Henry Uwadiae '14 c 6-11

[Dan]

I don't know, I think part 2 of that equation is shooting the ball.

[WSUwatcher]

Say, crow man -- have you looked back at some of the box scores from Paul Miller's career, even after he had been here a few years? (Remember, he was a fifth year senior when he became Valley Player of the Year, and he didn't have a great line every game even then.)

Don't assume Orukpe will never pan out until he's finished here, don't second guess his recruiting regardless unless you think you're a better judge of potential than the coaching staff is and that they somehow should have anticipated his performance, and don't fall into wushock's perennial trap of assuming a guy can't play because he has some nondescript high school box scores.

[SubGod22]

I've seen Henry in action. He redshirts next year and I think can be a solid contributor by his sophomore season. We'll see how far his development goes but he's a heck of an athlete who has a pretty decent understanding of the game already. As with most Nigerian players, it'll take a little time.

He's raw, but I don't think he's as raw as Ehimen when he first showed up.

[SHOXAAC]

You aren't even trying. Once his hands improve his rebounding and scoring will improve. The staff had no way of knowing ahead of time how much effort it would take to get him here. Players with EOs athleticism and size are available about once every 20 years to a program like WSU. He is 100% worth the risk.

I totally respect your take. I enjoy the opportunity to watch him play, because as has been said 100 times on this subject EO is a freakish athletically gifted player. We don't often see a young man at 7-feet with the characteristics he has...BUT being athletic doesn't equate into a basketball player.

The only significant minutes he has over the past 5 conference games was at Bradley (a 39 point win), when he played 14 minutes, had 7 points and 5 rebounds. In the other 4 Valley games he has played a total of 13 minutes, with 0 points, 3 rebounds (all defensive) and 0 blocks.

As a junior the general expectation was he would be a viable sub option for Garrett. He isn't and it goes beyond his hands. 3G can't trust EO even against SIU, Evansville and Illinois St.

I hope Henry pans out. I would rather see us find the Carl Halls of the basketball world instead of trying to find the needle in the haystack...Patrick O'Bryan's. I have to admit, however watching him play in 39 point blowouts is fun.

[SHOXAAC]

I think you missed the point. Catching the ball is seemingly the only thing holding EO back. Once he is able to complete that task without thinking about it, he will be a good C worthy of NBA looks.

I'm guessing catching the ball isn't the ONLY thing holding him back. If he hasn't learned to catch the ball from what people say is one of the best junior college coaches in the country at 3 Rivers and almost 2 years at WSU, maybe he just isn't going to be proficient at catching the ball.

As I said in the previous post, I still enjoy watching him play in 39 point blowouts...I would rather WSU recruit players to be trusted to play in games vs. the Creightons of the basketball world by their junior seasons.

[SHOXAAC]

Say, crow man -- have you looked back at some of the box scores from Paul Miller's career, even after he had been here a few years? (Remember, he was a fifth year senior when he became Valley Player of the Year, and he didn't have a great line every game even then.)

Don't assume Orukpe will never pan out until he's finished here, don't second guess his recruiting regardless unless you think you're a better judge of potential than the coaching staff is and that they somehow should have anticipated his performance, and don't fall into wushock's perennial trap of assuming a guy can't play because he has some nondescript high school box scores.

Hey WSUwatcher boy...maybe you should take a gander at some box scores of EO in his junior year. He can't be trusted to play against some of what will end up to be the lower division teams of the league. Miller was a big part of the rotation at this point, so be careful about drawing comparisions.

Isn't assuming and predicting apart of contributing to a sports fan board. You hide behind that premise of you have to hold your hand over a hot flame before commenting about the danger of it. PLEASE...come with a better game than that watcher boy.

Nondescript high school box scores from a senior 7-footer that produces 2 or 3 points is disturbing. Sounds like another EO to me.

For whatever it's worth, the other recruits appear to have the basketball history (including descript HS box scores) to get excited about.

