No love for Uconn again??

[Buffett10]

What is up with sports writers? Heres the "top" 25 freshman in America right now. Im not a Uconn homer but ranking Chris Obekpa #8 is a joke. How can Omar not make the top 25 but Obekpa whos averaging a whopping 3.8 PPG a decent 5.9 RPG and a great 4.2 BPG. 33% foul shooter, 44% field goal percentage with 1.2TPG in 25.9 MPG. Omar doesnt make the top 25 and hes averaging 11.5 PPG 77% Ft, 33% 3pt, 3.6 RPG 1.9 TPG in 30.9 MPG.
I know that people have hated Uconn for a long time. But not ranking this kid in your top 25 freshman is a joke. And the people at ESPN have become a joke. They are doing it weekly I guess. So if its weekly well Omar Calhoun in his past 4 games is averaging 15.5 PPG. Espn should take there own advice with there show "Numbers Never Lie" No they dont lie Obekpa is terrible offensively and shouldnt be a top 50 Freshman.

 

[Buffett10]

http://insider.espn.go.com/mens-col...nking-top-25-freshmen-nation-college-basketba

 

[Wise2]

What is up with sports writers? Heres the "top" 25 freshman in America right now. Im not a Uconn homer but ranking Chris Obekpa #8 is a joke. How can Omar not make the top 25 but Obekpa whos averaging a whopping 3.8 PPG a decent 5.9 RPG and a great 4.2 BPG. 33% foul shooter, 44% field goal percentage with 1.2TPG in 25.9 MPG. Omar doesnt make the top 25 and hes averaging 11.5 PPG 77% Ft, 33% 3pt, 3.6 RPG 1.9 TPG in 30.9 MPG.
I know that people have hated Uconn for a long time. But not ranking this kid in your top 25 freshman is a joke. And the people at ESPN have become a joke. They are doing it weekly I guess. So if its weekly well Omar Calhoun in his past 4 games is averaging 15.5 PPG. Espn should take there own advice with there show "Numbers Never Lie" No they dont lie Obekpa is terrible offensively and shouldnt be a top 50 Freshman.

....and Okafor wasn't a very gifted offensive force his freshman year either, but if you couldn't see he was one of the better freshman in college based on his defense, then you don't know what your talking about. Also, I'd trade Calhoun for Obekpa right now. The offense will come with him, just like it did with Emeka. Also, now that Noel is out for the season, Obekpa will lead the NCAAs in block this year. Not bad for someone you don't consider a top 10 freshman.

 

[upstater]

I'm not incensed by this. Omar isn't totally integrated with the team yet, which is no surprise for a freshman, and Obepka looks really good for a frosh big man.

That being said, it is really hard to say right now how either of the two will develop. Omar actually has a chance to become a big gun at UConn if he drastically improves his handle. And if he does, the sky is the limit. He could become one of UConn's great shooting guards like Ben Gordon. Obekpa at best might become Ike Diogu's kid brother. We just don't know, it's too early.

I wouldn't make this trade.

 

[Fishy]

....and Okafor wasn't a very gifted offensive force his freshman year either, but if you couldn't see he was one of the better freshman in college based on his defense, then you don't know what your talking about. Also, I'd trade Calhoun for Obekpa right now. The offense will come with him, just like it did with Emeka. Also, now that Noel is out for the season, Obekpa will lead the NCAAs in block this year. Not bad for someone you don't consider a top 10 freshman.

Honestly, you don't know what you're talking about.

Obekpa blocks shots - that is it.

Not a good defender, not a great rebounder and, no, his offense will not come "just like it did with Emeka". He's not even in the same orbit as Emeka as a freshman.

Emeka scored eight points a game as a freshman on about 60% shooting. (7.9ppg, 9.0 rbg, 4.1 bpg). He was actually a solid player offensively - he scored 16 points a game as a soph, so we're not exactly talking about a project there.

Obekpa averages fewer than four points per game on 44% shooting. He's shooting 33% from the line. In the past five games, he's played 121 minutes and scored five baskets - in 30 minutes against Louisville the other night, he did not attempt a shot.

He is an abysmal offensive player. Next year, with significant improvement, he has a chance to be merely horrific. On a better team, he'd be a career 20-minute a game backup center.

I'm not completely sold on Calhoun, but his ceiling is much higher than Obekpa's.

 

[Bryan Lord]

I'm surprised Omar only averages 1.9 TPG, thought it was higher. I really like him though and the sky is the limit. It's rare for us to have a freshman be such a confident shooter. He's really gonna fill it up in his 3 years here. As far as being snubbed in the top 25 I'm used to it and don't care.

 

[ctchamps]

I'm surprised Omar only averages 1.9 TPG, thought it was higher. I really like him though and the sky is the limit. It's rare for us to have a freshman be such a confident shooter. He's really gonna fill it up in his 3 years here. As far as being snubbed in the top 25 I'm used to it and don't care.

I'm with you on this!

 

[Catsailor]

Seems to me Omar needs to work on his hands as well as his handle . Several passes each game seem to bounce off them. Maybe a little Jergens lotion would help

I do like Omar and agree he has shows a lot of promise.

