Beyond all the detail and data about Chris Obekpa from the Humboldt St. exhibition, I wanted to post a separate "impression" from watching the game on ESPN3. I have seen only four players move the way Obekpa was moving yesterday. The first was a young Bill Russell who maintained it through 13 championships (2 NCAA's and 11 NBA). The second was Joe Strawder leading Bradley to the 1964 NIT title. The third was Pervis Ellison at Louisville. Don't know what the outcome will be and we certainly don't have Cousy and Heinsohn alongside CO but the gestalt of CO's play was very striking to someone who has watched a lot of hoops for a very long time.
CO2
- Thread starter fuchsia
- Start date
jumbo_peanuts
Active member
So now you are putting Chris Obekpa in the same category as Bill Russell??
Not at all. Just an impression of the way he moves. The court sense, determination, refusal to lose, demand on self and others, and many other elements are still unknown. Gestalt, substance, and outcome are not the same. The change visible yesterday in Obekpa's game seems a good omen.
MarkRedman
Well-known member
Stef, when I read your comments, I wasn't thinking about comparisons with Russell
I was thinking how old you are to remember those guys (Joe Strawder...smh) :cheer:
Hope to see you and North Shore soon!!
I was thinking how old you are to remember those guys (Joe Strawder...smh) :cheer:
Hope to see you and North Shore soon!!
Class of 72
Active member
If he made strides in his game it had nothing to do with this staff as was the case with Harkless and Sampson who basically decided he could prepare himself better for a shot at the pro level over the Spring and summer than another year under these coaches.
NOW....close your eyes and picture this team this year WITHOUT Obekpa.
NOW.....picture this program next year without him and all three major recruits.
Then go back to the team and players Norm Roberts left when he was fired with the team and players Lav will leave.
SCARY SHIT! A nightmare in the making.
NOW....close your eyes and picture this team this year WITHOUT Obekpa.
NOW.....picture this program next year without him and all three major recruits.
Then go back to the team and players Norm Roberts left when he was fired with the team and players Lav will leave.
SCARY SHIT! A nightmare in the making.
Class of 72: How can you know the strides he seemingly made in substance and manner had nothing to do with this staff? Do you really know that they didn't work on helping him with his self-destructive "attitudes" in so much evidence last year? Do you really know that they didn't help him get direction, maybe hands-on technique development since last season? Did the out-of-position, no offense Obekpa from late last year just unilaterally decide since he was staying at SJU, he would suddenly reveal the impact player we saw last night. I find it incredulous that this young man, who we are told hardly played basketball until recent years, is evolving from self-directed activity over the summer, with no SJU coaching support.
If he is, more power to him. But to conclude that the coach and staff are culpable for players that fail to develop, but get zero credit for those that do, seems more like a personal agenda than an insightful perception.
If he is, more power to him. But to conclude that the coach and staff are culpable for players that fail to develop, but get zero credit for those that do, seems more like a personal agenda than an insightful perception.
Unrelated to your point, I believe Chris spent some very productive time with John Lucas this summer. Jordan could benefit from spending some time in Houston as well. It did wonders for D'Lo & apparently Chris. Taking the time to work hard to refine your skills & personally mature is invaluable.
beast of the east
Active member
Just think of the improvement. In the BET against Providence, what was most noted was his refusal to move (off the bench). Court sense was no sense at all, refusal to lose was refusal to play, demand on self was care about no one but himself. Either this was a transformation greater than Saul of Tarsus becoming a Christian or we are getting a little carried away against a performance against B league players. On that note as a 5'11 center I once blocked 6 straight shots on one possession, getting two guys about my size or bigger 3 times each. Alas I went unrecruited else I may be spoken in the same breath as Bill Russell. Instead my best hope in drawing a comparison is if I carry a concealed weapon through an airport checkpoint.
Just joking. I understand your right to a point
Class of 72
Active member
My personal agenda is seeing my school's basketball program move in a positive direction. Last season we had arguably the most talented team at SJ since the Artest years. They began horrible and ended on such a bad note that half the team was jumping ship. I TOLD YOU TO CLOSE YOUR EYES and "imagine"!
You want to give this staff credit for Obekpa' s play last night go right ahead but it was not because he worked with this staff but maybe, just maybe, he went somewhere during the summer to get his head and game straight.
For two years this staff did not design or run plays to get CO involved in the offense. This staff allowed Jakarr Sampson and a couple of others to run ad hoc offenses. By seasons end CO was justifiably irked. Now, did you imagine had he transferred what last night's team would have looked like without one major addition from a 2014 class that this staff bypassed?
All of that is on this staff. People close to the program do not think this staff will sign any talented "group" of players to sustain a top echelon team in the conference.
I hope they are all wrong, especially the Maven, who lately pulls publicly more for Jay Wright and John Calipari than Steve Lavin. Try to recruit against those two when your own fans do not back you. We are a miserable bunch and two years without adding an All-American to give the fan base hope has made many more miserable. When the best you can recruit is a Dean's List junior college player who took an unbelievable 21 credits who turned out to be an academic fraud and you are booking business class to Venice instead of living outside of the Briscoe family home, you know the coaches agenda as was his trip to Vegas in the guise of offering Zimmerman a scholarship. I want desperately to be wrong and prove the Mavens of this world wrong but if you take a census, especially with our redmen.com mods lately, you may find I am not alone in my agenda to right this sinking ship ( to borrow a visual from Tom).
