Alex O not invited to NBA pre draft workout combine

[scrappy2.0]

Wow pretty hard fall for him. He might have been best served by leaving after we won an NC. Ricky Ledo got invited--thats how far down Alex O is.

 

[husky99]

I think we need an AO moratorium

 

[Scot-e]

^ So true.

I think people feel more strongly about AO because his dad was/is such a p-rick and he left us with nothing at the 5 spot. I really do not think he was a bad person at all- most likely somewhere in the middle of kids that come here- but he sure did get some bad advice (although at the time I can see why he did what he did).

I wish him nothing but the best- he helped deliver to UCONN fans what may be the greatest surprise in Men's basketball history and I will forever grateful to him for the role he played. That is what us fans need to remember when his name comes up- not the negative stuff.

 

[jslack03]

That's what happens when you're 6'9 with a bad attitude and can't make a layup. Oh and if did end up making a D league roster and wasn't getting any PT... his dad would write about how bad the organization is in the local papers.

 

[Palatine]

Quitter.

 

[Dove]

Quitter.

He clearly had no toes in.

 

[prankster]

So.....

What's Plan B?

 

[EricLA]

He was/is a young kid, and we all are grateful for his part in the last NC we won. We will probably never know the whole story. Maybe Alex was a lazy guy with a bad attitude. Maybe he was only guilty of having his overly involved father chirping in his ear 24/7. Maybe the truth is somewhere in between.

I wish the kid the best with his life, but not necessarily the best in professional hoops. Here's why. His father called JC a cheat and slavemaster. He said Alex was transferring mostly because of the NCAA postseason ban, but also mentioned Alex wasn't developed at UCONN and talked about how badly he was treated. So I'm really curious how much "better" Alex is after spending the remainder of his time at Mizzou. Apparently, so much better that he's not even invited to the pre draft combine.

Alex went on to say the reason for his decreased PT was because JC was more concerned about the development of Drummond, figuring Alex would be back the following year after Drummond's one and done season. He said he needed to put himself in a position to be able to take care of his mom (meaning he had a better shot at the NBA coming out of Mizzou than staying at UCONN). How's that working out?

Fortunately he's a smart kid with a good GPA. Looks like his future is brighter outside of professional basketball. He will be able to take care of his family if he gets a good job and has a good career. Best of luck to him...

 

[gampelcrazies]

I happy that he didn't

 

[babysheep]

 

[Palatine]

He was/is a young kid, and we all are grateful for his part in the last NC we won. We will probably never know the whole story. Maybe Alex was a lazy guy with a bad attitude. Maybe he was only guilty of having his overly involved father chirping in his ear 24/7. Maybe the truth is somewhere in between.

I wish the kid the best with his life, but not necessarily the best in professional hoops. Here's why. His father called JC a cheat and slavemaster. He said Alex was transferring mostly because of the NCAA postseason ban, but also mentioned Alex wasn't developed at UCONN and talked about how badly he was treated. So I'm really curious how much "better" Alex is after spending the remainder of his time at Mizzou. So much better that he's not even invited to the pre draft combine.

Alex went on to say the reason for his decreased PT was because JC was more concerned about the development of Drummond, figuring Alex would be back the following year after Drummond's one and done season. He said he needed to put himself in a position to be able to take care of his mom (meaning he had a better shot at the NBA coming out of Mizzou than staying at UCONN). How's that working out?

Fortunately he's a smart kid with a good GPA. Looks like his future is brighter outside of professional basketball. He will be able to take care of his family if he gets a good job and has a good career. Best of luck to him...

Calhoun always praised AO for how hard he worked in practice and never questioned his effort. He did get on AO for his lack of consistency in results.

When JC decided it was time for AO to produce and he didn't, JC did what he always does, he introduced him to the bench. This sent AO's dad off the rails. Maybe AO's dad was never on the rails, hard to know.

Alex can still have a 10-year career in Europe. That's is probably what awaited him all along so you can't say that leaving UConn was a career mistake. But to me, he always be a quitter. He was suppose to be a team leader and he walked out on his team. There's no way to spin that that into a positive.

 

[Uconn93]

Wow pretty hard fall for him. He might have been best served by leaving after we won an NC. Ricky Ledo got invited--thats how far down Alex O is.

The NBA had better watch out.....AO's daddy will be along at any moment and will throw a very public temper tantrum.

 

[willie99]

I wish no harm on Alex, he was given bad advice and made bad decisions.

He could have been family for the rest of his life, but he through that away too.

 

[BearJWS]

So.....

What's Plan B?

Plan B is really Plan D.... The D-League... He's got the body, not necessarily the skill, desire & hands.

 

[mauconnfan]

He sucks, not unexpected......I feel awful for him and his dad!!!

 

[Buffett10]

Wow pretty hard fall for him. He might have been best served by leaving after we won an NC. Ricky Ledo got invited--thats how far down Alex O is.

Pretty sure Ledo was highly ranked coming out of hs(top 20?) and also heard that gms went to PeeCee practices to watch him. But people on this board love to bash the kid.

 

[WillB4]

Could not happen to a nicer family.
Not just one is responsible, father and son together made this.
Could not accept what JC put to him.

Too bad.

 

[champs99and04]

Looking backwards, it was probably a blessing Oriakhi departed. The void he left in the middle probably cost us a couple games, and it's undeniable UConn would have been significantly better with him, however his absense forced kids like Wolf, Nolan, Olander, and Giffey to burden more of the load inside than they were likely comfortable with. That's only going to make us a tougher, hungrier team this coming season.

 

[mauconnfan]

Looking backwards, it was probably a blessing Oriakhi departed. The void he left in the middle probably cost us a couple games, and it's undeniable UConn would have been significantly better with him, however his absense forced kids like Wolf, Nolan, Olander, and Giffey to burden more of the load inside than they were likely comfortable with. That's only going to make us a tougher, hungrier team this coming season.

BINGO champs.....all for the good!!

 

[Adios]

Coach JC knew he was not NBA material.

 

[superjohn]

Extremely happy he decided to transfer and could care less about him since he left, Roscoe seemed like a nice kid and always played hard but I'm also happy he left. These kids ran for the door when there was tough times. Shabazz, DeAndre, Boat, Niels, Tyler and Wolf all chose to stay and that makes them Huskies for life and they will always have a special place in UConn bball history.

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

It's not really my thing to revel in the misfortunes of a 22 year old, particularly when there have been far, far more unlikable kids to come through the program - Alex is actually a smart, pleasant kid to be around - but I will say I sincerely hope this kid catches on in the league only because I know how much it'll piss some of you off.

 

[CTBasketball]

Alex Oriakhi? I'm not a fan. He's an undersized big man.

 

[thatguyed]

Play pick up with Mandelove somewhere.

 

[CL82]

I want to feel badly for him a little bit. I don't. I agree with those who said in the long run we were better off without him. In the season of ten toes in, he would have been the angry toe: