Top prospect Chet Holmgren the latest evidence of recruiting's The more hes exposed to the competitive experience, whether its shooting in pregame warm-ups or being on the bench for lineup announcements, Daigneault said, when you watch him in those situations, you can tell hes ready to run through a wall but he cant, not yet.. His foot might feel stiffer at times. Those guard skills he developed as a young player also fit the philosophy of Thunder coach Mark Daignault. There, Holmgren started practicing some of the Thunders core values on both ends of the floor like relentless defensive energy and a selfless, five-man-out offensive system, both of which come naturally to the 7-footer. Amir Coffey (Los Angeles Clippers), Gary Trent Jr. (Portland Trail Blazers), Mike Muscala (Oklahoma City Thunder) and Tyus Jones (Memphis Grizzlies) have all made solid contributions to their respective franchises this season. Marc J. Spears is the senior NBA writer for Andscape. Chet Holmgren Chet Thomas Holmgren (born May 1, 2002; pronounced / tt homrn / CHET HOHM-grn [1]) is an American professional basketball player for the Oklahoma City Thunder of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The 7-foot-1 freshman center went coast-to-coast on an explosive drive in the second quarter after he made a huge block on UCLAs Myles Johnson. Oklahoma City Thunder star rookie Chet Holmgren will be out for the 2022-23 season after the team announced he suffered a Lisfranc injury to his right foot. If that doesnt happen, he probably wont fall far. With Oklahoma City really making strides towards being a consistent playoff team once again, there will be significant weight on Holmgrens shoulders next season when he returns from injury, whether thats fair or not. The Thunder said on Aug. 30 that. Its going up, for sure., Mike DeCourcy is a Senior Writer at The Sporting News. June 27, 2022 1:28 pm ET. People were like, This little white boy is trash. At the end of the day, Im not going to worry about it., posted a picture of a Floyd memorial near the site of his death. Chet Holmgren has talked to Joel Embiid and knows the similar stories of Blake Griffin and Ben Simmons. Hes handled it well, has done a good job and he is grounded.. Even on the morning of his first surgery, in late August, he was talking on the phone and doing doughnuts on his knee scooter as he waited to head to the hospital. Holmgren improved his shooting range while recovering from a broken right wrist during his first season. 2 overall pick the 2022 NBA Draft. Chet Holmgren was a real-life cheat code in Gonzaga's 83-63 blowout win against UCLA in Tuesday's Empire Classic. When it comes down to business, hes a businessman at the same time. Chet Holmgren Plays Too Big on Defense to Fail - The Ringer And some lottery selections never get to the league at all: Orlando chose Fran Vazquez at No. I think that's what the issue is.". Regardless of when Holmgren plays next, hell have the opportunity to push the Oklahoma City Thunder to the next level of success. Instead, he would join a long list of young big men who missed time early in their careers with injury. 2023 Minute Media - All Rights Reserved. Stephen A.: Losing Chet Holmgren is devastating, Chet Holmgren to undergo tests for possible foot injury, Paolo, Chet team up and combine for 84 points in Seattle pro-am. Vaughn averaged 17.8 PPG for UNLV in the 2014-15 campaign, his lone collegiate season before he was selected 17th in the 2015 NBA draft. 5 selection in 2011 not being able to join the Toronto Raptors until a year later because of his contract status with his European team at the time. He has quoted rappers such as Lil Baby on Instagram and many of his posts read by 342,000 followers have hip-hop playing. I just want to be a great example for the other guys around me, all the staff in the building every day right alongside me, as well as everybody in the community, Holmgren said. Jalen Suggs (Gonzaga) and Dain Dainja (Baylor) will join programs this season with legitimate national title aspirations. That sounds funny. Hes not what you expect him to be when you look at him. At least one person isn't convinced he'll ever play college basketball, though. Even before his injury, Holmgren talked at NBA Summer League about how much film he watches to become more self aware on what he needs to improve and to study other players. Those moments of connection with the city are invaluable, and ones that can provide Holmgren some extra juice as he charges down his path this season. Holmgren also took on DeMar DeRozan, Jayson Tatum, who had just competed in the N.B.A. [24], On August 25, 2022, it was announced that Holmgren would miss the entire 202223 NBA season due to a Lisfranc injury in his foot that occurred during a Pro-am game. Gonzaga teammate Julian Strawther says that while Holmgren is focused on the court, he has swagger and exudes confidence off of it. 2 Related. Holmgren got the rebound and jogged down the court for a leaping dunk but not before he pulled off a swift behind-the-back move on Johnson. The Sixers find a way to win without Joel Embiid thanks to a massive game from James Harden and some key dirty work from backup center Paul Reed. But many others like Blake Griffin (2009 No. [11][12], Entering his junior season, Holmgren had about 30 scholarship offers from college basketball programs. A high draft pick having to sit out his first NBA season isnt unprecedented, and in some cases it hasnt stopped players from reaching All-Star or even MVP-caliber levels. 