Alperen Sengun’s star is clearly on the rise in his third NBA season, and the young Houston Rockets big man is giving at least some of the credit to Ime Udoka, his new coach for the 2023-24 campaign.
As part of an extended interview with Jake Fischer of Yahoo! Sports, here’s what Sengun said of Udoka and his staff:
They’re all helping us. Like, Ime’s a perfect coach. He’s the best coach I ever had, probably. But not just Ime. Our whole coaching staff is amazing. Everybody’s doing a great job. Everybody wants to win. I’ve never seen a coaching staff like this in my life.
When you see (it), you understand. They’re tough. They’re talking to us. They’re not scared of anything.
Just 21 years old, Sengun is averaging career-highs in points (21.3 per game), rebounds (9.4), assists (5.0) and steals (1.2) this season.
The Turkish center has led Houston in scoring and rebounding while increasingly becoming the focal point of Udoka’s offense.
The complete Fischer-Sengun interview can be read here.
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While Houston nearly signed Brook Lopez in free agency, Alperen Sengun was training to battle any competition at starting center, hang 45 on Wemby, and drop gaudy triple-doubles.
“If he was coming,” Sengun told @YahooSports. “I was fighting for my spot.” https://t.co/T1CgFa5uAJ
— Jake Fischer (@JakeLFischer) March 7, 2024