Filipino center Kai Sotto and his teammates learned great lessons after he chipped in five points and five rebounds during Team Ignite’s scrimmage against a group of National Basketball Association G-League veterans.
Coach Brian Shaw said this after Team Ignite lost to the veterans, who came away with a 113-107 victory on Tuesday afternoon in Walnut Creek, California.
“We concentrated on making these guys trust each other, and that they don’t have to do it all by themselves. They’re doing a great job at that,” said Shaw on Zoom during a post-scrimmage huddle with scribes, made possible by NBA Philippines.
The 7’2” Sotto added two blocks to his stat line, along with two turnovers to the game, which saw London Perrantes and DJ Hoggs leading the vets with 18 points apiece.
“I would say Kai Sotto made some great plays on the defensive end,” said Shaw.
The squad composed of top prospects for the coming or future rookie drafts of the NBA got big plays from Jonathan Kuminga and Jalen Green.
Kuminga, a 6’8” forward from Congo and among the top 10 rookie draft prospects, had 26 points, making 11 of his 15 shots, to go with eight rebounds.
Green, a Fil-American guard seen as one of the hottest recruits in the NBA Draft 2021, added 22 points on 8-of-15 shooting, to go with seven boards.
In this game, Shaw explained that the coaching staff did not focus on the ball handlers.
“We tried to make things equal since there are five players on the floor, and with only one having the ball at a time. That means, the other four have to be playing 80 percent of the time without the ball. That’s what we’re concentrating on. That 80 percent, who don’t have the ball,” added Shaw.
The players were taught to set teammates up for screens and make the right moves afterwards.
Shaw said Green and Kuminga played well in this game, as well as Sotto in defense, and Isaiah Todd, who brought energy to their plays.
Team Ignite went on to practice with NBA veterans, that included Jeremy Lin.
Lin, a nine-year NBA veteran, who now plays for the Beijing Ducks in a Chinese pro league, is not an official member of the roster.
The G-League took in Lin as a practice player, since he lives near the team’s gym in Walnut Creek.
“I was really, really happy with the effort and what I saw today. I was very pleased with what I saw, in terms of how we matched the physicality, the intensity that the other team played with,” said Shaw.