Christopher Obekpa - PF - Our Savior New American - Centereach, NY - ST. JOHN'S

Just a footnote to the details provided by Theo and queensfinest about the IS8 games. The O man keeps an eye on whoever has the ball to see if they're going to the basket and then takes the best possible angle to intercept him and make the block with uncanny timing. My point being it's a process reminiscent of Charles Oakley taking just the right angle to snare a rebound.

The most memorable moments of the day? Dickerson's emphatic dunks over Obekpa. However, JD disappeared for extended periods of time.

The most impressive sustained perfomance of the day? Chris Obekpa in the semifinals. He is a phenomenon who alters the offensive attack.

Be careful with your characterization of Dickerson dunking on Obekpa. Not everyone agrees!

Quote from: Marco Baldi on June 07, 2012, 06:12:38 PM

Quote from: qcredman on June 07, 2012, 06:05:42 PM

Just a footnote to the details provided by Theo and queensfinest about the IS8 games. The O man keeps an eye on whoever has the ball to see if they're going to the basket and then takes the best possible angle to intercept him and make the block with uncanny timing. My point being it's a process reminiscent of Charles Oakley taking just the right angle to snare a rebound.

The most memorable moments of the day? Dickerson's emphatic dunks over Obekpa. However, JD disappeared for extended periods of time.

The most impressive sustained perfomance of the day? Chris Obekpa in the semifinals. He is a phenomenon who alters the offensive attack.

qcredman, great to hear from you- been a long time . Sounds like you want Obekpa

Thanks Marco. Always enjoy the irony and impersonal sarcasm of your posts.

Oh yea, he is going to make the opposition think twice about going to the basket and will be exactly what they called him at IS8 - The Game Changer.

I call him the O man because when I first saw a series of Obekpa dunks all I kept saying was "Oh man!"

THanks QC! I trust your analysis, we need this guy more than we did Chandler imo

My post should have read how impressed I was by Obekpa's blocks not his dunks of course.

I just hope the school is certain this yopung man has his academics in order for eligibilty.

It would make the school look terrible to take a verbal from a kid who doesn't get eligible. We already have a verbal who we are not sure will be on campus in Sept.

Hopefully this gets cleared up as quickly as possible, he commits and he is on campus playing with the team over the summer.

I just hope the school is certain this yopung man has his academics in order for eligibilty.

It would make the school look terrible to take a verbal from a kid who doesn't get eligible. We already have a verbal who we are not sure will be on campus in Sept.

Hopefully this gets cleared up as quickly as possible, he commits and he is on campus playing with the team over the summer.

I would think staff is aware of the issues you referenced and acts accordingly.

Adam Zagoria
“As of [Thursday] morning he said he’s still open,” a source told SNY.tv of Chris Obekpa. “He doesn’t say a lot. It wouldn’t shock me if all of a sudden he says he wants to go to St. John’s.”


Just decide already!

Why do you guys care so much when he decides? Maybe he didn't think about the recruiting process until after his senior season.  I'd rather he take his time than decide in a hurry.

Why do you guys care so much when he decides? Maybe he didn't think about the recruiting process until after his senior season.  I'd rather he take his time than decide in a hurry.

I also think folks should realize that this is a seventeen year old kid. Having evidenced my impatience on this one a few times, I realize it is the kid's choice when he decides. Seventeen year old kids can sometimes be fickle and try one's patience. It will be all over in a few weeks I would suspect. At least, we are quite in it!

I'm sitting here waiting for Godot. I can't help but believe he's going to show up before Obekpa makes his decision.

I'm sitting here waiting for Godot. I can't help but believe he's going to show up before Obekpa makes his decision.

Can Godot block shots? Lol

If every other 17 year old kid waited until July to decide where they were going to college, no would be surprised by this. It's a bit odd that anyone would take this long to pick a school. But maybe there are good reasons why? We just don't know any of them.

Quote from: jumpinjohnny on June 08, 2012, 02:54:02 PM

Why do you guys care so much when he decides? Maybe he didn't think about the recruiting process until after his senior season.  I'd rather he take his time than decide in a hurry.

I also think folks should realize that this is a seventeen year old kid. Having evidenced my impatience on this one a few times, I realize it is the kid's choice when he decides. Seventeen year old kids can sometimes be fickle and try one's patience. It will be all over in a few weeks I would suspect. At least, we are quite in it!

It sounds like he isn't even 17 yet if he us playing on the 17u tomorrow. 

Quote from: sju89tr on June 07, 2012, 11:03:33 AM

Quote from: fordham96 on June 07, 2012, 08:59:02 AM

The highly sought-after shot-blocker, who has received offers from Cincinnati, St. John's, Providence, DePaul, Connecticut, Georgia Tech, Memphis, Oregon and West Virginia, narrowed his choices down to two schools.

