“Glad You Went to Military School”: Warriors’ Brandin Podziemski Reflects on First NBA Game Back Home at Milwaukee

The Milwaukee Bucks just hosted the Golden State Warriors on their home turf and won the game with a 118-129 final score. Suffering a loss at the hands of the Bucks, it wasn’t a special night for any Warriors player, except one. Warriors rookie Brandin Podziemski, a former Milwaukee native, played his first game in his hometown since being drafted by the Golden State Warriors.

After the game, Podziemski sat down with the media for a post-game press conference. Despite the loss, Podziemski was happy to play in Milwaukee and was even happier to see his seventh-grade English teacher in attendance. While talking to the reporters, Podziemski said the following as per NBCS.

“Ran into my seventh-grade English teacher pre-game. Haven’t seen her in a while but yeah, had a lot of people here. A lot of people that I met along my journey which has been cool for me.” Podziemski also went on to add, “She’s glad I went to Military school otherwise I would’ve been a troublemaker.”

 

Growing up, Podziemski must’ve been quite a handful for his English teacher to say that. Had he not attended a military school, Podziemski might not have found his calling to be a professional basketball player. But going to a military academy sure did wonders for the Santa Clara product given how he is in the NBA now, playing for the Golden State Warriors.

Brandin Podziemski went to St. John’s Northwestern Military Academy while growing up in Greenfield, Wisconsin. Podiemski did not play in the varsity team his freshman year but was named first-team All-State during his sophomore year after averaging 22.5 points and 9.3 rebounds per game.

Since then, Podziemski’s point production only went up as he averaged 27.6 points and 9.2 rebounds per game while making first-team All-State once again as a junior. He was also named Wisconsin Mr. Basketball after averaging 35.1 points, 10.0 rebounds, 5.6 assists, and 4.0 steals per game as a senior.

As for the game, with both Stephen Curry and Chris Paul unavailable to play against Milwaukee, Brandin Podziemski stepped up to the plate. Podziemski took the role of running the ball and not only did it stupendously but also finished the game with a double-double.

Podziemski finished the game playing 36 minutes, pouring in 23 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 blocks while shooting an incredible 71.4% from the field and 60% from the three. Even though Podziemski did not play the role of a traditional pass-first point guard, he did have an excellent game nonetheless.

How Brandin Podziemski and his coach felt about his first game as a starter

This was Brandin Podziemski’s first game playing in front of his hometown as the Milwaukee Bucks hosted the Golden State Warriors. Determined to give it his best, this is what Podziemski had to say about playing in front of his family and friends.

“Fun. Obviously, we didn’t get the W which is most important but being back home in front of, in an environment that I’ve been around before and a lot of people that I know is definitely a surreal moment for me.”

Despite the loss, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr too had high words for his rookie. While talking to the media, Kerr said, “Brandin was fantastic, yeah. Without Steph, we obviously needed his offense and he came through in a big way. He’s a really crafty player and knows how to get to the rim. He’s got that eurostep, he just has a feel and a knack. He had 10 rebounds I think. It’s one of the things we love about him. He just seems to be a step ahead of the play all the time.”

So, even though Brandin did not facilitate the ball enough, his scoring was what was needed of him and Podziemski surely did provide in the absence of the team’s All-Star point guards. With this 23-point game, Podziemski tied his season and career-high in points.

Hopefully, Steve Kerr goes on to utilize Podziemski more in the future, giving him more minutes and maybe shifting him to the team’s starting five occasionally.