For all the promise, talent, and intrigue with the Cleveland Cavaliers’ young core, there remains one gaping hole between their young guards (Darius Garland and Collin Sexton) and young bigs (Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen). The Cavs don’t have a strong option on the wing to slide between the two duos.
JB Bickerstaff made due with what he was given to a pretty notable level of success last season. The team has a number of good, but flawed options at the two-through-four positions, including Caris LeVert, Lauri Markkanen, Isaac Okoro, Cedi Osman, Lamar Stevens, Dean Wade, and Dylan Windler.
With the Cavs’ lottery pick this season, they will likely look into adding another wing to their collection. In the middle of the first round, there are more good, but flawed options available. Jeremy Sochan is one of the standouts that has a chance to be there when Cleveland is on the clock.
A freshman out of Baylor, he displayed strong defensive capabilities, along with intriguing offensive upside. His fluidity and agility at 6’9″, 230 lbs give him a body that should allow him to fit in from the get-go. In fact, his game is more built for the NBA than the college game.
Jeremy Sochan’s Defense
This is what makes Jeremy Sochan the prospect he is. Sochan has the potential to be a very impactful defender in the NBA, thanks to his physical gifts, motor, and natural feel for the game. He’s not an overwhelming athlete, but he seamlessly slides his feet to stay in front of ball-handlers, taking the right angles to cut them off. Despite how effortless it all seems, he’s constantly disposing maximum effort. Jeremy’s not the one to take a play off.
He does have a tendency to get caught up in all that hyperactivity and irrefutable willpower. Sochan can tend to be a bit jumpy, biting on pump fakes too easily. Experience will likely see that aspect of his game trend downward, and lead to him being more of a complete defender.
Due to his lack of eye-popping explosiveness or quick-twitchiness, he’s not a strong threat to be disruptive in the passing lanes or soar up for monster rejections. Although, his length and awareness allow him to be in the right position often, and prevent such events from being necessary in the first place. You could call him more of a conservative defender, than an aggressive one.
Jeremy Sochan’s Offense
Jeremy Sochan’s game needs more work done on this side of the floor. He brings an intriguing baseline of tools to the table. His size and movement tools give him a number of advantages in the NBA, by themselves. We’ve seen a drastic uptick in guys his size who are dribbling the ball more and more. If Sochan can continue to diversify and build upon his handle, he could become a genuine offensive weapon in the pros.
He still has a long ways to go there, though. He’s comfortable with the ball in his hands, but it’s very vanilla. His lack of burst and touch lead to him finding himself in awkward situations, unable to create a good look or advantage. It’s an area to hone in on for him/
Jeremy Sochan has demonstrated minimal flashes of shotmaking in the mid-range. He shot poorly from deep and the free throw line, but the confidence is there for the most part. It’s worth asking the question how far away he is from being able to connect in his jumpers with more consistency.
He loves to use the pump fake to throw his defender off-track when attacking off-the-catch. Adding a more respectable shot to his game could very effectively make him more potent with the ball in his hands driving towards the rim.
The most intriguing aspect of Sochan’s offensive game is his passing. Jeremy’s not so skilled at getting all the way to and finishing at the rim quite yet, but with his size and ability to at least put the ball on the floor, he is able to bend defenses enough to open up passing lanes to shooters. Sochan likes to take a few dribbles inside and find the open guy, which he does with a good amount of success.
For him to take the next step offensively in the NBA, he will have to garner more respect as a scorer from opposing defenses. Both from the perimeter and the rim, he has a ways to go in regards to putting the ball in the basket at an efficient clip, paired with good volume.
Jeremy Sochan’s fit with the Cavs
At first glance, Jeremy Sochan can appear redundant. He’s a defense-first, offense TBD prospect. Cleveland has a number of strong defensive talents in Jarrett Allen, Evan Mobley, Isaac Okoro, and Lamar Stevens. The Cavs already have an issue with playing guys who are ineffective offensively. So what’s the rationale here?
Well Sochan gives you something a little different, despite being in the same genre as these other Cavaliers, with a stroke of strong upside. JB Bickerstaff likes playing big, but he needs someone who can guard the perimeter for him alongside Cleveland’s small backcourt. Lauri Markkanen gave his all in that role this season, although he caps out at a certain extent. Isaac Okoro doesn’t offer the same level of size to maintain the same scheme.
If Jeremy Sochan can translate his offensive game to the NBA in the same way that so many other big, strong, skilled wing have, then he could give JB Bickerstaff the best of both worlds on the wing. Giving the team a spicy new twist to their young core. The Cavs’ don’t NEED another high-level player added to this team to see success. So why not take a risk on an upside swing?