👇timestamped transcript (better than RUclips’s auto-generated one, tap More or scroll down) … PREVIOUS Q&A: Gui/Dario ruclips.net/video/KLWIMVTbp6c/видео.html … PREVIOUS VIDEO: Valkyries ruclips.net/video/j2L9KxtoAUk/видео.html … MORE PODZIEMSKI: ruclips.net/p/PLszalip37vKJDB9h3IG1SESRZB6oZWeaC … MORE PLAYLISTS: ruclips.net/user/letsgowarriorsplaylists NOTE: Video enhanced by LGW to hear all of the reporters’ questions. [👇see Comments for entirety of timestamps/transcript👇] TRUNCATED TIMESTAMPS/TRANSCRIPT: 0:00 Brandin, congratulations. How did you find out the news and what was your reaction? BRANDIN PODZIEMSKI AFTER BEING NAMED TO FIRST-TEAM ALL-ROOKIE: “Found out, watched the video that Raymond showed me and Steve Nash gave me a shout out. So it was pretty cool.” What does this honor mean to you? “It means a lot. In the off season, you think about your journey, where you came from, what steps it took to get here. Being a 19th pick in an organization where not a lot of rookies get to play, and ending up on first team all-rookie, it's a credit to my work ethic, but also to my teammates and the coaches in the front office for providing the opportunity. And then me just taking full advantage of it, it means a lot. It's something that I had on a goal list of mine coming into the year. And I got to check that box. So it's a pretty cool feeling to be a rookie one time.” 0:57 In reflecting on your journey, what are some areas where you think you grew the most this year as a rookie? “Yeah, I think my leadership role within the team increased. As a rookie in an organization like this, you come in and you want to listen and learn. And then you kind of take what you can from that and try to apply it. And for me being a natural leader, I think towards the end of the season, I was able to apply it more. And yeah I think it just gave him more confidence, not only on the court, but off the floor, talking to teammates and stuff like that.” 1:32 You talked about your journey, going back to Illinois. I mean, it's a pretty good rise, obviously from Illinois to here, but when you think back on that one season where, you didn't play much at all, how much of that experience kind of led you or pushed you to where you are now? “Yeah, it helped me a lot. I was actually talking to my high school coach about it yesterday. And I just told him, he's like, ‘How did you handle that?’ And for me, it was kind of like, obviously you control the controllables, that's a given, but I just used it as an extended summer for myself. I wasn't playing from November through March when our season ended. So I used that as an extended summer to work on my game, get better, compete against the first-team guys. And it gave me a chip on my shoulder because the first couple of games I didn't play there, I really questioned my ability. Was I good enough to play? So I really had to think about that and if it was really something I wanted to do to push through it. And I did because I love the game and here we are today, two years later from actually when I transferred from Illinois. So it's been a pretty cool ride to see where I've grown, developed, what I've become, as a person, as a man, as a player, and my goal is just to continue to get better and see where things take me.” 2:55 You've discussed this before about why you ended up at Santa Clara there, but that year that you spent there, how big was that as sort of an in-between time between Illinois and getting here? “Yeah, it was a very critical year. It was nice to be welcomed and loved by the coaching staff and entrusted with a heavy position on a team. They can say it's mid-major or not, but through this year I proved it doesn't matter where you come from. And that year was just really good for me. Herb and the staff came to me right when I hit the portal and had a vision for me that I may have not even saw myself. So, to get that opportunity after playing four minutes a game at Illinois and them saying, ‘We just want you to do what Jalen (Williams) just did, and that gave me the most confidence and me being a confident person already. I think I just took that and took full advantage of the opportunity.” [👇see Comments for entirety of timestamps/transcript👇] MORE TRANSCRIPTS ON OUR WEBSITE: www.letsgowarriors.com #Warriors #BrandinPodziemski #JalenBrunson
