Any news on Orukpe?

[MikeShox]

I certainly saw some improvement from the times I watched him last year. I saw him twice live and several other time on video feeds and I could not help but notice that he seems to be getting better position offensively than I saw last year. I still did not see him getting very good rebounding position, but that will improve. I do not expect him to ever become all that he could be with his size and athletic ability as a rebounder while he is here, but he will still be a dominating force at some point. To be an Xavier McDaniel takes a lot of some kind of natural "nose for the ball" rebounding ability. Just imagine if E.O. had his size along with X's "nose for the ball". E.O. would average 17 rebounds a game. Alas, that will never happen. While E.O. has size and is athletic enough, he just does not have that natural know how to get into rebounding position that X had. He will be a special player for us though. Next year, he will be a wonderful backup for Garrett and his senior season he will be a monster. I still expect less than an 6 minute average this year. If he does better than that, either he has progressed more than expected, or there have been injuries that forced him to step up.

[SoulStar]

Did you guys watch how impressive he was in warm ups though. Effortless explosion at the rim. I really hope he learns to use that body and works on his hands.

I did. His athletic talent was far beyond my expectations. His ability to play at game speed exceeded my expectations as well. I liked the way he bodied up Stutz on offense and asked for the ball with a well balanced wide base.

I'll agree with others on this board in that his hands are his weakness. He also has the tendancy to only move his body from the waste up when he is playing on ball defense. He is going to get reaching and blocking fouls called ALOT if he doesn't do a better job moving his feet on D.

Exhibit A:

[wufan]

Thanks for the visual! I saw alot of that. The two times I remember him getting the ball down there, once was the quick drop step and the other was the back door pass.

I did not notice him boxing out and his defensive positioning was a little weak. My guess is that there are not a lot of interior passes in JUCO.

I keep looking at our bigs versus the other "power bigs" like K-State, KU, and Michigan St. and I just don't see us getting beat down low. I'm sure reality will set in once the games start, but THIS is the post team I would put together! Two 6-8 power forwards with size, one with all the offensive moves, soft touch, and soft hands, and the other with explosive athleticism that never stops. Two 7 footers that pretty much mirror the power forwards. Add a 6-9 senior and a 6-7 freshman to provide depth. Is there really anything else you could wish for in the post?

[AMaizNShocks]

I did not notice him boxing out and his defensive positioning was a little weak.

I'll agree his positioning was a little weak at times, but he did have a couple of good box outs. I commented about it when it happened as it was a pleasant surprise.

[Bigshotmaker]

Like I and so many have said he's picking up the game really fast,and the valley is holding their collective breath.

[Aargh]

My comment on MVCFans was:

Don't worry about him this year. Next year - worry!

[RampageWSU]

One thing that sticks in my mind:

Was Stutz blowing by him early on a reflection of his own improvement, or on E's defense at this point?

[SubGod22]

I'm gonna go with his improvement. He was moving much, much better than this poing last year. I'm excited for Stutz.

[WuDrWu]

One thing that sticks in my mind:

Was Stutz blowing by him early on a reflection of his own improvement, or on E's defense at this point?

You have to understand that at 19-21, however old EO is, that he has received about ZERO really good coaching, especially regarding the principles of man to man defense. Think of a 6th grader and how tough it it to get your point across teaching basketball.

His learning curve will be huge but we are starting at the ground floor. And he was going against a kid that is at least getting some mention as an All Valley type player, WITH 2 full years of Division 1 experience.


Just remember, our coaches have commented that he is way ahead of where Odiakosa was at the same point and all that kid did was become the conference defensive player of the year, twice I think.

[Wuzee]

One thing that sticks in my mind:

Was Stutz blowing by him early on a reflection of his own improvement, or on E's defense at this point?

You have to understand that at 19-21, however old EO is, that he has received about ZERO really good coaching, especially regarding the principles of man to man defense. Think of a 6th grader and how tough it it to get your point across teaching basketball.

His learning curve will be huge but we are starting at the ground floor. And he was going against a kid that is at least getting some mention as an All Valley type player, WITH 2 full years of Division 1 experience.


Just remember, our coaches have commented that he is way ahead of where Odiakosa was at the same point and all that kid did was become the conference defensive player of the year, twice I think.

+1

The play he got beaten on was a very nice slip screen. From behind the play, it was clear that he was thoroughly beaten -- trailing the play by a long way. So I was amazed to see in the Eagle how the play ended up. He almost got back in time to block the shot. When, over time, he learns to recognize that play quicker, he will be all over it.[/img]

[Aargh]

What I remember of that play is that by the time you could tell where Stutz was headed, he was already past Orukpe.

If you're used to the hesitation he had in his moves and how they seemed to develop in slow motion - forget it! It seemed that by the time you could tell where that first foot was going, it was already on the floor.

I'm not saying he has a great first step that will beat a lot of people. I think it was more deceptive than smoking fast. I suspect he leaned in one direction and maybe even moved the ball to that side while extending a foot in the opposite direction (where he intended to go). I was fooled and expecting him to go the opposite direction from where he actually went. I think Orukpe was leaning too.

[marcus aurelius]

One thing that sticks in my mind:

Was Stutz blowing by him early on a reflection of his own improvement, or on E's defense at this point?

You have to understand that at 19-21, however old EO is, that he has received about ZERO really good coaching, especially regarding the principles of man to man defense. Think of a 6th grader and how tough it it to get your point across teaching basketball.

His learning curve will be huge but we are starting at the ground floor. And he was going against a kid that is at least getting some mention as an All Valley type player, WITH 2 full years of Division 1 experience.


Just remember, our coaches have commented that he is way ahead of where Odiakosa was at the same point and all that kid did was become the conference defensive player of the year, twice I think.

I'm sorry, but I have to take exception to your assertion of EO not being coached in the principles of man-to-man defense. I can't speak for the coaching in his native land, but TRCC coach Gene Bess is highly renown for his defensive teachings. I'm sure the Shocker staff would agree....

Some kids just take a while longer to catch on....

[wufan]

I think some of the differences we are seeing in EO from last year just fall into the style of basketball that is played at DI vs JUCO. EO may have been coached in man-on-man post D, but with the free style guard offenses in JUCO, EO could go several possessions without his man trying to post him up. Even if he does get posted up, is the opposing guard willing to feed it to the 6-7 center that is being guarded by a 7 footer? It still comes down to a lack of meaningful opportunities for EO to improve.

[Aargh]

Orukpe "extremely coachable"

At least that's what I thought I heard Bruce Haertl say on his report tonight.

In the interview portion of the report Orukpe absolutely admitted he has a lot to learn.

If the coaching staff is calling him "extremely coachable", then I'm pretty confident he will be a force next year.

A player who admits he has something to learn, who the coaching staff refers to as coachable is a great combination. Orukpe is intelligent, so the ability to learn is there. I think this is going to work out great.

[Txlen]

From the games that I saw him in at the tournament, in Hutchinson, it was readily apparent that even as raw skill wise as he was last year, he changed the complexion of the game when he was in the lineup.

Once he gains more confidence and understands the game, I have no doubt that he can become a dominating player at the D1 level. His quickness and leaping ability sets him apart from other players his size.

In addition, the hours that he has competing against Garrett in practice will hasten his development. It would be different if EO had no talent, but that is not the case. The willingness to work hard to achieve his goals is there. All that is needed now is time and reps in practice. He will get the coaching that he needs to become a better player. It is going to be an interesting three-year journey!