Santa Cruz Warriors: Introducing the ‘Surf City Summary’ weekly column

Dame continues to progress

Damian Jones has been soaring in his time with Santa Cruz — both literally and figuratively. He’s continue to evolve into the 2-way player many of us envision him becoming, proving to be a force to be reckoned with on both ends of the floor.

Overall, he’s shown a great deal of growth since last year. While playing 31 games with the Sea Dubs last season, Jones averaged 11.3 points, 7.2 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 2.1 blocks on 58.0 percent shooting.

This season, Jones has played 15 games on averages of 17.1 points, 8.2 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 2.3 blocks on 70.6 percent shooting. As of right now, Jones ranks second in blocks among centers that have played more than 5 games and second in field goal percentage among all players that have played more than 5 games.

While the work he did over the offseason has certainly played a part in his progression as a basketball player, it’s clear that Jones is a great deal more used to the speed and grind of the NBA this season.

Rather than being forced to arrive late to the party due to an unfortunate pectoral injury, Jones began the season healthy and has only continued to build on each and every outing. It’s gonna be incredible scary to watch him play after he finds his niche and develops a consistent rhythm.