In a soon-to-be-released interview with courtside reporter Vanessa Richardson of AT&T SportsNet Southwest, Ime Udoka was complimentary of several newly inherited players as part of his new position as head coach of the young Houston Rockets.
“I knew Kevin [Porter Jr.] and Jalen [Green] from scouting and playing against them two times, but those guys have grown in their own aspects,” Udoka said. “Then, looking down the roster, I didn’t understand as much about Tari [Eason], Jabari [Smith Jr.], Jae’Sean [Tate], and KJ [Martin]. There’s a ton of talent.”
But after his initial film review of the Rockets, Udoka saved his best endorsement for young center Alperen Sengun. Statistically, the 20-year-old had a breakout year in his second NBA season:
Alperen Sengun is like a mini-Jokic [Denver’s Nikola Jokic] out there. There’s things I didn’t understand about these guys.
In his introductory press conference, Udoka mentioned wanting to add “different types of bigs” to the roster. However, the 45-year-old coach said that in the context of playing alongside Sengun or perhaps in tandem with him in the rotation, as opposed to being a replacement. For example, a big man with more athleticism and shot blocking might help offset some of Sengun’s defensive limitations.
It’s worth noting that when Udoka coached the Celtics in the 2021 offseason, Boston reportedly had eyes on Sengun as a potential draft pick. Several in NBA circles have since compared the Turkish prospect to Jokic, a two-time league MVP who also hails from Europe.
Fortunately, the Rockets were able to trade for the No. 16 overall pick in the 2021 first round to draft the 6-foot-11 big man, and the rest is history. Sengun averaged 14.8 points (55.3% FG), 9.0 rebounds, and 3.9 assists in 28.9 minutes per game this season.
Udoka’s full one-on-one interview with Richardson can be viewed on AT&T SportsNet Southwest at 7 p.m. Central on Sunday.
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Story originally appeared on Rockets Wire