Yesterday during the 2022 NBA Draft, former Baylor Basketball forwards Jeremy Sochan and Kendall Brown were selected to in the league. Sochan was chosen 9th overall by the San Antonio Spurs and Brown was called by the Indiana Pacers at No. 48. Despite not securing a draft pick, former guard James Akinjo inked a Summer League contract with the Atlanta Hawks! In his one season with the Bears (he previously played at Georgetown and Arizona), Akinjo averaged 13.5 points, 5.8 assists and 2.8 rebounds per game at point guard. The Third-Team All-American selection by Sporting News, National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC), Associated Press and the United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) should be more than successful in his Summer League bid!
Sochan joined fellow NBA Draft-eligible Kendall Brown as the Bears’ freshmen stars of the 2021-22 season. At the beginning of the season, Baylor looked just as good and if not better than they did last year as National Champions thanks to the talents of Sochan, Brown, Cryer, and Tchamwa Tchatchoua. However with the majority of the team suffering injuries of some sort, the Bears couldn’t manifest a consecutive national title (but they still notched back-to-back Big 12 titles!). Despite the lack of country-wide success, the Bears still saw excellent performances and results primarily from Sochan and Brown. Back in April, Sochan announced he’d be leaving the Baylor program to enter the 2022 NBA Draft. The announcement isn’t a surprise as Sochan’s talents have brought him notoriety in the professional league. During his one season in college, he averaged approximately 10 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 steal each game.
Brown was an immediate lead on the Baylor team with fans and media alike praising his natural abilities and skill. Coming out of high school as the 12th-ranked athlete in the country, Brown was also the first player in Baylor’s program history to earn the Preseason Big 12 Freshman of the Year honor. The 6-8 forward averaged 9.7 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.9 assists during his solitary season with the Bears.
