As part of a four-part series, the Spurs rookie stands out Jeremy Sohan, will stop by to exclusively share his thoughts and experiences Sports news.
In this first episode, Sochan looks back on the first few months of his rookie season, discusses his interests off the court and his excitement about participating in All-Star Weekend.
His rookie season
It’s fun because… you’re living life, experiencing new cities every other day, and of course playing basketball, which you’ve always loved since you were a little kid.
I can admit that things are not always perfect. There are many ups and downs, but I think these negatives help me experience life, move forward and grow.
Without the lows, you wouldn’t have the highs.
I’ve already accomplished a lot this year playing for Gregg Popovich, a legendary coach who continues to help me. Honestly, everyone else in the organization…from the front office to the coaching staff to my teammates…has really helped me.
From the moment I was picked by Spurs, Pop was there for me. I think at first he just watched us and left us alone, but as we got closer to the season, he got more involved. He wants the best for all of us and has no agenda… he is here to help us all and let us grow.
When I make mistakes, the coach has spoken to me about them, which I appreciate. Sure, there are times when he yells, but for the most part, he’s the one who takes you aside during a timeout or break to talk to you, ask you a question about what you saw, and share how he saw it.
Off the court, I’ve had dinner with him and he talks to us not only about basketball, but about other things going on in the world. We have team dinners when we play away, we’ve gone bowling and also to the cinema, which was crazy because I’ve never done that with a full team.
We have a very young team. I think we are one of the youngest in the league. Since this year is all about growth, we know it won’t be perfect.
We’re not an experienced team where you can minimize mistakes and slack times, but it’s been good for me because we just want to learn and grow, we’re very easy to train and we get on well too.
I have spent time with several of my teammates doing different things. It’s brought us even closer off the field and I think it helps us on that as well. Having that chemistry is amazing.
It’s crazy to be able to say I’m a rookie and I’ve already experienced the greatest game in NBA history at the Alamodome and the game in Mexico City where the crowd went crazy!
Those matches had an incredible atmosphere and the organization of the matches was excellent.
In both duels everything was love. I feel like it brought a lot of people together: basketball fans and a lot of people who might not know the sport very well but came to support and help break that attendance record.
off the field
Off the court I think it’s important to find things to take my mind off basketball because I’m on it all the time.
I do a lot of different things, whether it’s going out and trying new experiences with my teammates, my friends, or even my parents. I like to sit on the couch and relax and listen to all kinds of different music, from R&B to rap to alternative hip-hop to reggae and house music.
I spend a lot of my free time watching TV series, playing video games and looking for other things to do. A few weeks ago I went to a park with one of my best friends with a rocket and an RC car just to have fun doing something different.
TV-wise, I haven’t been much of an anime fan, but I just finished watching Vinland Saga on Netflix and it’s pretty good. I don’t know why, but I was hooked. I watch a lot of different shows, I really like shows like Blacklist and Vikings. Now I’m watching The Last of Us which is great.
I think my taste in music and even my fashion sense describe who I am. There isn’t one particular thing that I like. I love trying new things, being myself, being comfortable with it and just exploring.
My hair can be an expression of how I feel at that moment. In the past, especially in college, I changed my hair color for a purpose. I wore pink for breast cancer and also blue and yellow for Ukraine.
His All-Star thoughts
I was selected for this year’s Rising Stars Challenge, which means a lot to me. When I was younger I always watched All-Star Weekend. When I lived in England I had to get up very early in the morning to see it.
I would make sure to wake up early for the Slam Dunk Contest, the All-Star Game and even Rising Stars and now to be a part of that is crazy to me.
There will definitely be crazy things in my hair for All-Star. I’ll have to figure it out, but I have a little time to plan it all.
Stay tuned.
