Ehimen; NBA potential

[PlaneShocker]

anyone think he will land in 2nd round draft this year? potential

[wusphlash]

He can run with em, he can jump with em and he's certainly strong enough. What he doesn't have is the polish. He won't be drafted unless it's by some Engineering firm.

[C0|dB|00ded]

How much polish did POB (Patrick O'Bryant) have by the end of his career at Bradley? POB went first round. If EO can attain POB's level of polish, he will certainly be drafted in the first round because EO has better physical gifts than POB in just about every way you can measure.

My opinion is that if EO can demonstrate a consistent jump hook as well as solidify a couple post moves to go along with his defense, he goes first round for sure.


T


...:cool:

[wusphlash]

I am a huge EO fan. I have defended him many, many times. I just don't believe anybody will spend a draft choice. POB had a spectacular end to his sophomore year that probably elevated his draft position higher than it should have been. If EO could even approach POB's offensive production from 2006 we will all be very very happy because we will go a long, long way in March.

[1972Shocker]

No he won't get drafted into the NBA. Now the NBDL is a different story perhaps.

[SubGod22]

Cold is right, IF Ehimen can start knocking down the hook consistently he could very well get drafted.

[ShockerPrez]

Its almost like a pitcher who can throw 100 mph. You can try and teach control, but you cant teach someone who throws 80 to throw 100.

You cant teach 7' and athletic. Draft pick? Dunno. Could see it happening either way. 10% chance.

[CBB_Fan]

Let's look at some players from the last 3 draft classes, and compare them to Orukpe. These will all be lower profile centers, most will be defensive specialists.

2010:

Daniel Orton, Kentucky. 6'10, 255 lb. Averaged:
3.4 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 1.4 BPG in 13.2 MPG.
Drafted #22 overall (currently playing for Tusla in D-League)

Dexter Pittman, Texas. 6'11, 285 lb.
Averaged <3 PPG and RPG first two years. Finished averaged 10, 6, and 1.9 in 19.
Drafted #32 overall (currently playing for Miami Heat)

Hassan Whiteside, Marshall. 7'0, 235 lb.
Averaged 13.1, 8.9, 5.3 in 26.1.
Drafted #33 overall (not currently playing)

2011:

Jordan Williams, Maryland. 6'10, 260 lb. Averaged:

PPG: 16.9, 9.6
RPG: 11.8, 8.6
BPG: 1.4, 1.0
MPG: 32.5, 24.8
Drafted #36 overall (currently with Nets)

Jeremy Tyler, NA. 6'10, 260 lb.
Did not play college ball.
Drafted #39 overall (currently with Bobcats)

Josh Harrelson, Southwestern Illinois/Kentucky. 6'10, 275. Averaged:
PPG: 7.6, 1.6, 3.6
RPG: 8.7, 1.2, 2.5
BPG: 1.5, 0.6, 0.6
MPG: 28.5, 4.5, 9.3
Drafted #45 overall (currently with Hornets)

2012:

(lot more from this one because it is the most recent)

Andre Drummond, UConn. 6'10, 270 lb. Averaged:
PPG: 10
RPG: 7.6
BPG: 2.7
MPG: 28.4
Drafted #9 overall by Pistons.

Meyers Leonard, Illinois. 7'1, 245 lb. Averaged:
PPG: 13.6, 2.1
RPG: 8.2, 1.2
BPG: 1.9, 0.4
MPG: 31.8, 8.2
Drafted #11 by Trailblazers.

Fab Melo, Syracuse. 7'0, 255 lb. Averaged:
PPG: 7.8, 2.3
RPG: 5.8, 1.9
BPG: 2.9, 0.8
MPG: 25.4, 9.9
Drafted #22 by Celtics.

Festus Ezeli, Vanderbilt (note, also Nigerian, similar background). 6'11, 255 lb. Averaged:
PPG: 10.1, 13, 3.8, 3.8
RPG: 5.9, 6.3, 3.2, 2.3
BPG: 2, 2.6, 1.3, 0.8
MPG: 23.2, 23.5, 12.7, 12.4

Justin Hamilton, Iowa State/LSU. 7'0, 260. Averaged:
PPG: 12.9, 6.4, 4.2
RPG: 7.2, 5.4, 2.9
BPG: 1.3, 1.1, 0.5
MPG: 30, 21.4, 13.7


Looking at those players, Orukpe has a good chance of going drafted if can get up to 6-8 PPG, 6-8 RPG, 2-4 BPG, especially if he is a legitimate 7'0. Now, let's look at the player that most resembles Orukpe, a man by the name of Ifeanyi Festus Ezeli-Ndulue. He also hails from Nigeria, and is very smart (graduated high school at the age of 14). He mainly concentrated on academics, and when he played sports he preferred soccer.

