kent bazemore scouting report — Bazemore shown here signing autographs after his stint in Santa Cruz (Photo: LetsGoWarriors.com Instagram account)
KAISER PERMANENTE ARENA, SANTA CRUZ, CA — Golden State Warriors second-year player Kent Bazemore and newly acquired MarShon Brooks (scouting report here) were assigned to their D-League affiliate, the Santa Cruz Warriors on Saturday night.
[NOTE: For all your D-League Santa Cruz Warriors fix, check out SeaDubsCentral.com!]Bazemore scored 25 points, but struggled early on. On one three-point try from the right elbow, there was a good view of the arc of the ball from the media’s baseline seats. The rotation and trajectory of the shot could use improvement.
“It’s a totally different shot when you’re working out than when you’re actually playing. I just stayed with the course,” Bazemore said, “There have been days I’ve gone in the gym and shots lights out and there’s been days when I missed a lot of shots. You just gotta stay with it. Shooting is a thing that comes with time.”
Bazemore started just 1-for-7 from beyond the arc but ended up with two straight from the top of the key in the fourth quarter to help Santa Cruz win by the score of 110-105. He finished 3-for-12 on three-pointers. He also played well on defense, garnering three steals.
“I gathered confidence early in the 4th quarter when I hit those two jumpers at the top of the key. Those are huge for me. Shooting is something I haven’t been able to do eary in my career,” Bazemore added, “but it’s something I work on a lot. It’s one thing I want to do, is to let people know I can shoot.”
Bazemore also dished out three assists, trying his best to blend in with head coach Casey Hill‘s established culture. It helped that the same system that Golden State is run in Santa Cruz.
“I’m not the guy to go out there and jack up shots. They’ve been playing together all year so I try and see where I can fit in,” Bazemore said, “It started on defense for me and I started playing hard on defense and the ball came to me. I turned down a few (shots) early in the game — I don’t know why — just a little bit of jitters, I guess.
“Everytime I come down here they always show love. They always swing the ball. It’s never like, ‘Hey, he’s coming down, we’re not gonna pass him the ball.’ I just love coming down here, the crowd is great, the players are great, the coaching staff is great. It’s like home.”
Bazemore won the NBA Summer League championship with Cameron Jones. Bazemore still has a winning streak playing with those guys.
“We’re still undefeated here, too, so we’ll talk about this for the rest of our lives. That’s a good thing. You build bonds with guys that go through the grind,” Bazemore said, “It’s all love. Imma give 110 percent everytime I come down just for those guys. I try to keep their head up. Everytime I go to the sideslines, tap them on their hip, keep them smiling.
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