3:54 Who told you (that) you were confident? “I was just raised that way. I think my pops did a great job of that.” 4:01 But even at Santa Clara, they said they had a vision for you. How did they convey that? “Well, they showed me what Jalen was going through and his journey. Obviously, he was there for three years. So his growth and development, that was obviously something I really looked for, a program that was going to help me develop and get better and to see his numbers throughout every year getting better. Even the guys that we send overseas, their numbers were getting better. Just to see that growth and understanding that they're really big into player development, especially in the summer and fall. I knew that's something that I could have used to help me during the season and I think through the whole process they were just super-adamant about me being the guy there and getting to kind of run the show and I thought that was very appealing for me.” 4:51 In the course of this, your rookie season, what were two or three things that really stand out as points where you really grew from an experience, something that happened, whether it was good or bad? “Yeah, I think a lot of things. I think from playing good at that Minnesota game, an in-season tournament game, that really kind of like got it going for me and really was like, ‘Yeah, I can kind of do this at this level.’ Because as a rookie, you always try to get your feet wet and see where you fit in. So I think that opportunity, playing in that situation kind of gave me the confidence, like, ‘Yeah, I can belong.’ And then just throughout the course of the season, your role changes, people are out, people are in. So being able to be adaptable and kind of fill in where needed, I think I grew in that area. And then I mentioned, when Danny (Emerman of the San Jose Mercury) asked the question of the maturity piece and the leadership piece throughout the team, I think I kind of grew in that area and it's something I'm working on now and that I look forward to taking into Year Two.” 5:48 You talked about your role change and everything coming in, not in the rotation, in the rotation of the starting lineup, all those different things. Can you talk to me about how some of the coaches here and your teammates here helped you navigate your rookie season and sort of ever-evolving and changing role? “Yeah, the coaches did a great job, like I said before, controlling what I could control. it's really out of my control whether I play or I don't. And I think where I had the advantage was, like Monte (Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area) said, of playing at Illinois and going through something similar like that and not playing, a lot of guys that are in my position or got picked in the first round of this year's draft have never had to kind of go through that and face that piece of adversity of not playing and knowing what that feels like, how to keep your mind right through those situations. So I think for me, having that experience at Illinois and using that at the beginning of the season of not being okay with just going down to Santa Cruz and playing and how do I find my way into the rotation, I think that experience that helped me.” 6:47 Trayce was this close, one vote from making the second team (for all-rookie). What do you think about what Trayce did? And what's your reaction to seeing him miss out? “Just like yeah, I mean it makes me upset for him. Obviously, we've been through everything together and just to see, from a guard's perspective, his impact on our games and how he's helped us win games this year. I think maybe the voters should take winning more into account and it sucks to see him not make it. I think he deserved it, but I know him and I know he's going to use it as a chip out of shoulder for next year and I think that's just going to make him even better.” 7:29 You talked about this being a goal of yours, this award. What are some of your other goals and just some things that you want to improve upon and motivate you in the offseason? “Yeah, I want to win the championship as soon as I can. Obviously, we have some guys that are getting older, so the time is ticking and our young guys are here to help them and try to win the championship. I want to win Most Improved at some point. And then, eventually be an All-Star. That's the goal. And I'm going to keep pushing and going until I can get there.” 8:00 What does your offseason look like so far? I know this is the first time in a few years at least that you've had kind of like a standard set offseason with set goals and expectations. “Yeah. So, after we lost to Sac and took two weeks off, kind of mandatory, and then, not last Monday, but the Monday before, I started working out here, on my own, getting shots up, in the weight room, constantly improving my body. I know that's somewhere I got to get better at, being a better athlete. So that's what I've been doing. And then just working on situations I'm going to be put in this year.” 8:37 I don't know how much you've watched, what are some things that you've taken away from watching the playoffs or learned? “Yeah, I think it's just more physical. I think it's more defensive-oriented in the playoffs. When I was back home in Milwaukee, I went to Game 5 of Pacers in Milwaukee. And just to see that environment and what the refs were letting go, what they were calling, how you see the All-Stars and them rise to the top when time matters. Yeah, it gave me the chills and kind of was like, this is fun and this is something I want to be a part of. And like I said, I want to be an All-Star at some point, so I want to be put in those situations.” 