Los Angeles native Nick Stover made his way to Mobile after transferring from Loyola Marymount, where he spent the first two years of his collegiate career. Following a coaching change at LMU, he headed east to get a fresh start. He spoke with USAJaguars.com and talked about sitting out this season, his family's athletic background and why he chose South Alabama.

When did you start playing basketball?
I've been playing ever since I was a little kid. My dad bought my brother and I hoops before we could even walk. He played basketball at Inglewood High School and went to college and played in the pros for a little bit so he knew the experience so he groomed us into playing basketball.

Take me through your journey to get to South Alabama
I went to high school in Los Angeles and Loyola Marymount was recruiting me. They had a coach that came to all of my games and strongly recruited me. I felt like that's who wanted me the most at the time, so I decided to go there. But after my first year there, the coach that recruited me left and things changed. My dad got in contact with a coach that knew the staff here, so I started talking with them. One thing led to another and now I'm here.

Why did you choose South Alabama?
I thought it was a good fit for me. I've always been close to home so I thought it would be good to get a culture shock and get away from home. The coaching staff here really stressed development, and that's what I like. That's what I felt I needed, especially having to transfer and sit out, I wanted to develop more and work hard.

What were you looking for in a school when you were transferring?
Somewhere I could be developed. A place where coaches could see what my capabilities are and help me maximize those abilities to the best of my potential.

How are you going to approach this season knowing you can't play in any games?
I'm going to be the best teammate I can be, give a lot of compliments, help my teammates out and push them to know what our capabilities are, what we can do on the court and help out no matter what. If I see a mistake, or whatever, talk to them, help them out and make sure the team sticks together. It's going to be tough to just sit and watch, but I'll watch it like I'm watching the NBA Finals and just root on.

How has the adjustment been coming from the West to the South?
It's a huge culture shock getting used to the weather, the heat and humidity. It's always sunny in California but we're closer to the beaches so we get the ocean wind coming through. It's tough knowing it could rain for five minutes or three hours—you just know it's going to rain and it never does that in California.

What did you know about Mobile before you came to visit?
Honestly nothing, other than it was humid and in the Deep South. I actually have a couple of family members out here in Jacksonville that are too far away. I had never visited here, but I knew I could fit in well.

You come from an athletic family—in what sports did your family members participate?
My father went to Inglewood High School, then Santa Monica College and then to Pepperdine. He went to the NBA with the Sacramento Kings but got cut and went on with life from there. My brother, Anthony Stover, went to UCLA and played for the Los Angeles D-Fenders (in the NBA Development League) and just got back from Japan. He's enjoying his summer and working hard and has a couple of countries to choose from when he goes back overseas. My sister played basketball in high school but broke her wrist her senior year and didn't get to play until the championship game, but after high school she didn't want to play anymore, so she's the manager of a Trader Joe's in Los Angeles and working on becoming a nurse. My mom was a track star in high school—she actually recently got her record broken a couple of years ago—and ran track at Pasadena City College.

How would you describe your playing style?
I'm a slasher that attacks that basket. I can shoot a little bit but I'm working on that. Over the last two years I struggled on my shooting so I just attacked the basket and rebounded.

What do you consider to be the strongest part of your game?
I would say driving to the basket. I have the ability to take one or two dribbles and get to where I need to go. If I can find a player that's open, I'm always looking to swing the ball and find the open man and get that extra pass.

What do you try to accomplish during the offseason workouts?
Getting stronger. I think I need to get a lot stronger and get more bulk on me. I'm also working on getting more consistent with my jumper and finishing at the basket stronger as well.

What do you enjoy the most of the game of basketball?
Team camaraderie, knowing the guys that you're with, working your butts off and going to practice with those same guys and knowing we worked hard to accomplish our goals, and when you reach those goals, nothing is better than that.

Who has had the biggest influence on your basketball life?
My father. Since I was a little kid, we lived on a cul-de-sac with a steep hill and he would have my brother and I run up and down that hill, run the streets and made sure we stayed in shape, try to get stronger and work hard in the gym.

Were you destined to be a basketball player from the start since he had a basketball background?
His whole thing is that he didn't want to pay for college, so my brother and sister and I, he put all three of us in every sport, from karate to soccer to baseball to anything else you can think of, and I think basketball just stuck with us because that was his strongest sport. My mom was a track star so those two put together helped us and gave us the abilities we have.

What do you expect of yourself this season?
Making sure I get stronger and focus on building my body to be stronger and better on the court and be able to add that weight but still be able to be mobile and move up and down the court. Sitting out, helping my teammates in practice and doing whatever I can to stay on a positive note and get ready for the seasons that I can play.

What assistant coach recruited you and what was your relationship like during that process?
Coach (Dan) Matic and Coach (Matthew) Graves as well. Coach Matic talked to my dad a lot and texted me, and Coach Graves and I got off on a good note and moved forward from there. They talked about how they could develop me and what my potential could be. I understood where they were coming from and what schools they worked at in the past.

What professional player do you try to model your game after?
Kevin Durant is one of my favorites. I'm a Laker fan so I'm die hard Kobe all day long, and I like his work ethic and what he does, but I like Durant as well. It's a tie between those two.

Quick hits:
Favorite NBA team: Los Angeles Lakers
Favorite college team growing up: UCLA. I was a huge Bruin fan with Arron Afflalo, Kevin Love and Russell Westbrook. When Coach Howland walked into my house as a kid, I was unbelievably stoked for my brother, saying, "You have to go here." It was my dream school.
Favorite sport other than basketball: Baseball. I always say I wished my dad would've helped me play baseball so I could've played both sports. I just like watching baseball a lot. In high school I had a senior job and I helped coach baseball at the high school and I really enjoyed it.
Favorite musical artist: A lot of Drake and underground artists as well. Wiz Khalifa, Drake, Jay-Z, Big Sean, the list goes on.
Favorite class: I'm a communication major so I like the comm classes because I'm really open, I can speak and talk a lot.
Favorite movie: Coach Carter and Bad Boys II

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