AO

[sparky]

AO will come around. He is a product of this generation of athletes who have been coddled and cajoled so they would play on a team.

 

[Husky68]

Don't under estimate the change required to play the 4 vs the 5. The 5 you post up, catch and shoot. One direction speed is important, change of direction ability not as important. The 4 has to manuver much more on offense and defense. Not a great comparison, but just think of Thabeet trying to guard a 4 and having to come out to the 3 point line, Chuck was actually better able to do that. Alex is more a taller Adrian, kind of stiff, fumbles the ball a lot, makes some foul line jumpers but misses a lot, misses a lot of "gimmie" shots but makes some tough ones also. Just think of the attributes of Roscoe and how this makes him more effective at the 4 than the 3 or 5; Alex doesn't have as good attributes for the 4 as Roscoe so would not expect him to look at good trying to play that position.
Answer to me is no player has more than 30 minutes a game (Lamb, Bazz and Drummond did last game), gives AO 10 or so minutes at the 5, 10 or so minutes at the 4 and with foul situations and other team style situation gets some games near 30 minutes and some closer to 15.

 

[Tenspro2002]

Don't under estimate the change required to play the 4 vs the 5. The 5 you post up, catch and shoot. One direction speed is important, change of direction ability not as important. The 4 has to manuver much more on offense and defense. Not a great comparison, but just think of Thabeet trying to guard a 4 and having to come out to the 3 point line, Chuck was actually better able to do that. Alex is more a taller Adrian, kind of stiff, fumbles the ball a lot, makes some foul line jumpers but misses a lot, misses a lot of "gimmie" shots but makes some tough ones also. Just think of the attributes of Roscoe and how this makes him more effective at the 4 than the 3 or 5; Alex doesn't have as good attributes for the 4 as Roscoe so would not expect him to look at good trying to play that position.

This is why AO and Drummond don't work well together. AO cannot defend a college 4, who actually has a perimeter game (think the Joe Alexander type who has given players like AO trouble over the years).

 

[Vehcoo23]

This is why AO and Drummond don't work well together. AO cannot defend a college 4, who actually has a perimeter game (think the Joe Alexander type who has given players like AO trouble over the years).

So whats the excuse for him not putting the ball in the basket?

 

[babysheep]

AD being on the court at the same time does not affect AO's ability to hold on to the ball and score easy putbacks.

 

[61cygni]

Well, AD does eat up a lot of orebs.

 

[TheChamps990411]

He missed his first three shots. His hook is a disaster, not even close.

He should be thinking rebounds and put backs. But he is spending a lot of time looking for his shot.

this is it right here. if AO put 100% effort into these two things he`d turn his season around. he needs to understand he is not a #1 option in the post because he just not good enough offensively. he needs to pick up anything AD misses and be ready for the dump off when AD starts seeing double teams.

 

[sammydabiz]

I still say AO is "soft", and every game I truly hope he proves me wrong, here's hoping he eventually does

 

[Tenspro2002]

So whats the excuse for him not putting the ball in the basket?

I wasn't making one. I was only explaining why he functions poorly as a 4 on the defensive side. On the offensive side, he simply can't play the high post the way Olander and Roscoe do, which is what you want out of a 4.

 

[huskyharry]

His response to fewer minutes needs to be more energy and giving 100% effort while out there. Box out hard on EVERY defensive rebound, concentrate on snatching the ball rather than tapping at it, set really strong picks for your teammates, finish STRONG around the rim and forget about proving that you have a 17 foot jumper or that you can create offense from the high post with wild sweeping hooks etc. we have multiple other players with better offensive skills, defer to them and help them to get baskets


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

[Chief00]

Quite frankly, some guys don't play well if they have to look over their shoulder regarding a decent player coming off the bench or even starting in their place. As I said before, depth is a double edge sword if there isn't a clear difference in who should be in the game. I also don't think Alex has much explosion in his jump or very good hands. Having said that he can be an excellent player for us. A guy who can get a double/double given intensity and minutes. We also need his body in the Big East. As for guys taking shots out Jamal Coombs-McDaniel. If he did not get that rebound and call that time out against Pitt the season could have turned out very different. That was clearly one of the top 5 UConn plays last year.

 

[UConnSwag11]

i think its because he can't guard 4/5 that stay near the perimeter... i feel he'll do better come big east play

 

[babysheep]

So what's gonna happen when he goes to the NBA and has to guard the likes of Garnett, Duncan, Nowitski, Bosh etc. who can shoot an 18-20 foot jumper? He's just gonna let them take an open shot and shrug and say "well, I'm only a 5!"?

 

[Tenspro2002]

So what's gonna happen when he goes to the NBA and has to guard the likes of Garnett, Duncan, Nowitski, Bosh etc. who can shoot an 18-20 foot jumper? He's just gonna let them take an open shot and shrug and say "well, I'm only a 5!"?

To be perfectly honest, that seems to be the attitude of a lot of UConn bigs over the years. They basically shrug and say "well it's not my job to guard the perimeter, so I'm going to let Pittsnoggle shoot all day."

I think JC, old school as he is, doesn't really respect frontcourt players who can shoot; he both rarely acquires that sort of player (CV the lone exception, and even he never shot from the outside his sophomore year) and doesn't really preach gameplanning against it.

 

[NHUConnfan]

i think its because he can't guard 4/5 that stay near the perimeter... i feel he'll do better come big east play

Too bad he'll have to in the NBA.

