5 questions: Weber State's Damian Lillard

Weber State junior guard Damian Lillard, who missed most of last season with a broken bone in his foot, has come back mighty strong this season. He currently leads the nation in scoring with an average of 25.8 points per game, moving into fourth place on the school's all-time scoring list, and is among 20 finalists for the annual Bob Cousy Award, which recognizes the top point guard in college basketball. He recently sat down with Deseret News sports writer Randy Hollis.

Q: How anxious were you to get back on the court this season after getting sidelined by your injury?

A: Once I got hurt, I kind of felt bad for myself a little bit. I talked to my brother (Houston) about it, and he told me I could feel sorry for myself or I could start finding ways that I could start getting better. I had a chip on my shoulder, I still do, and I started to work and I was really looking forward to this season. I think this is the most excited I've been to play in a long time. Not that I wasn't before, but since I sat out a whole year, I was really ready to come out and win some games this season and play well and help my team.

Q: Do you feel any extra pressure, leading the nation in scoring and knowing NBA scouts are watching you play, and how do you keep it all in perspective?

A: I just try not to buy into what everybody else is saying and what's going on outside of our program. I know what allows me to be able to do what I'm doing, so I just stick to it. Scoring 26 points a game or whatever it is, I try not to focus on doing that. I just focus on what I have been doing the whole season because I know that it's been working for me and it's going to keep working for me if I just stay focused on what's best for the team and how I got to this point.

Q: How important is it to you to lead the nation in scoring?

A: It's more important to win the conference championship, obviously. But people talk about it all the time, leading the nation in scoring, but to me it's just not a big deal. I try to focus on winning. If that's what I need to do to help my team win, then I'll keep doing it. But I see it more as me contributing to my team than me individually averaging 26 points. ... I get tired of people asking me how much I care about it, because then it sounds like I don't care about it because I do, but only because that's what helps my team, and not in a selfish way. ... To lead the nation in scoring, that came with a lot of work. To help my team win games, and doing whatever I've got to do to help us win games, that's what I'll do. If that means scoring 26 points a game, then I'll do that.