Nikita Kirillov deserves special credit on several fronts, and patience ranks high on the list of assets for which he ought to be applauded.

Take one interviewer with little idea about the specifics of pole vaulting, at which Kirillov is approaching master status, and have the interrogator ask questions and the result might not have been considered pretty.

This Georgia Tech junior is more than capable of dialing back, however, and he rolled through a Wednesday interview splitting the roles of student-athlete and educator as if he were a pro both ways.