SAN FRANCISCO — As to not make it sound like a demotion, the Warriors have a public relations policy that they don’t send players “down” to the G League but, rather, “over.”

However, after making only four shots in the entire month of December, Jordan Poole was assigned to the Warriors’ G League affiliate in Santa Cruz — a move hard to argue was anything but a demotion.

That G League stint proved to be helpful in Poole discovering his game. Despite a disappointing start to the season, the playmaking he displayed as a ball handler in three games with Santa Cruz has been a pleasant surprise for the Warriors, and helped turn the rookie’s season around.

Poole, the No. 28 pick in June’s NBA Draft, was drafted because of his shooting. But, before his G League assignment, he was shooting just 25.4% overall, a league-worst among rotation players. In seven games since being called back to Golden State, Poole is shooting 39.2% and averaging 8.3 points and 2.3 assists per game off the bench.

While he made as many shots in a loss to the Nuggets on Thursday as he did in all of December, it was a no-look pass to Marquese Chriss that became his highlight of the game.

Poole to Chriss, BEAUTIFUL pic.twitter.com/WKcMi9e0Bc — Chris Montano (@gswchris) January 17, 2020

Though he drew comparisons to an off-guard like J.R. Smith during the draft process, Poole, 20, mostly played point guard growing up in Milwaukee. From sixth grade through high school, Poole had the ball in his hands.

At Michigan, Zavier Simpson was entrenched as the starting point guard, so Poole played off the ball. In John Beilein’s rigid system, there weren’t many opportunities for Poole to flash his passing ability, though he still managed to average 2.2 assists per game as a sophomore.

“I was always a guy I felt could make it easy for other people, having the ball in my hands,” Poole said. “And then when I went to Michigan, they tried to keep me off the ball, so I had to find a way to impact (the game). I got labeled as a shooter.”

He played a similar role in Golden State before being sent to Santa Cruz, where head coach Kris Weems empowered Poole by giving him the ball. The goal was to help Poole regain confidence in his jumper but, in his first game against the Stockton Kings, he finished with a team-high seven assists.

Weems and player development coach Seth Cooper were surprised by Poole’s ability to find open teammates.

“I think the more he plays the more you’ll see his playmaking come through,” Cooper said.

In two more G League games, Poole emerged as one of the team’s top playmakers, consistently making challenging passes most rookies can’t make.

Driving the rim, Poole, listed at 6-foot-5, 195 pounds, showed surprising strength to deliver a bullet pass through traffic to the opposite corner.

What a WIN 🙌 FINAL: #SeaDubs 110 | @slcstars 106@ImJustPargo 22 pts | 4 reb | 4 ast

Jordan Poole 21 pts | 6 reb | 3 ast @DevMarble 16 pts | 8 reb@juanonjuan10 14 pts | 8 reb#DubNation pic.twitter.com/1RqKO1thIF — Santa Cruz Warriors (@GLeagueWarriors) January 4, 2020

And showed the vision to sling a pass through a lazy defense across the court.

🔥🔥 Jordan Poole ↔️ Ryan Taylor pic.twitter.com/OpBo2DCDTp — Santa Cruz Warriors (@GLeagueWarriors) December 30, 2019

“It felt good having the ball and being able to impact the game in a way I felt like I’m capable of doing, but I guess that’s what the G League’s for,” Poole said. “I feel like it’s a hidden talent.”

Since being recalled to Golden State, Poole has flashed that playmaking more often at the NBA level. Against the Clippers last Friday, he led a cutting Jacob Evans III for a layup with a bounce pass he delivered at a near-impossible angle using just the right amount of spin.

Sometimes, he can get himself in trouble by picking up his dribble in the thickets of the defense, disrupting the flow of the offense as teammates are forced to bail him out.

For Poole, it’s part of the learning process but, since coming back to Golden State, he has shown a renewed confidence in his jumper and is ahead of schedule as a playmaker. His innate feel for the game should make him a good fit in Golden State’s read-and-react offense going forward.

“I feel like I’m going to be in the league a real long time,” Poole said. “You’re going to go through days where you can’t get a bucket to fall, but you got to have belief in your game and you got to find a way to piece it together. And in year two, year three, you just add to your game. I’m not worried at all.”