jarrett jack (Photo: @jackallenfoster Instagram account)
Quite a few stories about Jarrett Jack came and went as the Cleveland Cavaliers visited the Bay Area for their only stop at #Roaracle in the 2013-14 season, one in which they stole a game from the better-on-paper Golden State Warriors. Here’s a collection of quotes from Jack and about Jack:
From coach Mark Jackson on January 15th when the Warriors traded for Jordan Crawford:
“We don’t need Jarrett Jack on this basketball team,” Jackson said on January 15th when the team acquired Crawford,”What I mean by that is, we have Andre Iguodala. If we had Andre Iguodala last year, and we had Jarrett Jack, you would’ve never have experienced the Jarrett Jack that we experienced last year. We needed a play-maker, we needed an extra ball-handler, we needed a guy that could play alongside of Steph. We don’t need that anymore.
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“Jarrett Jack was incredible for us and we fell in love with what he did. He had to do that for us. It was a necessity for him to be able to do the things he did for this basketball team,” Jackson added, “Jarrett Jack played thirty minutes at times. He ended ball games. I can’t tell you how many times, if he played on this team, he would end a ball game. Or Crawford. We’re loaded at the wing position and Steph Curry’s going to end ball games. We need him to hold the fort down, to be a play-maker. We need him to score, we need him to facilitate and get that second unit going. Opportunity’s going to be there, but we do not need him to be Jarrett Jack.”
From Bob Myers, also on January 15th:
“The Iguodala thing came up and we pounced on that,” general manager Bob Myers said in a press conference directly after Jackson’s that night, “which gave us what we thought was a little bit bigger, better version of Jarrett Jack.
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“I’m not sure Jarrett Jack, on this team as it’s consummated, would have the minutes or opportunity that he got last year,” Myers added, “That being said, I’d love to have Jarrett Jack on the team. He’s a good player, but obviously you have to look at the financial implications of having a player like that and he signed a great deal, and we’re happy for him.”
Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle:
The 30-year-old guard said he thinks about his days with the Warriors “all the time. There’s no way you can repay what those fans did for us all season. … Those were the people who came and supported us – good, bad or indifferent. They were there. They were that one staple that we could always count on, and I’ll always really appreciate those guys. Obviously, I didn’t get to say my proper goodbyes, but I think they know how I feel about them and vice versa.”
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Jack still regularly gets Tweets from fans, reminiscing about the 2012-13 Warriors, who weren’t expected to do much but turned those doubts into a rallying cry as they marched into the second round of the playoffs, where they lost in six games to the Spurs.
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Just walking around San Francisco before Thursday’s shootaround at the Olympic Club gave Jack “a chill.” An avid sneaker collector, he found time to visit one of his favorite stores after the shootaround.
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He stays in contact with his ex-teammates, recently giving Kent Bazemore a call to put some perspective on his trade to the Lakers and then chatting up Draymond Green late Wednesday night to set up a Thursday dinner.
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“The relationships that we built on that team last year were much deeper than basketball. We looked at each other as friends – not co-workers – as family,” Jack said. The dinner will let them “relax and talk about things and forget that we’re going to be enemies” Friday.
Diamond Leung of the Bay Area News Group:
“There’s no way you can repay what those fans did for us all season,” Jack said Thursday. “Those were the people that came and supported us. Good, bad or indifferent, they were there. They were that one staple that we could always count on. I’ll always really appreciate those guys. Obviously, I didn’t get to say my proper goodbyes, but I think they know how I feel about them and vice versa.
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“It was just a fun time being that no one expected much from that team.”
“The relationships we built on that team last year, they were much deeper than basketball,” Jack said. “We look at each other as friends, not co-workers, family to some degree.”
“Like if (Stephen Curry) didn’t make (the All-Star team) this year, I really was going to have to grab some people by the collar,” Jack said.
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Jack also had praise for coach Mark Jackson and his staff, general manager Bob Myers and co-owner Joe Lacob as he spoke of a “camaraderie” the team built while captivating the community.
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He’s still reminded of it while in Cleveland.
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“I constantly get tweets from these fans just reminiscing about the times from last year and in the playoffs,” Jack said. “I’m looking forward to seeing them.”
From Sarah Todd of SFBay.ca:
Jack told SFBay that being back in the Bay Area just made him remember how much the city and fans meant to him, and how they embraced him:
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“Just walking amongst the city, amongst the people, amongst the hustle and bustle, people were just expressing the way that they felt about the team and the way I played and what I helped give to the city. It was just flattering.”
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Once at Oracle, instead of suiting up and taking to the court, Jack walked through the hallways and tunnels of the arena, hugging security guards, ushers, and Warriors personnel:
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“It’s just about the relationships that were built, it was bigger than just the team. These people did a tremendous job of making sure we were able to come to work in a comfortable environment and they were right along there with us through the ups and downs of the season. I just wanted to come say ‘hi’ and let them know I didn’t forget about them and hopefully they didn’t forget about me.”
Jack said that was something that came with time, and the most important thing was learning to listen:
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“I believe you can not lead unless you’re able to listen first.”
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