Is Obekpa Next? No! He's staying!
- Thread starter tom in salem
- Start date
There's the "rabbit out of the hat" that we're all expecting!
And assuming ADR commits, we will have another big forward. The roster has potential to win 22-23 games with a good coach. Don't think Lavin could pull it off though.
With Obekpa I agree with you. And I know we are assuming with Obekpa above. But without Obekpa that's really hard to envision unless we bring in 1-2 significant pieces in the frontcourt.
Because remember, we were as loaded entering this season as we have been in quite some time. The legitmate concern was how were we going to manage playing time for all of this talent (and the answer ended up being "poorly", but that's besides the point). The best the staff could do with that this ideal situation was 20 wins and the NIT, so it's diffuclt - though not impossible - to imagine us getting better with question marks about the roster.
Agreed.
Well, here is what Lavin said of Ndiaye after the first G'town game:
Lavin did not second-guess the lineup decision, instead seeing his team's first-half performance against Georgetown as a continuation of its poor second half against Xavier four days earlier. He even pointed to Ndiaye, who played seven minutes, as a bright spot. "In hindsight, I should have kept him in the game longer," Lavin said.
I agree also, with the exception of "this ideal situation" comment. Team chemistry was not there, which Jakarr admitted he didn't help. While team chemistry may improve next year, it is hard to believe that they will be better, unfortunately. I would settle for a team that plays like a team and is aggressive.
Luckily we don't have to replace the players these guys could have been. We had a great back court and only won 20 games. That says a lot. With Sampson, what hurts the most is not having a guy that could break out and be ridiculous. Losing Obekpa would hurt so much more because he started to do so many little things well, and he can play the five. We can replace Sampson with a variety of lineups...even running Balamou or Pointer at the four in a small lineup to spell Jones. We have no replacement for Obekpa. He was so much more sturdy on the blocks. If he comes back, this team can still has 25-win potential with a couple solid additions.
Completely agree.
Losing Sampson was a tough blow, but one we could cope with and make the tournament with.
Losing Obkepa would be a fatal blow, and one that would doom our season months before it even starts.
Not sure what some guys are smoking or what team they were watching but enough with the Obekpa spin. He is an extremely limited player who had very little impact on the vast majority of the games he played in. Yes he can block shots but he is an average rebounder AT BEST and a serious offensive liability. An occasional basket or pass does not a player make. I do not want to see him leave, like I don't want Sampson to turn pro or Hooper to leave mostly because of what it says about the state of the program not because I think any of them are even remotely program changing players. The spin on this board is frequently amazing to me, we were a completely underachieving team with these players and there is no evidence that any of them or the situation would improve if they stayed. I understand blind faith (I am a Mets fan) but the same people who were screaming all is well all year while anyone watching our team knew it wasn't are now trying to sell the idea that we will be a powerhouse if only Obekpa stays. Nonsense to me, This group (coaches and players) have not come close to meeting expectations and while that very well could mean expectations were off-base there is no tangible evidence this group will improve next year without an infusion of talent / chemistry.
As has become your M.O., you are operating in extremes. Obekpa is limited, yes, but that does not render him worthless or of a "low impact." He is the only guy on the roster that can play the five. The only one. Even if we add ADR, I never trust freshman...least of all bigs. He's not a world beater, but we don't need one with our back court. The play of CO and Jordan keyed that late season run, and CO is one of the few guys on the roster that has improved snce he came to campus. Look at his strength and size gains alone. He screens well , he doesn't try to play other positions, he blocks shots, he became our best rebounder late in the year, and our offense is much better with him in the game--I can't believe I'm writing that, but it's undeniable. He hits the glass and he does the things guys like Branch and Harrison need to be successful.
Uconn is pretty ugly up front and they are in the Final Four due to a very strong back court. Before you fly off the handle and give me a 100 reasons why we aren't Uconn, I am not saying we are. But we do return a Freshman All-American point guard and a First Team Big East shooting guard as well as a ton of experience backing them up. If we can somehow play even with other teams up front, we'll win a lot more games than people expect.
Like every other player, Obekpa was streaky this season. But to say he had "very little impact on the vast majority of the games he played in" is simply not true. And it is not just the posters on this board who are of that opinion--when the team starting winning conference games, Obekpa's role in that comeback was frequently discussed in the media. Here is one example from Kieran Darcy of ESPN:
"Obekpa has been a key to St. John's recent success. The 6-foot-9 sophomore emerged from a midseason funk to score in double figures in four of the team's past six games. He's also a game-changer on defense -- currently 11th in the nation in blocked shots with 3.2 per game."
The biggest problem is we have no one to replace him. If Adonis comes , he is raw and he is not in the greatest shape, you don't want him playing 35 minutes a game. Also we only have Jones at power forward ,who is an unproven entity. You have to factor in foul trouble and injuries, we would obviously need backups. I don't know if there are any good JUCO bigs left. Let's hope we get a decommit due to coaching changes to help fill the void. Even if we get a transfer, in all likely hood he will have to sit out a year. Not many HS seniors left on the board, but maybe there is a 3 star uncommitted big. Lavin has his work cut out for him.
Although his offensive contributions were limited, I saw signs of a player that was working on "stuff"...If he continues to work on baby hook and can transform himself into an aggressive offensive rebounder -- both do-able --he could be an asset on offense