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Illinois St picks up a solid transfer

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  • Illinois St picks up a solid transfer

    Chamberlain Oguchi has decided on Illinois State for his final two years of college and last season of college basketball.

    After announcing in the spring he would transfer from Oregon after three seasons, Oguchi hadn't announced a decision on a future school. After returning from playing for the Nigerian national team in an Olympic qualifying tournament, he confirmed his choice was the Redbirds, who play in the Missouri Valley Conference.

    "I didn't really look into" other programs to a great extent, Oguchi said. "I went with a program that I thought I could help and that offered me a good opportunity for playing time, and I thought Illinois State was a good fit for that."

    After a 15-16 record last year, ISU made a coaching change, hiring Tim Jankovich off the staff at Kansas.

    "Being from Kansas, he'll play an up-and-down style, and I think that's right for my style of play," Oguchi said. "

    Oguchi will have to sit out this season under NCAA rules on transfers, and then will be a senior in eligibility during the 2008-09 season.

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    "I'll just be leading the scout squad this year, and practice hard to get ready" for his final season, Oguchi said, adding that Jankovich had told him the coach is "looking for me to provide leadership" that final year, when he will be one of the few upperclassmen on the roster.

    In both his freshman and sophomore years at Oregon, the 6-foot-5 Oguchi became one of the team's top offensive threats in the latter part of the season.

    He was initially a starter last season as a junior, but suffered an ankle sprain in Oregon's victory at Georgetown in the sixth game, missed five games and then saw his playing time diminish as junior Bryce Taylor and freshman Tajuan Porter played so well that the minutes were sparse for substitutes at the wing positions.

    During Oregon's four games in the NCAA Tournament, Oguchi played a total of 11 minutes. Oguchi finished the season averaging 4.8 points in an average of 15.9 minutes.

    One of the team's top three-point shooters the previous two seasons, Oguchi shot .259 on three-point attempts last season.

    In his three seasons with the Ducks, Oguchi scored 571 points for an average of 6.6 in 86 games, 20 of them as a starter. His best season was his sophomore year, when he averaged 9.6 points and had a .360 shooting percentage on three-point attempts.

    He concluded that 2005-06 season by being named to the all-tournament team at the Pac-10 tournament, where he averaged 21.0 points in three games and set what was then the tournament record with 14 three-pointers.

    Oguchi said leaving the Ducks and transferring to Illinois State offered him "more of an opportunity to play. That's all it came down to."

    Since leaving Eugene earlier in the summer, Oguchi said he has kept in contact with several former teammates and seems to hold no ill will toward Oregon.

    "Tell everybody in Eugene thanks for all their support while I was there," Oguchi told a reporter, "and go, Ducks."

    Of his selection of the school located in Normal, Ill., Oguchi said "it's not the Pac-10, it's not the Big 12 but (the Missouri Valley Conference) is very competitive with a lot of good players in it."

    He said a friend put him in touch with Jankovich, and the process of joining the Redbirds advanced from there.

    "I've met a couple (of ISU teammates) and I've been up there," he said from his parents' home in Houston.

    "I thought it was pretty similar to Eugene. Maybe that's why I liked it."

    Oguchi will begin classes at ISU this week, a few days after the beginning of the fall semester at the school.

    His arrival was delayed because he had been competing with the Nigerian team during the African qualifying tournament for next summer's Olympics.

    Though Nigeria qualified for the World Championships last summer and fared well by reaching the second round, Oguchi's team lost in the quarterfinals of this qualifying event in African and won't advance to the 2008 Games in China.

  • #2
    You may think of it as a solid transfer, but what I see is a coach from a BCS school in his first year in the MVC wasting a scholly on a one year player under the assumption that a BCS cast-off will still be good enough to dominate the MVC. Jankovich has already made some patronizing comments about the level of play in the MVC and I think that he is in for a surprise this season.

    This may work out, but Oguchi will have to be pretty dominate to be worth it.
    "Cotton scared me - I left him alone." - B4MSU (Bear Nation poster) in reference to heckling players

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    • #3
      Hes a good player and a nice pick up for Jank

      Comment


      • #4
        comment

        i'm not thinking really fast today, so mad, what's this comment mean?


        Jankovich has already made some patronizing comments about the level of play in the MVC and I think that he is in for a surprise this season.

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        • #5
          Being from Kansas, he'll play an up-and-down style, and I think that's right for my style of play," Oguchi said. "
          I think with their changes in style and ours, the Illinois State series will be a little different from the last few years....Should be fun.....


          :wsu_posters:

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          • #6
            Re: comment

            Originally posted by InWuWeTrust
            i'm not thinking really fast today, so mad, what's this comment mean?


            Jankovich has already made some patronizing comments about the level of play in the MVC and I think that he is in for a surprise this season.
            he basically made eddie fogler type statements. "we wont win a championship" "you cant do this or that when your in the MVC"

            basically what he said was "blah blah blah im a dirty KU whore"

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: comment

              Originally posted by Awesome Sauce Malone
              Originally posted by InWuWeTrust
              i'm not thinking really fast today, so mad, what's this comment mean?


              Jankovich has already made some patronizing comments about the level of play in the MVC and I think that he is in for a surprise this season.
              he basically made eddie fogler type statements. "we wont win a championship" "you cant do this or that when your in the MVC"

              basically what he said was "blah blah blah im a dirty KU whore"
              That is the gist of it. He obviously thinks of the MVC as a stepping stone in his career and nothing more. He will give lip service to the Valley being good, but it is clear that he thinks that because he has coached in the almighty Big 12, he seen real basketball and can easily win here before taking a bigger job.
              "Cotton scared me - I left him alone." - B4MSU (Bear Nation poster) in reference to heckling players

              Comment


              • #8
                Speaking of transfers, Coach T broght in KW and KB as solid ones to help us to the Sweet 16. Meanwhile, back at the ranch, I am excited about A.J. Hawkins from St. Bon. for a real key player for us next year and a player who can challenge PJ in practice this year.
                Shocker basketball will forever be my favorite team in all of sports.

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                • #9
                  Originally posted by forevershockerfan
                  Speaking of transfers, Coach T broght in KW and KB as solid ones to help us to the Sweet 16. Meanwhile, back at the ranch, I am excited about A.J. Hawkins from St. Bon. for a real key player for us next year and a player who can challenge PJ in practice this year.
                  The main problem with this transfer is only getting one year out of him. If a guy isn't very good, then spending two years on scholarship for one year of little production makes little sense. If he is really good, then you have him as the center of you offense for one year, and then lose him, causing you to have to rebuild completely. It only makes any sense if you are convinced that you will be a contender during the player's one year of eligibility, and that is a riskier bet than having a 2-4 year window of eligibility.

                  With any transfer, you will essentially spend a year of scholarship for no production on the floor. There is a big difference between spending that one year for two years of production as opposed to one.
                  "Cotton scared me - I left him alone." - B4MSU (Bear Nation poster) in reference to heckling players

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Jankovich recruited Oguchi when he was a rising senior in Texas for Kansas before they decided to go a different direction, but it's safe to say he's very familiar with Oguchi's game. He's a very solid player. One that's certainly worth it for one season at ISU. He is athletic and can shoot the heck out of the ball. His issue has always been in actually using his athleticism to benefit him offensively.

                    I doubt the opportunity cost for Jank for this scholarship for this season is a very small one...likely it would have just gone to a walk on.

                    No real cost to get some really nice upside next season.

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