Can James Wiseman stick with Warriors after making ‘big strides’ in G
League?
Wiseman, 21, said he "felt lost out there" earlier this season. "Now,"
he said, "I'm starting to feel more comfortable."
>Golden State Warriors’ James Wiseman #33 reacts after a basket in the
third quarter of their NBA game against the Charlotte Hornets at the
Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Tuesday, Dec. 27, 2022. (Jane
Tyska/Bay Area News Group)
By EVAN WEBECK | ewebeck@bayareanewsgroup.com | Bay Area News Group
PUBLISHED: December 30, 2022 at 6:30 a.m. | UPDATED: December 30, 2022
at 6:44 a.m.
https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2022/12/30/can-james-wiseman-stick-with-warriors-after-making-big-strides-in-g-league/

SAN FRANCISCO — James Wiseman had the perfect playlist for the day that,
depending on his mindset, was either going to be a frustrating new low
point, or the beginning of the rebirth of his career.

One hour. All J Cole.

The hip hop beats thumped from his car on that day, as the 21-year-old
former No. 2 overall pick cruised the scenic route from the Warriors’
shimmering San Francisco arena to the modest beachfront training ground
that would be his home for the next three weeks.

Healthy at last, Wiseman had been humbled against NBA competition, and
was reassigned to the Warriors’ G League affiliate in Santa Cruz. He had
lost his spot in the rotation, and if he wanted to gain it back, coaches
told him, he needed to learn how to contribute to winning basketball.

“I just told myself,” Wiseman said this week, “‘When I go down here, I’m
gonna do all the right things and focus on the things that keep me on
the floor.”

Wiseman was speaking from his locker Tuesday night after an efficient
eight-point, nine-minute performance in the Warriors’ win over
Charlotte. It was two days after Steve Kerr commended his best defensive
effort of the season against Memphis, and less than a week since he
dropped 30 against the Nets.

Something seemed to be clicking.

Wiseman interrupted a reporter’s question with a hardy laugh.

“It’s crazy,” he said, pausing to catch his breath. “People were calling
it a demotion. That’s insane.

“I feel like that was a great experience. I didn’t look at it as a
demotion. I looked at it as an opportunity to get better. I’m not
getting much playing time up here so if I’m in the G, I can get like 27,
28 minutes and work on stuff and work through my mistakes. I feel like
it was a great experience for me. I really needed it.”

The result of those three weeks in Santa Cruz has put the Warriors in a
difficult, if enviable, position. With JaMychal Green’s return from
health and safety protocols on the horizon, Wiseman’s play over the past
week has been good enough to raise the question: should he continue to
get those minutes?

In 11 games to start the season, the Warriors were outscored by 73
points with Wiseman on the court. Tuesday against Memphis was his second
straight game with a positive plus-minus, matching his total from before
his G League stint.

Wiseman said he “felt lost out there” earlier this season. “Now,” he
said, “I’m starting to feel more comfortable.”

“That’s the beauty of his three weeks in Santa Cruz,” Kerr said. “You go
to Santa Cruz, you get three or four great practices in a week. You play
here, and we’ve got a game the next night. There’s a little bit of film
and a walk through and you’re moving on to the next one. So, he needs
the reps. … In seven or eight games, he’s made big strides.”

Wiseman arrived early to his first practice back in Santa Cruz.

He was on the court, shooting around, when coach Seth Cooper walked in.

Cooper, in his second season coaching the SeaDubs, uses the same
terminology and runs the same playbook as their NBA affiliate. When he
received word that Wiseman was on his way, he met with Kerr, Mike
Dunleavy Jr. and other members of the front office, as well as
assistants Jama Mahlalela, who runs their player development program,
Dejan Milojević, who works most closely with Wiseman, and Kenny
Atkinson, Kerr’s top lieutenant, to understand their plan for Wiseman.
Then, he relayed it to the Santa Cruz coaching staff.

“I think for him, he just wanted to know a little bit more like, what’s
the plan?” Cooper said. “He knew he wanted to go there and get better
and play a bunch of minutes. To be able to give him some specific
tangible things that, if he gets better at, will translate to him
playing for the Warriors, helping the Warriors and helping himself in
the process.”

Wiseman was frustrated.

The words from Jordan Poole, a fellow first-rounder who turned a G
League stint into NBA stardom, rung in his head — it’s not a demotion;
it’s an opportunity — but, he told Cooper, sitting on the baseline
before his first practice, this was his first extended chance to play
since high school, and it wasn’t going as he had intended.

Wiseman’s tenuous journey is well documented: a top high-school
prospect, ruled ineligible, plays only three games in college, drafted
second overall, a pandemic hits, he tears his meniscus and misses a year
and a half. As Cooper, and many within Golden State, is quick to point
out: “He’s really like a one and done rookie.”

Wiseman’s effortless scoring put him on the map. Thirty-point games were
routine.

