Sept. 12, 2016
By Zac Ellis
VUCommodores.com
On campus in Nashville — Consider Damian Jones a lucky rookie heading into his first NBA season. Last June the Golden State Warriors selected Jones, a former center at Vanderbilt (2013-16), with the 30th overall pick in the NBA draft. Jones avoided landing with a rebuilding roster and instead earned a spot with a franchise one year removed from winning the NBA championship.
Last week Jones visited Vanderbilt’s campus to take in the Commodores’ 47-24 win over Middle Tennessee State in football. The newest Warrior sat down with VUCommodores.com to discuss his transition to the NBA, sharing a locker room with an NBA MVP and more.
VUCOMMODORES.COM: What have you been up to this summer since the draft?
Damian Jones: It’s been cool. I was around the team during summer league, and I learned a lot about the team offense and was able to get used to the assistant coaches who ran summer league. I’ve also been rehabbing my pectoral muscle, which I tore before the draft. But it’s been a good summer.
VU: What do you know now that you didn’t know before about being an NBA player?
DJ: I knew you got a lot of free time, but it really is a lot of free time. I’m not in class anymore. But I really did enjoy being in college.
VU: What was it like the moment you were drafted?
DJ: It was really fulfilling. You’ve been working hard for this for a long time, and to see it finally come to pass, it was really cool. It was just a great feeling.
VU: The Memphis Grizzlies picked your Vanderbilt teammate Wade Baldwin with the 17th overall pick in the draft. How did it feel to have two former Commodores represented in the draft?
DJ: It felt good to represent the school well. Hopefully it helps recruiting and makes other people want to come to Vanderbilt.
VU: Many NBA rookies must start their careers on losing teams. You immediately landed with a championship contender in Golden State. How did you get so lucky?
DJ: It took me a while to process that I was actually going to the Warriors. And then two weeks after the draft, Kevin Durant signed with the Warriors. It just got even better.
VU: Durant was obviously following you to Golden State, right?
DJ: [laughs] Oh yeah, obviously.
VU: What’s it like to walk into a locker room of a team that had just played in the NBA Finals?
DJ: It’s crazy. You watch these guys on TV one week, and then suddenly they’re your teammates. It’s been really cool, but you try not to be all star-struck when you meet them. You’ve got to play it cool.
VU: Is Steph Curry an even better player in person?
DJ: Yeah, he just knocks down shots, man. And he’s a real chill person.
VU: Have you made your first welcome-to-the-NBA purchase yet?
DJ: Probably my apartment, which is in downtown Oakland. It’s about a 10-minute walk from Oracle Arena. It’s just a bit different from the dorm at Vanderbilt. But Oakland has a really good vibe to it.
VU: Your hometown of Baton Rouge was hit hard during the recent floods in Louisiana. How has that impacted you? Is your family okay?
DJ: I was home when it was happening. It was weird, watching a lot of the rivers and things flood over. Most of my family came out unharmed, but some of our friends were affected, and a few of my aunts. A lot of areas you think wouldn’t get flooded were flooded. It was crazy.
VU: What’s your take on the future of Vanderbilt basketball under Bryce Drew? And what’s your relationship like with Coach Drew?
DJ: I love the way he runs the offense and his tenacity on defense. The guys have talked a lot about his defensive drills and stuff. But I’ve been talking to him a lot over the summer, and I talked to him before I left school. His staff is full of great people. What Coach Drew has envisioned for the team is great.
