WV transfer: James Okonkwo | Page 2 | The Boneyard

WV transfer: James Okonkwo

navery12 said:
You have to weigh the options of whether bringing in a big man who is going to be 3rd or 4th on the depth chart and may make some current players unhappy is worth the depth in case of injuries.
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If he gets minutes ahead of Johnson, who has been on the team two years already, then Johnson being disgrunted and leaving isn't a big deal. Singare, in any event, as a raw big needs to be willing to sit this year if he's not good enough to play, and he already understands that already or we'd have a problem if he was just not playing behind DC and Johnson.

Compared to leaving the spot open, this makes perfect sense to me. And then if he comes here let the three compete for the minutes DC needs to rest.
 
Let's see if we make his short list and/or get him on campus first.. Portal stuff happens quickly.. He made himself available in the middle of the summer because he could.. He's going to England soon for a few weeks and we're going to Europe in early August.. No second summer session if he commits?? Doable.. Of course.

His bio clearly suggests he could be of value .. Am surprised that staff has already arrived at the conclusion for need based on how early we are in prep for next year.
 
metsfan2323 said:


This would be a great addition and I think solidify us as preseason #1, plus he has two years of eligibility, it's easy to project him as a starter his second year. It would stink to have next year's championship run torpedoed because we lacked front court depth.
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We will not be preseason #1. We may not be in the top 10 and I can see why. Lots of questions.
 
Yeah even though we reached out, I'd sort of be surprised if we get him. Depends what he's looking for but I'd guess it's more likely he goes somewhere with a clearer path to playing time early.
 
Not too long ago there was some discussion about utilizing Stewart or Alex at the five playing small ball if Donovan was in foul trouble and Johnson struggled at the five.

Okonkwo is the ideal piece to shore up a significant weakness. It is not an overstatement to say this team has potential to go far this season.

It was very unlikely we could get an experienced decent player who would be willing to play ten minutes or less at the center. This could be the second time a WV player falls unexpectedly in our lap last minute. Things worked out quite well for us the first time.
 
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husky429 said:
I don't think this is a 13th guy... I think he's a 10mpg back up center. This is a likely indication the staff isn't sold on Singare or Johnson backing up ClingClong
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That was my first take.
 
Just reached out to Ethan Bock, one of WVU's basketball insiders and a recruiting guy at The Portal Report. He was kind enough to share with me and The Boneyard some insights on Okonkwo:

James is a great shot blocker who can meet anybody at the rim on defense. He was originally a class of 2023 kid who reclassified to 2021 so he’s been a project for Huggs. This past season he was raw at the beginning but by B12 play looked more comfortable. He’s reliable to make a paint shot on offense but is trying to expand his range. He does need to improve on the speed of the game still.
 
metsfan2323 said:


This would be a great addition and I think solidify us as preseason #1, plus he has two years of eligibility, it's easy to project him as a starter his second year. It would stink to have next year's championship run torpedoed because we lacked front court depth.
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Why on earth would this move the needle so much that we'd move up 10 spots preseason? What are you even talking about?
 
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metsfan2323 said:
Okonkwo would likely be our backup center, not the 13th guy. Nothing wrong with having a freshman sit a year if thats what happens.
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I am assuming you are referring to Singare. There might be something wrong with it. Singare could get angry and decide to leave after this year. The question Hurley and staff would ask is are they better off 1) getting Okonkwo to back up Clingan with the risk of alienating Singare or are they better off 2) developing Singare now thinking it will pay greater dividends in the future years and maybe in February and March of this year? I don't know the answer to that, but those things would have to be considered by the coaching staff. Of course this assumes Singare is showing good skills in practices. Minutes have to be earned, not given, of course.

Apologies if other posts before mine stated this as I have not read through this entire thread.
 
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gsmooth said:
I am assuming you are referring to Singare. There might be something wrong with it. Singare could get angry and decide to leave after this year. The question Hurley and staff would ask is are they better off 1) getting Okonkwo to back up Clingan with the risk of alienating Singare or are they better off 2) developing Singare now thinking it will pay greater dividends in the future years and maybe in February and March of this year? I don't know the answer to that, but those things would have to be considered by the coaching staff.

Apologies if other posts before mine stated this as I have not read through this entire thread.
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I bet Hurley and staff have a good idea of what they are doing
 
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ctchamps said:
Not too long ago there was some discussion about utilizing Stewart or Alex at the five playing small ball if Donovan was in foul trouble and Johnson struggled at the five.

Okonkwo is the ideal piece to shore up a significant weakness. It is not an overstatement to say this team has potential to go far this season.

It was very unlikely we could get an experienced decent player who would be willing to play ten minutes or less at the center. This could be the second time a WV player falls unexpectedly in our lap last minute. Things worked out quite well for us the first time.
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Who was the other WVU player who transfered to UConn. My mind is blank...
 
imno1 said:
I bet Hurley and staff have a good idea of what they are doing
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I am sure they do. They are not collecting talent like some fantasy sports player. They consider how the players fit their roster construction ideals and they have an eye on future years.
 
seeya27 said:
Who was the other WVU player who transfered to UConn. My mind is blank...
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All I can think of is Emmet Matthews, briefly a UConn commit, ending up at WV. Not sure about the other way around
 

Psolo12 said:
Why on earth would this move the needle so much that we'd move up 10 spots preseason? What are you even talking about?
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Preseason rankings tend to be wildly off and are for the most part meaningless as we proved this year.

