Any news on Orukpe?

[RoyalShock]

Although Mack was pretty much capable of that all along. Remember his 20-point, 20-rebound game against MSU as a soph or junior?

I hope EO has a solid season but I think he's behind where Troy was, and the league is tougher now, I believe.

[C0|dB|00ded]

Excellent bump!

This picture belongs in here:



This man is 7 feet tall and is breaking all-time lifting records in the gym.

The legend continues...


T


...:cool:

[The Mad Hatter]

Although Mack was pretty much capable of that all along. Remember his 20-point, 20-rebound game against MSU as a soph or junior?

I hope EO has a solid season but I think he's behind where Troy was, and the league is tougher now, I believe.

On the other hand, there has been much better talent ahead of EO than there was ahead of Mack. We don't really know what EO would have done the last couple of years with regular playing time since he was stuck behind guys like Durley, Stutz, and Hall. It may well be that Mack was much further along than EO as a sophomore and junior, but it is also possible that he would have been just as stuck on the bench had he been playing with the same guys EO has been.

[Spaulding]

Hate to be a realist here, but, 1.3 ppg, 2.1 rpg, and 1 block per game. I'll believe it when I see it with EO. I need to see some serious improvement, particularly offensively, this year before I am ready to crown him.

[The Mad Hatter]

Hate to be a realist here, but, 1.3 ppg, 2.1 rpg, and 1 block per game. I'll believe it when I see it with EO. I need to see some serious improvement, particularly offensively, this year before I am ready to crown him.

Whatever you want to say about his offensive numbers, with more minutes his rebounding and blocked shots project quite nicely. Playing 20 minutes per game (and at last year's foul rate he would only be at 3 fouls per 20 minutes) he would be averaging 5.4 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game. Last year, 2.5 blocks per game would put you in the top 20 in the nation.

[SubGod22]

I don't think some would doubt Ehimen had he not been behind such talents since he's been here. I have no doubt that he could have contributed nicely for us had we not had Durley, Stutz and Hall the past few years. He doesn't have the offensive ability of a Durley or Stutz but he had the defensive presence that those two could only dream about. Especially Durley. Given the minutes, I think he'll do just fine and surprise a lot of people.

I won't be shocked at all if he ends up averageing around 20 minutes, 8 points, 6 boards and 2 blocks a game. And I think he'll probably average more boards than that. And if he's at 6 or 7 points I'm ok with that as long as he's rebounding and defending. Which is what he's here to do.

[WSUwatcher]

You beat me to the punch, TMH. Those numbers for EO last year were based on <8 minutes per game. I'm not going to predict 20-25 minutes / game this year, or any other specific number, but I do anticipate pretty confidently that it will be substantially more than eight. The production will follow.

[Dan]

I'll predict he averages more rebounds than points. As much as people talk about his fouls, he plays much more aggressively on defense than either stutz or durley and does not foul as much as they did. I'm looking forward to what he can provide this year, it certainly changes the game when he's in.

[jocoshock]

All of this discussion is moot....

I just heard that EO, after reading Shockernet, has opted for a multi-million dollar contract to play in Europe...

[pinstripers]

A realist?

[Dave Stalwart]

My guess is that E.O. is going to get shut down offensively by the other two great post players in our league. Echenique and Carmichael are good defensive guys. He is also going to neutralize their offense in those same games with his own defensive presence. The games we play against the better post players will be won by guard play. The games we play against teams with weak inside presence, E.O. will look awesome on all kinds of rebounds, put backs and blocks. He will match up great against guys who can't alter his shot.

I think we will be starting Orukpe for the most part but quick to sub him out if he isn't matched up well...that is pretty normal anyway, though. I agree with everybody that his production will be pretty good when his minutes go up. Don't forget to evaluate him just on where he was at towards the end of last season. The travelings basically ended two years ago, the pass catching was starting to improve this year as well as the finishing at the basket. The defense and shot altering is already pretty good. Well, he's got this off season to keep improving and we'll see what he rolls out with in November. Maybe it will all come together in a nice way.

[Dave Stalwart]

Also, starting Orukpe is almost a guaranteed winning of the toss. Even if we pull him at the next stoppage, it will be nice to see us win ONE tip this year. I love you Stutz but come on.

[RoyalShock]

Let's look at EO's fouls per game. 1.2 @ 7.8 minutes/game. If you triple that to 23.4 mpg (Stutz played 24.6), EO's fouls go up to 3.6. For comparison's sake, Stutz fouled at 2.6/game clip, including 6 games with 4 or 5 fouls.


That means EO needs to cut back on the fouls if he's going to get enough floor time to realize the numbers some of you are projecting.

Of course, I hope he does and has a monster year!

[Capitol Shock II]

His baby hook can't be defended and neither can his slam dunk. I feel sorry for the amount of pain he is going to inflict on other centers, especially in conference.

[Dave Stalwart]

thats what im talkin about! i love the positive vibes. there's another thing to consider....

so we all know Stutz got the world's most annoying foul calls sometimes (half because of officiating and half because he is a step slow). okay, but maybe the valley refs will have a soft spot in their heart for the nigerian nightmare since they can only remember him being at such an offensive and ball-handling disadvantage over the years. maybe they will be a tiny bit more hesitant to blow the whistle on the super lame fouls. on top of that, maybe his quicker defense will help him commit fewer actual fouls. im just sitting over here dreaming up stupid scenarios for why it all might just be awesome. id rather think that way than be a pessimist.

the sad thing is i love it when E.O. fouls on his blocks because they are so demonstrative. im torn. i just want him to hit everyone in the face all the time

i really need basketball season to be here. can we please get some more practice videos. any kind of fix please