Tag: Jeremy Sochan

3 Spurs players who could win awards in the 2023-24 season

Here are three players on the San Antonio Spurs who could win awards next season.

After four straight years of missing the playoffs, the San Antonio Spurs finally seem to have a clear direction again, with that direction being to build around Victor Wembanyama. The first-overall pick is poised to lead the franchise into the future, and the Spurs have a nice group of youngsters around him.

But while San Antonio’s main focus should be on the future, they have a chance to be competitive right away. Wembanyama could be a force right from the jump, and if the right players take a leap, they could be in the mix for the Play-In Tournament. Some of their players could even have a chance at winning an NBA award next year.

Let’s take a look at three Spurs who could take home honors at the end of the 2023-24 season.

Spurs’ Jeremy Sochan should be striving for All-Defense

With the structure the San Antonio Spurs have around him, Jeremy Sochan should have some lofty defensive goals.

Heading into next season, the San Antonio Spurs roster is looking very similar to last year’s. Outside of a few veteran additions, some of whom could get waived, the group San Antonio has put together is mostly the same as the one they rolled out last season. Well, except for Victor Wembanyama, that is.

The 19-year-old Frenchman is set to make a massive impact for the Spurs, but more importantly, he could change the roles of the players around him. Devin Vassell will be a secondary scorer, Keldon Johnson could be the team’s sixth man, Tre Jones will have another star to pass to, and Zach Collins is going to start – all of these are big changes.

However, perhaps the most underrated storyline to monitor is that of Jeremy Sochan. After spending 95% of his minutes at the power forward last season, Sochan will primarily be playing the small forward this year, with Wembanyama and Collins up front.

Unfortunately, without a consistent three-point shot, Sochan’s offensive ceiling is limited. That said, his defensive potential is through the roof, and that’s where he could thrive.

Collins will be guarding bigs, and Wembanyama will undoubtedly be roaming the paint, too. But with Sochan’s defensive instincts and physical attributes, he could be an absolute monster on that end for the Spurs.

He’ll likely be taking on the challenge of guarding opposing teams’ best players. The likes of Jayson Tatum, Kevin Durant, and more will fall right into his lap. This will be a challenge for the youngster, but not one that he’s unprepared for.

With the defensive tools he has in his locker, Sochan’s goal for this season should be an All-Defensive team. Wembanyama, Vassell, and Johnson will be taking the bulk of the shots, but Sochan can earn his minutes on the defensive end.

His potential on that side of the ball is through the roof, and with the structure San Antonio has in place around him, he has a chance to make some huge strides next year.

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Jeremy Sochan on Victor Wembanyama: ‘I think it’s going to be scary’

San Antonio Spurs forward Jeremy Sochan is hyped about his pairing with Victor Wembanyama.

Despite their disappointing past four seasons, the San Antonio Spurs have set themselves up for success in the coming years. They picked up Victor Wembanyama with the first pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, and the 19-year-old seems ready to be the face of the franchise for years to come.

But he’s not the only player on the roster. The Spurs have a lot of other young talent to be excited about, including the likes of Devin Vassell, Tre Jones, and Keldon Johnson. However, Jeremy Sochan might be the most intriguing guy on the roster, not named Wembanyama. And even he’s excited for Wembanyama.

During an interview with Bryan Kalbrosky of For The Win, Sochan spoke about his fit next to Wembanyama.

“I think it’s going to be scary,” Sochan said. “Defensively, it’s going to be hard to score against us. We are long. We’re pesky. Offensively, I’m going to be able to find him, and I think the beautiful thing about it is whoever gets the board, just push it. There is no need to pause after getting the defensive board. The way we want to play is: Whoever gets it, you run. You dribble the ball up. It’s going to make everything so much easier. It’s going to make it flow more. I think the potential on both sides is endless.”

Rumblings have indicated that Zach Collins will start at the center position, but that could open up Sochan and Wembanyama to start at the three and the four.

What are you expecting from the duo heading into next season?

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Q&A with Jeremy Sochan on Spurs rookie Victor Wembanyama: ‘The potential on both sides is endless’

Jeremy Sochan spoke about Victor Wemanyama, Gregg Popovich, Poland and plenty more.

San Antonio Spurs forward Jeremy Sochan wasn’t expecting much when he arrived at a fan event in Poland last month.

