Any news on Orukpe?

[rrshock]

Don't want to hijack the EO thread, and this may be my first post here (I'm not going to check) but you can forget about a 6th year for Baker. He's coming back...and he's PISSED.

I'm glad he's pissed. That will make WSU even more dangerous.

[rrshock]

I was also wondering how much having the big guy helps in practice. Echinique's block fest made me wonder a little yesterday.

I posted this from my phone and didn't get to elaborate.

I figured that having the 7 foot shot swatter in practice would help the rest of the team learn how to go at Echinique better. That they all would have learned how to change shots against a big effectively and such. I was really surprised how many times they had shots blocked.

I am glad that Echinique decided to put most of them out of bounds. That helped out quite a bit.

[GoShockers89]

EO just finished the toughest stretch he'll face all season before the NCAA tournament. Carmichael and Echenique are NBA caliber big men and the only ones in the MVC who outclass him right now.

I think we'll see continued improvement from the big guy over the next four weeks before he gets tested by Carmichael again. There will be some big numbers for blocks, rebounds, and points (yes, for real) over the next 7 games for EO.

[rrshock]

EO just finished the toughest stretch he'll face all season before the NCAA tournament. Carmichael and Echenique are NBA caliber big men and the only ones in the MVC who outclass him right now.

I think we'll see continued improvement from the big guy over the next four weeks before he gets tested by Carmichael again. There will be some big numbers for blocks, rebounds, and points (yes, for real) over the next 7 games for EO.

I completely agree with this statement.

[im4wsu]

EO just finished the toughest stretch he'll face all season before the NCAA tournament. Carmichael and Echenique are NBA caliber big men and the only ones in the MVC who outclass him right now.

I think we'll see continued improvement from the big guy over the next four weeks before he gets tested by Carmichael again. There will be some big numbers for blocks, rebounds, and points (yes, for real) over the next 7 games for EO.

Very astute. I was in Philly when Wilt was sent out west. The Philly announcer had watched the Russell-Chamberlain match-up for years and what a battle it was. After Wilt left and Philly played Boston, Russel was winding down, but the announcer exclaimed that he had never witnessed a center dominate both ends of the floor like Bill Russell did that night. When Russ played mere mortals, it was candy for him. And after all the games this announcer had called Chamberalin games against the same opposition, that was quite a testament to Mr. Bill Russell.

You're saying the same thing about EO. I concur.

[SubGod22]

I'm now going with a double/double for Ehimen. 10 points and 10 blocks!

[rrshock]

I'm now going with a double/double for Ehimen. 10 points and 10 blocks!

Let's just go one further and he gets that 10 10 10 game he almost had against SIU! I would really like to see that happen before the end of the year.

[Dave Stalwart]

Yeah it's hard not to predict this to be one of his better games. The only big man is a freshman. Everyone else inside is going to be overmatched in size and experience as well.

If this game isn't a strong showing for him I would be surprised, but on the other hand, it would probably only mean he didn't out block rebound and score Hall... Not the Bears front.

[rrshock]

What is Ehimen's career high for points? I really don't feel like going through this thread trying to find it.

[SubGod22]

Definitely not impossible for the big man. Especially against a team with little to no frontcourt size. Although 10 boards becomes more difficult for him with the Beast back.

[rrshock]

Definitely not impossible for the big man. Especially against a team with little to no frontcourt size. Although 10 boards becomes more difficult for him with the Beast back.

If WSU can get 10 boards from both of them, the shocks will run teams out of the arena. Because we know the rest of the team is still going to get their boards as well. This is most definitely not a bad problem to have.

[shoxtop]

I have always been a big EO supporter. But if you had told me before the season that at this point he would be averaging 19 minutes a game, shooting almost 60% from the field and HAD YET TO FOUL OUT of a game... Even I wouldn't have believed it. On the flip side though, I am surprised that he's only averaging 2.3 blocks in 19 minutes.

[im4wsu]

I have always been a big EO supporter. But if you had told me before the season that at this point he would be averaging 19 minutes a game, shooting almost 60% from the field and HAD YET TO FOUL OUT of a game... Even I wouldn't have believed it. On the flip side though, I am surprised that he's only averaging 2.3 blocks in 19 minutes.

Part of that "low" blocked shot number is because opponents stop trying to drive the lane when he is present. Pretty soon discouragement sets in.

[rrshock]

Part of that "low" blocked shot number is because opponents stop trying to drive the lane when he is present. Pretty soon discouragement sets in.

His number was so high against SIU because they never figured it out. Barry might be a good coach, but his players are idiots in the lane.

[SubGod22]

I'm surprised he's only averaging 19 minutes a game. I predicted 20 before the season and trust he'll get over that as he's had games in the 25 to 28 range.

I love the big guy!