CHICAGO — Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau haꩵs never met Jeremy Sochan’s mother, Aneta, who played at Panhandle State in Oklahoma. But it sounds like they’d getℱ along quite well.
The Baylor freshman 6-foot-9 combo forward feels he is 𝄹the best defender in June 23 NBA draft — which is all his mother cared about.
“My mom used to play basketball and she always used to tell me, defense comes first,’’ Sochan said in his British accent Th꧑ursday at the NBA Draft Combine in Chicago. “She used to tell me, if I had a bad game, defense 𒊎comes first, and the offense will come as you play good on defense. Definitely, it’s always been there.’’
Those are phrases Thibodeau recites in his sleep. Sochan never met with the Knicks in Chicago, but the club plans to fly him in for a workout and dinner. But whether he will be available at the No. 11 pick is a question mark. He has inter💧viewed with a handful of lottery teams, including New Orleans at No🎃. 8.
Though Sochan came off the bench for Baylor, he doesn’t see a better defender among the lottery guy𓆉s than himself.
“I think so, for my size, my length, the ability to switch 1 through 5 on the ball and also the off-the-ball defense,’’ Sochan said. “Being a communicato💙r, being loud, a lit🌳tle bit scrappy, that makes me the best defender.’’
Seth Greenberg, the ESPN college basketball guru, told The Post earlier this month Sochan should be the Knicks’ pick if h💜e’s available a🦂t No. 11.
The Knicks have been absent a top-notch perimeter defender since Reggie Bullock signed with Dallas last summer. RJ Barrett’s progression occurred more as scorer than defender this season. Greenberg touted Sochan as the draft’s most versatile player, who can defend all five pos🃏itions.
“I think [I’m] a mixture of p☂layers, players with length, size, versatility, like Draymond Green, Mikal Bridges, Aaroಌn Gordon,’’ Sochan said. “I see a younger Boris Diaw, bits of Jimmy Butler. Just players with a lot of versatility on both sides of the court affecting the game [that’s] not even in the boxscore. Doing little things and getting under people’s skin, irritating players as well.
“I can sense when a player is getting little bit annoy♉ed or they’re not feeling comfortable. And that just fuels me. Defens൩e is fun for me.’’
Sounds like Thibodeau’s dream player, except he hasn’t proven to be an ace 3-point shooter. Sochan, 19, shot just 29.6 percent from 3-point range i𒈔n 30 games. He averaged 9.2 points, 6.4 rebounds and 1.8 assists for Baylor this past season.&n🐎bsp;
“But he’s skilled,’’ an NBA scout said ♕in Chicago. “Good 𒁏passer and he can dribble.”
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“I th🌊ink consistency in my shot,’’ Sochan said when asked about improvement areas. “I need to prove that I can shoot. I thi🙈nk I can. It’s just the amount of time to show people that.’’
The NBA is a copycat league. The success of Bos𒁏ton and Miami, two elite defensive teams now in the Eastern Conference finals, has current teams focusing on versatile defensive players in this 🌱draft.
“Yeah, it really�ꦕ� shows what the modern NBA is,’’ Sochan said. “People are looking for players like me, who can switch 1 through 5 and have that versatility on both sides.’’
Sochan has a versatile background, too. His mother grew up in Poland but moved to Oklahoma to play college basketball and married an Oklahoman. Jeremy was born in Sooner state but moved with his famil♚y to England, where he was rai🎉sed.
He played for the Polish National team at age 16, mov✱ed to Indiana to play a year of high school basketball at La Lumiere Academy🧸 and then went to play in Germany.
“I think I have one of the more unique backgrounds in this draft,’’ Sochan said. “I’ve been in England, Poland, America. I’ve played in all sorts of European countries. I tꦚhink it’s helped me with maturity, playing with pros, playing with college players, American players. It built me up as a mixture of Americ๊an style basketball, but also European style of basketball.
Maybe soon Knicks basketball.