2023-2024 Pre-Camp Top 20 Rookie Ranks
Victor Wembanyama (Spurs)
Scoot Henderson (Blazers)
Bilal Coulibaly (Wizards)
Ausar Thompson (Pistons)
Brandon Miller (Hornets)
Amen Thompson (Rockets)
Anthony Black (Magic)
Keyonte George (Jazz)
Cason Wallace (Thunder)
Taylor Hendricks (Jazz)
Jarace Walker (Pacers)
Grade Dick (Raptors)
Jaime Jaques Jr. (Heat)
Cam Whitmore (Rockets)
Jett Howard (Magic)
Dereck Lively (Mavericks)
Jalen Hood-Schifino (Lakers)
Marcus Sasser (Pistons)
Kris Murray (Blazers)
Leonard Miller (Timberwolves)
Looking to Leap: 2023-24 Breakouts - Jeremy Sochan.
Jeremy Sochan 2022-2023 Rookie Year Stats
Every year after the dust from the NBA Draft and free agency settles, we can reasonably begin to look towards the next season and predict which young players may take a second or third-year leap.
Much less reasonable is to try and identify breakout candidates before either of those events have wrapped. But who said we’re reasonable.
Jeremy Sochan - The Bigger Picture:
Perhaps it is a bit too on the nose, the week of the NBA Draft, to select a teammate of Victor Wembanyama’s for a profile. But we’ve done it anyways. We love the outlook for Sochan playing next to Wemby. The gravity of Wemby (alongside Devin Vassel and Keldon Johnson) should help to continue fueling Sochan’s offensive growth.
The potential for Sochan to continue to flourish as a runaway train in transition, and to grow his midrange and driving game is real. He has the ideal build for a slasher, and should his shot to continue to improve an Aaron Gordon type path is there.
Defensive Utility Tool:
Sochan, though not physically overwhelming, is unafraid in the post. He muscles his way around the basket frequently, bumping against post-ups and battling for rebounds. But much more valuable, and a way for him to continue to play serious minutes, is his versatility around the perimeter.
Sochan has the horizontal-quickness to stay with smaller guards, coupled with the strength necessary to bump off drives from forwards.
The below clip shows some great examples of his ability to stay ahead even a strong Anthony Edwards.
One potential weakness is how frequently Sochan will leave his feet to contest shots. However, with more experience we expect to see more discipline from him in staying down on closeouts and pump fakes.
Prospect Projection:
One of my favorite things to look for in prospects (alongside the ability to stay on the floor) is coachability. Can they make improvements over the course of the year? We want to see projectable growth and progression from top prospects strengthening the existing strengths and smoothing over the wrinkles.
Sochan saw his role increase, albeit in a bit of a silly season for the Spurs, and the quality of his play improved alongside that role increase. One of the most impressive improvements was with his shot form, most clearly shown by his unique approach to free throws. Over the last four months of the season his percentage at the line jumped to nearly 80%.
Sochan’s willingness to listen to his coaches and do whatever is necessary to improve is super positive when looking forward to try and place a projection on where his ceiling may be.
Most importantly - 78.5% from the line on 65 attempts.
Fantasy Future:
Most importantly, and what the people care about - Jeremy Sochan’s Fantasy Future.
Sochan finished as the 249th ranked player by Yahoo in 9cat for the 2022-2023 season. Yet rookie rankings do not tell the whole story.
His FT% as mentioned above is getting better. He may not longer be viable only for FT punting teams.
The defensive prowess has already shown. Stocks are a huge driver of fantasy value, and should help Sochan to retain value, even if his offensive game never fully develops.
Finally, with the potential to work as a second or third option in lineups, he should be able to put up productive numbers for fantasy.
Tentatively we’re ranking him to finish within the top 125 this upcoming season.
Sochan has seemingly laid down solid hardwood for his floor as an NBA role player. It will interesting to see just how high the ceilings on Sochan Street will be.
2023-24 Pre-NBA DRAFT Top 20 Big Board.
Victor Wembanyama
Scoot Henderson
Amen Thompson
Ausar Thompson
Anthony Black
Brandon Miller
Cam Whitmore
Taylor Hendricks
Cason Wallace
Jarace Walker
Dereck Lively
Jalen Hood-Schifiano
Gradey Dick
Leonard Miller
Kobe Bufkin
Bilal Coulibaly
Keyonte George
Jett Howard
Colby Jones
Brandin Podziemski