NBA Daily: Pop Gives Sochan the Tony Parker Formula
By Reylan Loberternos
PhilBoxing.com
Thu, 15 Dec 2022
Tagbilaran City, Bohol – San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich rarely trusts rookies right off the bat. More often than not, neophytes spend majority of their formative years in the G-League before getting regular rotation minutes with the team. When asked by this writer what made him decide to deviate from the norm when it came to his prized rookie Jeremy Sochan, he simply reminded us of another 19-year-old draftee he once coached about two decades ago.
“Well, you just see it. We threw Tony (Parker) into the fire when he was nineteen and we’re doing the same thing with this kid just because he’s shown us what he can do. He handles the ball. He’s kind of a natural point guard at 6’8” or whatever he is. He likes to pass. The team really reacts well to him,” said the 73-year-old 5-time NBA champion coach.
Injuries to Spurs starting point guard Tre Jones and other key guards early in the season became a blessing in disguise for Sochan and the Spurs in general. It allowed Popovich to unlock yet another facet of Sochan’s seemingly limitless potential. At the same time, it also gave Sochan an opportunity to showcase his guard skills, while also exposing what he needs to work on the most.
In 21 games, thus far this season, Sochan averaged 2.2 attempts from deep on a nightly basis. For reference and a little perspective, Doug McDermott, the Spurs’ resident sniper only hoists 4.7 attempts from beyond the arc, making two per game for a solid 41.7% accuracy.
The 9th overall pick in the recent NBA Rookie Draft, however, only connects on a measly 17.4% of those 3-point attempts. That’s just 0.4 makes per contest. Make no mistake about it, Sochan tosses those threes not because he likes to, but because he has to.
This was very evident in the Spurs back-to-back games in Los Angeles last November 19th and 20th, the first two games when Pop entrusted Sochan with point guard duties. He attempted 4 threes during that period and bricked all of them. To make matters worse, he also committed 9 turnovers during that two-game stretch, as his defenders had the luxury of clogging the passing lanes every time Sochan was at the perimeter, whether he was handling the ball or not.
Opposing defenses make it a point to sag on him when he’s at the perimeter. They’re purposely giving him the open looks because they know he doesn’t have that facet of his game developed just yet, coupled by the fact that Pop’s offense demands a player to shoot it when you’re very wide open like that.
Good thing for the 19-year-old, his head coach apparently understands his young ward’s predicament. “He’s working on his shot obviously. Well, that’s the biggest thing he needs to do as far as the future goes… but he’s a player. He can play all five positions. He runs the floor. He’s got a lot going on. He’s gonna be a heck of a player down the road.”
Truly, the sky’s the limit for Jeremy Sochan. That sky, however, is limited only by how he builds on his outside shooting. He is a defensive gem and a natural on the offensive end. At nineteen years old, he’s already way ahead on his development curve. Factor in the franchise that’s best known for the way it nurtures young talent and a coach who understands what he needs, there’s really little doubt that Sochan is going to reach his potential sooner rather than later. It is now only a question of whether he cashes in on those opportunities that come his way or not.
Photos by Reylan Loberternos.
Comments are highly appreciated. You may send them to reylanloberternos@yahoo.com.ph and you may follow me @reylan_l on twitter.
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