Obekpa national block radar

Blocks are great. But he is not a good defender.

That's the popular line but it isn't really true.  He gets out-muscled by some guys down low.  Lubick, for instance, put a shoulder into his chest and got him off balance.  That is his weakness.  As he gets stronger, he will be able to stand his ground better but there isn't, in my opinion, anything fundamentally wrong with his defense.

Follow this path-

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/player/_/id/51476/gorgui-dieng

Quote from: TONYD3 on April 01, 2013, 03:36:41 PM

Blocks are great. But he is not a good defender.

That's the popular line but it isn't really true.  He gets out-muscled by some guys down low.  Lubick, for instance, put a shoulder into his chest and got him off balance.  That is his weakness.  As he gets stronger, he will be able to stand his ground better but there isn't, in my opinion, anything fundamentally wrong with his defense.

His tendency to reach far away from the basket (sometimes 90 feet away) isn't really fundamentally sound. Great shot blocker. Not a great man defender but he will improve by leaps and bounds

I fully expect Chris to come back stronger and able to defend the post against bigger opponents. He got better at it as the season wore on. Add a couple post moves and shooting a mere 55% from the line on offense and he is all conference. Really excited to watch him progress

Quote from: simplyred on April 08, 2013, 09:41:28 PM

Quote from: TONYD3 on April 01, 2013, 03:36:41 PM

Blocks are great. But he is not a good defender.

That's the popular line but it isn't really true.  He gets out-muscled by some guys down low.  Lubick, for instance, put a shoulder into his chest and got him off balance.  That is his weakness.  As he gets stronger, he will be able to stand his ground better but there isn't, in my opinion, anything fundamentally wrong with his defense.

His tendency to reach far away from the basket (sometimes 90 feet away) isn't really fundamentally sound. Great shot blocker. Not a great man defender but he will improve by leaps and bounds

The reaching is a byproduct of inexperience.  He should never be more than 8 ft away from the basket on D.  Unfortunately, our switching zone causes him to be out of position, guarding much quicker opponents at times.

I fully expect Chris to come back stronger and able to defend the post against bigger opponents. He got better at it as the season wore on. Add a couple post moves and shooting a mere 55% from the line on offense and he is all conference. Really excited to watch him progress

His rebounding improved throughout the season.  He also shot the free throw well the last handful games of the season.  An off-season wish-list for him would be to continue that free-throw improvement and add some kind of soft-baby hook shot.    As far as team defense goes, and Obekpa specifically I think (hope) the defense will be 'smarter' next year in whether to go for the block, block out and execute better on help-defense.   We'll see...

I fully expect Chris to come back stronger and able to defend the post against bigger opponents. He got better at it as the season wore on. Add a couple post moves and shooting a mere 55% from the line on offense and he is all conference. Really excited to watch him progress

His physique was much stronger at the end of the season than it was at the beginning.  I expect to see even more strength next year.

Quote from: TONYD3 on April 01, 2013, 03:36:41 PM

Blocks are great. But he is not a good defender.

That's the popular line but it isn't really true.  He gets out-muscled by some guys down low.  Lubick, for instance, put a shoulder into his chest and got him off balance.  That is his weakness.  As he gets stronger, he will be able to stand his ground better but there isn't, in my opinion, anything fundamentally wrong with his defense.

A big man can muscle his way in. There is still a lot of work to do. He'll get there. I do think he's a smart player. Once he puts it all together, he'll be terrific. Still just a freshman.

“@STJ_Basketball: Per the final 2012-13 @NCAA Stats Report, @Obekpa12 officially led the nation in blocked shots average at 4.03 per game. #stjbb #GAMECHANGER”

Quote from: simplyred on April 08, 2013, 09:41:28 PM

Quote from: TONYD3 on April 01, 2013, 03:36:41 PM

Blocks are great. But he is not a good defender.