What the Warriors attempted to drive home is that what they need from
him is not dominant scoring presence but a screener, a shot-blocker and
a rim protector. In Santa Cruz, they dedicated entire half-hour portions
of practice to defending pick-and rolls.

“The one thing I’ll say about James: he was unbelievable from that
standpoint. Coachability, doing whatever we asked, buying into it,”
Cooper said. “Yeah, we could probably put you out here and do some
things that allow you to score more, but we’re gonna play in a way that
relates to how you’re going to play for the Warriors. For him to buy in
to that and do everything we asked for, his attitude was great.

“I think everyone can see that he got better in the last three weeks
playing basketball. I think he’ll continue to get better. … I would be a
buyer in the stock of James Wiseman long term.”

While Wiseman said his 30-point effort against the Nets “changed things
for me in terms of my confidence … Memphis was my best game, even though
I didn’t score at all.

“That’s crazy, right?”

>RELATED ARTICLES
Donte DiVincenzo knows a thing or two about winning. That experience
is paying off with the Warriors
2022: The Year in Pictures
Jordan Poole scores 41 points, Klay Thompson adds 31 to extend
Warriors’ win streak to four
Warriors center James Wiseman out with ankle sprain, Andrew Wiggins
making progress
Former Warriors defensive ace Gary Payton II makes return to Chase Center

Wiseman garnered laughs when he expressed his excitement to return to
the NBA’s life of luxury, specifically its large hotel beds. More
seriously, Wiseman said his time in Santa Cruz made him all the more
appreciative of his opportunity with Golden State.

He lived out of his suitcase, coming and going from a hotel near the
boardwalk, for most of his time there.

While college friend and Santa Cruz teammate Lester Quinones provided
him company, Wiseman spent many nights self-reflecting, staring at the
ceiling of his hotel bedroom.

“It’s super peaceful down there in Santa Cruz,” Wiseman said. “Super
peaceful. Ain’t nothing to do. It’s like the boardwalk, the arcade and
the beach. That’s really all you got down there.

“I was down there grinding,” he said, stroking his scruffier-than-usual
facial hair. “I still haven’t gotten my hair cut yet.”

--
Evan Webeck | Reporter
Evan Webeck covers high-school sports on the field and beyond — and a
little bit of everything else — for the Bay Area News Group. A Pacific
Northwest native and graduate of Arizona State, Evan has previously
worked for The Seattle Times, MLB.com and Sports Illustrated.

Allen wrote:
> Can James Wiseman stick with Warriors after making ‘big strides’ in G
> League?
> Wiseman, 21, said he "felt lost out there" earlier this season. "Now,"
> he said, "I'm starting to feel more comfortable."
> >Golden State Warriors’ James Wiseman #33 reacts after a basket in the
> third quarter of their NBA game against the Charlotte Hornets at the
> Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Tuesday, Dec. 27, 2022. (Jane
> Tyska/Bay Area News Group)
> By EVAN WEBECK | ewebeck@bayareanewsgroup.com | Bay Area News Group
> PUBLISHED: December 30, 2022 at 6:30 a.m. | UPDATED: December 30, 2022
> at 6:44 a.m.
> https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2022/12/30/can-james-wiseman-stick-with-warriors-after-making-big-strides-in-g-league/
>
>
>
> SAN FRANCISCO — James Wiseman had the perfect playlist for the day that,
> depending on his mindset, was either going to be a frustrating new low
> point, or the beginning of the rebirth of his career.
>
> One hour. All J Cole.
>
> The hip hop beats thumped from his car on that day, as the 21-year-old
> former No. 2 overall pick cruised the scenic route from the Warriors’
> shimmering San Francisco arena to the modest beachfront training ground
> that would be his home for the next three weeks.
>
> Healthy at last, Wiseman had been humbled against NBA competition, and
> was reassigned to the Warriors’ G League affiliate in Santa Cruz. He had
> lost his spot in the rotation, and if he wanted to gain it back, coaches
> told him, he needed to learn how to contribute to winning basketball.
>
> “I just told myself,” Wiseman said this week, “‘When I go down here, I’m
> gonna do all the right things and focus on the things that keep me on
> the floor.”
>
> Wiseman was speaking from his locker Tuesday night after an efficient
> eight-point, nine-minute performance in the Warriors’ win over
> Charlotte. It was two days after Steve Kerr commended his best defensive
> effort of the season against Memphis, and less than a week since he
> dropped 30 against the Nets.
>
> Something seemed to be clicking.
>
> Wiseman interrupted a reporter’s question with a hardy laugh.
>
> “It’s crazy,” he said, pausing to catch his breath. “People were calling
> it a demotion. That’s insane.
>
> “I feel like that was a great experience. I didn’t look at it as a
> demotion. I looked at it as an opportunity to get better. I’m not
> getting much playing time up here so if I’m in the G, I can get like 27,
> 28 minutes and work on stuff and work through my mistakes. I feel like
> it was a great experience for me. I really needed it.”
>

This is a great attitude by Wiseman.

--Robin