[_kai_]

Yeah, the better comparison to make with Paul is that of Stutz. Stutz was in the rotation his junior year, and this year is his breakout year. Very similar to Miller.

EO would have to go from mop up minutes and playing the role of enforcer plus allowing Stutz to get a break, into an All-Valley center that not only contributes but is one of the stars. I just don't see it happening next year, but that doesn't mean I don't want to see it happen. I'm hoping for the best, or next year might be one of those seasons that we have every piece of the puzzle except one (center). I guess I'm just not sure what we're going to do with the center position for the next couple years.

[SubGod22]

There's nothing wrong with taking a flyer from time to time on an athletic big. You're not going to find one polished enough to be an impact right away. But if one pans out, it's a huge boost and can be a real difference maker nationally and boost the perception of the University as a whole.

Plus, I have no problem with a defensive minded big that isn't a huge threat offensively. With Ehimen, you still have to keep him off the block and his hook that he's shown recently looks good. We know he's a hard worker and I think that shot is going to work wonders for him. Especially next year. His hands are the biggest issue.

I don't recall Henry having issues securing the ball. He farther along offensively than Ehimen was. I think playing HS ball in the States will go a long way in speeding up his progress. But giving up on the kid before he ever steps foot on campus is a bit much.

[shockmonster]

Bob Hull said on the radio last weekend after the Evansville game that he's seen EO catch the ball in practice and he's showed good hands (where at Evansville he was fumbling it). He said that he thought that nerves in games (inexperience) still gets to EO sometimes and he on occasion fumbles the ball more than others. He was hoping that with more experience in catching the ball, he will become more consistent. He started basketball later in life and we'll see how much he improves.

[wufan]

I totally respect your take. I enjoy the opportunity to watch him play, because as has been said 100 times on this subject EO is a freakish athletically gifted player. We don't often see a young man at 7-feet with the characteristics he has...BUT being athletic doesn't equate into a basketball player.

The only significant minutes he has over the past 5 conference games was at Bradley (a 39 point win), when he played 14 minutes, had 7 points and 5 rebounds. In the other 4 Valley games he has played a total of 13 minutes, with 0 points, 3 rebounds (all defensive) and 0 blocks.

As a junior the general expectation was he would be a viable sub option for Garrett. He isn't and it goes beyond his hands. 3G can't trust EO even against SIU, Evansville and Illinois St.

I hope Henry pans out. I would rather see us find the Carl Halls of the basketball world instead of trying to find the needle in the haystack...Patrick O'Bryan's. I have to admit, however watching him play in 39 point blowouts is fun.

Fair points.

[shocka khan]

Here is what I know about Henry, I'm not sure all of this is exact.

As discussed here, his team does not load box scores up to the Charlotte Observer (Charlotte newspaper). They have a player database (like the Houston Chronicle) for HS players, but for some reason this school has no players on the db.

I do remember seeing something when I did a searth in his HS through the Observer archives regarding two or three games he played in earlier in the season.

In those games, he scored 10 or 12 points and rebounded well, probably in the 6-8 range.

Seems like Uwadwaie will probably be a big question mark when he gets here.

[shocka khan]

Pardon me, seems like I mangled my last message.


Here's what I meant:
"His coach isn't uploading scores to Max Preps. The team doesn't appear to be a high-level team, but it doesn't look like chopped liver, and the only info I could get was the write-ups in the Observer because the box scores were not there, either."

I also would like to add I have to wonder about a coach that doesn't allow his teams statistics and results to be posted on the internet. Seems to me the coach would want everyone to know if he had a good player.

[WSUwatcher]

"Nondescript high school box scores from a senior 7-footer that produces 2 or 3 points is disturbing. Sounds like another EO to me."

Sounds like superficial analysis to me. I'll trust Marshall and his staff, who didn't necessarily have to be in a hurry on Uwadiae, to know what they're doing. And, by the way, my reference to EO and Miller wasn't an attempt to compare them; if I were going to do that -- and I'm not -- I'd do it on Orukpe's own book-length thread, not here.

