Obekpa and weed
- Thread starter jumbo_peanuts
- Start date
jumbo_peanuts
Active member
He could have done that this year....he was just never really given the chance.
MarkRedman
Well-known member
He was given plenty of chances
He just didn't produce
He looks like a prototype power forward but looks disinterested on the court
Jones has been in the program for 3 years (including a redshirt season)
There is absolutely no reason to believe that he will ever contribute
billthetruth
Well-known member
He is softer than carvel ice cream on a July day. No desire to rebound tells me all I need to know. Hope I'm wrong but have seen nothing in 3 years that makes me think he can contribute. He couldn't even earn minutes on a team that was pretty much 6 deep the whole year.
Not a Big East level player IMHO
beast of the east
Active member
There is a lot of evidence for you to hold that belief, but:
A long time ago, a brand new college coach took over a mediocre squad. In meeting one of his upper class players, he essentially told him, you're fat and out of shape. If you want to play, you'd better start working hard, starting now. The kid worked his tail off, dropped 20+ pounds, and was given the reigns to the team.
The kid led the team to the Final Four. His coach: Rick Pitino. The kid: Billy Donovan.
Sure, those stories are few and far between. But I could tell you one about a so-so guard given a shot to be "the man" on a team that had never done more than play one NIT game the previous 6 seasons. That kid lit up the Garden, including destroying eventual national champ UCONN by outplaying Kemba Walker, and electrifying NY with a last second basket vs. Pitt. Hint: Mickey Rooney made a ton of money in a series of movies with the same last name as the kid in question.
Don't write anyone off in a new regime. Sometimes the deck gets shuffled and guys emerge.
billthetruth
Well-known member
Hope you are right, but Billy D still has 50 times more fire than Jones at 21 years old.
jumbo_peanuts
Active member
I don't really believe that he was given that many chances. Of our 33 games this year, he played more than 8 minutes only eight times, and six of those games were before conference play. The only time he got significant playing time in the BE was the last regular season game of the year against Nova, who happened to be the #4 team in the country at that time. And prior to that game, he had played a total of 7 minutes over the previous 15 games.
I think he could give us about 7-8 quality minutes each game, if given the chance. But the thing is that he has to get those minutes every game. He can average those minutes for the season, but he also needs to actually play those minutes EVERY game. The big key for him will be to get consistent minutes. And the same could be said for Amar too. In other words, he can't play 15minutes against NJIT, and then 0 against Butler (which he would still average 7-8minutes/game). Inconsistent playing time does nothing but hurt a player, in my opinion.
With these type of players, I believe that they need to play a little bit and get into the rhythm of the game some before they can make an impact. Christian Jones is not going to just come off the bench after not playing for a few games and give you 10pts and 5 rebounds.
He is never going to be a player that will fill up the stat sheet, but he does have the athleticism and talent to give us some quality minutes.
Chris Mullin will tolerate zero from CO / he'll be sitting on the bench next to the snack bar upstairs!
beast of the east
Active member
An NCAA bid and a top 20 ranking was a pipe dream also before Lavin took over. If you give up hope, you may as well find another program to root for. There were 4 pretty good ones to choose from who played last weekend. C'mon, you're a betting man - you have to look for the upside sometimes
Important to give each player a somewhat clean slate under a new coach. Doesn't mean anything is going to change, but it's a fresh opportunity which can be important. This goes for both Obekpa and CJ.
With CO it's pretty simple. Can he stay on track off the court, develop an offensive game and more consistency, and go to an even higher level under Mullin.
CJ might be a case that has a wider range under a new coach. I really do see both sides, the upside/potential and the frustration that he hasn't demonstrated an ability to tap into it in his time here.
His time under Lavin always just seemed a little off. He goes from unheralded recruit, to all sorts of hype from Lavin prior to his first year, to starting his first college game, to appearing in over 20 games as a freshman, to red-shirting his second year, to not really getting off the bench as a red-shirt sophomore.
I'm not assigning any blame - to staff or CJ - but that is not a normal path and one that can really impact a player's confidence. I have no knowledge of how things transpired between staff and player, but from the outside this is the exact type of situation where a player could benefit from a fresh start. Not that he's going to turn into Roosevelt Jones, but maybe he can become a contributor.
With CO it's pretty simple. Can he stay on track off the court, develop an offensive game and more consistency, and go to an even higher level under Mullin.
CJ might be a case that has a wider range under a new coach. I really do see both sides, the upside/potential and the frustration that he hasn't demonstrated an ability to tap into it in his time here.
His time under Lavin always just seemed a little off. He goes from unheralded recruit, to all sorts of hype from Lavin prior to his first year, to starting his first college game, to appearing in over 20 games as a freshman, to red-shirting his second year, to not really getting off the bench as a red-shirt sophomore.
I'm not assigning any blame - to staff or CJ - but that is not a normal path and one that can really impact a player's confidence. I have no knowledge of how things transpired between staff and player, but from the outside this is the exact type of situation where a player could benefit from a fresh start. Not that he's going to turn into Roosevelt Jones, but maybe he can become a contributor.
Good post, many know that I am Jones' biggest fan. Two more years left with a head Coach who seemingly got every ounce of talent he had out of himself. Hopefully Chris does the same for Christian.
Must we forget-
http://redmen.com/forum/4-redmental...ian-jones-go-largely-unrecruited?limitstart=0
tom in salem
Well-known member
Great find.
Credit there man, but its never been his potential as a rebounder which made me like him. Its his game 15 ft and in that I thought could be very serviceable. Good feet (bad hands for sure) and nice mid range jumper. His chances this year were almost exclusively at the center position (something he definitely is not) where he was over matched as a rim protector and also asked to switch on to pg's off screens. Wasn't put in a position to succeed. You have said over and over again that bigs take longer to develop, could this not be the case with him? He has a nice touch and great athleticism. As alligator as it may be
. PS with the redshirt year he would lose a year of eligibility if he were to transfer.