Oriakhi's Ride on the Escalator

[Uconn93]

So, now that AO's season is over, I was curious to see whether the grass really was greener for him at Missouri.

His minutes went from 24.6 his freshman year, to 29.1 as a sophomore, 21.5 as a junior and 25.8 at Missouri.

His points went from 5.0 as a freshman, to 9.6 as a sophomore, to 6.7 as a junior to 11.2 at Missouri.

His rebounds went from 6.6 to 8.7, 4.8 and finally 8.4.

Missouri went 1-1 in the Sec tourney and 0-1 in the NCAA tourney.

I don't subscribe to any of the pay draft services, but Jeff Goodman at CBS has AO ranked as the 36 best US collegian in this year's draft. Considering that at least half the draft is usually foreign players, that puts AO as a marginal second round pick, at best, and more likely puts him in Europe.

The question is, did he better his draft status by leaving? The answer looks to be probably not. Although, in the end, he was surely happier at Missouri and we got rid of what was surely a cancer in our locker room.

 

[Rico444]

Unless the kid decides to trash UConn or Calhoun again, I think it's time to let it go.

 

[partial]

Don't cherry pick or at least if you're going to use numbers do a thorough job: his efficiency, free throw percentage and rebounding rate improved drastically at missouri compared to his last year. If anything the stats seem to show that he showed improvement at UConn until his junior year which resulted in a nose dive, and at missouri he markedly improved or equalled his best in every major statistic. http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Alex-Oriakhi-5099/stats/

Anyway in terms of exposure you may be right, but by looking at numbers i wouldn't be surprised at all if someone takes a chance on him in the second round just because of that, he'll certainly be able to go to the D league route if he wants to. I don't know how much it'll help but he has certainly shown a lot of improvement and that can only be a good thing for his draft status.

 

[nomar]

It's a fair post/question, '93. I think your conclusions are right: it did little to help his stock, but it definitely was the right move for him. As to whether we would have been better off with him, it's hard to say. Who knows whether his relationship with JC was not just the root of his problems here but the entire issue, or whether his relationships with everyone else, especially KO, were irrevocably damaged. If so, it was addition by subtraction. Still, it would have been nice to get some more defensive boards...

 

[kcc1442]

No way. IF which is a big IF he gets drafted anyways he will say that it was because he transferred and went to Missouri. But his draft status has Zero implications on UCONN's recruiting future. There have been many successful journey's through UCONN to the NBA in recent years. This guys means nothing to us or our future. The numbers by the original poster show that he did just as well here in his Sophomore year. He couldn't fit in to the system next to Drummond and he wimped out. He was the same player his Senior year as he was his Sophomore year and that never bodes well for a draft prospect. No maturation, no growth and a bad attitude equals no NBA draft pick. He had a better chance of improving his draft stock, learning, and developing if he stayed his senior year despite our ban because he would have been more of a focal point and would have received plenty of time and OTR's. He would have also learned a lot about character and work ethic from KO.

 

[CL82]

Egli è morto per me.

 

[seanmc94]

If any recruit is swayed from UCONN by AO's experience; than thats not a kid you want anyway

 

[Huskies4ever]

Egli è morto per me.

CL82, I liked your post because I don't know what it means (I hope it's not, "Huskies4ever is a d!ckhead.")

 

[CL82]

CL82, I liked your post because I don't know what it means (I hope it's not, "Huskies4ever is a d!ckhead.")

lol
It's "he's dead to me" in the language that best expresses the feeling behind that statement.

 

[Huskies4ever]

lol
It's "he's dead to me" in the language that best expresses the feeling behind that statement.

OK. I can see that now with morto meaning dead. And I feel somewhat similar.

 

[Kitaman]

Alex/Calhoun saga is officially over. I wish him well.

 

[champs99and04]

Oriakhi turned himself into a very good college player this season and would have helped us tremendously this season had his head been screwed on right. He's so dramatically better than Olander and Wolf that it's really not something we need to discuss. Heck, even with a sophomore Alex, I think UConn would have won a share of the Big East regular season championship this year.

The most glaring part of his transformation, in my opinion, was his lower-body. He has had an NBA upper-body since his senior year in high school, but he (and the UConn training staff) never seemed to make the lower-body a point of emphasis, which likely contributed to his inconsistent rebounding numbers through his time here. I watched Missouri about five times this year, and it was evident he was a much more confident player who wasn't afraid to throw his weight around in the paint. He was able to acquire deeper post position in his one year at Missouri than he was during his time at UConn, meaning instead of tossing up a hideous hook shot, he could simply dribble the ball once and score or get to the line. There is a reason his field goal percentage jumped so drastically this season - he was taking shots closer to the rim.

It's telling, though, that he played just a hair over 25 minutes a game and often warmed the bench during crunch time. Obviously, his efficiency in terms of points and rebounds weren't the problem. Instead, it appears his spotty pick and roll defense didn't imrove much on the plane ride from Stoors to Missouri. And that's why he will likely never play major minutes in the NBA - he's a tweener, who never quite discovered the foot speed, savvy, or offensive repertoire to play the four. Opposed to what Oriakhi would like to believe, Calhoun didn't like to pair Olander and Roscoe at the four with Drummond last season because of some mysterious vendetta, he did it because Oriakhi had a lot of deficiencies that showed up in the film room more than the box score.