I was simply observing that even good players, including good ones who have been around for a while, as was the case with Miller, can still put up nondescript lines late in their careers. But that they do so in a given game isn't a reason to blow them off unless you know a lot more that enables you to conclude the poor line is a reliable indication of their true ability (and, in the case of a high schooler, his potential to become a good college player) as opposed to just one of those nights. And I think it's a safe bet that you don't know enough about Uwadiae to draw that conclusion, which is why I'll trust Marshall's judgment over yours and wushock's.

As for the off-topic EO, I'll simply say I think you're selling him short and doing so prematurely. And even if he doesn't ultimately pan out, I still don't object to his being recruited, because when you have 13 spots to fill (or, as in Marshall's case, even more than 13, despite being limited to that number of scholarships) it's worth taking an occasional flyer on someone with a high upside. I'd even argue that with 13 scholarships to give, there should be at least one redshirt and one high-upside project on the roster at all times, simply because there aren't enough minutes for 13 (or more) guys anyway. So why not have someone on hand who might become the next Patrick O'Bryant? There's still plenty of room for Carl Hall.

[SHOXAAC]

"Nondescript high school box scores from a senior 7-footer that produces 2 or 3 points is disturbing. Sounds like another EO to me."

Sounds like superficial analysis to me. I'll trust Marshall and his staff, who didn't necessarily have to be in a hurry on Uwadiae, to know what they're doing. And, by the way, my reference to EO and Miller wasn't an attempt to compare them; if I were going to do that -- and I'm not -- I'd do it on Orukpe's own book-length thread, not here.

I was simply observing that even good players, including good ones who have been around for a while, as was the case with Miller, can still put up nondescript lines late in their careers. But that they do so in a given game isn't a reason to blow them off unless you know a lot more that enables you to conclude the poor line is a reliable indication of their true ability (and, in the case of a high schooler, his potential to become a good college player) as opposed to just one of those nights. And I think it's a safe bet that you don't know enough about Uwadiae to draw that conclusion, which is why I'll trust Marshall's judgment over yours and wushock's.

As for the off-topic EO, I'll simply say I think you're selling him short and doing so prematurely. And even if he doesn't ultimately pan out, I still don't object to his being recruited, because when you have 13 spots to fill (or, as in Marshall's case, even more than 13, despite being limited to that number of scholarships) it's worth taking an occasional flyer on someone with a high upside. I'd even argue that with 13 scholarships to give, there should be at least one redshirt and one high-upside project on the roster at all times, simply because there aren't enough minutes for 13 (or more) guys anyway. So why not have someone on hand who might become the next Patrick O'Bryant? There's still plenty of room for Carl Hall.

I do respect your takes, but I don't agree...let's move on.

[shockmonster]

Hey WSUwatcher boy...maybe you should take a gander at some box scores of EO in his junior year. He can't be trusted to play against some of what will end up to be the lower division teams of the league. Miller was a big part of the rotation at this point, so be careful about drawing comparisions.

Isn't assuming and predicting apart of contributing to a sports fan board. You hide behind that premise of you have to hold your hand over a hot flame before commenting about the danger of it. PLEASE...come with a better game than that watcher boy.

Nondescript high school box scores from a senior 7-footer that produces 2 or 3 points is disturbing. Sounds like another EO to me.

For whatever it's worth, the other recruits appear to have the basketball history (including descript HS box scores) to get excited about.

Maybe this is enough information to make a judgement like SHOXMVC has made but you may just be jumping the gun on your judgements and they are unfair. We know that HU has only played BB for a very short time. We have a couple of box scores from the past. That's not very much information and it makes me feel uncomfortable. I know that Marshall has done a very good job of evaluating and recruiting talent and this is a fact too. I need more information and I don't trust your judgements from what I've seen. I trust Marshall more.