When he was 15, he moved to Yuba City to help practice his profession: medicine. He wanted to be a physician, so he moved in with his pediatrician uncle. His uncle encouraged him to start playing basketball then. This is what Orukpe's Nigerian double thought of basketball:

I didn't know what I was doing. Imagine someone who is 14 or 15 years old, and you're teaching them as if they're a 6-year-old. It was tough. Everyone was getting frustrated with me. I was getting frustrated with it. I tried playing in 2005. I stopped. I tried again in 2006. And when I had my first dunk in a summer league game in Las Vegas in 2006, that's when I was so excited. It was so exhilarating that I started to like it.

Sounds like Orukpe, right?

Later, he played basketball with a local community college while studying part-time (to keep his eligibility). He went a camp, and scouts oohed and awed over his size and potential. He went to college in the South (culture-shock), and majored in Biology. He was still learning the game for his first two years, and was generally whipped up and down the court by the team's center. However, by his third said center found it very hard to score on him.

Ezeli finished his career by breaking the school block record, and was the last pick in the 2012 first round. In his second year in college, he averaged 3.8 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 1.3 BPG. What I'm trying to illustrate is that Orukpe has a prototype in the NBA. Super-smart Nigerian that picked up basketball around age 15, and a defensive specialist. Amazing body, athleticism, but very low ball skills.

If Festus Ezeli could get drafted in the first round, so can Orukpe. Now, Orukpe will probably not average 10 PPG his last season (if he does, we should practically be championship contenders), but he is equaling Ezeli's BPG number in about half the minutes. He's probably taller, stronger, and more athletic.

TL;DR: Yes, Orukpe can get drafted. Lots of players get drafted in similar situations, and Ezeli was basically the same player.

[Kung Wu]

How much polish did POB (Patrick O'Bryant) have by the end of his career at Bradley? POB went first round. If EO can attain POB's level of polish, he will certainly be drafted in the first round because EO has better physical gifts than POB in just about every way you can measure.

My opinion is that if EO can demonstrate a consistent jump hook as well as solidify a couple post moves to go along with his defense, he goes first round for sure.


T


...:cool:

P O'B had a sweet 16 run with a crap load of media touting his name. If EO gets that, we can talk. Without that ... looooooooooong shot.

[Cdizzle]

Does anyone have an opinion on Ehimen's potential????? I want to know, but I can't tell.

I shouldn't mock. PlaneShocker has not-so-creatively pointed out that we have allowed a travesty to happen. 143 pages (and counting) of Grade-A professional potential assessment has been allowed to fall from the front page of our very own message board.

[another shocker]

first and foremost, when is he coming back? we already know that marshall is going to force him out there like never before.. ok.. but when is he coming back? and when he does, can he make it through the year injury free (after this one slight ankle twist)?

[1972Shocker]

first and foremost, when is he coming back? we already know that marshall is going to force him out there like never before.. ok.. but when is he coming back? and when he does, can he make it through the year injury free (after this one slight ankle twist)?

It obviously was more than a slight ankle twist. No way to predict injuries. I got the sense that he may be back for the Northern Colorado game, although that was still somewhat uncertain.

[kcshocker11]

I think we will see him in Europe. The moneys too big to pass up

[ABC]

Patrick O'Bryant had that Irish luck thing going for him too.

[KC Shox]

NBA drafts on potential, at the time POB was in college, it appeared he had what it took

Season G GS FGM FGA PCT FTM FTA PCT 3PM 3PA PCT REB AST STL BL PTS AVG
2004-05 27 26 108 194 .557 54 77 .701 0 0 .000 201 17 24 75 270 10.0
2005-06 25 21 133 241 .552 69 102 .676 0 0 .000 207 21 22 72 335 13.4
Totals 52 47 241 435 .554 123 179 .687 0 0 .000 408 38 46 147 605 11.6

Certainly, exponentially better stats than EO. He parlayed his Sweet 16 success and got paid. Probably could have used one or two more years in college though. Or did he have to leave because of some scandel of improper benefits was going to hit him hard?