 

[CL82]

Oriakhi turned himself into a very good college player this season and would have helped us tremendously this season had his head been screwed on right. He's so dramatically better than Olander and Wolf that it's really not something we need to discuss. Heck, even with a sophomore Alex, I think UConn would have won a share of the Big East regular season championship this year.

The most glaring part of his transformation, in my opinion, was his lower-body. He has had an NBA upper-body since his senior year in high school, but he (and the UConn training staff) never seemed to make the lower-body a point of emphasis, which likely contributed to his inconsistent rebounding numbers through his time here. I watched Missouri about five times this year, and it was evident he was a much more confident player who wasn't afraid to throw his weight around in the paint. He was able to acquire deeper post position in his one year at Missouri than he was during his time at UConn, meaning instead of tossing up a hideous hook shot, he could simply dribble the ball once and score or get to the line. There is a reason his field goal percentage jumped so drastically this season - he was taking shots closer to the rim.

It's telling, though, that he played just a hair over 25 minutes a game and often warmed the bench during crunch time. Obviously, his efficiency in terms of points and rebounds weren't the problem. Instead, it appears his spotty pick and roll defense didn't imrove much on the plane ride from Stoors to Missouri. And that's why he will likely never play major minutes in the NBA - he's a tweener, who never quite discovered the foot speed, savvy, or offensive repertoire to play the four. Opposed to what Oriakhi would like to believe, Calhoun didn't like to pair Olander and Roscoe at the four with Drummond last season because of some mysterious vendetta, he did it because Oriakhi had a lot of deficiencies that showed up in the film room more than the box score.

Yes, I noticed quite a difference in the Colorado State game. He really looked much more fit dribbling the ball off of his leg.

 

[arnie3]

Egli è morto per me.

anch'io!

 

[phillionaire]

let it go man

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

At this point the people who haven't let this go just sound pathetic.

 

[mauconnfan]

At this point the people who haven't let this go just sound pathetic.

While those who continuously try to tell people they are "pathetic" for posting sound pretty lame for actually giving a rats a**!!

 

[champs99and04]

Yes, I notice quite a difference in the Colorado State game. He really looked much more fit dribbling the ball off of his leg.

Take all the potshots at the kid you want - he was clearly a stronger, more explosive player this season as the stats reflect.

 

[Peacefrog]

His best option would have been to not quit on the team last year while showing continued statistical improvement and then transferring for his senior season due to the postseason ban. His reputation coming out of high school, IIRC, was that his effort was inconsistent. Phoning in his junior year and subsequently ripping a HOF coach probably strengthened that perception. Also, while his numbers were up, what little I saw of him this past season showed little in the way of developing any polished offensive moves that will be effective in the NBA. He probably has a puncher's chance of getting drafted in the second round and hanging onto the end of the bench somewhere for a few years. If Jeff Adrien can do it so can Alex. Of course the biggest difference being that you know Jeff works his tail off every day.

 

[CL82]

Take all the potshots at the kid you want - he was clearly a stronger, more explosive player this season as the stats reflect.

What? It was a complement. The kid's a beast. I think he'll lead his team to at least a elite eight spot...oh wait. Never mind.

 

[Husky68]

How many teams did the SEC get in the tournament? Pressy did a good job driving and dishing. Alex's play against Colorado State is what he is, team needed rebounding and he was missing.
JC mishandled the 2012 team, part was the pieces, part was the player attitudes and part was him. Alex played his part in making it a poor locker room so leaving to get out with the ban made sense, but how you leave is all on you.

 

[Palatine]

Don't cherry pick or at least if you're going to use numbers do a thorough job: his efficiency, free throw percentage and rebounding rate improved drastically at missouri compared to his last year. If anything the stats seem to show that he showed improvement at UConn until his junior year which resulted in a nose dive, and at missouri he markedly improved or equalled his best in every major statistic. http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Alex-Oriakhi-5099/stats/

Anyway in terms of exposure you may be right, but by looking at numbers i wouldn't be surprised at all if someone takes a chance on him in the second round just because of that, he'll certainly be able to go to the D league route if he wants to. I don't know how much it'll help but he has certainly shown a lot of improvement and that can only be a good thing for his draft status.

Don't think you know what cherry picking means.

The post showed AO's entire record, minutes, points and rebounds for all four years, that is the opposite of cherry picking.

 

[partial]

So efficiency, free throw percentage and adanced statistics are irrelevant? By any reasonable measure his stats have significantly improved at missouri, and a rational reading of just the numbers leads one to the opposite conclusion as in the op. That is the premise seemed to be he has not improved at all in his draft status and here are numbers to back that up because of min, pts per game and rebounds, whereas if you look at any other basketball metric they show that he has improved.

 

[7774]

So efficiency, free throw percentage and adanced statistics are irrelevant? By any reasonable measure his stats have significantly improved at missouri, and a rational reading of just the numbers leads one to the opposite conclusion as in the op. That is the premise seemed to be he has not improved at all in his draft status and here are numbers to back that up because of min, pts per game and rebounds, whereas if you look at any other basketball metric they show that he has improved.

Just because those other stats are relevant doesn't mean he cherry picked the stats he did provide. He obviously didn't cherry pick.

And the premise of the post had nothing to do with whether he improved as a player. OP asked if he improved his draft stock. Improving from your junior to senior year isn't really that impressive when your junior year was terrible.

Someone will take a chance on AO because of his physique and the fact that he has shown flashes of high level play at certain times. It's not like there is some big draft buzz about him now that there wasn't last year. I doubt most non UCONN fans even noticed he was playing at Missouri this year.