"I just like St. John's and Cincinnati," said Obekpa to RedStormReport.com.

Of Cincinnati and St. John's, Obekpa said that the rapid up-and-down style of play that characterizes both teams caught his attention.

"[Cincinnati] run and they play together. They went far last year," said Obekpa. "[St. John's] runs and they're [local], so I'm used to them."

"I like the place. I'm just seeing what is best for me," said Obekpa of St. John's. "It's close to home."

"I want to be close to home," Obekpa later added.

http://basketballrecruiting.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1373001

The fact that he mentioned several times that being close to home was probably the most important thing as it turned out in terms of recruiting, The kid has already been uprooted from his country and will most likely be more comfortable at St Johns with Felix. We also can offer him 20 minutes a game from Day 1.

Not talking about his talent at all. All the reasons you listed about his picking us were in place 2 months ago. The clincher, one would think, should've been the signing of Balamou, even though it appears the staff liked Balamou even without CO.

At what point does a kids "antics" become a preview of what you can expect to see from him once he commits. And yes I am concerned that he could become a " Nuri" type distraction. As I said I'll leave it to Lavs and staff to make that call but the longer this goes on, the less confident I am of this turning into a productive ship for us.

I love how a kid is more trouble then he's worth because of the "antics" he's exhibiting (meaning he hasn't verballed to the school you want him too, yet), but conversely, the guys who flip flop or de-commit or change schools 4 times are headcases who can't be trusted (unless we get one of them on a visit, then they are changed men who are finally seeing clearly). Why do you even care when he decides? So you can post your mock starting lineups on twitter or facebook? So you can personally feel better about the team months before the season starts?

It's not antics, it's called due diligence.

Quote from: derk on June 07, 2012, 01:51:30 PM

Quote from: sju89tr on June 07, 2012, 11:03:33 AM

Quote from: fordham96 on June 07, 2012, 08:59:02 AM

The highly sought-after shot-blocker, who has received offers from Cincinnati, St. John's, Providence, DePaul, Connecticut, Georgia Tech, Memphis, Oregon and West Virginia, narrowed his choices down to two schools.

"I just like St. John's and Cincinnati," said Obekpa to RedStormReport.com.

Of Cincinnati and St. John's, Obekpa said that the rapid up-and-down style of play that characterizes both teams caught his attention.

"[Cincinnati] run and they play together. They went far last year," said Obekpa. "[St. John's] runs and they're [local], so I'm used to them."

"I like the place. I'm just seeing what is best for me," said Obekpa of St. John's. "It's close to home."

"I want to be close to home," Obekpa later added.

http://basketballrecruiting.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1373001

The fact that he mentioned several times that being close to home was probably the most important thing as it turned out in terms of recruiting, The kid has already been uprooted from his country and will most likely be more comfortable at St Johns with Felix. We also can offer him 20 minutes a game from Day 1.

Not talking about his talent at all. All the reasons you listed about his picking us were in place 2 months ago. The clincher, one would think, should've been the signing of Balamou, even though it appears the staff liked Balamou even without CO.

At what point does a kids "antics" become a preview of what you can expect to see from him once he commits. And yes I am concerned that he could become a " Nuri" type distraction. As I said I'll leave it to Lavs and staff to make that call but the longer this goes on, the less confident I am of this turning into a productive ship for us.

I love how a kid is more trouble then he's worth because of the "antics" he's exhibiting (meaning he hasn't verballed to the school you want him too, yet), but conversely, the guys who flip flop or de-commit or change schools 4 times are headcases who can't be trusted (unless we get one of them on a visit, then they are changed men who are finally seeing clearly). Why do you even care when he decides? So you can post your mock starting lineups on twitter or facebook? So you can personally feel better about the team months before the season starts?

It's not antics, it's called due diligence.

I don't give a damn any more.  Lavin is the one that has to deal with all this stuff.  He ows how to deal with these personalities.  Only thing that is important is that Lavin doesn't give up and we land him.  This 16 year old is one of the best two shotblockers in this class and probably not years class as well.  He and Nerlens are the only ones at his level. Having a kid like him in there would be amazing for us.  Hopefully we get this done...

Quote from: nrmax88 on June 08, 2012, 10:39:48 PM

Quote from: derk on June 07, 2012, 01:51:30 PM

Quote from: sju89tr on June 07, 2012, 11:03:33 AM

Quote from: fordham96 on June 07, 2012, 08:59:02 AM

The highly sought-after shot-blocker, who has received offers from Cincinnati, St. John's, Providence, DePaul, Connecticut, Georgia Tech, Memphis, Oregon and West Virginia, narrowed his choices down to two schools.