I understand, sadly.
Let me restate my issue, less pointedly this time.
Like you, and others, I too hate the demise of SJU basketball. But as the frustration of the years has accumulated, the nature of the commentary on this site has migrated from critically constructive to highly skeptical, then broadly judgemental, and now frequently just purely cynical and sarcastic.
I know from Fran to Jarvis to Norm to Lavin, a litany of over-hyped recruits who fell short, left, or never showed provide lots of rationale for that devolution and the attendant redundancy. Still, as we start a new season, we don't need to keep deteriorating as a forum, regardless of the scoreboard.
We are capable of being vehemently critical, based on the evidence as we debate our own insights, without ad hominem attacks, wild personal speculation, and impugning accusation.
I don't want to see passion diminish. It would be very dull if we didn't debate coaching actions and relative player skills. I respect and agree with many of the negative factual observations made in many of your and others' posts. There is enough objectively problematic with the program that warrants criticism. But I also hope all of us, myself included, can dramatically reduce the cynical speculations about players' or coaches' motivations, the sweeping put downs of other posters as " camp- following kool-aid drinkers" or "perpetual negativists". Let's minimize the fouls on the court and in the Forum.
Let me restate my issue, less pointedly this time.
Like you, and others, I too hate the demise of SJU basketball. But as the frustration of the years has accumulated, the nature of the commentary on this site has migrated from critically constructive to highly skeptical, then broadly judgemental, and now frequently just purely cynical and sarcastic.
I know from Fran to Jarvis to Norm to Lavin, a litany of over-hyped recruits who fell short, left, or never showed provide lots of rationale for that devolution and the attendant redundancy. Still, as we start a new season, we don't need to keep deteriorating as a forum, regardless of the scoreboard.
We are capable of being vehemently critical, based on the evidence as we debate our own insights, without ad hominem attacks, wild personal speculation, and impugning accusation.
I don't want to see passion diminish. It would be very dull if we didn't debate coaching actions and relative player skills. I respect and agree with many of the negative factual observations made in many of your and others' posts. There is enough objectively problematic with the program that warrants criticism. But I also hope all of us, myself included, can dramatically reduce the cynical speculations about players' or coaches' motivations, the sweeping put downs of other posters as " camp- following kool-aid drinkers" or "perpetual negativists". Let's minimize the fouls on the court and in the Forum.
He made CBSsports.com's preseason first team defensive all-america:
http://www.cbssports.com/collegebas...ollege-basketball-preview-all-defensive-teams
This is America's best pure shot blocker. With a 15.8 percent block rate in each of the last two seasons, Obekpa protects the rim with ease as players both big and small try to finish around the rim. Sporting a near 7-foot-5 wingspan on his 6-foot-9 body, Obekpa's sense of timing on shots near the rim is nearly impeccable. He affects an equal amount of shots as the ones that he actually blocks, and totally shuts down the paint due to his length. But that's not all he does well. Because of his length, he also does a pretty good job on the perimeter as it's pretty difficult to get around him. His feet can be a little bit slow at times and his rebounding leaves something to be desired, but when Obekpa is in the game it's awfully difficult to get a decent shot from within 10 feet of the rim. That makes him extremely valuable, and very worthy of being on this list.
http://www.cbssports.com/collegebas...ollege-basketball-preview-all-defensive-teams
This is America's best pure shot blocker. With a 15.8 percent block rate in each of the last two seasons, Obekpa protects the rim with ease as players both big and small try to finish around the rim. Sporting a near 7-foot-5 wingspan on his 6-foot-9 body, Obekpa's sense of timing on shots near the rim is nearly impeccable. He affects an equal amount of shots as the ones that he actually blocks, and totally shuts down the paint due to his length. But that's not all he does well. Because of his length, he also does a pretty good job on the perimeter as it's pretty difficult to get around him. His feet can be a little bit slow at times and his rebounding leaves something to be desired, but when Obekpa is in the game it's awfully difficult to get a decent shot from within 10 feet of the rim. That makes him extremely valuable, and very worthy of being on this list.
Applaud CO working with the John Lucas camp this off season and his apparent improvement based on his last game. As for the staff's involvement in his improvement I heard from a good source today that the staff arranged for 2 former NBA players to work with CO this off season and that CO did not show up.
Agree..that's weird, if correct.
At minimum, It can never hurt to network with former pros
Even if you learn zip.
I hope it's not valid just in terms of his maturity and judgement.
At minimum, It can never hurt to network with former pros
Even if you learn zip.
I hope it's not valid just in terms of his maturity and judgement.
SJU14
Well-known member
Looks like DraftExpress's visit to our practice has had an impact on draft predictions. Obekpa has been moved up to this coming draft at #34. I know it doesn't mean much, as they are only mock drafts, but that's a big jump from his previous prediction of the second round of 2016's draft with Sheed Jordan.