That's the popular line but it isn't really true.  He gets out-muscled by some guys down low.  Lubick, for instance, put a shoulder into his chest and got him off balance.  That is his weakness.  As he gets stronger, he will be able to stand his ground better but there isn't, in my opinion, anything fundamentally wrong with his defense.

A big man can muscle his way in. There is still a lot of work to do. He'll get there. I do think he's a smart player. Once he puts it all together, he'll be terrific. Still just a freshman.

Still just a freshman says it part of it.  Unlike most freshman, how much BB training did he actually get growing up?  He did not come to the US until September 2010 whenhe was like 16 years old.  By that time, kids entering Junior year in the states have had a lot more years of school/AAU organized ball.  When I think of his experience to date; i'd say he's come a long long way and can only get better if he continues as he has done in the gym.
Would love to see him develop lower body strength like Ron Ron; then no one will back in on him.

We all knew he was green. A couple of years and he could be doing it all. Being picky, but don't think foulin should draw a laugh. Not the kind of player we have gotten in the past. Go Storm.

This was in ESPN from this afternoon, ranking Top 25 freshmen for 2012-13:

11. Chris Obekpa, St. John's Red Storm
Being the best shot-blocker in Division I, as Obekpa was this season, should be a much bigger deal. I envisage a trophy named after Bill Russell, a corporate sponsor, a check made out to the general scholarship fund of St. John's, and a presentation at Final Four weekend. Why all the fuss? Because if you've ever played against an outstanding shot-blocker, you know it changes everything. Had the Red Storm managed to be something other than the Big East's No. 14 offense in conference play, Obekpa blocking 16 percent of opponents' 2s during his minutes would have been the topic of much more discussion.

That same article didn't have such flattering things to say about Sampson, at the bottom of his best rookies list:

Postscript: Looking for one of those unanimous selections to the Big East All-Rookie team?
You won't find them here, and I have my reasons. Basically coaches, or the sports information directors who fill out the coaches' ballots, demonstrably love freshmen who are fed shot attempts, period. I, on the other hand, need to see more than that.

Take Jakarr Sampson of St. John's, who is clearly a talent. He was pursued by an impressive list of blue-chip programs as a recruit, and his best feature as a freshman was his ability to limit his turnovers. Furthermore, it's true that, for reasons that clearly satisfied Steve Lavin, Sampson was handed the keys to the Red Storm offense. But his shots simply did not go in, and, on a team that chose not to pursue offensive rebounds, this was no small matter.

One problem with Sampson from a performance perspective was that he drew fouls yet made just 64 percent of his free throws. Conversely, Villanova's Ryan Arcidiacono drew fouls and made opponents pay, hitting 82 percent of his attempts at the line. So excluding Arcidiacono was an especially close call. But, to reprise a familiar refrain, the specter of 203 missed shots from the field within the context of a team that couldn't or didn't hit the offensive glass was enough to just barely tip the scales against Jay Wright's undeniably promising freshman.

Nice!

Chris Obekpa (St. John’s) – On Dec. 8, Obekpa recorded a school-record 11 blocks against Fordham. He’s a true rim protector. He was second in the nation with 4.1 BPG, and he led the nation with a 15.8 block percentage, per KenPom.com. He’s the defensive anchor for a young St. John’s squad, and the 6-9 big man was also a solid rebounder (6.2 RPG). Now … the other things about his game. His offense was limited to dunks and garbage points. He’s a phenomenal athlete, so he has the potential to make strides on that end of the floor. And if that happens, watch out. With improved shooting and a better post game, Obekpa could evolve into one of the nation’s most complete players.

“@eamonnbrennan: Top 10: Impactful sophomores http://es.pn/11uKxe9”

I think Obekpa is going to be able to develop his offense.  He learned how to rebound extremely quickly, and his learning curve in general was excellent.  He has natural defensive skills.  If he even learns to be serviceable on the offensive end, he can be extremely difficult to counter for teams.