The No. 9 overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, Sochan earned All-Rookie Second Team honors last season. He made the trip as part of the 2023 Basketball Without Borders (BWB) European camp held at the WKK Sport Center in Wrocław, Poland.

He was born in Oklahoma but has deep ties to Poland dating back to his grandfather, who was the president of the Warsaw Regional Basketball Association. Sochan has played for the Polish youth national team and is recruiting Warriors rookie Brandin Podziemski to join him on the senior national team, per HoopsHype.

The forward, who recently spoke with For The Win, said he expected to see maybe a couple hundred people. But what he saw instead was an instant reflection of the way that the game has grown overseas even over the course of just the past few years.

“Over 2,000 people showed out. It was crazy,” Sochan said. “It was more than just basketball. It’s a culture change just showing positivity and energy. I think people are receiving it well and they love it.”

While this was a wonderful moment for Sochan, it only represents a small portion of how he has spent his summer. Spurs assistant coach Mitch Johnson recently praised the work ethic Sochan has shown so far this offseason.

Here is more from our conversation with the 20-year-old Spurs forward about teammate Victor Wembanyama, playing for Gregg Popovich and offseason improvements.

This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.

RELATED: Meet Spurs forward Jeremy Sochan, who was the most ‘versatile’ and ‘disruptive’ prospect in the 2022 NBA Draft

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Spurs’ Jeremy Sochan, Sidy Cissoko show love to San Antonio FC

San Antonio Spurs youngsters Jeremy Sochan and Sidy Cissoko recently showed up to a San Antonio FC game.

The San Antonio Spurs are one of the most legendary organizations in NBA history, but over the past four years, they’ve suffered a momentary fall from grace. It’s the longest playoff drought in franchise history, but moving forward, they’re primed to refind the greatness that has defined their team for decades.

Obviously, the Spurs organization will be headlined by Victor Wembanyama for years to come, but they have plenty of other young players who fans should be excited about, too. Guys like Jeremy Sochan and Sidy Cissoko are promising young pieces, and those two recently showed love to the San Antonio community.

Sochan and Cissoko showed up at a recent San Antonio FC game and were kicking some soccer balls around, much to the delight of the San Antonio crowd.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Fa1MYZ3U1ws

What are you looking forward to most about Sochan and Cissoko next year?

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Jeremy Sochan’s best highlights from rookie season with Spurs

As the offseason drags on, check out some of Jeremy Sochan’s best highlights from his rookie season with the San Antonio Spurs.

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Drafting Victor Wembanyama was the highlight of the San Antonio Spurs‘ offseason. The 19-year-old Frenchman is projected to be one of the best players in the league and is set up to lead the Spurs organization for years to come. But he’s far from the only player in San Antonio with a bright future.

Guys like Tre Jones and Devin Vassell will have a chance to blossom into stars, as will Jeremy Sochan. Sochan just wrapped up an impressive rookie season and is slated to be an integral part of San Antonio’s rotation alongside Wembanyama next year and beyond. He’s a defensive specialist with plenty of room to improve.

While the offseason drags on, check out some of Sochan’s best highlights from his rookie season, courtesy of MaxaMillion711 on YouTube.

How well do you expect Sochan to play next season?

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Jeremy Sochan effect: Spurs rookie Victor Wembanyama’s shows off purple hairdo

Jeremy Sochan enthusiastically showed off Victor Wembanyama’s freshly dyed purple hair in a recent Instagram post.

San Antonio Spurs international phenom Victor Wembanyama may be one of the most intriguing names in the Association, but there’s plenty that remains to be seen. Will he run away with the Rookie of the Year Award? Is he perhaps receiving too much hype too soon? Ultimately, we don’t know what Wembanyama will look like when he finally steps onto an NBA court this fall. Literally.

According to a recent post on Instagram by his new teammate Jeremy Sochan, Wembanyama may be sporting a surprising hair style in that time. In the video in question, Wembanyama is rocking a bleached head of hair with streaks of purple and turquoise. In the video, Wembanyama beams as Sochan shows off his new style.

Sochan himself has made a point to keep his hair style constantly evolving. He went with a bright green hairdo when the Spurs played down in Mexico City, Mexico. He had streaks of blue in his hair when he represented San Antonio at the 2023 Rising Stars Challenge as part of All-Star Weekend. And here Sochan can be seen rocking a similar bleached hair look.

Victor Wembanyama has a colorful haircut like Jeremy Sochan and now looks completely different

Wemby looks SO different!

