Third-year center Alperen Sengun is an increasingly realistic 2024 All-Star candidate for the Houston Rockets, and head coach Ime Udoka isn’t shying away from acknowledging his clear growth.
In a newly released interview, Udoka was asked about Sengun’s progress by Vanessa Richardson of Space City Home Network, the team’s regional television partner for game broadcasts.
Regarding Sengun’s season, Udoka said:
It was a quick jump, initially. Obviously he bought in on the defensive end, and we really wanted to help him improve in that area. Offensively, he’s so skilled, and I think he’s taken it to another level, as far as his confidence.
We try to move him around and do a lot of different things with him. He’s such a great scorer in the post that teams really load up on him, and he’s initiating offense for everyone else. You can move him around on the court. Put him at the nail, where it’s harder to double team him.
We’ve only seen his confidence grow in the last month or so. He’s a big part of what we need, going forward. The skillset and versatility of him has been great for our group. You don’t always want pick-and-rolls and isolations. You can just go to him, and he draws so much attention that it benefits everybody.
The complete Udoka interview can be viewed below.
Entering Monday, Sengun was averaging 21.4 points (53.7% FG), 9.0 rebounds, and 5.1 assists in 32.0 minutes. His scoring and rebounding totals lead the Rockets (18-16), who have overachieved all expectations thus far. Thus, most importantly, Sengun’s strong production seems to be correlated with winning and team success.
Enjoyed this chat with @HoustonRockets Head Coach Ime Udoka about a variety of topics….
-Mindset this season
-Vet leadership
-Goals for Jalen
-Jabari's versatility
-Alperen's game & working with Tiago Splitter
-Rookie minutes
-Tari's impact (& who he reminds coach of!)
-Road… pic.twitter.com/0b8TSasIVY— Vanessa Richardson (@SportsVanessa) January 8, 2024
