06/14 at 08:03 PM

Marquis Daniels has seen about everything in his seven years in the NBA, including two finals appearances with the Dallas Mavericks in 2006 and the Boston Celtics in 2010.

Daniels also happens to be the ninth-leading scorer in Auburn history, pouring in 1,530 points—13.8 per game—in his career on the Plains from 1999 to 2003.

He averaged 18.4 points and 6.2 rebounds a game in his senior year, helping lead the Tigers to the Sweet 16 before signing as an undrafted free agent with the Mavericks.

The 6-foot-6 guard from Orlando, Fla.—via Mount Zion Christian Academy in Durham, N.C., has averaged 8.6 points and 3.0 rebounds in the NBA mostly off the bench, though he did start the majority of the 2008-09 season for the Indianapolis Pacers.

Daniels took the time to share some knowledge gleaned from his experiences with a group of about 80 children at Tony Barbee’s basketball camp Tuesday, in the form of a speech followed by a question-and-answer session.

Then he took some time to talk with the media about everything from playing with Shaq to playing for Mark Cuban to who his son’s favorite NBA player is to the road to recovery after a scary neck injury in February cost him the rest of the 2010-11 season.

Here’s a transcript of the interview:

(How’s it feel to be back in Auburn?)
“I think last time I came here Auburn played Alabama in basketball, and they won. Actually, they were putting (the new Auburn Arena) up. So this is my first time being here. Looks great though.”

(How’s your neck injury doing?)
“I just recently had my surgery on my spine. I got three screws and a sling in my spine. I’m supposed to see my doctor again in maybe a week or so. Looking forward to hearing some good news and just getting back to playing again. Just preparing myself.

“Considering it was maybe three months ago, I don’t have too many more symptoms or anything I was having before. I’m just happy to still be moving around.”

(How tough has the recovery been?)
“I couldn’t do anything. I had to just sit down, not even move. There wasn’t a rehab situation, just rest. When the injury’s on the inside of the spine, you don’t know how that’s healing. You’ve really got to just take your time with it.”

(What was your message to the kids?)
“I talked about being ‘WAC,’ without the ‘K.’ It was mostly about, ‘W’ stands for working hard, the ‘A’ was for attitude and the ‘C’ was for commitment. Being able to work hard, have a great attitude and be committed allows you to do whatever you want to in life. I told them, ‘Everybody’s not going to play in the NBA, but you still have to work hard and be committed.’ That goes for everything. Whether you’re going to be a doctor, lawyer, whatever. You’ve just got to stay determined.”

(How does your own experience factor into that message?)
“One of (the kids) asked me when I was drafted, what numbers? And I was like ‘Actually, I didn’t.’ You people say, ‘I was hungry,’ that just made me starving. It made me want it even more to prove people wrong, be determined. Pretty much my whole career’s been like that. People have pretty much counted me out, not said I’m going to do this or anything. It pretty much just made me want to work harder.”

(What were some of the questions they asked?)
“They asked me what time I wanted to play for next year, and I told them, ‘Whoever’s going to win the championship.’ They’re kids. They asked about cars, jewelry, all those types of questions. One actually shocked me, he asked, ‘Would I rather have 10 points or 10 assists?’ I was like, ‘Whatever my team needs to help me win.’ It was just a great group of guys out there. I remember being here and having to work the camps with the kids. It’s a great thing seeing the players still coming back around, and the facility is great. I’m just looking forward to being able to talk a little more trash in the locker room.”

(Did you know Coach Tony Barbee before the camp?)
“Not much. I’d heard of him, but I’d never had a face-to-face encounter with him. I heard a lot of great things about him, though.”

(Still keep in touch with former coach Cliff Ellis)
“Coach Ellis’ camp, he had a golf event a year or two ago up in Coastal (Carolina). It was a great thing, I got to go to the beach, got to take my wife (former Auburn women’s basketball player Shana Askew) and kids (a 3-year old son and a daughter who turns 5 on June 21), so that was good.

“My son, he thinks he’s (Boston Celtics point guard Rajon) Rondo. He puts his head down and says, ‘Dad, call me Rondo.’ I’m like, ‘What about me?’

(So your kids should be pretty good basketball players.)
“Hopefully. It’s good and bad. If I play bad, it’s not like (Askew) doesn’t know what’s going on. She’s like, ‘You should’ve done that,’ and I’m all, ‘I don’t want to hear that.’”

(How’d you like the football national championship?)
“I had a great locker room atmosphere this past season. The football team did great. Cam (Newton), (Nick) Fairley, those guys, they did a lot of great things. I talk with (former Auburn linebacker) Karlos Dansby all the time. He says, ‘We should have had one, too, that year (2004) we went undefeated.’ This one, even with them being what they were, it was like they still had to fight through turmoil and different things. It was really good for them. Everybody’s like, ‘Why’s everybody going after Cam?’ They wouldn’t be bothering him if he wasn’t doing good. I think he handled it well. He let his actions talk and did a great job. I’m just happy for the whole university and everything. I was just happy for them.”

(What was it like playing with the recently retired Shaquille O’Neal?)
“Comedy, comedy, comedy, comedy. Between him and (point guard) Nate Robinson, it was comedy all day. If you go to sleep, they’re going to put you on Twitter. They’re going to take a picture of you doing all kinds of stuff with you, it was fun. From practices to on the bus to playing, it was just a great atmosphere with those guys around. Especially with Shaq. Never a dull moment.”

(What’s your fondest Auburn memory?)
“Going to the tournament my senior year (2003). We had a lot going on. Kyle Davis’ mom passed that year and we ended up taking a bus to her funeral. Just our team camaraderie was great. We all played hard together, we practiced hard together. Everyone had each other’s back. Stuff like that, it makes a team, it makes you stick together. I think we even played paintball together. It was a lot of fun being together and it carried over onto the court, knowing the guy sitting next to you had your back. I think a lot of teams don’t have that , don’t through that and have the experience of having that team camaraderie.”

(What’s your best NBA memory?)
“Actually signing that first deal. Knowing I’m on an NBA roster now. It didn’t really hit me until I was able to get my mom a house (in Orlando), or a car. That was the first thing I ever did. I made sure I got her a house and a car. Once I was able to do that, it was like, ‘OK, I’m actually here now.’ Getting on the court with those guys, you can’t show nervousness. I had to get out of that.”

(What was it like playing for owner Mark Cuban in Dallas?)
“It was great. He actually cares for the team. It was good and bad, but overall it was great. He cares so much, puts so much into the team, it was almost like he was playing. During timeouts, he’d get into the huddle and tell you stuff. Sometimes you listen to him, sometimes it’s like, ‘Alright, alright.’ It was great playing for him. He’s a great guy. Every time we see each other, we still speak. I was happy for Jason Terry and Dirk (Nowitzki). I played with them in ’06 when we lost to Miami. Jason Terry texted me after (the clinching Game 6 of this year’s Finals), like, ‘We got it.’ And I was like, ‘Congratulations.’ I played with Darrell (Armstrong), who’s a coach on the staff, so I was happy for him also. I was happy for them overall.”