The San Antonio Spurs are firmly in rebuilding mode, as evidenced by a 9-20 record and the NBA’s worst net rating (-10) at the start of play in the league on Monday. Still, there are positive signs for the Spurs when it comes to young talent, including Devin Vassell, Keldon Johnson, and a trio of first round picks from the 2022 NBA Draft. One of those selections was former Baylor forward Jeremy Sochan, who started 21 of the team’s first 29 games and has considerable potential as a defender and facilitator.
Sochan does have a current weakness as a shooter, though, and that includes 17.4 percent from three-point range and just 11-of-24 to begin his NBA career at the free throw line. During the first half of Monday’s game between the Spurs and the Houston Rockets, Sochan elected to change his free throw routine and lofted a pair of attempts one-handed.
Jeremy Sochan started shooting free throws one-handed
pic.twitter.com/RteImkcYQq
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) December 20, 2022
It isn’t uncommon for players to use this form in a drill setting, especially when working on getting away from off-hand guidance. It is quite odd to see in a live game environment, however, and perhaps the Spurs and Sochan are just searching for anything to fix his struggles. Though his current free throw numbers represent a comically small sample, Sochan also shot less than 60 percent at the college level, which perhaps is part of the calculus.
San Antonio can afford to be experimental given the current state of affairs and the realization that game results aren’t the most important thing. Still, this is bizarre to see, and it will be interesting to see what the rationale might be from a front-facing standpoint.