San Antonio Spurs Hall of Fame coach Gregg Popovich called Jeremy Sochan's move to point guard this season's experiment. If the experiment took what's become an extended pause a month and a half ago, it may have ended Saturday night.
Sochan may have just played his best game of the season as he continues to settle back into his natural position, scoring 23 points, grabbing four rebounds, dishing out three assists, blocking two shots and even collecting a steal as if to not leave that column of the box score empty.
And he saved the best for last in the 131-127 victory at the Washington Wizards. The second year forward hit a 3-pointer to put the Spurs up one with 52.6 seconds left in the game. It completed a comeback from what was a 12 point deficit just four minutes earlier.
“I think in that moment I'd shoot it either way but I feel like back then I wouldn't be as certain to shooting it,” Sochan said when asked if there was a time in his career in which he would not have taken such a crucial shot. “But now, I just shot it. I feel good with my three-point shot and, yeah, it went in.”
Twenty-four seconds after that trey to made it 126-125, he again gave the Spurs the lead by knocking down two free throws. Then, in the final seconds, with his team up four, he blocked a last ditch 3-point effort by Corey Kispert to seal the win.
Jeremy Sochan's big 3-pointer
Sochan's lone 3-point make of the game (he only took two the entire game) could not have happened at a better time for the Silver and Black. It's a shot one of the NBA's “Rising Stars” last year saw materialize.
“I kind of knew before him passing it because of where I was at. I was going to have to shake up and my guy was going to help so I knew I was going to be wide open waiting for the pass and get ready to shoot. It went in,” the former Baylor Bear said.
“Definitely. I think it shows that I've been working real hard this summer. I'm happy it's paying off.”
Sochan helps Spurs break losing streak
In snapping a four game skid, the Spurs won their third game in 11 days. Considering they won just five games in the first two and a half months of the season, that's quite an improvement.
“I feel we just locked in, became more aggressive. I feel those are the two things that helped us bring it back to a tight game and then take the lead,” the ninth overall pick of the 2022 draft said.
Jeremy Sochan qualified for last season's Rising Stars Game held during the NBA's All-Star break. His skillset proved a major reason Popovich and his staff inserted the 20-year-old at point guard in the run up to this season. While he showed glimpses, Sochan didn't thrive in his first ever taste of point guard and San Antonio lost at historic levels for the franchise.
Since early December, Sochan has moved back over to the starting line up's front line. The Spurs have gradually improved since then. As has Sochan, who talked about his struggles at the point as he was manning the position.
“Yeah, definitely breathe a little easier. I'm becoming myself. I still one hundred percent believe I can do way more. I've got way more to give to my team, teammates, to coaches, everyone. The only way is up.”
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