Each week during the 2022 season we’re going through the Eagles’ media guide to find an interesting nugget.
The Eagles’ PR interns do a great job filling out these little oddities in the media guides and they serve as a good way to meet the player behind the helmet.
This week, we chatted with defensive tackle Javon Hargrave, who says he’s surprising good: “Definitely basketball. I can swim like hell too.”
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Me: Is that right?
Hargrave: Yeah. Heck yeah.
Me: Did you grow up playing basketball?
Hargrave: Yeah. That was my first love until I didn’t grow no more. So then I realized.
NFL
Me: How late in your life did you play basketball?
Hargrave: Just in high school. During high school and stuff. I almost got a thousand (points). But I had like 903.
Me: Oooh. What position did you play?
Hargrave: A little power forward.
Me: Have you played with the guys in this locker room?
Hargrave: Nah, we just shoot around a little bit. I don’t really play no more. I don’t be wanting to risk it.
Me: I get that. Are you a good shooter?
Hargrave: Yeah, I’m a streaky shooter.
Me: Who’s the best shooter that you’ve seen here?
Hargrave: Here? Ahhhh, I’d have to say it’s probably Zach Pascal.
Me: Pascal. OK. I hear a lot of G-Ward too.
Hargrave: I haven’t seen G-Ward. But Zach shoots every day. He be making it. He can shoot.
Me: What was your style of play?
Hargrave: Bully ball. Get rebounds, put it back. Had a little jumper. Just a little Charles Barkley, a little Zion (Williamson). Just a little powerful.
Me: Like an elbow jumper? You’re not stretching, right?
Hargrave: Yeah, elbow jumper. Elbow.
Me: So you played through high school?
Hargrave: Through high school.
Me: Do you miss it?
Hargrave: Not really. I do but I don’t. Not really.
Me: At the end of high school did you realize football was it?
Hargrave: Yeah, I knew football was going to it after my freshman year and sophomore year. Started seeing them 7-footers and … things started changing. Football was always easy to me.
Me: If you look around this locker room and you had to put a five together, who would you put on your starting five?
Hargrave: Of course Zach (Pascal), probably put (Darius) Slay, a little Kobe (Nakobe Dean), Kobe could be our point guard. Me. And …
Me: You need a 5.
Hargrave: I want to say Jordan (Davis), but Jordan kinda sorry, but I’ll say Jordan.
Me: Lane maybe?
Hargrave: I’ll go Lane. He might can do something. … I don’t know. I don’t trust the offensive linemen. So I might go Fletch (Cox) or Jordan. Probably Jordan though.
Me: And then the other part: Swimming. Did you grow up swimming?
Hargrave: Yeah, it’s just something I did. I wasn’t competing or nothing. I just like to swim.
Me: You still get after it sometimes?
Hargrave: Heck yeah. I do laps.
Me: You do it to work out?
Hargrave: Yeah, I do it sometimes in the offseason, just to work out and stuff like that.
Me: Cool, thanks man. That’s all I needed.
Hargrave: Sure.
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