GoDuke.com Q&A With DeMarcus Nelson

DURHAM, N.C. - GoDuke.com sat down with junior DeMarcus Nelson for a Q&A session. Nelson is Duke's lone upperclassmen on scholarship and leads the team with a 14.8 points per game average and 24 steals. Nelson talks about his pregame habits, his favorite place to study, who he would invite to his fantasy dinner, plus much more.

GoDuke.com: Do you have any Nicknames?
DeMarcus Nelson: Iceman and King Freeze.

GD: What is the most interesting class you have taken at Duke?
DN: African Drum.

GD: Where is your favorite place to study?
DN: At my place.

GD: What are your pregame habits?
DN: I like to nap, listen to music and I pray before and after every game.

GD: Why do you wear No. 21?
DN: I've worn it since the seventh grade and found out after I was already wearing it for a while that it was my dad's number, too.

GD: What is your favorite and least-favorite parts of basketball practice.
DN: I like everything about basketball practice.

GD: If you could change one rule in college basketball, what would it be?
DN: Student-athletes getting more per diem.

GD: Who is your favorite NBA Team?
DN: The Lakers.

GD: Favorite NBA player?
DN: Bobby Jackson.

GD: What about your favorite non-basketball athlete?
DN: My friends Deonna Lawrance and Jennifer Nash from the LSU and Washington track and field teams.

GD: What is your favorite movie?
DN: Bad Boys II

GD: TV Show?
DN: Entourage

GD: Actor and actress?
DN: Jamie Foxx and Megan Good.

GD: Book?
DN: R.L. Stine's Goosebumps series.

GD: Musical Artist?
DN: Lil Wayne.

GD: Food?
DN: Everything except fried chicken.

GD: What's the best way you relax?
DN: With some candles, soft music, laying in bed with a movie on.

GD: Other than basketball, what is your favorite sport to watch?
DN: Boxing and football.

GD: What is your best non-athletic talent?
DN: Writing poems and being a people person.

GD: What do you do in your spare time?
DN: Go to the movies, go shoping and spend time with family and friends.

GD: Who do you admire most in your life?
DN: My parents.

GD: Who was your childhood hero?
DN: My dad, mom and older brother.

GD: If you could pick anybody from history, who would you most like to meet?
DN: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

GD: If you could have four guests at your fantasy dinner, who would they be?
DN: Megan Good, my older brother Darnele, my best friend Warner West, Nia Long and Lisa Ray. I had to go with five, sorry.

GD: What's your favorite thing about Coach K?
DN: His passion.

GD: What is your most memorable childhood activity with your family?
DN: Weekend tournaments.

GD: What is your advice to children?
DN: Never stop believing in the things you want to do in life.

GD: What's the best advice you've ever received?
DN: Hard work pays off.