Jeremy Sochan: Spurs '100 Percent' Trending In Right Direction

Jeremy Sochan might have had the hardest job on the San Antonio Spurs this season.

Any player on the NBA's youngest roster is going to deal with their share of hardships, which makes sense. Continuously facing off against more experienced players tends to make for losses — as the Spurs proved this season, finishing their season with just 22 wins.

But even more than those age-based struggles — which Sochan did experience — the power forward also had to deal with playing out-of-position for the better part of his season. It was one of many storylines for the Spurs, who were trying to navigate around Victor Wembanyama, and left Sochan in a place of frustration, though he acknowledged that he was better for it.

"I feel like my role this year was to do whatever I was asked to do," Sochan explained in his postseason media availability. "You know? Just do it."

When that meant playing point guard and taking the ball up the court almost every possesion, he did it. When it was switching back to his main position, he did it. That was his mindset heading into the season, especially knowing how much he could learn from Gregg Popovich, and for the team as a whole, it paid off.

"I learned a lot from it," he said. "(There were) positives and negatives, but at the end of the day (there was) growth. As the season went along, me individually, but also as a team, we (grew)."

He was right. What began as a pretty disastrous season — the Spurs didn't initially know how to play together and with Wembanyama — turned into a hopeful finish. San Antonio began to be competitive and work as a unit.

It was a drastic shift that Sochan played a crucial role in.

"The results weren't (great), but at the end of the day, what we're looking for is growth," Sochan re-iterated. "That's what's going to lead us to winning stuff."

Growth for a 22-win team might not seem like much on the outside, but Sochan ensured that the NBA's youngest team had made strides from where they began to where they finished. In fact, his emphasis on that word played into what his personal takeaways for the season were.

"I learned a lot from (this season)," Sochan said. "The coaches trusted me, the players trusted me, so in the end, (it) worked out and I learned a lot of little things."

Sochan has always had a bubbly personality. On the court, it shows through his colorful hair, while off of it, him serving as a familiar face on the Spurs' social media and at NBA-wide events lends itself to him becoming a young star in the league. But it isn't just him.

While Sochan might have had the hardest job on the Spurs this season, each of the players showed their skills in different ways. They all grew — together.

"The way we were together, you know, just hanging out in the locker room, in the plane, (at) dinners," Sochan said. "I think that helped create relationships."

So, with a cohesive unit ready to tackle next season, growth will once again be at the forefront. Sochan knows it, as does Wembanyama and the rest of the Spurs. Despite them experiencing quite a few struggles, they're learning each and every game. And every day in the offseason.

Sochan isn't worried about where his team sits. He's far from reaching that point — instead taking a rather optimistic, future-based stance on the state of the Spurs.

And right now, that's all they can hope for.

"100 percent," Sochan said assuredly when asked if San Antonio was moving in the right direction heading into the offseason. "I think, you know, we're going the right way.

"It's an exciting time for us; just the energy around the organization (and) around us players. It's so exciting."