Renaldo Major of the Dakota Wizards has had quite a season in the D-League. He was named Defensive Player of the Year, played in the D-League All-Star Game, and earned a GATORADE Call-Up to the Golden State Warriors during the D-League Showcase. Major is hoping to cap off his strong season with a championship, as the Wizards will host the Colorado 14ers on Sunday for the D-League title. Renaldo and the Wizards will tip-off against the 14ers at 7 p.m. ET, live on NBA TV. D-League.com's Matthew Brennan spoke with Renaldo recently, where he discussed Sunday's game and his success during the 2006-07 season.

Renaldo Major D-League Defensive Player of the Year Randy Belcie/NBAE/Getty Images

Renaldo, how much are you looking forward to playing for the D-League title on Sunday?

Major: “I’m very much looking forward to it. You always want to play for a championship, that’s what you work towards in the offseas and the regular season. Now that we are here, speaking for my teammates and myself, we are just really excited and ready to play the game”

Is there a lot of excitment in the community for the game, and do you expect a big crowd?

Major: “I heard that there are only a few seats left for the game. Everywhere we go around town people are wishing us good luck and telling us that they want us to do well. Everyone seems to be in our corner and we are getting great fan support.”

How has the fan support been this season? It seems like they were a key in your comeback to defeat Sioux Falls last weekend.

Major: “We have one of the best crowds in the D-League. Every game they were here to support us no matter what day it was. That’s the reason why we came back against the Skyforce. I credited them in the paper the other day. They are our sixth man, they do whatever it takes to give us some energy.”

What have been some of the keys to the Wizards' success this season?

Major: “I think it comes from the top to the bottom, the management and staff get the players in and make them feel comfortable, to the coaches managing the x’s and o’s and being there for us with a helpful word. The team has really come together and put their egos to the side for the sake of reaching success.”

What are your thoughts about Colorado, and who are some players on the 14ers that you need to focus on?

Major: “They’re a good team; they are well-coached by Joe Wolf. They have Elton Brown and Pooh Jeter, who are two great players that are going to play well and their teammates will follow. Antoine Hood and Tony Bobbitt are great players who are going to be ready to play. Rick Rickert is a good shooter for a big man, but he can come in and mix it up as well. Terrance Crawford and Mike Harris are good players as well. They are in the championship game for a reason, they are a good team, they play well together and they are a high scoring team, so we want to be able to play well and stop their transition.

Colorado seems to play a very uptempo game, are the Wizards comfortable playing at that pace?

Major: "We can play both ways, we can play the slow-down or a more fast-paced game, that’s what so great about our team, we can play any style. We are just going to come out and play the way we want to, and not really worry about the pace.

How did you feel about winning Defensive Player of the Year?

Major: “That was a great honor for the coaches and players to honor me like that. I just wanted to go out and play hard; it was never in my mindset that I would win Defensive Player of the Year. I just wanted to come out and help my team on the defensive side, which can lead to easy points on the other end. It’s good when you have big guys like Kevin Lyde and Rod Benson behind you so if you get beat they can cover for you. You can be a little more aggressive when guarding your man.”

Have you always had a repuation as a great defensive player, or was that something you specifically worked on improving heading into this season?

Major: “That’s how I first became known in the CBA, the coaches likes how I hard I played on defense, defense has always been my strong point. This year I’ve been scoring a little more. The coaches have been opening up the offense a bit and they’ve been running some plays for me.”

You received a GATORADE Call-Up to the Golden State Warriors in January. What was that experience like?

Major: “It was the greatest feeling in the world. It was lift off of my shoulders because a lot of my cousins and uncles had a chance to get to the NBA but they took the wrong road or never had the chances that I had. All of my relatives were so proud of me and it felt so good. I just want to try to getter better every day and be able to make a career out of the NBA.”

Now that the season is nearing an end, what are your plans for this summer in terms of getting ready for next season?

Major: “I’m going to go to Atlanta and work out with my agent for a month. Then I’m going to try to get in the summer league, a few teams have called but I don’t have anything guaranteed yet. I’m going to try to get into the NBA Summer League, and just try to get some more exposure and show people what Renaldo Major can do.”