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The “control what I can control” quote— this guy sounds like a Spur.
SALT LAKE CITY — Scoot Henderson will have a ready guide to show him around San Antonio should the Spurs wind up drafting him in June.
“I know him pretty well,” Spurs rookie forward Jeremy Sochan said. “He is pretty cool.”
Considered a transformative prospect second only to French star Victor Wembanyama in this year’s deep crop of future stars, Henderson got to know Sochan last summer at the “The Sanctuary,” the National Basketball Players Association’s performance retreat in Spain.
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“We were in the gym together, we went out to restaurants together and did stuff,” Sochan said.
The two reunited Friday night in Salt Lake City, where they squared off in the Rising Stars Challenge at All-Star Weekend.
Sochan played for a team made up of rookie and second-year NBA players. Henderson was part of a G League squad representing the Ignite, a developmental team based out of Henderson, Nevada, that allows elite prospects to play professionally before they are eligible for the draft. Sochan’s team prevailed 40-32 to advance to the finals of the mini-tournament.
Sochan had six points on 3-of-4 shooting to go along with one rebound, one assist and one steal. Henderson finished with 4 points, two assists and two steals. He was 1 for 5 from the floor.
Before the game, they caught up with each other.
“I think Jeremy is a great person, really goofy, really fun,” Henderson said.
Sochan and Henderson could meet again this summer should the Spurs wind up selecting the 6-foot-2 guard from Marietta, Ga.
Left with a 14-45 record at the All-Star break after losing a franchise-record 14th game in a row last Wednesday in Charlotte, the Spurs rank as the second-worst team in the league behind Houston (13-45). The teams that finish the regular season with the three worst records each have a 14 percent chance of winning the lottery.
If the Spurs draft first, they are expected to snatch up Wembanyama. If they were to pick second, Henderson would be among their options.
That means the Spurs are on his radar.
“They have a lot of young guys to compete in the next few years, so it will be dope to see them grow as a team,” Henderson said of the Spurs.
One of those “young guys” is Sochan, who is 19 like Henderson and is enjoying an impressive rookie season averaging 10 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.5 assists.
“His game, he can do it all,” Henderson said of Sochan. “He can stretch the court, he can dunk on somebody, he can shoot it as well, he can lock up on defense. His game is growing. You can tell he is working.”
The same is true of Henderson, who has embraced the franchise-player expectations placed on him.
“It’s a great position to be in, and I’m going to stay confident throughout the process and enjoy myself as well,” he said. “I don’t think it’s (about) proving myself. It’s just going out there and doing my job every single time down the court. Every time I’m on the court just give it up, give it my all.”
It’s not surprising Henderson and Sochan would become friends. They both have independent streaks with little concern about what others think of them.
While they are honored by comparisons to NBA stars past and present — Sochan to Dennis Rodman and Draymond Green; Henderson to Derrick Rose, Donovan Mitc and Russell Westbrook — they strive to be their own person.
“I want to be myself, my own player, to where people are saying the next upcoming guy is like Scoot Henderson,” he said.
Henderson also isn’t ready to take a backseat to Wembanyama, saying he sees himself as the No. 1 pick.
“I just keep swiping, keep going,” Henderson said when he comes upon social media items about the eagerness of teams to select Wembanyama No. 1.
“I don’t (care) what other people’s opinions are. I just control what I can control and giving it my all when I work out and producing on the court. I know I have a chance to go number one.”
Henderson’s numbers with G League Ignite aren’t special. In his final season of a two-year, $1 million deal, he’s averaging 17.1 points on 45.5 percent shooting along with 5.9 assists and 4.5 rebound. But he is confident he will become a dominant player in the NBA.
“I think I’ll be that, for sure,” he said. “I can’t speak on what Victor is going to be. Of course, he has tremendous upside with his length and his ability to score in all areas and play defense. But I control what I control. I want to be that.”
The Rockets are another team Henderson knows he could wind up with. Like the Spurs, Houston is loaded with young players, including 21-year-old guard Jalen Green, who was the second pick of the 2021 draft after a season starring for G League Ignite.
“I think it would be a good experience to go through, to play with young guys,” Henderson said of possibly playing for Houston. That’s what the Ignite is about as well, to play with a mixture of age groups.”
“Seeing Jalen go No. 2 definitely kind of just put that confidence in me to put my trust in the Ignite and trust in that path.”
It’s a path that could lead eventually lead him to San Antonio and another reunion with Sochan.
The “control what I can control” quote— this guy sounds like a Spur.
