On Thursday, June 23, Jeremy Sochan will be selected in the NBA draft. Yes, there is no doubt about it – one of the best basketball clubs league the world will definitely reach for the 19-year-old winger, who is 204 cm tall, impresses with versatility, physical abilities and potential. The son of a Polish woman and an American, raised in Great Britain, in recent weeks presented his possibilities at special trainings in Oklahoma City Thunder, Portland Trail Blazers, Sacramento Kings and New Orleans Pelicans, he also had a conversation with representatives of San Antonio Spurs.
Each of these clubs has the option to choose from one of the 12 highest numbers, and experts estimate Sochan’s chances at the top half of the first draft round. One of the most famous, John Hollinger from The Athletic, placed the Polish representative in eighth position in the last ranking. The short description of his game is: “It is possible that Sochan will never step out of his role as an energy substitute, but the possibilities for his development are so tempting that he is worth choosing with this number.”
Its potential is more important than statistics
We also asked Sam Vecenie – an editorial colleague of Hollinger from The Athletic, one of the best draft experts – for his opinion on Sochan. “I think Jeremy was a question mark when he was joining Baylor at the start of the season.” Mainly because his path so far was complicated, the path led from England to La Lumiere High School in Indiana, and then to Germany. Every season he played elsewhere and due to these changes it was difficult to judge what to expect from him – says Sport.pl Vecenie.
But at the turn of the year it was already clear that Sochan’s first season in the NCAA would be his last. “He was playing better and better month after month, and when primary Baylor Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua got injured, Sochan was given the opportunity to show off his incredible versatility,” says Vecenie.
Last season, Sochan played in 30 matches – he scored an average of 9.2 points, he had 6.4 rebounds and 1.8 assists. But more important than the statistics was his potential and the presented ability to play in several positions – in attack on both wings, as well as in the role of the middle, and in defense, practically everywhere on the pitch. Sochan’s advantage, emphasized at every step, is the ability to defend his opponents in every position.
The most important thing: to hit the team in which he develops a throw
“ We learned all of this about him this season, and when Jeremy signed up for the draft, more coaches and scouts started watching him. matches and were impressed with this versatility, says Vecenie. And he emphasizes another important aspect of the last weeks: – Jeremy gained a lot during conversations with club representatives, the assessments of his interviews were really good, he showed himself as a well-mannered, very aware of himself and the world around him, a young man who was appropriately shaped by his previous experiences in various countries .
– In building his position before the draft, these interviews were probably the most important, maybe even more important than the training and demonstrations of basketball skills. NBA clubs want to know not only what basketball player, but also what man they choose, how he will adjust to the team, to the relationship in the dressing room. Sochan definitely passed this test – adds Vecenie, who in recent weeks has been collecting opinions about the NBA candidates from various coaches and club employees.
But the question of where exactly the Polish representative will go, it is difficult even for him to answer. – I think that from Sochan’s point of view, the most important thing will be to find a team that will have the best specialist in the field training. Considering how many countries and clubs he has already played in, I wouldn’t care if he would find himself in a given city, everyone says he is very emotionally intelligent.
– That’s why, in my opinion, the key is a set of coaches, throwing specialists, which will help him improve this element of the game. If this happens, then its development may not be limited. It is very difficult to find players over two meters who can do so well in defense anywhere on the pitch, and also play well with the ball in their hands, read what is happening on the court and pass as well as Sochan does. . A long shot is really the only thing he needs to take to the next level, says The Athletic journalist.
“I spoke to coaches who were genuinely delighted with his defense”
In the NCAA, Sochan made an average of 2.7 throws for three per game, he scored 29.7 percent. of them. This is not much, especially since the weight of long-range shots in the current one basketball is getting bigger and the threat of a three-point throw has an impact on the opponent’s play. Knowing that a given player can hit from a distance, defenders have to approach him higher, which on the one hand makes room under the basket for other players, and on the other – allows dynamic basketball players such as Sochan to quickly pass a closely positioned opponent.
The Polish representative is aware that he has to work on the throw, but he also does not feel any special pressure in this matter, which he said in May in an interview with Sport.pl. – Many people say that my throw is not the best, that I need to improve it. I think I can throw effectively, and the people I train with know it too. But of course I am working hard to make this throw as stable as possible, so that every attempt is mechanically the same. I think I’m making progress. I practice, watch these rehearsals on video, I also watch the mechanics of other players. Improving the throw is a challenge for me, but not a problem.
What to expect from Sochana in his first season in the NBA? – I think that thanks to the unique possibilities of playing defense, he will definitely get a chance to play, and in quite a lot of time. I saw and then talked to the coaches who were genuinely delighted with this element of Sochan’s game – he is a player who on the defense can be a very important figure in the entire system and can allow for various settings – explains Vecenie.
– The exact number of minutes will depend on the creativity of the coach, the composition of the team in which he lands, and the extent to which he will improve the throw before the start of the season – the American journalist concludes.
The NBA draft will be held on Thursday night on pi±tek Polish time at the Barclays Center in New York. So far, three Poles have been selected in it – Maciej Lampe (30th issue in 2003), Szymon Szewczyk (35th also in 2003) and Marcin Gortat (57th in 2005). Lampe and Gortat played in the NBA, before them, Cezary Trybański entered the best league in the world, without recruiting.
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