The Bootleg:
So Mr. President, how were your first
100 days in office?
Jack Trotter: Oh what a question…It’s been good. It’s been tough at times,
kind of bouncing both basketball and presidential stuff, but it’s been good.
We’ve had some great events, great turnout, the class seems to be enjoying our
presidency.
TB: How often do your basketball and class
president schedules conflict?
JT: In the fall, there wasn’t really any. And
then winter, obviously we’re traveling every other weekend so we’ve had a few
weekend events that I haven’t been able to go to because I’m on the road. But
there are three other presidents to pick up the slack, so it’s been nice.
TB:
What made you decide to run for senior class president in the first
place?
JT: So I really wasn’t thinking about it, and then a friend- one of my co-presidents
- Facebook messaged me, out of all things, and asked me if I
thought about running. And to be honest I hadn’t, but the more I thought about
it, it just seemed like a great way to do some public service, get some
leadership experience, and give back to Stanford University and the community and
the class, because all of those things have done so much for me.
TB: Any
more politics in your future?
JT: Not in the immediate future, certainly. My
dad’s a small-town politician, but no, no immediate desire to go in that
direction.
TB: Did that impact your decision at all?
JT: No, actually.
That didn’t really come up until we submitted the paper and I was like, “wow,
I’m running for office; my dad is in office, this is kinda cool” but really,
that didn’t factor in.
TB: You have your degree in economics; you’re getting
your Master’s in MS&E (Management Science and Engineering). What do you plan
on doing with your degrees?
JT: So I already have a job lined up in San Francisco next
year with a management consulting firm, so in the immediate post-graduation years
- 2-3 years maybe - I’ll be doing that. And then after that,
maybe looking at going back to business school, stringing a few more letters
onto the end of my name with degrees, but that’s not really what it’s about.
Consulting in the short term, business school, and then really hopefully I’ll
know what I want to do for the rest of my career.
TB: Let’s move on to basketball…
I gotta ask - did Derrick Williams foul you?
JT: Absolutely. He
didn’t even touch the ball.
TB: Where did he get you?
JT: So I’m going up
to dunk, and he basically grabs my left arm, pulls it off. I missed, and the
great thing is the guy who sits across from our bench- he’s a big Stanford fan-
always takes pictures. So I actually have a picture of him fouling me, and
unfortunately that doesn’t really matter, does it?
TB: What about some other
moments; better moments, favorite moments that you have from your time here at
Stanford as far as games that stick out in your mind?
JT: I think beating Cal
and Washington at home last year. Those were big games, big moments, team wins,
which was awesome. Going back to freshman year, Senior Night for those guys. I
didn’t actually play, but we beat USC in a very emotional game. Kenny Brown came
off the bench and contributed, and it was a real good atmosphere. And other than
that, just being around the guys. I’ve been lucky enough to be teammates with a
lot of great guys. Just a lot of great little experiences with my teammates have
been awesome.
TB: You mentioned your freshman year and the win against USC,
but I’ll never forget your free throws at Yale. Was that kind of a “Hey, I’m a
BCS college basketball player!” moment for you?
JT: That was pretty wild, to
be honest, because I didn’t expect to necessarily play, certainly not as a
freshman coming in as a walk-on. And then to get in that first game and go 2-2
from the line, that was definitely an ego boost. It definitely kind of showed
me, look, I’m on the team, I can contribute.
TB: How nervous were you? I
believe those two were your first heaves at the basket of your collegiate
career.
JT: Yeah, I was pretty stiff, actually. So that was kind of mainly
why I was nervous. And then obviously, the opportunity to get the first points
of my collegiate career. But obviously I wasn’t that stiff.
TB: Did it feel
good coming off?
JT: Yeah, yeah. It was kind of a big moment - there was some
pressure. It was close, it was on the road, so it was a good experience.
TB:
What was that sophomore year like, being one of two players to start every game
and stepping up in a big way with all the injuries and departures?
JT: Just
playing aside such a great player in Landry Fields, that was an awesome
experience. Obviously he is kicking butt in the league with the Knicks right
now. But just playing with him on a daily basis and practice and games; that was
just an amazing experience. And I thought if a few games ended a little
differently, we could have done things that year, but it ended up not being that
successful of a year. But it was a great experience, just playing alongside
Landry, Drew and Emmanuel Igbinosa.
TB: Tell me a little about what it was
like on that team, because you take a look at the roster and it wasn’t maybe the
most talented that Stanford had seen, but this was a team that had a bulldog
mentality. Damn near beat Kentucky and really competed hard in the Pac-10
conference.
JT: Yeah, everyone gave it their all on that team. Like I said,
you beat Kentucky, you beat Arizona, a couple of close games, Oklahoma State
early, Oral Roberts early. We had an opportunity to have some momentum going
into Pac-10 play. We did fight; we probably up and down the roster weren’t the
most talented team in the league, but we weren’t really blown out by anybody
that whole year.
TB: What about that Arizona State win in the Pac-10
tournament to end their tournament hopes?
JT: That was awesome because they
had gotten us at home a couple of weeks before and getting a chance to send them
out of the NCAA tournament and Pac-10 tournament, that was just a great win, a
great team win.
TB: You got Cal coming up. How big would it be to win your
Senior game against your rival?
JT: I think it’s a great opportunity.
The Cal game, Cal-Stanford, it’s a rivalry, despite what Jorge Gutierrez might
say, it is a rivalry. And especially growing up in this area, I know how much it
matters and then the added value from Senior Night. It’s a great opportunity to
get a great win in Maples and put a cap on the regular season.
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