Obekpa def improved and I think he would have improved more if Lavin would have played him more in the beginning of the season. The problem with Obekpa is the place he can improve the most, involves skils he already possesses. Needs to average 8 or 9 boards a game.
Both Sampson and Obekpa didn't really improve last year, at first. They started the season very slowly IMO. I know I've said it 1000 times, but you can learn a lot about a player when they return after their freshman season. By that point, they know what they need to do to make a leap.
Lavor Postell, Ron Artest, Darryl Hill, Lamont Hamilton, DJ Kennedy, Paris Horne and D'Angelo Harrison all became much better players as sophs. IDK why Sampson didn't work on his passing, his rebounding or why he didn't lift weight weights like a madman over the summer? Obekpa had no move with his back to the basket as a freshman. When he came back this year, he still didn't, but that didn't stop him from occasionally trying one, even though every single person in Alumni Hall cringed when he did it. Sometimes it actually worked, but clearly, it wasn't a move that he was comfortable making.
Why is it that we can all see that this is something he should be working on every single day, and he's not showing any signs of having done that? It's great that these kids went to Europe, but what about working hard on your game over the summer? Clearly, no one learned anything about basketball in Europe.