Former Tar Heels Hoops Star Ingram Ready For Breakout Season

Former North Carolina Tar Heels forward Harrison Ingram made the most out of his rookie season after being selected in the second-round of the NBA Draft last season.

While his San Antonio Spurs teammates were mathematically eliminated from the postseason early in the regular season, Ingram advanced to the semifinals of the G-League playoffs. He spent most of the season with the Austin Spurs where he worked on honing his craft.

He appeared in five games for San Antonio, but he made his mark in the G-League. He averaged 12.8 points, 9.4 rebounds and 4.3 assists in 32 games.

As for this season, Ingram is ready to play with the big club. He does not want to go back to the G-League if he had his druthers.

He met with the San Antonio media on Friday and said he was ready for the summer leagues and to show he has a chance to belong with the big club.

"I am feeling good. I am feeling confident," Ingram said. "I am ready to go. I am ready to play in the summer league and go get some wins."

Ingram said he worked on his game and his body in the offseason. He made great strides in both as he worked very hard. He said he lost six pounds of body fat and gained five pounds of muscle.

Last season, as a rookie, he often felt intimidated by the older guys, the vets. No that he has a year under his belt and is a veteran himself, he is ready to climb any mountain and take on all comers.

"It was year one, you come from college, you are still awe struck," Ingram said. "You are just going through the motions and try to learn as much as you can. I feel like the game has slowed down and I feel more confident."

Ingram said the whole team played a series of one-on-one games during the offseason. He took on Rookie of the Year Stephon Castle every day and he said it made him a better player.

Ingram said he worked on his all around game and the one-on-ones really helped him improve his defense.

"Just working on shooting and defense. 3 and D players are at a high premium. I've got a feel for the game. Iron sharpens iron," Ingram said. "We have been playing a lot of one-on-one all summer. I guard Stephon for an hour and it makes me a better player. I've seen every single person here this offseason."

Ingram said he was taking classes at North Carolina in the offseason.

As for his diet, he said the hardest thing he had to do was give up candy. He replaced candy with fruit and that is his new snack of choice.

"After the first week you get used to it," Ingram said. "It's like running the first week it sucks. Then it gets better."

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