-Good times.
UPDATE: With ASU's regular season beginning tonight, I moved this up to the top of the blog for your perusal once again. Look forward to more Johnny Coy interviews over the course of the season right here at House of Sparky.
Johnny Coy, a Missouri native who was a two-sport standout in high school, took a few minutes with House Of Sparky this afternoon to discuss the transition to college and his outlook on the basketball season.
Coy, a 7th round draft pick of the Philadelphia Phillies in the 2008 MLB Draft (Coy didn't sign), has also been offered a spot on the ASU baseball team under the tutelage of Coach Pat Murphy.
At 6'7", Coy towers over this interviewer. He has a friendly demeanor and a good attitude.
"Really early in my recruiting, my first offer was to Arizona State. I got really close to Coach Sendek, and my family got really close to him," Coy said. "It's pretty much a dream come true to meet a coach like Coach Sendek and to be a part of this program."
A consummate team player, Johnny Coy will do anything it takes to help the team win, at all costs. "All the guys are really close-knit guys, they're all like brothers. It really makes it easy for me to be able to fit in."
Coy is really excited for both the baseball and basketball seasons, offering that he believes that Herb Sendek and Pat Murphy are the two best coaches in the nation.
House Of Sparky: How was it moving from Missouri to Arizona? It's a little hotter, isn't it?
Johnny Coy: Yeah, it's really different. I came over here in the summer. I was here for the whole second session of summer. It was really hot, and I wasn't used to it. Everything is so different here than back home. I'm getting used to it though, the heat's not bothering me anymore, and now it's starting to cool down a little bit, and it's starting to get really nice.
House Of Sparky: Tell us about the adjustment from high school to college.
Coy: It's going pretty good; it's a tough process for everybody, no matter who it is. The pace of the game, everything. Even the weights, conditioning, it's all a pretty big jump, but I think I'm doing pretty good so far.
House Of Sparky: In your bio, it said you went to the College World Series this summer.
Coy: Yeah, it was my first time ever going. It's only two hours away from where I live, which isn't that far at all. It's kind of weird that I've never been before, but I got to go last summer, and I went to every single game, sat almost front row. It was a really great experience, and hopefully someday I'll get to play in it.
House Of Sparky: It's a little disappointing that Fresno State beat out ASU.
Yeah I know. I didn't actually know I was going to come to Arizona State until the day before they got eliminated. I was going to play basketball here, but I didn't know if I was going to play baseball out here or not. Like an hour before the game, Coach Murphy called and was like "Do you want to play baseball out here? We really want you to come out here and play baseball." It's a dream come true, and I was really excited.
House of Sparky: Whom do you admire the most on the ASU basketball team?
Coy: It's hard; I mean everyone on the team is a leader, all the older guys help the younger guys a lot. They're all really vocal, and everybody is a leader in their own way. We're going to be a pretty good team this year.
House Of Sparky: Past and present, who are your favorite basketball players?
Past would probably be Larry Bird. I loved watching him play. My number is 33. I watch highlight clips of him all the time on Youtube. Present would be Kobe Bryant, he's always been my favorite player since I knew who Kobe Bryant was.
House Of Sparky: Do you try to emulate their moves?
Coy: Uh, I try to. It's a little tough, but I try to sometimes.
House Of Sparky: Still working on it?
Coy: (laughs) yeah.