Adelaide head coach CJ Bruton has urged Filipino sensation Kai Sotto to prove his worth in his second tour of duty with the 36ers.
While Sotto showed flashes of brilliance in his first year, Bruton believes that he has barely scratched his potential especially during a season that saw him sidelined for quite some time due to injuries.
Now back at tip-top shape and fresh from a solid outing with Gilas Pilipinas in the FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers, the 36ers coach is expecting more from the Filipino sensation.
The challenge, however, according to Bruton, is for Sotto to prove that he has what it takes to deliver when a much-bigger role is asked upon him..
“Playing a bigger role. I think he wants that and that’s what he said in the off-season, ‘I want you to believe in me coach’, but as you know if he wants me to believe in him he’s got to show me something on the floor every single day,” Bruton said of Sotto who averaged 7.52 points and 4.48 rebounds in just 15 minutes of play last season.
“It’s something every coach wants to see from every player every single day, that they deliver in that space,” he added.
For Sotto’s part, he is ready to take up the gauntlet in his second tour of duty with the team and determined to make quite an impression for the 36ers in the NBL Blitz that kicks off on Friday, Sept. 16.
Failing to make a splash and convince NBA teams to pick him in the 2022 NBA rookie draft, Sotto is looking forward to the annual pre-season tournament as he hopes to sustain the momentum from his stellar performances in the off-season.
“I’m very excited, it’s my first time in Darwin.It’s going to be fun, we have a pretty fun team, so I’m excited for this upcoming NBL Blitz,” said Sotto whose 36ers will take on South East Melbourne Phoenix, Tasmania JackJumpers and Illawarra Hawks in the four-day tilt.
“All will be challenging, our main focus this pre-season is (for) ourselves to continue on developing and working with each other. This Blitz we’re going to push ourselves and you can expect our maximum effort and continue on improving,” he added.
“There were games he didn’t play but if you talk about the course of the (21-22) season and his momentum, he kept going on that (upwards) trajectory which is what we wanted to see,” Burton said of Sotto.
Aside from the Blitz, Adelaide is also set for a series of tune-up games against the Phoenix Suns and Oklahoma City Thunder where Sotto can further gauge how he fares against NBA caliber talents.