 

[ctchamps]

Seems to me Omar needs to work on his hands as well as his handle . Several passes each game seem to bounce off them. Maybe a little Jergens lotion would help

I do like Omar and agree he has shows a lot of promise.

Regarding passes, with AO it was constant. With OC its comes in stretches. That tells me it isn't physical. And OC strikes me as focused. I think it's a matter of OC reassessing his game at this level. He's on a learning curve and making adjustments as he gains experience. The Cuse game was a perfect example of this where he made adjustments from first half to second half.

 

[mauconnfan]

Seems to me Omar needs to work on his hands as well as his handle . Several passes each game seem to bounce off them. Maybe a little Jergens lotion would help

I do like Omar and agree he has shows a lot of promise.

I think his ability to catch passes is a lot better than his ability to throw them. He's had some real head-scratchers this year, particularly yesterday when Bazz was out for that stretch. Scary when he is in trouble but then again so was everyone else during that stretch!!

 

[Mr. Wonderful]

Omar is still adjusting to the pace of the game. His brain can't yet process as fast as it needs to keep up with what's happening around him.

He has a lot of game he hasn't shown yet (if practice is any indication).

 

[mauconnfan]

Omar is still adjusting to the pace of the game. His brain can't yet process as fast as it needs to keep up with what's happening around him.

He has a lot of game he hasn't shown yet (if practice is any indication).

I agree.....good news for all of us is he's not a "one and done"!!

 

[huskiesnyc]

Omar has improved all year especially his 3 point percentage and ability to drive to the hole. I think he has the talent to be a more athletic version of Rashad Anderson (one of my all time favorites). When he's in the zone he can hit dagger 3's and put games out of reach, like he did against Cuse and Pee Cee. I was happy with how aggressive he was yesterday getting to the FT line 9 times.

I wouldn't worry too much about his exclusion from this list. Outside of Andy Katz it appears the media has made a deal not to throw any positive publicity UConn's way. Even Jay Bilas, who usually likes UConn won't include us in his top 75 teams list.

 

[seanmc94]

Obekpa stands out on his team. OC gets overshadowed in the UCONN back court. His time will come. Most sportswriters just watch highlights or read blurbs. Very little homework done nowadays.

 

[Catsailor]

Yeah, I was not comparing with AO who has hard hands and soft head. So sorry if I mislead with attempted humor.

Also agree, being ready to receive seems to be more the issue.

And with regard to passing, recognition, timing, spacing should improve with experience so again I was agreeing he has considerable upside.

Guess I a bit impatient (for him to improve in those areas) and forget he's a frosh due to his confidence and physical gifts.

We will see more to his game as he adjusts and gains experience.

 

[specialisthusky]

worst comes to worst it keeps him motivated and driven...these lists are only made for people to debate, so excluding Omar leaves me to only debate whether its worth reading.

 

[60'sfan]

One of the announcers made a comment that I hadn't thought about before. He said the Omar was not a great shooter but was a great scorer. His shooting percentages are not great but he is the third leading scorer on the team. I think he has made great progress and has the potential to be one of the really good Uconn players. His defense has gotten better but his handle needs to get a lot better. I love his confidence. He can miss five times in a row and is still sure that he is going to hit the next one.

 

[Buffett10]

....and Okafor wasn't a very gifted offensive force his freshman year either, but if you couldn't see he was one of the better freshman in college based on his defense, then you don't know what your talking about. Also, I'd trade Calhoun for Obekpa right now. The offense will come with him, just like it did with Emeka. Also, now that Noel is out for the season, Obekpa will lead the NCAAs in block this year. Not bad for someone you don't consider a top 10 freshman.

Obekpa isnt terrible but hes DEFINETLY not a top 15 freshman because he excels at blocking shots. A 33% foul shooter? Even a blind squirrel can find a nut dude. Have you ever watched Obekpa play outside of the game against Uconn? Hes terrible offensively. Ive seen him airball atleast 2 foul shots this year. You would think a top 10 freshman could hit the rim on the foul shot haha.

 

[upstater]

One of the announcers made a comment that I hadn't thought about before. He said the Omar was not a great shooter but was a great scorer. His shooting percentages are not great but he is the third leading scorer on the team. I think he has made great progress and has the potential to be one of the really good Uconn players. His defense has gotten better but his handle needs to get a lot better. I love his confidence. He can miss five times in a row and is still sure that he is going to hit the next one.

His 3 point shot is not there unless he has time to set, which goes for a lot of people.

Daniels' yesterday let fly with a shot, which I see him do from midrange, and he nearly always connects. But when he tries to set up and slow down his delivery, he invariably misses. Daniels is the opposite of Omar in that respect.

But shouldn't mid-range shooting count for something here? Omar is excellent at that. are you only a shooter if you shoot from downtown? On Omar's running bank shot yesterday he was actually fouled pretty hard (Ollie complained about it), but still had that shooter's touch.

 

[Vuce]

I think we need to get over the top 25 voting and player recognition thing this year. In a few weeks the season will be over. Then the ban is lifted and when Uconn wins games next season we will get Top 25 votes, player and coach recognition. For a lot of the voters Uconn is just playing a string of exhibition games this season.

 

[BoatShow]

I loved how he attacked the rim yesterday and consistently got to the line in the 1st half. In the second half Bazz and Boat weren't doin it, should have gone back to Omar.