Wikipedia

Jeremy Sochan

Jeremy Juliusz Sochan (/ˈsoʊhæn/ SOH-han;[1] born May 20, 2003) is a Polish-American professional basketball player for the San Antonio Spurs of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and Poland national team. Born in the United States to a Polish mother and an American father, he was raised in England, where he played youth basketball. Sochan moved to the United States to attend La Lumiere School, then started his professional career in Germany with OrangeAcademy of the ProB in 2020. He played college basketball for the Baylor Bears during the 2021–22 season and was selected ninth overall by the Spurs in the 2022 NBA draft.

Jeremy Sochan
Sochan in 2022
No. 10 – San Antonio Spurs
PositionPower forward
LeagueNBA
Personal information
Born (2003-05-20) May 20, 2003 (age 21)
Guymon, Oklahoma, U.S.
NationalityPolish / American
Listed height6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
Listed weight230 lb (104 kg)
Career information
High school
CollegeBaylor (2021–2022)
NBA draft2022: 1st round, 9th overall pick
Selected by the San Antonio Spurs
Playing career2020–present
Career history
2020–2021OrangeAcademy
2022–presentSan Antonio Spurs
Career highlights and awards
Stats at NBA.com Edit this at Wikidata
Stats at Basketball Reference Edit this at Wikidata
Medals
Men's basketball
Representing  Poland
FIBA U16 European Championship Division B
Gold medal – first place 2019 Podgorica Team

Sochan plays for the Poland national basketball team after playing for both the England and Poland teams as a junior.

Early life and career

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Sochan was born in Guymon, Oklahoma. His mother Aneta was a Polish basketball player for Polonia Warsaw who played Division II college basketball at Panhandle State. While there, she met Sochan's father, Ryan Williams, who played for the men's basketball team.[2] Williams lost his life in an auto crash in 2017. Sochan has a younger brother and stepfather.[3]

Sochan's maternal grandfather Juliusz Sochan, after whom he received his middle name, was a director of the basketball section of AZS AWF Warsaw and the president of the Warsaw Regional Basketball Association,[4] his great-grandfather Zygmunt Sochan was an association football player for Warszawianka, making 94 appearances in the Ekstraklasa (Polish top division) before World War II, when he joined the Polish resistance against the German occupiers and was a Stutthof concentration camp survivor.[5]

Sochan took his first steps in basketball while living in England, first as a youth for the MK Trojans in Milton Keynes before moving to Southampton and playing for the Solent Kestrels youth team and Itchen College.[6][7]

Sochan began his high school career at La Lumiere School in Indiana, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, he left the United States.[6]

Sochan committed to playing college basketball for Baylor in July 2020.[8]

College career

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On January 8, 2022, Sochan sprained his ankle during a game against TCU and missed several games.[9] Following the season, he earned the Big 12 Sixth Man Award and was named to the Big 12 All-Freshman Team.[10] His team would later get a #1 seed in the 2022 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, but lose in the second round. As a freshman, he averaged 9.2 points, 6.4 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game. On April 15, 2022, Sochan declared for the 2022 NBA draft, forgoing his remaining college eligibility.[11]

Professional career

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OrangeAcademy (2020–2021)

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In 2020, Sochan joined the German club OrangeAcademy of the ProB.[12]

San Antonio Spurs (2022–present)

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Sochan was selected by the San Antonio Spurs with the ninth overall pick in the 2022 NBA draft.[13] Sochan joined the Spurs' roster in the 2022 NBA Summer League, but later was ruled out after being placed in the NBA's Health and Safety Protocol after testing positive for coronavirus.[14][15]

On July 8, 2022, Sochan signed a rookie-scale contract with the Spurs.[16] On December 22, Sochan scored a then-career-high 23 points and grabbed nine rebounds in a 126–117 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans.[17] For the 2023-24 NBA season, Sochan was named as the Spurs starting point guard, a position previously held by teammate Tre Jones.[18] Dubbed as an "experiment", this decision to play him as a point-forward for the first time was made due to Sochan displaying playmaking abilities the prior season.[19][20] He resumed playing as power forward again after 17 games.[21] On January 28, 2023, Sochan scored a then-career-high 30 points in a 128–118 loss to the Phoenix Suns.[22] On November 30, 2023, he recorded a career high of 33 points in a 137–135 loss to the Atlanta Hawks.[23]

Sochan has gained attention for his unorthodox technique of shooting free throws with one hand, an approach he began using in December 2022 after Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich suggested it as an experiment to increase Sochan's free throw percentage.[24] The technique proved to increase his average free throw percentage by roughly 30% during the 2022–23 season.[25] After an October 2023 game, Sochan said, "Yeah, I think I will be sticking with the one-hand free throw."[25]

On August 24, 2024, Sochan was involved in a car accident, crashing his car into a guardrail in San Antonio, but luckily wasn't injured. He told police he "lost control of his vehicle"[26] and hit a guardrail on the ramp connecting two highways. Only his car was damaged in the crash, and he refused EMS, leaving the crash unharmed.

In November 2024, Sochan was scheduled to have surgery to repair a fractured left thumb. He was forced to exit early from the game versus the Los Angeles Clippers.[27]

National team career

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Sochan had represented both Poland and England nationally at the junior level.[6] As part of Poland's under-16 national basketball team, he led his team to the title at the 2019 FIBA U16 European Championship Division B in Montenegro. There, he became tournament MVP.[28]

Sochan has been a member of the Polish national basketball team. In his first game at the EuroBasket 2022 qualification, he led Poland over Romania 88–81 when he became the youngest player to ever play for Poland. He played 29 minutes in which he scored 18 points, including a four-point play at the end and a game-deciding block.[28]

Career statistics

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Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

NBA

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2022–23 San Antonio 56 53 26.0 .453 .246 .698 5.3 2.5 .8 .4 11.0
2023–24 San Antonio 74 73 29.6 .438 .308 .771 6.4 3.4 .8 .5 11.6
Career 130 126 28.1 .444 .285 .738 5.9 3.0 .8 .5 11.3

College

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2021–22 Baylor 30 1 25.1 .474 .296 .589 6.4 1.8 1.3 .7 9.2

References

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  1. ^ Jeremy Sochan Interview - February 2020 - Itchen College Basketball. Jack O'Keeffe. May 23, 2020. Event occurs at 0:00. Retrieved May 9, 2023 – via YouTube.
  2. ^ Burchardt, Damian (July 15, 2022). "Jeremy Sochan Is the Spurs' Latest International Man of Mystery". The Ringer. Retrieved October 27, 2022.
  3. ^ Polska, Vogue (August 2, 2022). "Jeremy Sochan: Marzę o mistrzostwie". Vogue Polska (in Polish). Retrieved August 28, 2023.
  4. ^ "Jeremy Sochan, najmłodszy debiutant w kadrze koszykarzy, kończy 18 lat". TVP Sport (in Polish). May 20, 2021. Retrieved October 1, 2022.
  5. ^ "Zygmunt Sochan – pradziadek koszykarza". Futbolowe zapiski (in Polish). February 26, 2021. Retrieved October 1, 2022.
  6. ^ a b c El. EuroBasketu: do kadry trafił dzięki mamie. Jeremy Sochan niedługo spróbuje zaśpiewać "Mazurka Dąbrowskiego" Jakub Kłyszejko (Sport.TV.PL), February 20, 2021. Accessed February 23, 2021.(in Polish)
  7. ^ @ItchenCollege (June 23, 2022). "All of us here at Itchen are keeping our eyes peeled in anticipation to see where ex-student @SochanJeremy lands in the 2022 #NBADraft" (Tweet). Retrieved June 24, 2022 – via Twitter.
  8. ^ Givony, Jonathan (July 16, 2020). "FIBA U16 standout Jeremy Sochan commits to Baylor". ESPN. Retrieved September 16, 2021.
  9. ^ Werner, John (January 15, 2022). "Cold start costs No. 1 Bears in 61-54 loss to Oklahoma State". Waco Tribune-Herald. Retrieved January 17, 2022.
  10. ^ "Men's Basketball All-Big 12 Awards Announced" (PDF). March 6, 2022. Retrieved March 30, 2022.
  11. ^ Givony, Jonathan (April 15, 2022). "Jeremy Sochan, Baylor men's basketball freshman, entering NBA draft". Retrieved April 15, 2022.
  12. ^ "Jeremy Sochan wird ein Ulmer Der MVP der FIBA U16 EM 2019 (Division B) wechselt aus den USA an die Donau". orangeacademy.one (in German). July 7, 2020. Retrieved July 7, 2020.
  13. ^ Mauricio, Ezekiel (June 23, 2022). "Spurs select Jeremy Sochan, Malaki Branham and Blake Wesley in 2022 NBA draft". NBA.com. Retrieved June 23, 2022.
  14. ^ "Report: Spurs' Jeremy Sochan placed in health and safety protocol". The Rookie Wire. June 29, 2022. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
  15. ^ "Spurs first-round pick Jeremy Sochan ruled out of summer league". The Rookie Wire. July 8, 2022. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
  16. ^ Pederson, Landon. "SPURS SIGN 2022 FIRST ROUND DRAFT PICK JEREMY SOCHAN". nba.com. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
  17. ^ Taylor, Cody (December 22, 2022). "'He was amazing for us': Spurs' Jeremy Sochan dazzles in career night". USA TODAY. Retrieved December 22, 2022.
  18. ^ "Spurs' Jeremy Sochan: Starting at PG this season". CBSSports.com. October 19, 2023. Retrieved November 26, 2023.
  19. ^ "Jeremy Sochan isn't a point guard, but the Spurs are making him one". ESPN.com. November 20, 2023. Retrieved November 26, 2023.
  20. ^ Monroe, Mike. "Jeremy Sochan experiment has seen 'bumps in the road', but how long will it last?". The Athletic. Retrieved November 26, 2023.
  21. ^ "Jeremy Sochan point guard experiment is finally over for Spurs". Spurs Wire. December 13, 2023. Retrieved January 27, 2024.
  22. ^ Colwell, Zachary (January 28, 2023). "Sochan scores a career-high 30 in crazy OT loss to the Suns". SB Nation. Retrieved January 29, 2023.
  23. ^ Brener, Jeremy (December 1, 2023). "Spurs Fall Short vs. Hawks; Losing Streak Extended to 13". Sports Illustrated Inside The Spurs, Analysis and More. Archived from the original on December 4, 2023. Retrieved December 1, 2023.
  24. ^ Monroe, Mike (December 27, 2023). "Finishing touch: Spurs' Jeremy Sochan shoots free throws one-handed ... and now makes them". The Athletic. Retrieved January 29, 2024.
  25. ^ a b Moyle, Nick (October 4, 2023). "Spurs' Jeremy Sochan confirms his one-handed free throw is here to stay". San Antonio Express-News. Retrieved January 29, 2024.
  26. ^ "Spurs' Jeremy Sochan not injured after he 'lost control of his vehicle' during car crash in San Antonio". CBSSports.com. August 30, 2024. Retrieved September 4, 2024.
  27. ^ "Jeremy Sochan is set for surgery after fracturing left thumb". Eurohoops. November 6, 2024. Retrieved November 6, 2024.
  28. ^ a b Ulm hat zwei neue Basketball-Nationalspieler Sebastian Schmid (Südwest Presse), February 26, 2021. Accessed February 28, 2021.(in German)
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