Chot Reyes sees elite competition for Kai Sotto in NBA G League
MANILA, Philippines — For former Gilas Pilipinas coach Chot Reyes, the NBA G League will bring in the needed competition for Kai Sotto to improve his skills.
Recently paying a visit to check in with Sotto in the US, Reyes said that the 7'2" prospect definitely had the skills and talent to be in the higher levels.
"I"m not really worried about Kai's skills because he has all the skills for a basketball player," Reyes said in the recent episode of the Tiebreaker Vods' Coaches Unfiltered Podcast.
"He's a great ball handler, great shooter, great passer, [and he] sees the game very well," he added.
But Reyes admitted there were still areas of Sotto's fundamentals that need improvement if he wants to be NBA-caliber.
"For me, it's really his strength and I think our last count, he has gained 22, 24 pounds already since he arrived so I like the way it's going but there are some specific movements that they were working on," he said.
Reyes pointed to specifics like how he runs, the strength of his knees, biomechanics and his posture in terms of what he can do to up his game.
The former national team tactician said that he wasn't entirely interested in his success when playing against much weaker opponents.
But with Sotto's upcoming stint in the NBA G League, Reyes expects an elite level of competition that will push the 7'2" cager to his limits.
"Being around Jalen Green and all that, then every day that means he's going to get daily top level competition, he's going to get good practices. That's what Kai needs, he needs to toughen up," he said.
"Sa Tagalog ang tawag doon 'kailangan niya mabugbog'. He needs to play against people bigger, stronger, better than he is," he added.
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