NBA Draft Blog Interview with Denzel Livingston
By Ed Isaacson
I’ll be the first to tell you, I never heard of Incarnate Word, a small school of just over 4,000 students in San Antonio, before they became a provisional Division I member in 2013, let alone knew about their basketball team. Even after winning 20 games in their first season, I didn’t know much, but there was a lot of buzz about their rising senior guard, Denzel Livingston, and I made sure to watch what I could.
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As a junior, the 6’4 Livingston averaged 20.3 points per game, along with 6.5 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2.5 steals. He also shot near 39 percent from three-point range, and had over a block per game. The schedule was going to get tougher in his senior year, and he would have to deliver.
Incarnate Word beat Princeton on the road in November, and played Texas-El Paso well for most of a game, which they ended up losing, but the school still needed a signature win, a win that could help make the program known. That changed when the team traveled to Nebraska in December, 2014. A Kyle Hittle jumper with 2.7 seconds left gave the Cardinals a 74-73 win over the Cornhuskers. Suddenly, Incarnate Word was being talked about anywhere was college basketball was discussed.
The game wasn’t one of Livingston’s best performances, but a win over a Big Ten team on the road, meant people would pay attention, and Livingston didn’t disappoint the rest of the season. Livingston would go on to average 21.5 points per game on the season, including six games of 30+ points, good for fourth in the nation. He also averaged almost 6 rebounds and 3 assists per game, as well as 2.6 steals, sixth in the country, and 1.3 blocks per game.
The Cardinals were not very deep in talent, and Livingston took on a bulk of the responsibility on both ends of the floor. He faced defenses designed to stop him, while often taking on the assignment of one of the other team’s best players. His all-around season was worthy of recognition, and he was named First Team All-Southland for the second year in a row.
Now, Livingston battles to present himself to a wider audience, and he sees how his time at Incarnate Word shaped the player and person he is. “On the court, it became doing whatever the team needed me to do, whether it was getting a stop on defense, or scoring,” said Livingston. “Off the court, I became a better person, being part of the school around campus, and helping the school make a good impression. It’s about doing what’s best for everyone.”
Livingston also learned a lot from the transition to Division I basketball. “Playing against more athletic and bigger players definitely helped me grow my game,” explained Livingston. “I liked the speed and feel of the Division I game much better.”
The numbers are impressive, but Livingston still sees a bit of a disadvantage as he goes through this pre-draft period. “I didn’t get a lot of the recognition that guys who played at bigger schools or went to NCAA Tournaments did,” said Livingston. “They had scouts always at their games, so I have a lot of work to show them what I can do.”
As he prepares for his professional career, Livingston knows some key parts of his game will be important at the next level. “My ability to score in different ways, plus create for others will be what teams are looking for,” Livingston said. “I haven’t reached my full potential yet as a basketball player yet, and I haven’t had the coaching a lot of guys have had, so there is still a lot for me to develop.”
Along with the coaching, Livingston knows he needs to catch up in some other areas as well. “I need to work on developing my body more,” said Livingston. “I never really had a real weight training program in college, and there wasn’t a lot of attention paid to the things I was eating.”
Livingston has his first chance after his college career ended to impress scouts when he took part in the prestigious Portsmouth Invitational Tournament for the country’s top seniors. Livingston averaged almost 11 points, 3 assists, and 2 steals per game there, a very good output among strong competition. “Portsmouth was a great experience,” said Livingston. “I just wanted to prove that it doesn’t matter what school you play for, if you are good, it will show.”
Livingston has already worked out for the Utah Jazz, and has more workouts scheduled, including the Dallas Mavericks.
He knows there is still a long road ahead, but Livingston also knows he has a lot to offer any team that takes a chance on him. “I’m ready to do whatever a team needs me to do, score, play defense, anything,” said Livingston. “I’m ready for a team to help me reach my full potential, and if they put their trust in me, I will do all I can to help them win games.”
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