One of the brightest highlights of this past Utah Jazz season was the emergence of 16th-overall selection Keyonte George. Since being picked up in the middle of the first within last summer's draft, the Baylor product has effectively shown out to emerged as one of this squad's cornerstone pieces to move forward with and one of the best young guards we've seen in Salt Lake City since the Donovan Mitchell era.
Now, it seems as if Keyonte is starting to connect with the former Jazz guard in his chase to be a sponge during his development.
During his end-of-season media availability, Keyonte revealed the biggest piece of advice he'd gotten from former Jazzman, and now Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell for his rookie year, voicing the importance of body language as the most significant.
"The main thing that stuck with me, as far as what Donovan [Mitchell] told me, is body language," Keyonte said. "Everybody is going to mess up. I'm going to mess up. The staff is going to mess up. But, if I want to be in the position he was in when he was here, a leader... [People are] going to look and see how you are as far as your body language. If you're at the end of the bench, head down, in the game, throw your hands out, everybody is going to follow you. So, it's just about taking that next jump-- keeping the poker face. Body language is going to be a main key for me. At the same time, it's good to show emotion, but the word for me next year is going to be 'emotional intelligence' for sure."
George is coming off a stellar first season in Utah, averaging 13.0 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 4.4 assists. He has the tools to hone into one of the premier guards in the league but must ensure to work on his mental side of the game as well. As told in his presser, possessing emotional intelligence and its importance will be a major focus for Keyonte going into year two.
The future is looking bright in Salt Lake City.
Follow Inside The Jazz on Facebook and X.
Subscribe to YouTube for breaking Jazz news videos and live streams!
More must-reads:
Get the latest news and rumors, customized to your favorite sports and teams. Emailed daily. Always free!