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MANILA, Philippines — NBA player Jeremy Sochan was recently in town
Sochan was selected by the San Antonio Spurs with the ninth overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft and was named to the 2022-23 NBA All-Rookie Second Team. He was also selected as a Rising Star at the NBA All-Star 2023 and 2024. During this season, he averaged 11.4 points, 6.5 rebounds and 2.4 assists.
He was here to headline the NBA Rising Stars Invitational Philippines Qualifiers presented by Gatorade, which took place over the weekend.
The NBA Rising Stars Invitational, the league’s first regional high-school basketball tournament, will feature boys’ and girls’ teams from 10 countries and territories across Asia-Pacific competing in Singapore from June 25 to 29, as part of a multi-day immersive basketball and entertainment festival.
He spent a few minutes with Philstar.com.
Philstar.com: Jeremy, thank you very much for the time. Talk to us about how important is it for you being a young player trying to get back to the game as early as you possibly can.
Sochan: Yeah, I think it's super important, you know, looking at my childhood, I think it was super important to see older players that have made it whether it's the NBA or just their domestic leagues.
It was important for me to see that, and I feel like that fired me up and gave me motivation and energy to keep going. So just being here, being a part of this Rising Stars Invitational and just seeing kids fighting to make it to Singapore, the regionals, I think its exciting.
Philstar.com: When you heard about what the NBA is doing here for this Rising Stars event, is that something you felt is really very good for the development of these young players?
Sochan: Yeah, very important. I think this is a really cool setup. I think as a kid, if you hear, ‘I'm going to a tournament and I can make it’, somewhere else in a different country, I think that's super exciting, fun, and it's definitely a thing that I would want to be a part of. So, I hope all the kids are motivated.
Of course, there's stress and different things like that, but I think that's a good thing. It means you care about something like that. So, yes, I think it's fun.
Philstar.com: Can you talk to us about how much of an influence it was being under Gregg Popovich?
Sochan: Yes, a lot of influence. I think being around him, made me into a man and made me mature quicker and just experienced stuff that I wasn't expecting, and he taught me a lot of stuff. And I think the message is there's basketball, but there's a lot of different things outside of basketball and those outside things help with basketball, but it's important to just be a human at the end of the day, you realize what's important for you and just keep having passion for all of that.
Philstar.com: From a personal standpoint, how disappointing was that for you that he had to step down now?
Sochan: To be honest to me, it wasn't too disappointing. I think the most important thing is his health. But he's not leaving, he's not going anywhere. He's going to be the president, El Jefe.
He has so much love and respect for this game that I know he's going to be there still. And he’s a text away, a call away. We live in the same city. So I think there's going to be a lot still to learn from him in the years to come. And I'm just truly blessed to experience something like that.
Philstar.com: How important was it for you to be a part of the All-Star Weekend in your first two years in the league?
Sochan: Yeah, I think it was really cool to be around the best players in the league, the rising stars. And for me, I learned a lot and I think it's exciting too, it gives you some type of motivation to keep going, to keep improving your skills, your development. And hopefully one day, the goal is to be an All-Star.
It's a long process. It doesn't happen out of nowhere. There's definitely a lot of hard work, a lot of success that has to happen. So it definitely motivates me. But it's a first step at least.
Philstar.com: What would you say you still need to develop as a player?
Sochan: Yeah, I think at the end of the day, everything. Better physically conditioned. Basketball-wise, I want to be the best defender. Offensively, it's still improving my finishing, my ball handling, my reads. And, of course, the one thing that I think will open a lot of doors is, improving my shot, just keeping that more consistent, having more reps out there.
Philstar.com: Entering the next NBA season, any goals for the Spurs, and also for you personally?
Sochan: Yeah, I think for us, the Spurs, is making the playoffs and going as far as we can is the goal. I think it's something that we can definitely achieve.
Personally, it's being consistent, being healthy, and just growing my game and showing everyone what I can do defensively, offensively too.
Philstar.com: What would be your advice to the young players out there who want to make it big in the game of basketball?
Sochan: It's all about growing experience in life, going through adversity, wanting to be in those kind of moments where you're not the best, or things are not working out, or you're not good at this skill.
But those are the moments where you learn a lot about yourself you just got to keep growing, keep going through it, learning, adapting, and just being yourself and having fun at the end of the day. I think having joy is the most important thing.
