Behind The RAWE: Ralph Desire (2018)

Meet Ralph Desire: A 6'1", 185-pound senior guard who is approaching the start of his senior year at Estero High School, this August. What is his mission? What are his goals? Desire tells us his desires as we go behind the RAWE.

NM: How has your summer been so far and what are your goals? RD: It’s been going great! I’ve been trying to play everyday. I’ve been working on my handles and off the dribble shooting in order to create my own shot.

NM: What else have you been working on? RD: I’ve been trying to get a lot more speed and I’ve been trying to get my bounce up more. I’ve been focused on improving my athleticism and skills on the defensive side. It’s pretty much been doing sprints for an hour every two days and I just joined a jump program.

NM: What player in the NBA do you get compared to the most? RD: In terms of style of play, people say I play like James Harden so I guess I’ll go with that. They say it’s because he’s not really a quick player, but he knows how to use his body to create shots for himself using his footwork and handles.

NM: What players do you study? RD: I like to study Dwyane Wade's game. That’s’ my favorite player in the NBA. He's smooth, to me. I like to analyze it a lot. My second player would be Kyrie Irving. The way he finishes over big men it teaches me how to finish over a tall defender. The way he blocks off-the-ball and how he uses his body to create his shot, I try to analyze all of that. Third would probably be Klay Thompson. He’s not a fancy player but he’s fundamental. He’ll put up 30 on your head off of pure fundamentals and coming off of screens. His form is just perfect. Everything about his form and shooting is exactly what every coach will tell you about.

NM: What’s the strongest part of your game? RD: The strongest part of my game is definitely my shot. Once I get it going, I feel like no one can stop me on the court.

NM: If you appeared in NBA 2K’s "MY PLAYER" mode, what player type would you be? RD: I would consider myself to be more of a scorer than a playmaker.

NM: What’s your relationship like with your teammates? RD: It’s real good. I try to make it stronger everyday, so that our communication is better on the court. I try to get to know them better. I met most of through basketball. We all played AAU or middle school ball together.

NM: Do you see any differences between playing AAU and your high school team? RD: Yeah. AAU is a lot more skilled than high school. It’s a lot more fun to play, to be honest. The thing I like about high school more is that I have the ball in my hands more and I feel like I can take over more. AAU is more fun, though. Everyone on the court knows how to ball, so it makes it more exciting because when you get buckets on them you know you’re doing thing.