As expected, first-year Rockets head coach Ime Udoka is happy to see third-year center Alperen Sengun earn Western Conference Player of the Week honors. The 21-year-old is the first Houston player to win that recognition since James Harden in late 2019, and he’s the youngest player in franchise history to do so.
But Houston’s coach believes the Turkish phenom is capable of even more. Here’s what Udoka said of Sengun and the award, via The Matt Thomas Show on flagship radio station SportsTalk 790.
Udoka’s comments:
It’s well deserved. Obviously, he played at a high level in some big wins that we had. The numbers have kind of been consistent across the board, and he took a little step up there.
But I’m very happy for him. The work he’s put in, the attention to detail and the things he’s learned and the areas he’s grown this year, have been big. Obviously, it has a direct impact on our success. For him to take that step has been a huge thing. It’s a great accomplishment for himself, and we still think there’s another level he can take it to.
We’re almost halfway through the season, and soon, we want to see that growth from him in the second half. The better he does, the more success we’ll have as a group.
The complete interview can be listened to below.
Sengun, an increasingly realistic All-Star candidate, leads Houston with per-game averages of 21.5 points (53.8% FG) and 9.0 rebounds. He also dishes out 5.0 assists and averages 1.1 steals over 32.0 minutes.
