About the fact that American experts see Jeremy Sochan in this year’s NBA draft,. The teenage Polish representative, a versatile winger who was 204 cm tall, played a few good games then, then an ankle injury knocked him out of the rhythm. Now the first-year student of Baylor is making good matches again – the average from the last 10 games is 9.8 points and 6.7 rebounds, in three of them Sochan scored his record in the NCAA 17 points.
And in the recent match against the highly ranked Kansas, which his team won by 80:70, the Pole played so well that Mike Schmitz, a respected ESPN expert assessing young talents from around the world, edited a five-minute video of his plays.
Sochan’s game was broken down into prime factors, and not only accurate throws or successful blocks were appreciated. Schmitz outlined all the advantages of the Pole, their list is long: creative ball play, using speed or height in the attack depending on the defender, active fight for offensive rebounds, taking over rivals from every position in defense, hard defense against higher and stronger opponents, active he plays off the ball and in defense and in attack.
“This is a rare case of a young basketball player who can play with the ball or draw curtains in doubles,” Schmitz also noted.
“He is irreplaceable in defense because he can keep an eye on rivals playing in any position”
These are not new insights, Sochan’s talent and abilities have been known for several years. It is important that the Polish representative shows them at an increasingly higher level and in difficult moments for the team. Baylor has recently suffered a plague of injuries, with a knee injury ruling out Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua by the end of the season, and the team rotation has narrowed to just seven players by the end of the season. Sochan has been given a larger role and he feels at home in it.
– Its versatility is crucial – says Sport.pl John Werner from the local newspaper “Waco Tribune-Herald”, which covers the matches of the Baylor team. – Sochan can play anywhere: as quarterback, winger, mid laner. Recently, he is more often in the latter position, but at the same time there are situations when he takes the ball in his hands and starts the action. And he is irreplaceable in defense, because he can keep an eye on his rivals playing in any position.
The admiration for the Polish representative is proof of how basketball has changed. Versatility has always been a price, but now the way of the game is moving towards a total interchangeability of roles, to which Sochana is predisposed by almost perfect physical conditions. It is big enough to stand up to even bigger rivals and fight in the field of three seconds, but at the same time its efficiency and agility allow it to be effective in any situation around the perimeter. Both in defense and in attack.
In short, Sochan has everything NBA teams need. The teenager from Baylor is regularly placed on the expert selection lists for selection in the first round of the draft, although he himself has not made any decisions about the future. He waits calmly for what will happen – he does not rule out playing in the NCAA next season as well, but he realizes that the interest from the NBA clubs will have to be used.
“I know that I will have an advantage over him and an easier way to the basket”
Sochan avoids specific declarations, but recently he described his strengths in quite detail in an interview with Sic 365 dedicated to Baylor. about repetitive and more and more often effective actions, starting with dribbling and ending with pips. – I feel very confident in them, because when I go under the basket and start to turn around making a feint, I feel that the opponent is slightly late. I know he will need a moment to jump towards me again and try to block the throw – explained Sochan.
– On the other hand, in a situation where a higher player is defending me against me, I have the advantage of speed. The rival has to come because he knows that I can also throw from a distance, and then I already know that I will have an advantage over him and an easier way to the basket – adds the Polish representative.
Of course, there are still room for improvement in his game. First of all – if we are talking about the desired total versatility – it is a throw from a distance. Sochan is hitting 29 percent this season. of threes and in this respect he is one of the weakest in the team. At a higher level, rivals will be able to let him go, back up, and thus make it difficult to break through to the basket.
The effectiveness of all Sochan’s throws is also irregular – in the last four matches it was: 6/9, 3/11, 5/9 and 0/4, respectively. The room for improvement is large, just like in terms of stabilizing the level of the game or avoiding fouls. But the pros certainly outweigh the minuses and as Schmitz noted in his analysis, Sochan does a lot of little things on the pitch to help the team win. And let us remind you – we are talking about a player who is less than 19 years old and is playing his first season in the USA.
“Hair color changes as much as Rodman does, but plays more like Pippen.”
The aforementioned winning for Baylor is becoming more and more important every week. The defenders of the championship title in the NCAA currently have a balance of 25-5, in the national AP list they are placed third. Player injuries and reduced rotation put the chances of defending the title in question, but Baylor is still among the candidates for the title.
And the longer the team will fight in the so-called In March Madness, in which 64 teams compete for the championship in the knockout system, the more opportunities Sochan will have to present himself to the NBA scouts. Show off your talent, skills and potential.
And maybe a new image. These are of secondary importance when considering sports topics, but Sochan is not only eye-catching with a good game. The season started out with a shed of blonde springs, then he suddenly shaved his head briefly keeping his hair pale, now dyed it green.
This, of course, was noted: “On Saturday night everyone found Baylor again a Final Four candidate, although this time the team looks a bit different than last year. It may turn out that the star of the confusion will be a rookie from England, whose hair color he changes as often as Dennis Rodman, but plays more like Scottie Pippen, “The Athletic wrote about the Baylor-Kansas game.
By the way: the country of origin when describing Sochan also changes frequently. The basketball player is the son of an American and a Polish woman, he was born in the USA, raised in Great Britain, but he represents Poland. Culturally, it is as versatile as it is on the pitch.
Source: Sport
Tristin is an accomplished author and journalist, known for his in-depth and engaging writing on sports. He currently works as a writer at 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the sports industry.
