Oscar Da Silva is 1998 born freshman forward of Stanford Cardinals. Before the season he was selected by us as one of the 10 most interesting European NCAA rookies to watch. German prospect plays big minutes in his first year in USA where he proves his tremendous glue guy potential which intrigues even NBA executives. Standing at 6’9 he shots 55% from behind the arc and checks many boxes which are not visible in stat sheets. We had a chance to talk with him before the first round of  Pac 12 Tournament.

How has Stanford been for you so far?

Stanford has been everything I had hoped for before I first got here. The people especially make it a unique environment that I quickly fell in love with.

What was the most important criteria for you in choosing Stanford?

Academics played a huge role in my recruiting process. At the same time I got a very good feeling from the coaching staff about the way the wanted the program to go. Needless to say, they are also exceptional people that take great care of us, and that helps a lot when you’re half-way across the globe from home.

What can you tell us about the Internationale Basketball Akademie München (IBAM)?

I have to thank that program and my coaches from the IBAM for the route that I’ve been lucky enough to have taken. At no point in my development my coach doubted me or my skills or my dream of being able to play college Basketball. I hope now that we put IBAM on the map together the program keeps developing players and supports their goals of going to college or playing professionally and with that establish its spot as one of the top German youth programs.

Can you talk a little bit about coming to America?  Do you consider it a good decision?

I don’t have any regrets about coming to the states. Quite the contrary. I see this as an amazing opportunity to develop as a player, and, more importantly, as a young man.

For anybody that may not have seen you play before, how do you describe your game?

I would say I’m a guy that does a little bit of everything on offense as well as on defense and that loves for the team to have success. Therefore, I will do anything to help our team win.

What were your goals for this season heading into it?

NCAA tournament.

What’s the main thing you want to add or work on before you play pro?

Physicality, ball handling and a killer instinct.

Who do you consider the toughest team in the NCAA?

The toughest team I’ve faced in my short college career would probably be Florida

Who’s your biggest role model? (life and basketball)

My basketball idol is Kevin Durant and I want to get to the place where I’m able to play like him. One of my role models in life is the rapper J. Cole.

Please tell us about your background. Where is your family from originally?

My dad grew up in Brazil and moved to Germany in his early thirties where he met my mom. I was born and raised there with my little brother Tristan and moved to the US last summer. This is my first time living in the United States of America.

Interview was made by Jc Ruiz – more of his work you can check here