ITV overall is OK, and being ambitious and self confident is fine, but I'm never a big fan of players who seem to think and claim they can always be the best and beat anyone... I see some Westbrook there. You also have to stay humble and lucid, and while I'm sure he truly believes he could still go #1, he should be aware there's no way it happens now, no matter how hard he tries.
I’m not so sure that’s an example of “humble and lucid”. To me, that’s a defeatist mentality and isn’t healthy ground for cultivating the best out of one’s ability. It’s the same way people here scream at players whenever they’re trying to win. Of course they’re going to try to win. It’s like they want the souls sucked out of these players. Players will always play to win. Great players will always have the mentality to want to be the best.
That was the whole point. Ofc you wanna try to be the best you can as an athlet, that's the base to succeed and not even a topic of debate... But you always have to stay lucid and not believe you ARE the universal , like so many young guys do nowadays, living their own cult, not looking around or listening to external advice... NBA history is full of these kind of players who never made any introspection work (Westbrook, Carmelo...)
We already have indications about Scoot's personality and I don't like the fact he genuinely believes he can pass Wemby, which everyone on the planet knows is not gonna happen, specially with the meh season Scoot is having. I mean, not like he was killing it. Being confident is one thing, overconfident another, kind of the way he went to posterize Wemby during the Vegas game to prove a point, only to get flattened like an pancake.
Last edited by JPB; 02-18-2023 at 08:35 PM.
I like Scoot. He has a very no nonsense mentality and seems very mature for his age. Obviously Wemby is the main hope but I wouldn't be too upset if we ended up with Scoot instead
Honestly, he comes across better in this interview than I had pictured. Somewhat egocentric, sure, but seems focused and willing to put in the effort. I liked the part about the Spurs, shoots down the claims he avoided going to Austin to send a message to the Spurs that he didn't want to get drafted by them. Not every player is both hyper compe ive and likable as Manu, but as long as he'd be a willing and committed Spur, and channel his ego into self improvement (a la Kobe), that's all we can ask for.
Didn't Shaeden Sharpe say the same thing? These AAU gods have no idea what's coming for them, lol.
He’d be an amazing consolation prize tbh. Not even sure I’d call him that. Spurs would be incredibly lucky to land the #2 overall pick. With that said, I’m fully expecting us from drop out of the top-4 tbh.
With the 3rd pick in the NBA draft, the San Antonio Spurs select....Whothe Isthat?
He jumped out of the gate looking crazy good. He faded after that. His shot looked a flat too. To the people that watch him regularly, is that how he shoots?
Just get Victor please
Just aim for the star and not get cute with it’s okay to settle for number 2.
Friendly reminder that even if we lose all our remaining games for the rest of the season, there is a 75% chance we will wind up with neither Wembanyama nor Henderson.
Amen looks legit too. We just need a top three pick or it’s gonna be such a let down.
I already noticed that his numbers weren’t that impressive in the G-League. I’m really not high on him so far, maybe he’ll prove me wrong.
You don't think he's a crave-the-limelight guy? Not that neph is that guy (seems like he just wanted to go home) but him wanting out underscored how quickly and thoroughly your all star leaving can tank a franchise, even one ad solid as the spurs.
IMO, this next draft pick could make or break the organization. We'll undoubtedly get better next season with a Scoot but likely with a borderline play-in ceiling. A few years of that is problematic especially if at the end Scoot decides he needs to be in LA or NY or back home in ATL, like neph did.
Just saying, spurs better **really** get a sense for this dude's personality.
Why would you not like that?
You want the second best player in the draft to lack the confidence to believe that he's better than the guy ahead of him?
I love his confidence. He's not arrogant or pompous. Just believes in himself.
Saying he will definitely be dominant in the NBA is definitely arrogant and pompous, lol.
Nothing wrong with arrogance from a top prospect, I care more about his body language on the court and how he interacts with his teammates. I’m not in love with Scoot or his game but the potential is undeniable. Everything I’ve read is that he’s pretty well liked by his team and studies a lot of film.
Everything wrong with a teenager saying he's going to crush the league. LMAO at this phony-ass Karadashian American culture y'all have. No wonder we elected Donald Trump. We think someone running their mouth is a good thing.
Oh Lort we picking a Basketball player we are not picking a President or CEO -
Sounds like a pathetic cementhead who's been badly mislead.
Unreal how badly Kobme Bryant damaged basketball.
https://cdn10.connected-stories.com/...(2).mp4/sd.mp4
Love how people twist words and don’t see how similar they are to Trump.Everything wrong with a teenager saying he's going to crush the league. LMAO at this phony-ass Karadashian American culture y'all have. No wonder we elected Donald Trump. We think someone running their mouth is a good thing.
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