SAN FRANCISCO: Mike Dunleavy, the future general manager of the Golden State Warriors, and Kent Lacob, an ascending front office personnel voice, got in a car and drove the short fifty miles south to the campus in Santa Clara about a year ago on this date.
The main reason they went was to view Pepperdine’s potential lottery choice, Maxwell Lewis. Lewis performed admirably. In the end, he would be chosen with the 40th pick in the NBA Draft of 2023. He wasn’t the best player on the court, though. Santa Clara’s 6-foot-4 guard, Brandin Podziemski, who was just starting to make an impression on the draft scene, made every big play that helped his team win. His 23 points were significant. However, it was the eighteen rebounds that made Dunleavy and Lacob pay attention.
