Is Obekpa Next? No! He's staying!

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.
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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
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He can't be an as asset if he's not here.
 
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.
Click to expand...

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
Click to expand...

Although the rumor of his departure is more than just rumor imo, I agree with you that he did make improvements. Although he did not lead the nation in blocks, he was actually a better shot blocker this past season in terms of the block being an actual change of possession as opposed to just swatting it out of bounds or back to the other team. The team as a whole did a good job keeping possession of blocked shots. Significantly better than last season. There was a small stretch where on offense there looked to be something nice developing between Jordan and Obekpa and this was during conf. play. So yes he has potential on both ends to be a strong college player. Decision making and attitude were the biggest deficiencies.
 
there was a play at msg I don't remember which game but Obpeka got the ball out by the 3 point line right in front of our section. we were cringing. He hesitated then drove to the basket. we were yelling noooooooooo. then he went underneath the hoop and made a sweet pass to someone else for an eaiser shot in the paint. That to me said a lot about his improvement
 
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.
Click to expand...

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
Click to expand...

That haircut he sported the last game of the year was about as offensive as it gets :)
 
To dismiss CO's leaving as no big deal is absurd. Bottom line: There'd be nothing -- nothing! -- good about it, but plenty of negatives.
 
The play I remember is the swatting and intercepting the inbounds pass against Creighton in one of the great comebacks I have witnessed
in St, John;s history. Even though it resulted in a last second loss via a long Dougie McD three. Obepka helped fuel that comeback.
 
The play I remember is the swatting and intercepting the inbounds pass against Creighton in one of the great comebacks I have witnessed
in St, John;s history. Even though it resulted in a last second loss via a long Dougie McD three. Obepka helped fuel that comeback.
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Yes he helped fuel the comeback, but also fell asleep on defense to allow the winning basket.
 
To dismiss CO's leaving as no big deal is absurd. Bottom line: There'd be nothing -- nothing! -- good about it, but plenty of negatives.
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From a fans perspective I would have to agree but if other not so apparent rumors are true he may have become a cancer to the team whose presence may cause more harm than good. At worse he may have shown a lack of maturity that hurt the short term prospects of the team, at worst full scale mutiny that could be hard to overcome with regard to team cohesion and dynamics into the future. It doesn't matter if you agree with how you're being handled by your coach, there are certain things you can't do and he may have done them. If he did and doesn't understand he was wrong then maybe there is no future.
 
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@NYPost_Brazille: I'm told everyone else is staying at St John's right now #sjubb
 
Come on Mike over Obekpa ,who seams to have quit the team in the middle of the most important game of the season
 
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