[Editor's note: To get 2021 rolling, we asked the country's top coaches on what they believe is the prototype of the first homegrown PBA player to make it to the NBA. Someone as tall as Kai Sotto? Or perhaps a point guard with Johnny Abarrientos' skills? Or an athletic winger like Kobe Paras? This is the first of a series]
BEFORE anything else, Norman Black wants to make one thing clear: it's all about talent.
The multi-titled coach said that regardless of size or age or what position he plays, a player must have, first and foremost, extraordinary talent to have a shot at becoming the first homegrown Filipino to make it to the NBA.
"Talent is talent," says Black, who before making his mark in the PBA, both as import and coach, had a brief spell with the Detroit Pistons in the NBA. "The NBA has the most talented players in the world, so, yes, talent is key."

Having said that, the Meralco coach likes the chances of someone as big as Kai Sotto of making it to the NBA than a point guard in the caliber of Johnny Abarrientos, or a winger like Kobe Paras, even if he concedes that the son of former PBA MVP Benjie has "NBA-caliber athleticism."
Why?
Black explains that PBA players are around 3-4 inches shorter than NBA players in each position. That means Filipino players, from guards to forwards down to the centers, are already disadvantaged by (their lack of) size once they compete for roster spots in NBA teams.

What that means, Black continued, is that someone like, say, an LA Tenorio (who is 5-8) will have to compete for a roster spot against fellow guards who are a head taller, yet have the same quickness and athleticism; or a 6-5 Paras, who have hundreds, if not thousands, of other players who are taller or better in his position.
"So if you're smaller, then you should be quicker or more athletic, just to be noticed," he said, "because there are a lot of great players in the US in those positions, and they're not even in the NBA."
For a Filipino player to have a shot at making it to the NBA, Black said he has to have talent and size and, preferably, spotted early.
All these things considered, Black believes Kai Sotto "gives us the best chance" of putting a homegrown Filipino player.
Black said the 7-foot-2 teen prodigy's size alone will give him, at the very least, a shot at the NBA. The son of former PBA player Ervin Sotto is also getting the training that he needs from US trainers at a young age.
"The NBA will always give a seven-footer a look," says the grand slam-winning coach. "Kai's size will give him a look from the NBA."
But size also won't be enough, Black points out.
To make it to the NBA and, more importantly, stay there, Black says Kai or any other Filipino his size must still develop certain skills that can make them valuable to NBA teams. It could be a shooting range that extends to three-point territory, strength inside the paint, or dribbling skills and dexterity rare for big men.
"It isn't enough that you're big," he says, "these skills to keep you there."
So to answer the question, Black says the prototype of the first homegrown Filipino player to make it to the NBA is someone of Kai Sotto's size who has skills that will make him appealing to an NBA team.
Will Kai be that player? Well, let's all hope he is.
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