 

[Giddyup5]

he has horrible hands! drummond on the other hand has excellent hands, which shows in his nice handles, shooting, REBOUNDING!! I would be surprised if Oriakhi plays in the NBA! Just my opinion!!!

Most people were saying the same thing about Adrien as a junior as well and look where he is now.

 

[Tenspro2002]

But Adrien as a junior was almost averaging a double-double for his second consecutive year and demonstrating toughness rarely seen in Oriakhi.

 

[sullo10]

It's laughable to suggest a 21 year old kid has "regressed". Look at his per 40 numbers.

Also, he was far better than Tyler last night in pretty much all phases. He's the best post defender on the team, IMO.

If you're going to mention him giving up the layup, at least mention him getting back and blocking that layup during the 2 on 1 for Fairfield, an absolute critical play during the game.

alex oriakhi is not the best post defender on the team. drummond night and day changes the whole interior of the paint. people just cant realize that alex oriakhi is just not as good as people think. he has no jump shot. he doesn't have 1 post move. his only move is to back down the defender and throw a lefty hook up that misses most of the time. Your a D1 athlete for uconn how do you not learn a drop step, or and up and under or something.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

Some of the dumbest posters on any message board anywhere on the Internet are polluting this thread.

UConn would have essentially no chance at a National Championship without Oriakhi. He is by far the best post defender and is still a great rebounder. This is an incredibly deep team, and unless they have changed the rules, only 5 players can play at once. Which means there will be games where some players lose time to other players. Just because Oriakhi is not averaging 20 and 10 and playing 40 minutes a game does not mean he sucks.

 

[Kitaman]

Some of the dumbest posters on any message board anywhere on the Internet are polluting this thread.

UConn would have essentially no chance at a National Championship without Oriakhi. He is by far the best post defender and is still a great rebounder. This is an incredibly deep team, and unless they have changed the rules, only 5 players can play at once. Which means there will be games where some players lose time to other players. Just because Oriakhi is not averaging 20 and 10 and playing 40 minutes a game does not mean he sucks.

Last year people agreed wholeheartedly, now that Drummond's here negative comments about Alex have soared. Drummond is not our key to going far in the tourney, it is our captain. Alex is proven against strong/top competition (including BE), Drummond is not. The conference teams already have strategies to stop, frustrate and slow down AD, and Alex will be right there to pick it up. As good as Drummond is and his enormous potential, the cupcakes we have played are not a good barometer.

Amazing that when Alex does consistently produce to his capabilities how many negative posters will be grabbing the handles when the bandwagon comes back around. Alex is a player that could benefit from positive karma, especially from the fan base. Getting beat down by your coach is one thing but for fans to 'abandon' you is another.

 

[Chin Diesel]

Once AO realizes he's Charles Oakley or Buck Williams and not Charles Barkley he'll be better. It took him two years to figure out how to be an undersized 5 and now he is learning how to be a four.
I will say this. So many of his miscues scream small hands. When AD touches the ball his hands envelope the ball. When AO touches the ball it looks like a beach ball.

 

[babysheep]

We're not saying that AO is a poor player. We're not saying he isn't/was not an important part of our success. What we are saying is that his current performance overall this year has been poor, or at least inconsistent. Nobody would say Tiger Woods is a bad golfer, but few would argue that he has not been playing poorly since the whole sex scandal.

 

[mauconnfan]

Some of the dumbest posters on any message board anywhere on the Internet are polluting this thread.

UConn would have essentially no chance at a National Championship without Oriakhi. He is by far the best post defender and is still a great rebounder. This is an incredibly deep team, and unless they have changed the rules, only 5 players can play at once. Which means there will be games where some players lose time to other players. Just because Oriakhi is not averaging 20 and 10 and playing 40 minutes a game does not mean he sucks.

"dumbest posters"?? I have to disagree for the most part although there are some! NC w/o AO - I agree no way he was great at the beginning and at crunch time. And one can only hope at this point he will be there again!

But for you to hammer on anyone who believes he is not playing well you're wrong. He hasn't been good and I don't think anyone would have expected 20 and 10, although 12 and 12 was more like what it should be. He has been virutally non-existent in most games and dominated againt teams he should, a couple of times. His work under the boards is below par for his size and athleticicsm and he constantly is beaten because he does not box out and instead jumps to the ball. A guy who jumps to the ball has to have 2 things, great read off the rim and great timing - he has neither. He should be a workhorse type boarder ALWAYS finding a body and using his strength. Look what he did against good teams last year - now look against mediocre comp. thus far....sorry but if it has been promising for you then I maybe I'm watching the wrong games. I like the kid and we need him no doubt, but the sulks and the inconsistency doesn't make last year come back for me sorry. Too many other guys want minutes!!!

 

[erod2000]

You would think getting beasted every day by AD in practice would make AO a much better player. Seems like the opposite has happened, and it has affected his confidence. JC is a master motivator, and I expect him to whip AO back into shape by the post season. He's got to understand that the NBA is watching, and his entire future is in his hands.

 

[babysheep]

You guys need to take off your rose-tinted glasses. AO did this last year too! A few strong games, then a few bad games. The longest strong (i.e. double double) streak he had was 5 games. I'll never forget the ND games.

We were incredibly lucky that he decided to wake up during the BET, but after that he didn't average a double double in the tournament.