspans to our advantage. I feel like it will be a great combination.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Along with anchoring the defense alongside Wemby, Jayden Quaintance is looking forward to connecting with the Alien off the court, too.<\/p>\n
Kiko Martinez for MySA<\/p>\n
Off-Court Games: Along with anchoring the defense alongside Wemby, Quaintance is looking forward to connecting with the Alien off the court, too. Like Wemby, he\u2019s a big fan of chess. His favorite chess piece is the knight, which he likes for the \u201cdifferent tricks and tactics that you can pull off with it.\u201d So, has he had a chance to get any games in yet in San Antonio? \u201cI\u2019ve heard a lot about chess so far,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019ve already gotten to play against some people on the staff, so that\u2019s been fun.\u201d<\/p>\n
Feeling Old Yet?: At Arizona State and Kentucky, Quaintance wore No. 21. He won\u2019t be keeping it in San Antonio, however, since the number is hanging in the rafters in honor of Spurs legend Tim Duncan. \u201cThey cut that off quickly, I\u2019m not gonna lie,\u201d Quaintance said with a laugh about any ideas he had to keep his college number. \u201cAs soon as I got drafted, they were like, \u2018Here are a couple of number options that you\u2019ll have.\u2019\u201d Asked who his favorite Spur was growing up, he offered an answer that was both innocent and unintentionally revealing of the generational gap. \u201cProbably Tim Duncan,\u201d he said. \u201cI feel like he was my grandfather\u2019s favorite player.\u201d I\u2019ll take \u201cWays to Make Me Feel Extremely Old for $100,\u201d Alex.<\/p>\n
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Tarris Reed Jr., center from the University of Connecticut, was acquired via trade from the Denver Nuggets at No. 26.<\/p>\n
Kiko Martinez for MySA<\/p>\n
Who is Tarris Reed Jr.<\/p>\n
The Spurs initially held only one first-round pick (No. 20) in the draft, so it said a lot when they moved back into the first round to acquire Reed\u00a0Jr. at No. 26 in a deal with Denver. As a backup center at UConn, Reed Jr. averaged 9.6 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game and shot 67% from the field.<\/p>\n
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\u201cTo play in such a prestige, elite, legendary organization \u2026 is a blessing,\u201d Reed Jr., 22, said. \u201cYou get to really feel the city and the support system. [I\u2019m] just ready to go!\u201d<\/p>\n
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As a backup center at UConn, Tarris Reed\u00a0Jr. averaged 9.6 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game and shot 67% from the field.<\/p>\n
Kiko Martinez for MySA<\/p>\n
UConn Connection: Although they never shared the court at UConn, Reed Jr. said Spurs guard Stephon Castle reached out after the draft to welcome him to San Antonio. \u201cJust knowing I\u2019ve got another fellow UConn Husky to play alongside this year is gonna be pretty special,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019ll definitely talk about some cool, crazy, funny [coach Dan] Hurley stories \u2013 or things we both went through in that program.\u201d<\/p>\n
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During the second round, the Spurs selected Ja\u2019Kobi Gillespie, guard from the University of Tennessee, at No. 42.<\/p>\n
Kiko Martinez for MySA<\/p>\n
Who is Ja\u2019Kobi Gillespie<\/p>\n
At 6\u20191, Gillespie is now the second-shortest player on the roster behind Jordan McLaughlin (5\u201911), but his frame doesn\u2019t reflect his toughness. Originally from Tennessee, Gillespie spent two seasons at Belmont before transferring, with one-year stops at Maryland and Tennessee.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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\u201cHaving athleticism [and] being strong and having heart,\u201d Gillespie, 22, said when asked what he brings to the court as a small guard. \u201cI\u2019ve always been the smallest player, so I think growing up like that kind of got me ready to play at a higher level.\u201d<\/p>\n
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\u201cJust throw it up there,\u201d Ja\u2019Kobi Gillespie said grinning when asked if he\u2019s envisioned feeding the ball to the Alien.<\/p>\n
Kiko Martinez for MySA<\/p>\n
Feeding the Alien: During his time at Tennessee, Gillespie compiled the best assists average and the most total assists (201) by a one-year Tennessee player. It could be a perfect pairing for a guard looking to lob up some easy baskets to Wemby. \u201cJust throw it up there,\u201d Gillespie said grinning when asked if he\u2019s envisioned feeding the ball to the Alien. \u201cThat\u2019s what it looks like.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Maliq Brown, forward from Duke University, was selected by the Spurs at No. 44.<\/p>\n
Kiko Martinez for MySA<\/p>\n
Who is Maliq Brown<\/p>\n
Originally from Virginia, Brown started his college career playing ball at Syracuse University in 2022. After two years, he transferred to Duke where he was voted ACC Defensive Player of the Year, ACC Sixth Man of the Year and ACC All-Defensive Team.<\/p>\n
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\u201cDefense is always where I would hang my hat,\u201d Brown, 22, said, adding that he knows he\u2019ll be able to match the Spurs\u2019 defense-first mentality. \u201cThey\u2019re a very gritty team.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Maliq Brown is looking forward to soaking up as much knowledge as he can from all the players who epitomize the Spurs\u2019 culture.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kiko Martinez for MySA<\/p>\n
Learning from Legends: Brown was excited to meet Spurs\u2019 legends Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili when he arrived in San Antonio. He\u2019s looking forward to soaking up as much knowledge as he can from all the players who epitomize the Spurs\u2019 culture. \u201cJust picking their brain,\u201d he said when asked about learning from the legends. \u201cJust asking them different questions, not just about basketball [but] about being a human on and off the court. Just being a better person.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The San Antonio Spurs introduced their newest rookie class to the media at the Victory Capital Performance Center…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":351527,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[87602,87603,820,82,84,83],"class_list":["post-351526","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-antonio","tag-mysasports","tag-mysaspurs","tag-mysastaff","tag-san-antonio","tag-san-antonio-headlines","tag-san-antonio-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/351526","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=351526"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/351526\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/351527"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=351526"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=351526"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=351526"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}