‘I'M A TEXAN': HOW JEREMY SOCHAN CAN MAKE HIS PITCH TO STAY IN SAN ANTONIO

The week of the election that paved the way for a downtown Spurs arena, Jeremy Sochan took a poll. A couple of reporters were hanging around his locker, and he wanted to know if they'd voted.

When one asked if he'd been able to cast a ballot in San Antonio, the 22-year-old Oklahoma-born Polish citizen with the bangers-and-mash British accent grinned.

"Of course," he said. "I'm a Texan."

If Sochan has it his way, he'll be able to keep identifying as such for a long time. He likes it here, and he has a great off-court relationship with his fellow Spurs, including the franchise superstar. Over the summer, he took Stephon Castle and Devin Vassell with him to Spain, and played some pickup soccer with Victor Wembanyama.

In terms of culture, personality and vibes, Sochan fits. But it takes more than that to secure a second pro contract, and that's why he has as much to prove as anybody on the roster over the next two to three weeks.

If he wants to stay a San Antonian for the long haul, isn't now a perfect time for him to show the Spurs why they should want the same?

Maybe that's not entirely fair, because nobody can replace Wembanyama, and the Spurs are not going to play their best basketball while they play it safe with their superstar's strained left calf.

RELATED: Why the Spurs are wise to shelve Wembanyama due to his calf injury

But these are the times when they sure could use a lift from the guy who four summers ago became the Spurs' highest draft pick in a quarter-century. 

It's not that he's made the franchise regret that selection. In the Top 10 of the 2022 draft, he's not even close to the biggest bust - Johnny Davis is out of the league, and Jaden Ivey hasn't exactly panned out - but he also has underperformed a few guys taken after him, including Jalen Williams, Tari Eason and Christian Braun.

So it came as no surprise when the Spurs declined the chance to extend Sochan's contract last month, and it's still unclear whether he has a role in the dynasty they're trying to build. Proving that his 50% 3-point shooting this season isn't a seven-game mirage would help his case. Showing coach Mitch Johnson he can count on him wouldn't be a bad idea, either.

On that latter point, Sochan isn't all the way there yet. Even though Mitch Johnson insisted "it was not an indictment" of his fourth-year forward that he was limited to 10 minutes against Chicago, six minutes against Golden State and then 13 minutes in another game against the Warriors last week, those numbers were notable. It's clear that Sochan isn't considered one of the top eight or nine guys on the depth chart when the Spurs are at full strength.

The thing is, though, they're not now. Wembanyama will be reevaluated sometime after Thanksgiving, but it would be a surprise to see him return before the second week of December. Rookie Dylan Harper is out of his walking boot, but he might be weeks away from coming back from his own calf issue. And Castle was set to miss Tuesday's game against Memphis with left hip flexor soreness.

Does that mean the Spurs are about to become the Sochan show? Well, obviously not. They do still have an All-Star caliber point guard in De'Aaron Fox, and Castle might be back before the end of the week, and players like Luke Kornet, Devin Vassell and Keldon Johnson should be poised to pick up lots of the Wembanyama slack over the next few weeks.

But Sochan, who will be a restricted free agent next summer, has a real opportunity. He's no longer playing out of position, like he was during the well-intentioned but ill-fated point-guard experiment, or like he was when Wembanyama had his stroke last February and the Spurs had no backup big men available to soak up minutes at center.

MORE SPURS: How a self pep talk kept Luke Kornet from quitting basketball

This time, Kornet and Kelly Olynyk can take the bulk of those. There might be some stretches in which the Spurs go small and Sochan is playing the five-spot, but theoretically that only will happen when Johnson thinks that gives them advantage. For the most part, Sochan will be asked to defend like crazy and hit the boards and make a shot when he's wide open.

If he proves he can do that when Wembanyama isn't around? Maybe that will carry over to when the big man comes back.

But if the next few weeks go by, and the team's brain trust still isn't sure how Sochan fits into the plan?

Well, it might be overdramatic to say he's running out of chances. But he probably doesn't want to waste too many more of them.

"I've always been a Spur," Sochan said, "and I always will." 

That was a couple of weeks ago, on the same night he talked about casting a vote in favor of a downtown arena.

Chances are, he'll get to play in it someday.

Maybe even as a Texan.

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2025-11-18T22:41:56Z