That said, I find it hard to believe there are 10 teams who deserve to be ranked higher than UConn preseason, we are loaded, our one weakness is proven frontcourt depth, add a guy like this and I don't see any weaknesses.
 
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Umami Zen said:
What happens to Singare?? I see Samson as getting backup minutes at the 4/5 with Singare earning some PT through practice/scrimmages productivity. If you're saying Dan Hurley already knows neither will perform as advertised.. And Okonkwo(or someone like him) is a necessary piece to complete the roster.. Dan Hurley/staff pride themselves on skill development.. I expect Samson/Singare to benefit from that and be productive in the roles they earn.
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If Clingan is gone after this year which is almost certain we will definitely need help in that front line. He's got 2 years left so that can help get us over the hurdle with him getting more time in his senior year and who knows for next year. He will also make a great practice player against Clingan and others.
I would like having him and Singare and as mentioned if Samson is going to shine it is likely as a 4. This kid looks like he can play 4-5 and looks like a real menace as a shot blocker and rebounder.
 
dennismenace said:
If Clingan is gone after this year which is almost certain we will definitely need help in that front line. He's got 2 years left so that can help get us over the hurdle with him getting more time in his senior year and who knows for next year. He will also make a great practice player against Clingan and others.
I would like having him and Singare and as mentioned if Samson is going to shine it is likely as a 4. This kid looks like he can play 4-5 and looks like a real menace as a shot blocker and rebounder.
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Add Pat N and you've got a solid group.. Not to mention Stewart and possibly AK (if he doesn't leave for NBA) as 4s
 
Mooch82 said:
Yeah even though we reached out, I'd sort of be surprised if we get him. Depends what he's looking for but I'd guess it's more likely he goes somewhere with a clearer path to playing time early.
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Based on how we used DC and AS last year, Okonkwo may see himself in the role DC played last year............and see himself being able to develop in that role as DC did.
Plus, Okonkwo has less experience playing the game than AS did and looked how that worked out for AS under the tutelage of this group of coaches!
 
Scrutiner said:
Plus, Okonkwo has less experience playing the game than AS did and looked how that worked out for AS under the tutelage of this group of coaches!
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Yup Okonkwo doesn't turn 20 until October. There is plenty of untapped upside there.
 
businesslawyer said:
If he gets minutes ahead of Johnson, who has been on the team two years already, then Johnson being disgrunted and leaving isn't a big deal. Singare, in any event, as a raw big needs to be willing to sit this year if he's not good enough to play, and he already understands that already or we'd have a problem if he was just not playing behind DC and Johnson.

Compared to leaving the spot open, this makes perfect sense to me. And then if he comes here let the three compete for the minutes DC needs to rest.
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Agree. There's nothing better to bring out the best than competition in practice. Especially in a position that requires aggression and the savvy to be teachable. I like depth chart sense in case of injury as well. Samson has yet to prove he has the physicality to play against our schedule of opponents without sustaining injuries.
 
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This team desperately needs a backup center and post player. Getting Okonkwo for 2 years is key to repeating and is a nice transition as DC is most likely gone after this season.
 
ucp990411 said:
We will not be preseason #1. We may not be in the top 10 and I can see why. Lots of questions.
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We're going to be top 10. We have as many answers as questions and the pieces still fit really well together. We're huge with incredible rim protection, 2+ elite floor spacers, multiple guys who can attack the rim, and very good offensive and defensive schemes.
 
wingsfan055 said:
This team desperately needs a backup center and post player. Getting Okonkwo for 2 years is key to repeating and is a nice transition as DC is most likely gone after this season.
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Getting this kid from West Virginia who no one’s heard of is the key to repeating? Do you even believe this stuff when you post it? Why would getting him for 2 years be the key to repeating next year? That doesn’t even make sense.
 
dennismenace said:
Agree. There's nothing better to bring out the best than competition in practice. Especially in a position that requires aggression and the savvy to be teachable. I like depth chart sense in case of injury as well. Samson has yet to prove he has the physicality to play against our schedule of opponents without sustaining injuries.
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Lol…Although I do agree that he’s still unproven vs. BE comp, Samsons foot injury had nothing to do with not being able to handle the physicality of our opponents.
 
They’re tough over there at WVU, so despite the lack of stats and minutes I’d always be willing to take a player from there especially given our unproven frontcourt depth

But I feel like the staff would be honest with him that his role would be insurance policy unless otherwise earned, and if I was him that wouldn’t sound appealing to me
 
BigErnMcCracken said:
Getting this kid from West Virginia who no one’s heard of is the key to repeating? Do you even believe this stuff when you post it? Why would getting him for 2 years be the key to repeating next year? That doesn’t even make sense.
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I trust the staff to evaluate.

Ask yourself this question - do we win the title without Joey C? Probably, but maybe not? Use that line of thinking to evaluate late transfers
 
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