AMERICAN Coach Rob Johnson was all praises for Kai Sotto, saying the 7-foot-2 Filipino youngster has a bright future ahead of him.
“Kai has a great attitude about training. He loves finding out information to apply to his game to help him improve,” Johnson told an interview with the Olympic Channel recently.
Sotto, only 18, trained under Johnson for a year at The Skills Factory squad in Atlanta, hoping to hone his skills as he dreams of becoming the first homegrown Filipino to play in the National Basketball Association (NBA).
“Kai could pose a threat if he could properly utilize his length and wits,” Johnson said. “He has great basketball IQ. He is easy to coach and understands the instructions and concepts at a very high level.”
The former Ateneo juniors standout signed up with Southern California, the newest team in the G-League. He is the first international player to play in the NBA’s developmental league.
There, he will team up with Filipino-American Jalen Green, along with their fellow promising players Isaiah Todd and Daishen Nix.
“I admire the improvement on Kai’s strength and explosion,” Johnson said. “I think the Olympics will be a very big stage for Kai and he will give the world a chance to see him represent his country versus the other top countries in the world.