Alex Sarr was the No. 2 pick in the NBA Draft for many reasons, but primarily, as head coach Brian Keefe told the Junkies on Wednesday, for his defensive prowess.
Of course, you may remember Sarr had a dismal shooting line in the Summer League, even going 0-for-17 in one game, so that side of the ball is definitely a work in progress – but when HE joined the Junks on a Wizards Wednesday at ESA, he’s looking forward to showing those defensive chops.
“Our defense is the most important thing right now,” Sarr said, even as EB was telling him no one expects him to do much offensively, so he had ‘the green light’ to shoot whenever. “I listen to my dad who gives me stuff after the games, he’ll tell me what he saw.”
Perhaps the biggest deficiency in his life, as the guys found out, is that Sarr doesn’t have a driver’s license and in fact has never even driven a car, but he does live with his parents and brother, so he’s got the family support system…even if one of them is his dream opponent?
“There’s a lot of players, I would say, like LeBron, KD, Giannis, guys that I grew up watching when I was younger, like watching the highlights,” Sarr said. “But I’d love to play against my brother, that would be really special. It's not really a matchup, me and him - I'll just be happy.”
And, he’ll be happy with whatever his rookie season brings, as long as he’s better every day.
“My personal goal is really to get better game by game, like really see growth from Game 1 to Game 82, and then be comfortable as an NBA player, build my routines and just be impactful on the court,” Sarr said. “I don’t make goals with numbers.”