General Manager Gavin Wilkinson
On selecting Andrew Jean-Baptiste: “With our No. 8 pick, we definitely wanted to add a quality piece, and I think we got that with Andrew. He was a player that we identified and a player that we wanted. It was good that he fell to the No. 8 spot and we were able to acquire him. I think we need a little bit of depth in that position, with David Horst just having surgery. And with what we are looking to do with the Reserve team, with the Reserve team being an exact model of the first team, he’s going to be given plenty of opportunity.”
Scouting Jean-Baptiste: “He’s got the raw elements of a great central defender – very athletic, very disciplined, tactically aware – and we see his ceiling as being very, very high. He’s a very young, aggressive defender that fits the way that we play.”
On the selection of Brendan King: “With what we were looking at in that position is versatility, being able to balance out the squad and being able to provide depth in numerous positions. We also wanted a player that we feel could be capable. So with King, we want to get him into camp see how he looks and see how he adjusts to a professional environment.”
On scouting King: “We were aware of (King). Bobby Clark, the head coach at Notre Dame, is someone I have had a long relationship with, John Spencer knows him, assistant coach Amos Magee has worked with him numerous times in the past. King is a player we had some background information on and he’s a player we watched closely coming into the SuperDraft. We have seen him play before, we watched him again and we were impressed.”
Head coach John Spencer
On Jean-Baptiste: “First and foremost, I think he has all the tools required to play in the modern game – good size, good pace for a defender and very strong. Not many people out-run him. I think he’s come out of a good program at Connecticut and we’re delighted to have him. I think you’ve always got to be looking forward as a club, too, bringing in young players and try to bleed them into the system.”
On what the Timbers were looking for in the draft: “We had two guys that we thought we might have a shot at getting today, and we got the No. 1 that we went after. With David Horst’s injury and him going out for five to six months, it’s a big loss to us, so we’re going to have to try and strengthen that area.”
On King: “He’s another young player that impressed Amos Magee on his travels. Amos saw him play in a couple of games; he’s versatile, can play in the midfield and in the wide areas also. For us, he’s a good young player with potential, so we’ll see what happens when we get into camp, have a look at him and go from there.”
Andrew Jean-Baptiste
On being selected by Portland: “Very excited. I have a lot of adrenaline rushing through my body. I just feel like I want to get to the team and get started bonding with my teammates, so we can start a good season.
“I hadn’t met with the Portland coaching staff (before the SuperDraft). So, it’s a little bit of a surprise for me. But the fact that they took me, I appreciate it. I’m just going to do whatever I can.”
On the combine and SuperDraft experience: “It’s been very exciting. For the past three days I couldn’t sleep; I didn’t fall asleep until four or five in the morning because I was so anxious to be called out here.”
On the Northwest: “I’ve always heard of Oregon. I know the fans are very supportive and that’s what I look forward to. I love a good fan base.”
On being of Haitian decent and playing with new teammate James Marcelin: “It’s the first time I’m actually going to play with another Haitian other than my brother. It is going to be very exciting. I need to learn how to speak Creole, so that’s one thing that we are going to be practicing other than our foot skills at the stadium.”
On the atmosphere at JELD-WEN Field: “I’ve seen the stadium, I’ve seen the fans. It’s so alive. That’s one thing that I love, is playing in front of a lively fan base – it’s just part of my comfort zone. I’m going to love it when I get there.”
