Tag: Jeremy Sochan

Spurs’ Jeremy Sochan gets brutally honest about switch to point guard: ‘There have been moments where there isn’t confidence’

San Antonio Spurs sophomore Jeremy Sochan recently spoke up about his move to the point guard position.

While Victor Wembanyama has stolen most of the spotlight for the San Antonio Spurs this season, they have also made a major change to the starting lineup in an attempt to maximize their team’s potential around the star rookie. Jeremy Sochan has made the jump from the power forward position to point guard.

The swap hasn’t come without struggles. Tre Jones, the team’s go-to traditional point guard, has played great in a bench role, and Sochan hasn’t lived up to expectations at times. After a solid rookie season, he’s had to adapt how he plays, and that’s not an easy change to make both mentally and on the court.

Sochan recently opened up about the struggles that have come with the move. (H/t Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News)

Top 3 performers from San Antonio Spurs loss to New York Knicks

Check out the top three San Antonio Spurs performers from their loss to the New York Knicks.

For the second game in a row, the San Antonio Spurs got blown out by their opponent. On Monday night, they were stomped by the Indiana Pacers, and on Wednesday night, in their very next game, they got beat up by the New York Knicks. It was a wire-to-wire domination for the Knicks, who won 126-105.

The trio of Julius Randle, Jalen Brunson, and RJ Barrett combined for 72 points, leading the way for the Knicks. Meanwhile, the Spurs had a rough shooting night from behind the arc. As a team, San Antonio shot just 9-for-34 (26.5%) from distance, while New York shot a whopping 19-of-42 (45.2%) from deep.

That said, there’s something to learn with every game, so let’s take a look at the top three Spurs performers from the game.

Is it time for the San Antonio Spurs to bench Jeremy Sochan?

It’s still early in the season, but should the San Antonio Spurs consider benching Jeremy Sochan?

Heading into the season, expectations were relatively low for the San Antonio Spurs. Despite the arrival of Victor Wembanyama into the mix, the Spurs were still looked at as one of the bottom-tier teams in the West. However, they’ve been solid to start the year, and they’ve been rocking with a unique starting lineup.

Jeremy Sochan has been playing the point guard position, with Devin Vassell, Keldon Johnson, Wembanyama, and Zach Collins alongside him. However, Tre Jones has been playing great off the bench, and questions are starting to be asked as to whether or not he should start over Sochan.

TSR Sports recently discussed this exact topic on their YouTube channel.

Should the Spurs bench Sochan in favor of Jones?

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Jeremy Sochan shows love to Zach Collins after contract extension

Jeremy Sochan recently had some kind things to say about his San Antonio Spurs teammate Zach Collins.

On Wednesday night, the San Antonio Spurs opened their season in impressive fashion. Despite the 126-119 loss to the Dallas Mavericks, the Spurs managed to stay in the game for a while. It was a competitive effort that was indicative of how talented this Spurs team has a chance to be.

With Victor Wembanyama at the helm, San Antonio should be focused on player development this year rather than wins, but if the talent persists, wins could follow. They have assembled a solid group around Wembanyama for his rookie season and have decided to pair him with Zach Collins in the starting frontcourt.

Earlier in the week, on Monday, Jeremy Sochan had some high praise for Collins, who just inked a two-year, $35 million extension with the Spurs.

Gregg Popovich confirms wacky Spurs starting lineup for regular season

Gregg Popovich just revealed what the San Antonio Spurs’ starting lineup will be, and it’s very fun.

When the San Antonio Spurs drafted Victor Wembanyama, they committed to a future with him as the face of the franchise. He’s a near-7-foot-5 behemoth with guard skills who can guard the paint at a high level. Wembnyama will be the focal point of San Antonio’s starting lineup for years to come.

But around him, pieces could change. And heading into his rookie season, the Spurs had the chance to go in a bunch of different directions with the starting five. They took training camp to test things out, and after their latest preseason win over the Houston Rockets, their lineup was confirmed.

