Kevin Seraphin reflects back on a breakout season with the Washington Wizards – NBA Update
Kevin Seraphin has had a breakout season with the Washington Wizards. He was having a mediocre season at the start of the 2011-2012 NBA season, going the first 41 games without making any impact.
But, when JaVale McGee was traded to the Denver Nuggets in place of Nene, Seraphin was given the opportunity to start the game. And the young big made full use of it, scoring 10 points or more in the final 16
games of the season and 22 games in total to become a solid offensive option for the Wizards.
“He’s the epitomy of what I talk about to all these young kids all the time, whether it was here or in my previous teams, ‘Your opportunity is going to come at some point. It might not be today, it might not
be tomorrow, but when it comes you better be ready, because you might only get one,’” said Coach Randy Wittman.
Seraphin did not have immediate success in the league. Drafted as the 17th pick in the 2010 NBA Draft, Seraphin had a dismal rookie season as he was struggling with a knee injury suffered
while playing in France, did not know English and had to get accustomed to the playing style of the NBA.
“Everything was going slow for me, cause that was difficult you know” said Seraphin.
During the lockout, Seraphin thought he needed to be playing basketball to improve his game and get some training from an experienced coach. He thus decided to play for Spanish club Caja Laboral, one of the best
teams in Europe. There, he played under Dusko Ivanovic, said to be one of the toughest coaches around. But Seraphin says that experience helped him a lot in improving his game.
“It helped me a lot. I worked out last summer, I worked out hard, I do not take a vacation. Even if we got the lockout and everything, I was like, ‘When I come back I have to be ready.’ ” said Seraphin.
It was due to this positive attitude, hard work and the will to improve that Seraphin eventually was able to make a mark for himself in the Wizards team and the NBA. After struggling in the first few months of
the NBA season, Seraphin rose up to the occasion when the trade sent McGee to Denver.
He capitalized on the opportunity and proved his talent to his coach and team. Seraphin averaged 14.1 points, 7.2 rebounds and 53.2% shooting from the floor in the 21 games he started this season. He says that
the arrival of veteran Nene into the team helped him a great deal as he learnt from him. Both Nene and Seraphin are from South America, and immediately hit it off, with Seraphin taking guidelines from Nene to improve his game.
“He was one of my favourite players in the league. So that was like motivation for me because I always tried to be better than him, and try to learn from him,” Seraphin said referring to Nene.
Nene was also all praise for Seraphin’s spirit and willingness to learn and work hard. He said that even though Seraphin had been playing for 5 five years and was in his 2nd NBA season,
he had the same desire to learn as a rookie.
Seraphin is looking forward to next season, where he will become a regular starter and will have even more opportunity to grow his game and prove his mettle. For the offseason, Seraphin says that he will work
on his game, particularly his rebounding ability. He has gotten this chance after a great deal of effort and a long wait. He does not want to let it pass by.
Tags: