Santa Cruz Warriors: 2017-18 exit interview with Terrence Jones
Terrence Jone sreflects on his 2017-18 season with the Santa Cruz Warriors.
The Santa Cruz Warriors had three players called up to the NBA over the course of the 2017-18 G League season: Antonius Cleveland, Georges Niang and Damion Lee.
Though if we’re being honest, they probably should have had four: Terrence Jones.
Jones came to Surf City late in the year, joining the team in early December. He played 16 games with the Sea Dubs (nine starts), averaging 19.4 points, 7.2 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 1.1 steals and 1.3 blocks in 29.8 minutes.
Prior to his arrival in Santa Cruz, Jones played the beginning of year overseas in China with the Qingdao Double Star Eagles, playing nine games on averages of 22.3 points, 11.2 rebounds. 3.2 assists, 1.2 steals and 2.3 blocks in 31.9 minutes per game.
He was also honored as one of 13 players chosen to play in the league’s first-ever NBA G League International Challenge, which was played on the last day of this year’s All-Star Weekend.
Playing against the Mexico National Team, Jones posted eight points, six rebounds, four assists, two steals and one block in 18 minutes off the bench.
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Jones displayed the kind of versatility the Warriors regard so highly. Much like Draymond Green with the Golden State Warriors, Jones is very much a ‘tweener, being able to switch almost seamlessly between every frontcourt position.
After the departure of Georges Niang, Jones proved to be a solid replacement, stuffing the stat sheet nearly every single night. Were it not for Jones, the Sea Dubs probably would have ended the year much, much lower in standings.
So when asked how his game developed over the course of the year, Jones was candid in saying much of his growth didn’t actually have to do with his on-court skills; rather, it revolved around “fighting through adversity” off the court.
“Going through so many struggles off the court — losing my grandmother, having this injury to my knee — just a lot of different things that happened in my life that really made me have to try to fight through…,” said Jones.
“I think (my teammates) were there for me through that, and I just wanna take that part of me and move forward, knowing how to stay in focus.”
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Other than his teammates, Jones thought very highly of the Santa Cruz Warriors fanbase, describing them as “amazing.”
“I’ve never seen anything like that in the G League,” Jones said. “How supportive, and how consistent they came to the games was just something I appreciated. It was always an energy in here.”
“It was a lot of fun to play in front of them.”