1 selection Greg Oden in 2007. Hes not thinking as much. We know Chet has a long career ahead of him within our organization and the Oklahoma City community. 1 prospect or 2 or 3 or 4 or whatever and the expectations are just hes going to come in from the jump and dominate, Gonzaga coach Mark Few told The Sporting News. [8] In his junior season, he averaged 14.3 points per game, leading Minnehaha to a 253 record. I drive past it any time Im going from one place to another. Drafted 2nd overall in the 2022 NBA draft, he played college basketball for the Gonzaga Bulldogs. I dont have to try to come in and be Superman. So I got to figure out how to turn it into a blessing, how to make the most out of it.. [29], Morgan Wootten National Player of the Year, "Coveted recruit Chet Holmgren is headed to Gonzaga, but should we really be surprised? Thats the food I like. We're just going to go a year without that, which is how sports goes.. This season's crop of college basketball talent has strong Minnesota representation, too. 6 overall pick in 2021 who made the All-Rookie second team). Although the issue is not a new phenomenon, the city's critical place on the basketball map is. There's a thin line separating Gonzaga's Chet Holmgren from greatness (Photo by Ian Maule/Getty Images). With three more blocked shots, he will be Gonzaga's single-season leader. Gonzaga's Chet Holmgren, the No. 1 prospect in the ESPN 100, entering Chet Holmgren is a top NBA prospect and the 'complete - Andscape Pitino always figured he could build a team in Minneapolis -- but not with talent from the area. Holmgren (foot) underwent a successful secondary procedure Tuesday to remove hardware from his initial Lisfranc surgery in August, Michael Scotto of USA Today reports. Few said members of the Gonzaga staff are helping him with taking deeper, analytical looks at how the Zags perform when Holmgren is on the court, and the team is off the charts better when hes on the court. In drop coverage, the player guarding the screener will step back in the lane, inside the circle or even below the foul line, which helps cut off any rolls to the rim by the opposing big man as well as discouraging the ballhandler from turning driving the ball off the screen toward the rim. This isnt the path we would have chosen, Daigneault said, and its not the path he would have chosen, but hell benefit from the way this is stretching and straining him.. The soul food that I like is greens, cornbread, brisket, ribs. 1. Everybodys going to have an opinion, everybodys going to judge you. All 100 voters from a panel of reporters and broadcasters had Brown atop their ballot Wednesday. Gonzaga's Chet Holmgren wins third consecutive WCC Freshman of Week award March Madness: Gonzaga big Chet Holmgren should be No. 1 - HoopsHype Few has coached so many different not just in identity, but in style big men during the course of Gonzagas two-decade reign as a college basketball power, from energetic Casey Calvary at the start to punishing J.P. Batista in the mid-2000s to slick-passing Kelly Olynyk of the first-ever No. 1 pick, were never able to live up to the promise of their draft status. . Its definitely hard to see. Hes a jokester, messing around having fun. It's been great to get to know my teammates. Chet Holmgren and Evan Mobley have a lot in common. 12 pick in the 2003 draft by Seattle, unable to play that following season with shoulder issues. Chet Holmgren was the No. Ive tried out Kevin Garnett as a frame of reference because of a similar degree of dynamism around the baseline, but Garnetts energy was so overpowering his lean frame never became an issue, and he had to develop the ball skills over time that Holmgren has mastered now. And once you mix that with his skill set stuff, hes an attraction. He became the first player in 25 years to record at least 10 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists, and 5 blocks in his debut. Holmgren playing in NBA Summer League in July hasnt been ruled out, as Presti recently indicated it all depends on how far along the 20-year-old is. Chet Holmgren injury update: How is the Thunder rookie doing now? It just takes time to get a proper feel for that.. EMERSON, Georgia Chet Holmgren was on his way to a 16-point, nine-rebound game Friday when his dad received a text message from Memphis basketball coach Penny Hardaway. The content on this site is for entertainment and educational purposes only. Blake Griffin was the top pick in 2009 but had to sit while recovering from a knee injury, as was the case with No. He wants to be really good and he wants to prove himself to the world. Hes already on track to be cutting and watching his own film, said Daigneault in September. This isnt the path we would have chosen, Thunder Coach Mark Daigneault said, and its not the path he would have chosen, but hell benefit from the way this is stretching and straining him.. Mike Holmgren - Wikipedia