San Antonio Spurs rookie Victor Wembanyama said he was going to disappear from the spotlight for a bit and now, he looks very different.

Wembanyama, who was shut down after two games during NBA 2K24 Summer League, was incredibly busy for the days and weeks that were both leading up to and following the 2023 NBA Draft.

He led his team to the championship in France and then became one of the most popular subjects in the sports world when he became the No. 1 overall pick. The least he could do was take some time to regroup and collect himself and his thoughts.

But now that he is back as the Spurs prepare for their training camp, which begins next month, he has returned with an entirely different aesthetic.

Wembanyama, like his teammate Jeremy Sochan, now has a colorful dyed haircut. Take a look:

Wembanyama and Sochan certainly now have the most colorful hair of any frontcourt combination in the NBA, if that is worth anything.

But these two players are not the first defensive-oriented San Antonio forwards to dye their hair and play for the Spurs. That title, of course, belongs to the legendary Dennis Rodman.

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Jeremy Sochan listed as ‘weakest link’ in Spurs starting lineup

Jeremy Sochan was labeled the “weakest link” in the San Antonio Spurs starting lineup.

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The San Antonio Spurs‘ offseason was centered around the addition of rookie Victor Wembanyama, who they selected with the first pick in the 2023 NBA Draft. The 19-year-old has been hyped up more than any rookie since LeBron James in 2003, but he’s not the only player on the team.

San Antonio re-signed Tre Jones, who will likely start at the point guard spot, and Devin Vassell and Keldon Johnson are two solid youngsters as well. Then there’s Jeremy Sochan, who just wrapped up his rookie year with the Spurs. According to Andy Bailey of Bleacher Report, Sochan is the “weakest link” in the Spurs starting lineup.

Bailey didn’t have many bad things to say about Sochan, but he ranks last as he’s the least developed of the Spurs’ starters (outside of Wembanyama, who clearly has superstar potential).

“This lineup may have the most question marks of any in the exercise. The oldest players of the bunch are Jones and Johnson, both of whom are 23. Sochan is 20, and incoming rookie Wembanyama is 19.

“We already know a little bit about what Johnson and Vassell can do as scorers, so really any of the other three could be fair game here.

“Though he’s already shown potential as a multipositional defender who can distribute a little, we’ll go with Sochan.

“Even though he appears to have the potential to be a solid B to B-plus in plenty of areas of the game, he’s clearly not as far along as Jones as a playmaker, and Wembanyama’s impact on defense could be massive as early as Game 1,” Bailey wrote.

The one questionable factor from this is Bailey does not list Zach Collins in the starting lineup despite Gregg Popovich naming him the starting center at the end of this past year.

If he were in the lineup, Collins might be the weakest link, but without accounting for that, this makes sense.

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DPOY could be ‘possible’ for Spurs forward Jeremy Sochan

Could San Antonio Spurs forward Jeremy Sochan win Defensive Player of the Year next season?

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The highlight of the San Antonio Spurs‘ offseason was undoubtedly their selection of Victor Wembanyama with the first pick in the 2023 NBA Draft. The 19-year-old Frenchman is a generational talent who is set to lead the Spurs into the future, but he’s not the only player on the roster.

Despite recording the third-worst record in franchise history this past season, the Spurs have some solid prospects on the roster. Keldon Johnson, Devin Vassell, and Tre Jones all have potential, but perhaps the most intriguing player on the Spurs’ roster (outside of Wembanyama) is soon-to-be sophomore forward Jeremy Sochan, who just wrapped up a solid rookie campaign.

Matt Guzman of Inside the Spurs even believes that Sochan could have a chance to win the Defensive Player of the Year award next season.

“Defensive Player of the Year? For Sochan?

“It’s possible, especially if the rising second-year forward continues to develop his game — and play more of them — in his second season with San Antonio. It may not happen next season, but the idea is something to keep watch for. Sochan has already drawn comparisons to Dennis Rodman, after all — and not just for his hair.

“Sochan crashes the boards with an aggressiveness that makes the comparison make sense. His defense-first mindset only adds to that, and he backs it up on the court. But he’ll need more than just the mindset and a rookie-year showing to join some of the league’s top defenders on the DPOY ladder.

“And that’s exactly what he hopes to do in his second season with the Spurs,” Guzman wrote.

Do you think Sochan could win DPOY next year?

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