Any news on Orukpe?

[Spaulding]

No offence to Orukpe, but I think Joe will beat him to a roster. That said, I think EO will have the longest NBA career.

I hope I eat my words, but I don't think EO will play a lick in the NBA.

[Dave Stalwart]

I feel like if he does enough to earn the start for this whole season, his stat sheet is going to be eye-popping in the columns that normally aren't, like way too many blocks and some double-doubles that maybe don't even include points. I wonder if he might just morph into the guy right in front of us once he gets hit with the weight of the responsibility. He has said things in the past like he really wants to do well for WSU fans because he feels like WSU went out on a limb to get him here, loves him and hopes so much to see him do well. I think based on what he was said himself, he will actually feel guilty if he flops... and that has got to be a strong motor.

[SHOXAAC]

7 minutes as a Jr to 20 as a Sr is a bit of a stretch. All we heard last summer was this big improvement he was making. It didn't pan out and it probably won't again this year. I still believe Hall will play most of his minutes in the post with EO and the Rack balancing out the rest.

[Spaulding]

7 minutes as a Jr to 20 as a Sr is a bit of a stretch. All we heard last summer was this big improvement he was making. It didn't pan out and it probably won't again this year. I still believe Hall will play most of his minutes in the post with EO and the Rack balancing out the rest.

+1

I feel like a lot of posters are overly enamored with EO. I hope he does transform in to a great player, but I haven't seen anything leading me to believe he will. A great physique does not a great basketball player make.

[1972Shocker]

I think that there is at least a reasonable possibility that EO could blossom into an effective player this year, but it is anything but assured beyond a doubt that he will. We'll just have to wait and see. Right now I'm just pulling for the big guy to start putting it all together where he can use his athleticism to help this Shocker team as much as possible.

Time will tell how that will work out.

[1979Shocker]

+1

I feel like a lot of posters are overly enamored with EO. I hope he does transform in to a great player, but I haven't seen anything leading me to believe he will. A great physique does not a great basketball player make.

I have. Whenever he comes into a game, the other team no longer goes inside. Well, actually they do, but it's not very pleasant.

[vancedave56]

7 minutes as a Jr to 20 as a Sr is a bit of a stretch. All we heard last summer was this big improvement he was making. It didn't pan out and it probably won't again this year. I still believe Hall will play most of his minutes in the post with EO and the Rack balancing out the rest.

He was not going to take Stutz' minutes no matter what. Maybe he won't see 20 minutes, but whom will take the minutes that Stutz' had? Hall was already here with minutes. Smith played quite a bit of 4 - so there are White's minutes (hopefully). Early may play some 4, but mainly 3 - I believe the 5 will mainly be EO and CL. Given EO is the senior, it will be his job to lose (based on the past few seasons of WSU lineups).

[SHOXAAC]

He was not going to take Stutz' minutes no matter what. Maybe he won't see 20 minutes, but whom will take the minutes that Stutz' had? Hall was already here with minutes. Smith played quite a bit of 4 - so there are White's minutes (hopefully). Early may play some 4, but mainly 3 - I believe the 5 will mainly be EO and CL. Given EO is the senior, it will be his job to lose (based on the past few seasons of WSU lineups).

My concern last year was when GS was in foul trouble, which was considerable at times EO wasn't always the guy that came in. That tells me the coaching staff didn't trust EO. Plus, during the last 10 games of the regular season we blew out several opponents, but yet EO only recorded 6 minutes one time. That also tells me the coaching staff didn't trust him. I have the up most respect for Sub and all the other posters that tout EO as this 20 minute a night player that will stop teams from going inside. I'm sorry to disagree, he won't even almost come close to 20 minutes. And teams will go inside because EO goes for every block which gets him out of position. If the coaching staff can teach him selectivity we will see him reach his potential of playing 12 minutes, score 4 ppg, get 7 or 8 rebounds and block a couple of shots...but that is going to be his ceiling. Take that to the bank!

And I am with everybody on this board about his athleticism and Kratos like body and strength, but his basketball IQ and execution are what makes him just another player on the bench. It is what it is.

[SubGod22]

He was much more selective in his shot blocking last year. There were a number of times that you could see him think about it, but back off and not go for it. The kid has been learning and improving. I think you're going to be pleasantly surprised by him.

[WstateU]

My concern last year was when GS was in foul trouble, which was considerable at times EO wasn't always the guy that came in. That tells me the coaching staff didn't trust EO. Plus, during the last 10 games of the regular season we blew out several opponents, but yet EO only recorded 6 minutes one time. That also tells me the coaching staff didn't trust him. I have the up most respect for Sub and all the other posters that tout EO as this 20 minute a night player that will stop teams from going inside. I'm sorry to disagree, he won't even almost come close to 20 minutes. And teams will go inside because EO goes for every block which gets him out of position. If the coaching staff can teach him selectivity we will see him reach his potential of playing 12 minutes, score 4 ppg, get 7 or 8 rebounds and block a couple of shots...but that is going to be his ceiling. Take that to the bank!

And I am with everybody on this board about his athleticism and Kratos like body and strength, but his basketball IQ and execution are what makes him just another player on the bench. It is what it is.

:poster_eo:


Ahhh, #4000! For some reason I’m having a bad case of Déjà vu…

[Dave Stalwart]

The upcoming year in a nutshell.

Tulsa Game Recap.jpg

[Dave Stalwart]

I love that pic on so many levels. First of all, the ball is going in the wrong direction, and then I see a guy getting party-boyed at 10' in the air while also getting a sweaty armpit noogie upside-down between the eyes. Best of all, those guys are still here. 32 has that stance like he just saw a volcano erupt and he is about to do a 180 into a sprint in the other direction. Welcome to 2012-13, the year of get that stuff out of my office.

[Dave Stalwart]

It's cool Carl, I got it. Can you armpit fart this guys head real quick for me though...and I might need you to grab the rebound in a second if I can keep this swat in bounds. See you at the other end bro

[Kung Wu]

I like both sides of this back and forth. @SHOXMVC: is keeping it real, but the rest are keeping it rowdy! Just like it should be!

[1972Shocker]

I like both sides of this back and forth. @SHOXMVC is keeping it real, but the rest are keeping it rowdy! Just like it should be!

Who doesn't like a little R&R.