Basketball Legend Jerry West Visits Santa Cruz and Weighs in on the Warriors

Over the weekend, NBA royalty visited Santa Cruz as Golden State Warrior Executive Board Member Jerry West was in town to take in a Santa Cruz Warrior game.  Patch caught up with him Sunday at Fan Appreciation Day at the Kaiser Permanante Arena, and we sat down with him to discuss the D-League Warriors, the Golden State Warriors and the some NBA legends.

Patch:  You spoke to the Santa Cruz Warrior team before the final home game of the season on Saturday night.  What did you tell them?

West:  You just completed a marathon.  Time to focus because the game is going to change.  They're not going to be as high-scoring, and the turnovers are going to be magnified. I told them we appreciated their efforts on the Warriors' behalf and they have to look at this as a start of a new season.  The games will be tighter and much more aggressive.  Players and coaches will all be on the top of their games.

Patch:  What did you think of the sellout crowd Saturday night at the Kaiser Permanente Arena?

West:  I was amazed at how engaged they were.  The city has really rallied behind the team.  At halftime, I told Jim Weyermann, who runs the team, that the community has really embraced you, and it looks like a place to go to have fun besides the beach.  The thing I thought was really special was all the young kids who participated in the timeouts and halftime.  When you get a community engaged like that, they stay engaged.  The in-house entertainment was great.

Patch:  It really seemed like the players fed off the energy of the crowd.

West:  When we fell behind, the enthusiasm helped the players get back in the game.  It's just an amazing atmosphere.  Great energy between the big club and our D-league affiliate.  These players are chasing a dream, and the only way they are going to be able to accomplish this is at a level like this.

Patch:  Speaking of the big club, what were your expectations for the Golden State Warriors this year?

West: Every year I always try to pick a number to see where we're going to be at the end of the season.  I certainly didn't expect this (44 wins). 

Patch:  So you like the makeup of this team?

West:  This team is very much like a college atmosphere, the players like each other.  Mark Jackson has fit in beautifully.  He doesn't let little things bother him, which would drive me crazy.  I hate the fact that we have enough good passers on this team and that we're second or third in the league in turnovers.  It's just carelessness and inexperience.  If we could clean that up, it makes us a better team. 

Patch: So management selected the right guy to coach this squad.

West:  Mark has the ability to handle it all.  He's very cool on the sidelines.  One of our veteran players says he's the best coach he's played for, so that's a testament to him. 

Patch:  How about the play of point guard Stephen Curry?

West:  He's finally healthy.  I don't think he would be at this place if Monta Ellis were still here because they'd have to share the ball.  I think it's a better match having Curry and Klay Thompson in the backcourt.  Thompson doesn't want to handle the ball, he's a catch and shoot guy and it gives Steph a lot more opportunities to really expand his game.  He's clever and one of the best shooters I have seen in all my years in the NBA.

Patch:  Anything surprise you about Curry's game?

West: I think the thing that would surprise people is how competitive he is.  People look at him with that baby face, but you have got to give him an enormous amount of credit.  He's getting better and he's got areas in which he can better.  I think he should have made the all-star team this year.

Patch:  As executive director of basketball operations for the Lakers back in 1996,  you brought in a 17-year-old high school player named Kobe Bryant for a workout.  Afterwords, you said that it was the best workout you had even seen and you subsequently made a trade with Charlotte on draft day to acquire him.  What did you see in that workout that was so impressive?

West:  His skill level for a young kid was just amazing, as was his ability to get shots while being guarded by excellent defenders.  He was just one of those guys, even at 17, who wanted to play everyone in the world one-on-one.  In his rookie year, he used to go down to the beach and play in those outdoor summer leagues and he broke his wrist.  But he went to training camp and developed his left hand, which is now second to none, to be honest with you.

Patch:  What about the Kobe of today?

West: When I watch him play, I see one of those players of a decade.  A year ago, it looked as if he were bothered by injuries and slowing down.  This guy plays through injuries when other guys wouldn't play, he's just a fierce competitor.  He's got the heart of a champion.  He's had a great year and it's pretty special to watch where he's come from and what he's accomplished as a player.

Patch:  I saw you at the Staples Center last week for the retirement ceremony for Shaquille O'Neal.  What were your thoughts that night?

West:  It's alway nice to see a player that helped the franchise as much as he did.  He was a friend of mine and we were more than just people who played ball together.  He's one of the greatest guys I've ever known.  I loved him as a player and as a person he's even better.

Patch:  Speaking of great centers, what do you think of the revitalized play this season of Tim Duncan?

West: He's one of my favorite players.  He gets no credit and he's one of the greatest players ever to play in the league.  He doesn't call any attention to himself, he just plays the game.  I think the great players look to him as an example.  The key is he still enjoys playing.  It tells you a lot about the environment he's in, the coach he plays for and the players he plays with.  He could easily have run away from the game when he shouldn't have.  He's someone I admire greatly.

Patch:  How impressed are you by the development of LeBron James?

West:  When you saw him early in his career, he was playing on physical ability.  But he has really worked on his skill level, and now he's a dangerous shooter from all over the place.   Now he has the his ability to go into the post and command a double team because he's going to have a size advantage.  He can play four positions defensively.  He might be the fastest guy in the league with the best vertical leap.  He might also have one of the best minds you could find in a basketball player.  And the scary part is that he's gonna get better.

Patch:  Any thoughts on Kevin Durant?

West:  I've said it before and I'll say it again, if he can stay healthy, he might become the all-time leading scorer in professional basketball because he started so young.

Patch:  Let's get back to Golden State.  The Warriors are a three point shooting team.  Teams will focus on taking that away in the playoffs.  What do the Warriors have to do to be successful in the postseason?

West:  If you watched our team play in the second half of the season, they're going to double Curry and Thompson.  We're going to have to find a way to get other players involved.  David Lee will probably get more opportunities because he's playing with probably the best passing big man in the league in Andrew Bogut.  Bogut has to continue to get his mobility back.  He's a shot blocker, lane protector and he can post defend, something we've never had here. 

Patch:  What about the bench?

West:  Our bench has done a remarkable job, but at the end of the day, do we have enough experience?  We have seven first or second year guys who are talented kids, who in the summer are going to have to work on aspects of their game that will let them play effectively in the heart of the game, and the heart of the game is in the playoffs.  If they're playing with two minutes left and the score is tied, that's when you know a player has made progress.

Patch:  So you're saying a rookie like Harrison Barnes has some work to do.

West:  Harrison is a 20-year-old kid who's physically gifted and wants to be great.  The thing with him and young players like Klay Thompson, they have to have better footwork.  Harrison has done a great job for us as a rookie, stepping in there for a player that no one is talking about, Brandon Rush, who we lost early in the season and who was one of our best and most versatile players.  If we had him, we might have won 50 games this year.  We have some young kids that are talented and will be in the league for a long time, but there's a world of difference between the regular season and the playoffs.

Patch:  Thank you, Jerry.

West:  My pleasure.