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    Rajko likes Kai Sotto, Thirdy decisions; Paras' US move not so much

    I think Thirdy and Kai made a better move going to Japan and Australia, says former Smart Gilas coach
    May 15, 2021

    KAI Sotto's decision to join the Adelaide 36ers and play in the Australian National Basketball League (NBL) got two thumbs-up from former Smart Gilas coach Rajko Toroman.

    "I think that it was great move, in my opinion," he told Radyo5's Power and Play with Noli Eala on Saturday.

    For the Serbian mentor, Sotto's move Down Under can do more for the Filipino teen's development than a stint in the NBA G League, which he said was a wrong fit for Sotto from the very start.

    "I think that the G League is too strong at this moment for Kai Sotto. He's not that athletic enough for the G League and the G League is specifically for guards. I was watching a lot of games, looking for the players, and that was a league for the small players because everybody of them are looking for their NBA contracts and they don't give the ball to the big guys that much," he said.

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      That's in contrast to the style of play in the NBL, which has produced more than its fair share of top big men bannered by Aussie players Andrew Bogut and David Andersen, just to name a few.

      "That's a very strong league with excellent domestic players. They have not-so-high-level Americans but very good American players nevertheless," the Indonesia national team head coach said.

      Toroman, who boasts experience coaching pro teams around Europe as well as in China with the Henan Dragons (now Shanxi Guotou Loongs) and Tianjin Ronggang Pioneers, and in the Philippines with Petron and Barako Bull, also thinks that Sotto playing in the Australian professional league will give the 7-foot-3 center the necessary confidence to match up with bigger foes.

      "I think that was the best move in this moment for Kai Sotto, to try to find the confidence in this kind of league with very strong and very good big guys. He will need the time, but that's a very competitive league," he said.

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      But it's not just Sotto who Toroman applauds but also Thirdy Ravena, who signed a multi-year contract extension with San-En NeoPhoenix to remain in Japan and play for at least two more years in the B.League.

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        "They're playing in a strong league. Thirdy, I have to say he has a Serbian coach and Serbian players who are playing with him. This season was not so great, but Thirdy was hurt and it's a part of the season. But he's an extremely athletic player, and these experiences in Japan will help him go to the next level and help with the national team," he said. "Even in the first window, he was the best player for national team against us, 23 points, something like that. That's the best for him."

        Toroman, however, has a different opinion of Kobe Paras, who recently went back to the United States to try his luck there.

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        "I don't think that the move of Paras will be that great, because you can only play there [in the US] in the G League and the NBA," he said. "If you cannot be the main guy, if you're sitting on the bench, you will not get anything from that.

        "Otherwise individual practice is okay, but just for one month and not for the whole season. You have to play because without playing, you cannot improve."

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          "I think that Thirdy and Kai Sotto made a better move going to Japan and Australia."

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