Did you hear what Gottlieb said about Shabazz?

[wpq4elamin]

It was a sarcastic reference to another thread. We have a poster who believes that Oriakhi is ready for the NBA and there is no reason for him to come back to school next year.

the scary thing is, he's actually in the late first round in one mock draft i saw and in the second round for another... nbadraft.net/draftexpress

not saying he's ready by any means, especially after his showing this year, but obviously there are people out there who think he's got an NBA body and might give him a chance at some point...

 

[ctchamps]

Agreed. I would like to see him dump the ball into the big men more often, but other than that I don't have a ton of complaints with the way he is playing. IMO, the biggest weakness with this team offensive wise, it the inability to 1.) Set good, solid screens and 2.) Free themselves off the ball. Is he Chris Paul? No, but I don't see a guy randomly dribbling around like a chicken with his head cut off like others on here are imagining.

As far as his NBA potential goes, I'm not so sure. I love Bazz, but if he were to leave after this season, I think he would get abused. His handle is a little too loose, he hasn't shown a ton of latteral quickness, and he's not nearly strong enough to guard 6'4 point guards like Derrick Rose and Deron Williams. Now, if he stays another year, learns how to lead a little better, and improves in the areas I mentioned, I suppose I could see him as a first round pick. DJ Augustine is definitely the guy who comes to mind when I think of NBA comparisons, but he's got a lot of work to do before he gets there.

I think the 3-16 made shots by the front court had a lot to do with SN reducing the passes to the interior.