Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
The Colonial Athletic Association is not known for producing much NBA talent. If you can even name a former CAA student-athlete that now rocks an NBA jersey, that player is most likely former Towson Tiger, and current San Antonio Spur, Gary Neal. For those with a little more knowledge of CAA hoops, former Old Dominion Monarch guard, Kent Bazemore’s, spot on the Golden State Warriors’ roster might not be a surprise.
But, that roster spot wasn’t a truly a luxury until Monday, when Bazemore was retained by the Warriors.
Entering Monday, 38 players in the Association did not have full salary protection for the season, and teams had to either guarantee those players’ contracts or release them. Fortunately for the former pupil of Blaine Taylor, the Warriors kept Bazemore on their payroll this season. This move is truly a huge milestone for the rookie, especially considering Golden State was about $1.22 million above the luxury tax entering the day.
For Bazemore, it hasn’t been the most glorified rookie season. Unfortunately, the 6-5 guard has been cheering on his teammates and supporting “Dub Nation” from the sidelines more than he’s seen the court. In fact, Bazemore, spent some time in December in the NBA’s Development League. But, now he’s guaranteed money for the remainder of the season, and played in a career-high 12 minutes and scored a career-high 6 points in his team’s loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday night.
Without Bazemore, and several other seniors from 2011-2012, the Monarchs have really struggled this season. In their final campaign in the CAA, ODU is just 2-13 overall and 0-3 in conference play.
It’s safe to say Blaine Taylor is pretty jealous of Mark Jackson right now.
Jake Fischer is the CAA Correspondent for Rant Sports-NCAA Basketball. Make sure to follow Jake on Twitter @JakeLFischer.
