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 during the team’s Las Vegas Summer League showing this year due to a weeks-long struggle with the novel coronavirus, but he claims that he is fully recovered ahead of training camp.
“I have been working out here daily,” Sochan said. “My body is feeling great.” The 19-year-old was selected by the Spurs with the ninth pick in the 2022 draft out of Baylor, where he was named the 2021/22 Big Ten Sixth Man of the Year.
Although 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 keep himself centered since his Baylor days. “If I am going through something or if I have a string of games where I am not playing well or my shot is not falling, normally I try to communicate with the people around me, talk about it and try to solve stuff like that instead of keeping it to myself and having it eat me up,” Sochan said. “Communication is definitely key for me.”
- Although he is now recovered, Sochan opted not to suit up for the Polish national team in this year’s FIBA EuroBasket competition, which will kick off in Germany on September 1. Playing for Poland would have been too heavy a load to bear with the start of his pro career just days away. “Of course, it is always an honor to play for the Polish national team,” Sochan said, eligible because his mother is Polish. “But this is going to be my first season in the NBA, playing 82 games. I’ve never done that before, so I think just being ready, being in the environment, being in San Antonio, is important to have the best season I can have.”
- The Spurs are set to face off again 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 a lot of new people coming to watch,” Sochan noted.