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GOLD AND BLACK ILLUSTRATED VOLUME 28, ISSUE 2 19 INDIANAPOLIS — By the second game of the regular sea- son, Caleb Swanigan had already established himself as part of the Trailblazers' rotation. The forward was the fourth player of the bench for Portland Oct. 20, when the Trail- blazers played the Pacers in Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Before the game, he talked about his journey from Purdue to No. 26 overall draft selection to rookie in Portland. Q. What's it been like, since getting draft in June to making your debut in October? Swanigan: "It's all a lot of change right away and you have to get acclimated quickly. But things have settled down now that it's the regular sea- son and been a lot better." Q. What was it like checking in to your first game at Phoenix? Swanigan: "It was exciting to be on the floor and help the team. We already had a lead, so you go in with the mindset to keep the lead and keep pushing it." Q. Damian Lillard has said you were one of the most impressive players he saw in the preseason. What's it mean to have an All- Star say that about you? Swanigan: "It means a lot. Game recognizes game, just having early on and people recognizing my ability to play is huge for me." Q. How have you adapted you game and what are the biggest differences between the Big Ten and now, playing in the NBA? Swanigan: "Playing with high-level players and high-level guards, guys like Damian and C.J. (McCollum), who can really get the ball in the basket. I hav- en't played with an attack-first guard often, so that's different for me. I'm helping to get those guys open con- sistently, with different opportuni- ties in different (parts) of the game." Q. Is it surreal that you're now playing in the NBA? Swanigan: "It's very surreal. It's exciting. I can't wait to continue playing. It's fun. I'm having fun and getting paid to have fun, so I hope that never stops." Q. What is translation for you, from Purdue to this level? Swanigan: "A lot of what Coach Painter teaches, with the down, (isolations), players getting on top of screens, it's a lot of stuff that you see in the pro game. He does a good job of always learning and watching the pro game and seeing what they're doing and implementing it to the college game." Q. That's a big part of what you're doing now, according to Portland coach Terry Stotts. He says you've made improvements there. Swanigan: "Yeah, Coach (Jack) Owens, who is now at (Miami) Ohio. He was on me every day my freshman year. They'd take me out of games late and Id get frustrated and you could either get bitter or get better and I'd just sit there and watch film with Coach O and Coach (Bran- don) Brantley and all those guys and figure out what I was doing wrong and how I could get on the floor at the end of games." Q. Do you feel good about the impact you've made her early? Swanigan: "Getting into an NBA game as a rookie is a good starting point for anybody. There's a lot of guys who are try- ing to fight to get into the league. There's a lot of a guys who did not play, so that's a good start." Q. As you reflect back, do you feel it was really wise to stay for two years of college? Swanigan: "Going into both draft processes, I was going in trying to get as much information as possible. Which Boiler Index Photo by Portland