9:19 You mentioned getting shots up and working in the weight room. Are there one or two things you've sort of isolated besides obviously working on your body that you want to try and fix up before you get to training camp? “Basketball-wise or about my body?” Both. “Yeah, I think I think my body-wise, just being quicker laterally and vertically being more explosive instead of always having to rely on touch shots around the rim, stuff like that. And on the basketball floor, really opening and expanding that mid-range game for myself, shooting jumpers in the paint, all kind of stuff that as a guard, I work on. I watched a lot of Jalen Brunson, Luka, TJ McConnell, all guys that are super-effective around the rim and not the most athletic. And then continuing to shoot that three ball. I was talking with Mike (Dunleavy) and Steve (Kerr). They wanted me to shoot more and they know I'm capable. So I'm hearing that from them. That's really what I've been working on, off the dribble, off the ball-screen, off DHOs, catch-and-shoot, all kinds of stuff.” 10:50 This is Sam (Gordon) with the San Francisco Chronicle). What was your favorite moment this season? “Probably playing in Milwaukee, playing back home. As Monte had mentioned, the Illinois days, I remember playing at Marquette, when I was at Illinois and a bunch of people there and I didn't take my warm-ups off. So, to have that feeling and then come back two years later and play, and play well, even though we lost, I think it was kind of a full-circle moment because those same people got to come back and watch me again.” 11:34 Jason Dumas (of KRON-TV). How much do you plan on yourself in any of the pro runs this summer, any of the men's leagues and if so, when, where, what - what's that kind of look like to get in some runs? “Yeah, I think I'm going to go where it kind of makes sense, whether it's in LA, back home in Milwaukee. We have a bunch of pros overseas that come back, and obviously all of our NBA guys come back. So, kind of wherever it makes sense, just something that's going to push me and make me better. That's kind of where I'm going to be at.”
👇timestamped transcript (better than RUclips’s auto-generated one, tap More or scroll down) … PREVIOUS Q&A: Gui/Dario ruclips.net/video/KLWIMVTbp6c/видео.html … PREVIOUS VIDEO: Valkyries ruclips.net/video/j2L9KxtoAUk/видео.html … MORE PODZIEMSKI: ruclips.net/p/PLszalip37vKJDB9h3IG1SESRZB6oZWeaC … MORE PLAYLISTS: ruclips.net/user/letsgowarriorsplaylists
NOTE: Video enhanced by LGW to hear all of the reporters’ questions.
[👇see Comments for entirety of timestamps/transcript👇]
TRUNCATED TIMESTAMPS/TRANSCRIPT:
0:00 Brandin, congratulations. How did you find out the news and what was your reaction?
BRANDIN PODZIEMSKI AFTER BEING NAMED TO FIRST-TEAM ALL-ROOKIE: “Found out, watched the video that Raymond showed me and Steve Nash gave me a shout out. So it was pretty cool.”
What does this honor mean to you?
“It means a lot. In the off season, you think about your journey, where you came from, what steps it took to get here. Being a 19th pick in an organization where not a lot of rookies get to play, and ending up on first team all-rookie, it's a credit to my work ethic, but also to my teammates and the coaches in the front office for providing the opportunity. And then me just taking full advantage of it, it means a lot. It's something that I had on a goal list of mine coming into the year. And I got to check that box. So it's a pretty cool feeling to be a rookie one time.”
0:57 In reflecting on your journey, what are some areas where you think you grew the most this year as a rookie?
“Yeah, I think my leadership role within the team increased. As a rookie in an organization like this, you come in and you want to listen and learn. And then you kind of take what you can from that and try to apply it. And for me being a natural leader, I think towards the end of the season, I was able to apply it more. And yeah I think it just gave him more confidence, not only on the court, but off the floor, talking to teammates and stuff like that.”
1:32 You talked about your journey, going back to Illinois. I mean, it's a pretty good rise, obviously from Illinois to here, but when you think back on that one season where, you didn't play much at all, how much of that experience kind of led you or pushed you to where you are now?