Pretty interesting that Jakarr didn't make it though, as the returning Big East ROY will certainly be "impactful".

The Jakarr thing is pretty shocking. He may be our number one scoring option next year (especially if Harrison goes haywire pre-season). If Jakarr improves his shot selection even just a little bit, he could be a 17ppg player. Odd leave out.

The Jakarr thing is pretty shocking. He may be our number one scoring option next year (especially if Harrison goes haywire pre-season). If Jakarr improves his shot selection even just a little bit, he could be a 17ppg player. Odd leave out.

Jakarr averaged 15ppg 6rpg last year.  17 is an easy mark to hit for him.  I hope we dont need to rely on him for almost 20ppg.  Would love to see Jordan grab a chunk of the points and Harrison back to form. 

Quote from: steveyl15 on May 29, 2013, 08:05:56 AM

The Jakarr thing is pretty shocking. He may be our number one scoring option next year (especially if Harrison goes haywire pre-season). If Jakarr improves his shot selection even just a little bit, he could be a 17ppg player. Odd leave out.

Jakarr averaged 15ppg 6rpg last year.  17 is an easy mark to hit for him.  I hope we dont need to rely on him for almost 20ppg.  Would love to see Jordan grab a chunk of the points and Harrison back to form.

I expect Sanchez to cut into Jakarr's scoring a bit.   And don't mean that as a bad thing.    If Karr drops to 13 or so a game, because we're getting 13 to 15 from the other spot (rather than the combined 8 pts we got from Garrett & Jones in 29 mintues last year),  that will be huge.

Also, we'll be getting more scoring from the post as well, as we WILL see improvement from Obekpa over his 3 pts per game frosh year, and the aleady proven double digit schoring of Gift added to the mix.

Quote from: steveyl15 on May 29, 2013, 08:05:56 AM

The Jakarr thing is pretty shocking. He may be our number one scoring option next year (especially if Harrison goes haywire pre-season). If Jakarr improves his shot selection even just a little bit, he could be a 17ppg player. Odd leave out.

Jakarr averaged 15ppg 6rpg last year.  17 is an easy mark to hit for him.  I hope we dont need to rely on him for almost 20ppg.  Would love to see Jordan grab a chunk of the points and Harrison back to form.

With Sanchez, Harrison and Rysheed I would be surprised if it doesnt cut his numbers a bit.

Quote from: MCNPA on May 29, 2013, 09:58:05 AM

Quote from: steveyl15 on May 29, 2013, 08:05:56 AM

The Jakarr thing is pretty shocking. He may be our number one scoring option next year (especially if Harrison goes haywire pre-season). If Jakarr improves his shot selection even just a little bit, he could be a 17ppg player. Odd leave out.

Jakarr averaged 15ppg 6rpg last year.  17 is an easy mark to hit for him.  I hope we dont need to rely on him for almost 20ppg.  Would love to see Jordan grab a chunk of the points and Harrison back to form.

I expect Sanchez to cut into Jakarr's scoring a bit.   And don't mean that as a bad thing.    If Karr drops to 13 or so a game, because we're getting 13 to 15 from the other spot (rather than the combined 8 pts we got from Garrett & Jones in 29 mintues last year),  that will be huge.

Also, we'll be getting more scoring from the post as well, as we WILL see improvement from Obekpa over his 3 pts per game frosh year, and the aleady proven double digit schoring of Gift added to the mix.

Agree cr.  We seem to add quite a bit more this season with Jordan, Sanchez, Gift and Hooper alone not to mention returning several starters.  Could be a special year for us if things go the right way.  Especially if Harrison is back to form, I don't see any teams I'd be afraid to play.  If we can tighten up our shooting a bit, would certainly help.

“@EJack_: Former OSNA player @obekpa12 & his plaque for leading the NCAA D1 in blocks during the 2012-13 season #gamechanger http://twitter.com/EJack_/status/356895356233068545/photo/1”