Rockets Coach Ime Udoka On Alperen Sengun: ‘He’s Very Unique And It’s A Luxury To Have A Guy Like Him’

Udoka, who is in his first season with the Rockets, has enjoyed coaching Sengun.

“It’s been great,” Udoka said. “I mean, the scoring piece, I’ve had a ton of big scorers in the past. I worked with Joel (Embiid), obviously, and Tim Duncan and LaMarcus Aldridge. I’ve had a lot of low-post scorers that I’ve either coached or played with throughout my career. But the overall game and where you can place him on the court, the only other guy that kind of matches that is Joel. But even with that, Joel is not really the passer that Alperen is — or he wasn’t when I had him, he’s gotten better in that regard.

“But, yeah, he’s very unique and it’s a luxury to have a guy like him you can move all over the court, and do a lot of things with. Once his shooting improves, it will open up the court for him and the team. The thing is (Şengün) understanding and us adjusting to how teams are going after him. He had a hot start, not a lot of post scorers in the league, so teams have been focused on taking him out and making us prove it from 3, to be frank. It’s really about how he adjusts and us putting him in better positions, but also growing and adapting to the success he’s had this year so far.”

Sengun is averaging 20.8 points, 9.1 rebounds, 4.9 assists, 1.1 steals and 0.7 blocks for the Rockets this season while shooting 53.7% from the field, 28.7% from beyond the arc and 70.6% from the free-throw line. 

The 21-year-old Sengun has 27 double-doubles and one triple-double. 

“It’s still because of his passing ability and the crowd he draws,” Udoka said. “He’s a way to initiate offense, whether it’s up top, at the free-throw line or in the post. Because he can pass, you still can play through him. At times, our reads gotta get a little quicker and young guys will always try to beat the double team at times, instead of making an easy pass and bait it. But he’s still a way we can initiate offense. The balance we’re looking for and the different ways to score, whether isolation post-ups, pick-and-roll, off-ball actions, or anything else, he’s another added benefit because of his scoring and passing ability — and it doesn’t take away from the team aspect. As long as we get to our spacing and he makes the right pass, read out of it, if it’s to go fast and beat a double team or using himself as bait and dribbling for guys to get open shots.”

The Rockets can sign Sengun to a rookie-scale extension this summer. All signs point toward Sengun signing a lucrative NBA extension in the offseason. 

A Giresun native, Sengun has career averages of 14.7 points, 7.8 rebounds and 3.7 assists. He’s one of the rising stars in the NBA.