“Yeah, it helped me a lot. I was actually talking to my high school coach about it yesterday. And I just told him, he's like, ‘How did you handle that?’ And for me, it was kind of like, obviously you control the controllables, that's a given, but I just used it as an extended summer for myself. I wasn't playing from November through March when our season ended. So I used that as an extended summer to work on my game, get better, compete against the first-team guys. And it gave me a chip on my shoulder because the first couple of games I didn't play there, I really questioned my ability. Was I good enough to play? So I really had to think about that and if it was really something I wanted to do to push through it. And I did because I love the game and here we are today, two years later from actually when I transferred from Illinois. So it's been a pretty cool ride to see where I've grown, developed, what I've become, as a person, as a man, as a player, and my goal is just to continue to get better and see where things take me.”
2:55 You've discussed this before about why you ended up at Santa Clara there, but that year that you spent there, how big was that as sort of an in-between time between Illinois and getting here?
“Yeah, it was a very critical year. It was nice to be welcomed and loved by the coaching staff and entrusted with a heavy position on a team. They can say it's mid-major or not, but through this year I proved it doesn't matter where you come from. And that year was just really good for me. Herb and the staff came to me right when I hit the portal and had a vision for me that I may have not even saw myself. So, to get that opportunity after playing four minutes a game at Illinois and them saying, ‘We just want you to do what Jalen (Williams) just did, and that gave me the most confidence and me being a confident person already. I think I just took that and took full advantage of the opportunity.”
[👇see Comments for entirety of timestamps/transcript👇]
MORE TRANSCRIPTS ON OUR WEBSITE: www.letsgowarriors.com
#Warriors #BrandinPodziemski #JalenBrunson
3:54 Who told you (that) you were confident?
“I was just raised that way. I think my pops did a great job of that.”
4:01 But even at Santa Clara, they said they had a vision for you. How did they convey that?
“Well, they showed me what Jalen was going through and his journey. Obviously, he was there for three years. So his growth and development, that was obviously something I really looked for, a program that was going to help me develop and get better and to see his numbers throughout every year getting better. Even the guys that we send overseas, their numbers were getting better. Just to see that growth and understanding that they're really big into player development, especially in the summer and fall. I knew that's something that I could have used to help me during the season and I think through the whole process they were just super-adamant about me being the guy there and getting to kind of run the show and I thought that was very appealing for me.”
4:51 In the course of this, your rookie season, what were two or three things that really stand out as points where you really grew from an experience, something that happened, whether it was good or bad?
“Yeah, I think a lot of things. I think from playing good at that Minnesota game, an in-season tournament game, that really kind of like got it going for me and really was like, ‘Yeah, I can kind of do this at this level.’ Because as a rookie, you always try to get your feet wet and see where you fit in. So I think that opportunity, playing in that situation kind of gave me the confidence, like, ‘Yeah, I can belong.’ And then just throughout the course of the season, your role changes, people are out, people are in. So being able to be adaptable and kind of fill in where needed, I think I grew in that area. And then I mentioned, when Danny (Emerman of the San Jose Mercury) asked the question of the maturity piece and the leadership piece throughout the team, I think I kind of grew in that area and it's something I'm working on now and that I look forward to taking into Year Two.”
5:48 You talked about your role change and everything coming in, not in the rotation, in the rotation of the starting lineup, all those different things. Can you talk to me about how some of the coaches here and your teammates here helped you navigate your rookie season and sort of ever-evolving and changing role?
“Yeah, the coaches did a great job, like I said before, controlling what I could control. it's really out of my control whether I play or I don't. And I think where I had the advantage was, like Monte (Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area) said, of playing at Illinois and going through something similar like that and not playing, a lot of guys that are in my position or got picked in the first round of this year's draft have never had to kind of go through that and face that piece of adversity of not playing and knowing what that feels like, how to keep your mind right through those situations. So I think for me, having that experience at Illinois and using that at the beginning of the season of not being okay with just going down to Santa Cruz and playing and how do I find my way into the rotation, I think that experience that helped me.”
6:47 Trayce was this close, one vote from making the second team (for all-rookie). What do you think about what Trayce did? And what's your reaction to seeing him miss out?