According to Andrew Lopez of ESPN, head coach Gregg Popovich confirmed that the Spurs’ starting lineup heading into the season will be Jeremy Sochan, Devin Vassell, Keldon Johnson, Wembanyama, and Zach Collins.

The point guard in that lineup? Sochan – who the Spurs selected with the ninth pick in the 2022 NBA Draft.

Popovich rolled out that starting group against the Rockets as a test run, and things went pretty well. All five players played 20+ minutes, and all but Vassell finished the game with a positive +/-, and even he was just a -1.

Sochan, who will be the main guy to watch in this lineup as he learns a new position, played 21:10. He put up six points, six rebounds, and four assists while shooting 2-of-5 from the field and 1-of-1 from deep.

Tre Jones is the better playmaker, but Sochan’s elite defensive presence should give the Spurs the ability to throw out a ton of different looks on that side of the ball.

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Jeremy Sochan left out of suggested Spurs ‘best lineup’ next season

In this potential San Antonio Spurs starting five, Jeremy Sochan was left out.

The San Antonio Spurs made their splash of the summer during the 2023 NBA Draft, selecting Victor Wembanyama with the first pick. He’s slated to take over as the team’s face of the franchise and should be one of the best players in the league sooner rather than later, based on all the hype around him.

Wembanyama is going to start at the power forward next season. Despite being 7-foot-3, Wembanyama’s skinny frame makes him better suited to run the four, and the Spurs are set to roll Zach Collins next to him at the five. The other three positions could be up for grabs.

Andy Bailey of Bleacher Report believes the other three starters will be Tre Jones, Devin Vassell, and Keldon Johnson, which would leave Jeremy Sochan on the sidelines.

Spurs’ Jeremy Sochan, Devin Vassell hype up Victor Wembanyama: ‘He’s just a freak of nature’

Victor Wembanyama’s San Antonio Spurs teammates have been in awe of his talents.

The San Antonio Spurs are set to kick off their most anticipated season since Tim Duncan retired. With the selection of Victor Wembanyama first overall in the 2023 NBA Draft, the Spurs have drawn the eyes of fans, media, and the public alike. Now, everyone will be keeping a close eye on San Antonio.

Wembanyama is listed at 7-foot-3, but some speculate he’s closer to 7-foot-5. And while he’s skinny for his height, his overall skillset is projected to completely shock the NBA. He can handle the ball, he can block shots at a high level, and he can shoot the three.

His talent already has some of his teammates in awe. (H/t Bruno Passos of Pounding the Rock)

“He’s just a freak of nature,” Jeremy Sochan said of Wembanyama at Spurs Media Day. “It’s not a normal thing to see — someone that tall, that agile, come and block a shot or dunk it from some weird place. He’s done a lot of stuff that makes you say, ‘Oh snap, that’s crazy.’… He’s special. It’s exciting.”

Even newly extended guard Devin Vassell has had to do a double-take a few times since playing with Wembanyama.

“Let’s just put it this way,” said Vassell. “I think every game he’s going to do something that makes you turn around like, ‘Huh?’ It just doesn’t make sense. Sometimes he makes the hoop look so little… Y’all are gonna have a great time watching him this season. It’s gonna be fun.”

Wembanyama is set to turn heads all season long for the Spurs.

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Spurs’ Jeremy Sochan discusses Gregg Popovich free throw influence

San Antonio Spurs youngster Jeremy Sochan recently discussed how Gregg Popovich helped him change his free throw form.

The San Antonio Spurs have developed a great young core. Obviously, the roster will be headlined by rookie Victor Wembanyama, but the rest of the squad looks great, too. Between Devin Vassell, Keldon Johnson, Tre Jones, Sidy Cissoko, and everyone else, there is a lot for fans to be excited about.

But one of the most intriguing players on the roster is Jeremy Sochan, who just wrapped up an impressive rookie season. One of the most interesting parts about Sochan’s game is his free-throw shot, as he shoots the ball one-handed from the charity stripe. And apparently, the idea was all Gregg Popovich’s.