"I just like St. John's and Cincinnati," said Obekpa to RedStormReport.com.

Of Cincinnati and St. John's, Obekpa said that the rapid up-and-down style of play that characterizes both teams caught his attention.

"[Cincinnati] run and they play together. They went far last year," said Obekpa. "[St. John's] runs and they're [local], so I'm used to them."

"I like the place. I'm just seeing what is best for me," said Obekpa of St. John's. "It's close to home."

"I want to be close to home," Obekpa later added.

http://basketballrecruiting.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1373001

The fact that he mentioned several times that being close to home was probably the most important thing as it turned out in terms of recruiting, The kid has already been uprooted from his country and will most likely be more comfortable at St Johns with Felix. We also can offer him 20 minutes a game from Day 1.

Not talking about his talent at all. All the reasons you listed about his picking us were in place 2 months ago. The clincher, one would think, should've been the signing of Balamou, even though it appears the staff liked Balamou even without CO.

At what point does a kids "antics" become a preview of what you can expect to see from him once he commits. And yes I am concerned that he could become a " Nuri" type distraction. As I said I'll leave it to Lavs and staff to make that call but the longer this goes on, the less confident I am of this turning into a productive ship for us.

I love how a kid is more trouble then he's worth because of the "antics" he's exhibiting (meaning he hasn't verballed to the school you want him too, yet), but conversely, the guys who flip flop or de-commit or change schools 4 times are headcases who can't be trusted (unless we get one of them on a visit, then they are changed men who are finally seeing clearly). Why do you even care when he decides? So you can post your mock starting lineups on twitter or facebook? So you can personally feel better about the team months before the season starts?

It's not antics, it's called due diligence.

I don't give a damn any more.  Lavin is the one that has to deal with all this stuff.  He ows how to deal with these personalities.  Only thing that is important is that Lavin doesn't give up and we land him.  This 16 year old is one of the best two shotblockers in this class and probably not years class as well.  He and Nerlens are the only ones at his level. Having a kid like him in there would be amazing for us.  Hopefully we get this done...

Sensible response Marcus!

“@5starbasketball: Chris Obekpa is one of the top unsigned recruits in 2012 and is proving why this morning; Dominating the paint on defense for New Heights”

“@5starbasketball: Chris Obekpa is one of the top unsigned recruits in 2012 and is proving why this morning; Dominating the paint on defense for New Heights”

He may be the only unsigned recruit. Who else is left, some short, fat, white kid?

Quote from: paultzman on June 09, 2012, 11:15:33 AM

“@5starbasketball: Chris Obekpa is one of the top unsigned recruits in 2012 and is proving why this morning; Dominating the paint on defense for New Heights”

He may be the only unsigned recruit. Who else is left, some short, fat, white kid?

  Baldi's eligibility ran out years ago....

He may be the only unsigned recruit. Who else is left, some short, fat, white kid?

Bobre will want to use the last scholarship on him.

Quote from: paultzman on June 09, 2012, 11:15:33 AM

“@5starbasketball: Chris Obekpa is one of the top unsigned recruits in 2012 and is proving why this morning; Dominating the paint on defense for New Heights”

He may be the only unsigned recruit. Who else is left, some short, fat, white kid?

You NEVER stop working the recruiting.  There's always someone out there.  Situations can change in a hurry - for the potentail recruit, and for the team doing the recruiting.

As a Bruin fan we thought our recruiting was done when Tony Parker signed on last month.   But now it looks like there's a fair chance for a 5th recruit to come onboard  this year - 2013 top 60 PG Stevie Parker is taking an "official" visit.  His high school coach has taken another job, and Stevie (reportedly a 4.0 student) is reclassifying to 2012 (says if he's going to work with a new coach in a new system, why not at the next level?).  He's a fast, quick 5'10 scoring PG, great 3pt shooter, who can defend the quickest gaurds out there.    The bruins HAD a quick 5'10 pg signed in this class - Top 70 2012 Dominic Artis was their first verbal this year, but bailed for conference rival Oregon when Kyle Anderson committerd.    Clark has said a year playing with and practicing against Kyle and Sr. PG Larry Drew can only improve his game - much more than another year of HS with a new coach.

There are ALWAYS players out there.   Yes, sometimes even short fat white kids.  Funny, that's how one magazine referred to a Providence signee many years ago in the dark ages before the internet when mags and newsletters were all you had to follow recruiting.   They were referring to some kid named Di Gregorio