DaytonDailyNews.com

Thurgood Marshall High School sophomore point guard Juwan Staten answered some of the DDN's questions on Thursday, Feb. 28, before Staten formally announced that he would continue his basketball career at the University of Dayton:

Q You chose Dayton over Xavier. Why?

A Basically the style of play and how comfortable I feel around the coaches, and the opportunity to step in and play as a freshman.

Q Why commit now instead of next year?

A Because I thought I'd get it out of the way and, while I'm feeling this way, I don't really think my feelings could change about Dayton. So let's get it out of the way and work to get better.

Q What are your strengths as a player?

A My strengths are my speed, quickness and my ability to run the team.

Q A lot can change by the time you sign your name on a national letter of intent. Are you worried at all about that?

A No. The only thing that I can change is to get better.

Q You play on the same AAU team as Jefferson power forward Adreian Payne. Are you going to try and lure Payne to UD?

A I'm going to put the bug in his ear and I'll say something about it every now and then. But I'm not going to try and pressure him into a situation.

Q What else attracted you to UD?

A I like the campus. It's a very nice campus and there's great academics. I want to study broadcasting. They have a nice broadcasting program. That's what I want to go into.

Q How relieved are you?

A It's a big weight off my shoulders. The recruiting process is good. It's fun and all, but after awhile, it gets kind of hectic. Once you make a decision, you can just concentrate on getting better. That's what I'll do.

Q What's one thing nobody knows about you that you'd like to reveal?

A I love cartoons. My favorite is SpongeBob SquarePants.

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2253 or cludwig@DaytonDailyNews.com