During an appearance on Tidal League’s “Sessions,” Sochan told the story of how it came about. (H/ Clutch Points)

“Happened out of nowhere, really… I was with coach [Brett] Brown working on my shot and we would do one-handed stuff and I would go on like streaks of just making a bunch of one-handed shots. And then coach Pop is like, ‘Yo, come here.’ And I’m like, ‘What’s up, coach?’ And he’s like, ‘You’re shooting one-handed.’ Straight up,” Sochan said.

The Spurs forward put up solid numbers during his rookie season, and he shot alright from the line. He attempted 2.1 free throws per game and shot 69.8% from the stripe. This was a major step up from college, as in his lone season at Baylor, Sochan shot 58.9% on 3.0 attempts from the line per game.

With his new form, the Spurs will hope Sochan can continue his free-throw improvement next year, too.

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Ranking the 23 best NBA players under 23 years old, with a FIBA World Cup star leading the pack

Where should Victor Wembanyama rank? Here’s the answer, along with the other best young NBA stars.

We are entering a new era of the NBA with Victor Wembanyama as one of several young stars vying to become the face of the league.

Now that the NBA’s 2023-24 season is less than a month away from tipping off, as we did last year, we have decided to re-rank the 23 best players who are under 23 years old.

But why 23? Well, it is not just because that was the number worn by Michael Jordan. Typically, NBA publications rank 25 players under 25 years old. You can read versions of that here, here, and here. I wanted to try out a similar thought experiment but with a new twist.

By the time NBA players are 25 years old, many have already graduated to their second contract and are in vastly different chapters of their careers than the league’s young players. It is harder to compare players like Luka Doncic and Jayson Tatum, who will each earn more than $30 million next season, to players on rookie scale contracts.

The following rankings, meanwhile, are based predominantly on how we see NBA projections for next season. It is not as predictive of their future success or their potential in the league.

NOTE: For this exercise, all players included must be born after Oct. 24, 2000. 

Jeremy Sochan, Malaki Branham named among ESPN’s ‘sophomores to watch’

San Antonio Spurs youngsters Jeremy Sochan and Malaki Branham were listed as potential “sophomores to watch” next NBA season.

This summer has all about Victor Wembanyama for the San Antonio Spurs. They selected the 19-year-old Frenchman with the first pick in the 2023 NBA Draft. However, Wembanyama is far from the only player on the team. They have a great group of guys around him for fans to be excited about.

Devin Vassell is poised for a big season after missing the majority of last year, Keldon Johnson has a chance to follow up his best scoring year with another, and Tre Jones has a lot to prove after signing his new extension. However, San Antonio’s sophomores are perhaps the most intriguing guys on the roster.

In ESPN’s article about NBA “sophomores to watch” this season, Jeremy Sochan and Malaki Branham were both mentioned. Jamal Collier brought up Sochan as someone who could be poised for a breakout season.

“Jeremy Sochan shows promise for the San Antonio Spurs, especially with the added prospect of playing next to Wembanyama,” Collier wrote. “As a rookie, Sochan averaged 11 points and five rebounds while providing versatile defense. With more eyes on San Antonio this year and more opportunity to shine next to Wembanyama, Sochan has a chance to elevate himself among this class with a strong sophomore season.”

Meanwhile, Andrew Lopez labeled Branham as an “under-the-radar” pick to be a key contributor.

“It feels like everyone on San Antonio’s roster but Wemby is going to be under-the-radar, but one of last year’s three first-round picks, Malaki Branham, could be poised for a jump,” Lopez wrote. “In his final 25 games last season, Branham averaged 13.7 points and dropped 20 or more seven times in that stretch. Branham will give the Spurs a nice scoring option on the bench as the team tries to figure out its best combination of players around Wembanyama.”

Both players will have a chance to prove themselves with all the eyes that will inevitably be on the Spurs next season.

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