Kai Sotto makes progress in Atlanta

MANILA, Philippines — After only a week of training, 7-1 teenaged prodigy Kai Sotto is showing clear signs of progress as he undergoes rigorous training, twice or thrice a day, with strength and conditioning coach Paddy Hogben and basketball skills coach Nick Stapleton at the P3 (Power Performance Project) Gym in the Emory Sports Medicine Complex in Atlanta.

Sotto, who turns 17 on May 11, left Manila for Atlanta with his father Ervin last April 1. He will stay in Atlanta until end of May then report to the Batang Gilas camp in Manila in the first week of June to prepare for the FIBA U19 World Cup in Greece on June 29-July 7. A source said newly-appointed Batang Gilas coach Sandy Arrespacochaga has been advised of Sotto’s timetable.

An individualized, personalized and customized training program has been formulated for Sotto based on a scientific evaluation of his body, potential and skills. P3 is on top of the program. Several NBA players owe their development to P3 which offers assessment, prescription and training for high school, college and professional athletes in several sports, including basketball, volleyball, baseball and soccer. Among the NBA players who’ve worked out at P3 are Paul Millsap, Dwight Howard, Kelly Olynyk, Brook Lopez, Jeremy Lin, Jason Richardson, Khris Middleton, Matthew Dellavedova, Thon Maker, Ricky Rubio, Karl Anthony Towns, Zach LaVine and Carmelo Anthony.  P3 is also involved in Sotto’s nutrition program. 

“Kai has a very intensive nutrition program designed to add healthy pounds to his currently very lean frame so he can build muscle especially in his flutes, thighs, legs and core,” said a source in Atlanta. “He’s training twice or thrice a day, six days a week with two main coaches. One session a day is with a P3 coach for strength and conditioning based on a very scientific evaluation done last Thursday and the other two workouts are under an NBA professional trainer for basketball skills, footwork and strategies.”

Hogben, a 35-year-old English performance specialist with a background in rugby and canoeing, is in charge of Sotto’s strength and conditioning. Stapleton, 39, is a Hall of Famer at Austin Peay where he averaged 17.6 points in four years with the varsity from 1998-99 to 2001-02. Andray Blatche’s personal trainer Rory Jones has also been called in to work with Sotto at the Emory Sports Medicine Complex where the Atlanta Hawks train.

“Kai’s currently doing pick-up 2x2 with some select ex-NBA players and college players and will ramp up towards 3x3 and finally 5x5 when the NBA regular season ends and more NBA players come to Atlanta,” said the source.

A former NBA player who has worked with Sotto on the court is 6-11 Dale Davis, a 16-year pro with the Indiana Pacers, Portland Trail Blazers, Golden State Warriors and Detroit Pistons from 1991-92 to 2006-07. Davis, 50, saw action in 1,094 NBA regular season games and was the Pacers’ first round pick in the 1991 draft.

After playing in the FIBA U19 World Cup, Sotto will return to Atlanta and continue his development program. It’s still not certain if Sotto will join a team and play in a league when he goes back. At the moment, he has taken a leave of absence from Ateneo. “There’s no decision yet on the steps to take when Kai returns from Greece,” said the source. “That will be discussed with Kai and his family. The direction to take will be in line with our collective dream of bringing Kai to the NBA.”