“Just like yeah, I mean it makes me upset for him. Obviously, we've been through everything together and just to see, from a guard's perspective, his impact on our games and how he's helped us win games this year. I think maybe the voters should take winning more into account and it sucks to see him not make it. I think he deserved it, but I know him and I know he's going to use it as a chip out of shoulder for next year and I think that's just going to make him even better.”
7:29 You talked about this being a goal of yours, this award. What are some of your other goals and just some things that you want to improve upon and motivate you in the offseason?
“Yeah, I want to win the championship as soon as I can. Obviously, we have some guys that are getting older, so the time is ticking and our young guys are here to help them and try to win the championship. I want to win Most Improved at some point. And then, eventually be an All-Star. That's the goal. And I'm going to keep pushing and going until I can get there.”
8:00 What does your offseason look like so far? I know this is the first time in a few years at least that you've had kind of like a standard set offseason with set goals and expectations.
“Yeah. So, after we lost to Sac and took two weeks off, kind of mandatory, and then, not last Monday, but the Monday before, I started working out here, on my own, getting shots up, in the weight room, constantly improving my body. I know that's somewhere I got to get better at, being a better athlete. So that's what I've been doing. And then just working on situations I'm going to be put in this year.”
8:37 I don't know how much you've watched, what are some things that you've taken away from watching the playoffs or learned?
“Yeah, I think it's just more physical. I think it's more defensive-oriented in the playoffs. When I was back home in Milwaukee, I went to Game 5 of Pacers in Milwaukee. And just to see that environment and what the refs were letting go, what they were calling, how you see the All-Stars and them rise to the top when time matters. Yeah, it gave me the chills and kind of was like, this is fun and this is something I want to be a part of. And like I said, I want to be an All-Star at some point, so I want to be put in those situations.”
9:19 You mentioned getting shots up and working in the weight room. Are there one or two things you've sort of isolated besides obviously working on your body that you want to try and fix up before you get to training camp?
“Basketball-wise or about my body?”
Both.
“Yeah, I think I think my body-wise, just being quicker laterally and vertically being more explosive instead of always having to rely on touch shots around the rim, stuff like that. And on the basketball floor, really opening and expanding that mid-range game for myself, shooting jumpers in the paint, all kind of stuff that as a guard, I work on. I watched a lot of Jalen Brunson, Luka, TJ McConnell, all guys that are super-effective around the rim and not the most athletic. And then continuing to shoot that three ball. I was talking with Mike (Dunleavy) and Steve (Kerr). They wanted me to shoot more and they know I'm capable. So I'm hearing that from them. That's really what I've been working on, off the dribble, off the ball-screen, off DHOs, catch-and-shoot, all kinds of stuff.”
10:50 This is Sam (Gordon) with the San Francisco Chronicle). What was your favorite moment this season?
“Probably playing in Milwaukee, playing back home. As Monte had mentioned, the Illinois days, I remember playing at Marquette, when I was at Illinois and a bunch of people there and I didn't take my warm-ups off. So, to have that feeling and then come back two years later and play, and play well, even though we lost, I think it was kind of a full-circle moment because those same people got to come back and watch me again.”
11:34 Jason Dumas (of KRON-TV). How much do you plan on yourself in any of the pro runs this summer, any of the men's leagues and if so, when, where, what - what's that kind of look like to get in some runs?
“Yeah, I think I'm going to go where it kind of makes sense, whether it's in LA, back home in Milwaukee. We have a bunch of pros overseas that come back, and obviously all of our NBA guys come back. So, kind of wherever it makes sense, just something that's going to push me and make me better. That's kind of where I'm going to be at.”
Really glad this kid is with the Dubs. They need to hold onto to him and let him keep developing. Also, very good role model for young players.
Imagine had Kerr started taking TJD away from DNP status much earlier and gave him more minutes, he would have made All Rookie for sure.
It’s not healthy to look for blame, Johnson. Stay positive and let’s praise people instead of always throwing them under the bus 👍👍💛💙