G League: Brian Shaw teaches Kai Sotto, Team Ignite to ‘block out the noise’

MANILA, Philippines – Team Ignite coach Brian Shaw has done a good job of keeping his young players focused on the task at hand, even as a series of drills from various media speculated on their NBA prospects.

“We tell them to block it,” Shaw said during a conference call after his team’s first official fight against a group of G League veterans on Tuesday in Walnut Creek, Calif. (Wednesday in Manila).

“That’s what it is: noise outside,” he added. “Opinions of the people”.

Shaw is making the decisions for a team that is comprised of some of the best prospects in the Class of 2020, who have chosen to forgo college and instead go pro by joining the G League team. By playing for Team Ignite, they look forward to training both on and off the court that will prepare them for the next level: the NBA.

Even before his team had played a single game, there were already projections for how Team Ignite players will fare in the 2021 NBA Rookie Draft. At least two of Shaw’s players, Jalen Green and Jonathan Kuminga , are chosen as lottery picks, and Green is expected to hit number 2. Some of his players, including Filipino center Kai Sotto, do not appear in most of the mock drafts.

For Shaw, the various mock drafts are not a cause for concern. He ignores them, pointing out that many of those who put together these lists haven’t even seen their players in action.

“Some of them may have an agenda,” he said as well. “You know, they may be blown away by the fact that they’ve been able to see some of the other guys who chose to go to college. They’ve been able to watch them play, and they haven’t been able to see our guys play.”

In fact, the seemingly consensual No. 1 pick in the 2021 Draft is Cade Cunningham, the Oklahoma State rookie point guard who has already impressed with his play in the US NCAA.

Shaw tells his players to ignore the “noise,” advice the Team Ignite players seem to have taken seriously. Sotto, the 7-foot-2 who is trying to be the first homegrown Filipino to make it to the NBA, has said he doesn’t pay much attention to rankings.

“For me, that doesn’t matter that much. I’m just focused on getting better, and wherever they rank me, it’s their opinion and I can’t do anything about it. So I’ll focus on getting better,” Sotto said.

Green, the first player to commit to Team Ignite, says he doesn’t even see the mock drafts. “I do not follow many people on social networks, many of those accounts that post things like that,” explains the 18-year-old.

“But everyone around me really knows that I’m not too focused on what people say could happen or what could happen,” added Green, who has Filipino heritage from his mother’s family. “I’m going to keep working every day, and as long as I keep doing that, the sky should be the limit.”

At this point, Shaw’s focus, and that of his players, is on his development. They have the luxury of concentrating on basketball 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, with no academic requirements to worry about. Even wins and losses are not a big concern for Shaw; you’re looking at how much your players grow and learn, especially when playing against bigger and stronger teams.

If they develop as they should, Shaw hopes they will impress the NBA teams that will make the decisions when draft time comes.

“At the end of the day, we tell you that it is about the development and the work that you will do over the next few months, until you reach the 2021 Draft, so that when you are in a position to work against some of those other guys, or train against the scouts, they can really show what they’re doing, “explained the coach.

“We are developing the five positions to learn all the skills. So we are not just putting the big guys down, with their backs to the basket. We let them handle the ball, set picks, receive picks, step outside, shoot. the ball, “he added. “We want to make sure everyone has all the skills that the game offers.”

The key, he says, is “let your game do the talking.”

“When the time comes to do that, I think people will be able to see how talented these guys really are,” Shaw said.