Spurs rookie forward Jeremy Sochan is fully recovered from a debilitating COVID-19 infection, reports Tom Orsborn of the San Antonio Express-News.
Sochan was unable to suit up for San Antonio through the team’s Las Vegas Summer League showing this yr on account of a weeks-long struggle with the novel coronavirus, but he claims that he’s wholly recuperated ahead of coaching camp.
“I actually have been understanding here day by day,” Sochan said. “My body is feeling great.” The 19-year-old was chosen by the Spurs with the ninth pick within the 2022 draft out of Baylor, where he had been named the 2021/22 Big Ten Sixth Man of the Yr.
Though his college numbers were fairly modest, his defensive upside and athleticism make him an intriguing long-term prospect. Through 30 games during his lone college season, Sochan averaged 9.2 PPG on 47.4% shooting, 6.4 RPG, 1.8 APG and 1.3 SPG.
Here’s more from Sochan’s conversation:
- The 6’9″ forward discussed the mental health routine he has been employing to maintain himself centered since his Baylor days. “If I’m going through something or if I actually have a string of games where I’m not playing well or my shot isn’t falling, normally I try to speak with the people around me, discuss it and check out to resolve stuff like that as a substitute of keeping it to myself and having it eat me up,” Sochan said. “Communication is certainly key for me.”
- Though he’s now recovered, Sochan opted to not suit up for the Polish national team on this yr’s FIBA EuroBasket competition, which is able to kick off in Germany on September 1. Playing for Poland would have been too heavy a load to bear with the beginning of his pro profession just days away. “In fact, it’s all the time an honor to play for the Polish national team,” Sochan said, eligible because his mother is Polish. “But that is going to be my first season within the NBA, playing 82 games. I’ve never done that before, so I believe just being ready, being within the environment, being in San Antonio, is very important to have the perfect season I can have.”
- The Spurs are set to face off agains the reigning 2022 champs, the Warriors, at San Antonio’s 64K-seat Alamodome on January 13. “It’s really exciting, because there’s going to be lots of latest people coming to observe,” Sochan noted.
