I was looking at SDU mens basketball site...
Otule and Mbao will actually get to match-up with someone their own size tomorrow.
SDU has a 265 lb, 6-10 Senior on their team.
This could be a good measuring stick on seeing if Otule really has progressed from last year.
http://www.usdcoyotes.com/sports/mbball/roster.asp
Won't be much of a measuring stick as they will probably get no more than 18 mins of PT, combined.
I'd lay money they get a combined 32-35 min of PT.
thanks for the roster link. there is a kid on SD that went to my high school, mitchell bouie. he was a victim of an offense in high school similar to what marquette used to run. (that is not an insult to get this post taken down.) simply saying he was forced to play out of position. the kid was 6-4 with the body to be a great guard. instead my high school with no height made him play the 4 since he could jump. thus, ending his chances of developing skills that would carry him to the next level at a higher program. i had no idea where he wound up before.
and to keep the thread on topic, i think they will play atleast 35 minutes combined.
Maybe this should have been the bonus question for the prediction contest. ;)
I'm going to go in Jay Bee's range. 17 minutes: Otule 13, Yous 4.
Buzz has even said the only reason Otule hasn't gotten many minutes is because he can't guard opposing players who are much smaller than he is. For example, against MSOE and Centenary, their biggest players were considerably smaller and quicker than Otule. Sounds like if this guy is in the game a lot, so will Otule.
As I said in the www.crackedsidewalks.com preview of the game this morning, these two aren't just tall, they can cause us real problems.
Both are shot blockers and good defensive rebounders. Steve Smith (6-11, 265) was good enough to go to Creighton, injuries messed him up for a few years so he came back to SDU. He is about to turn 25 years old, and had muscled up fine against Texas Tech, Oregon State and Texas A&M Corpus Christi.
Tyler Cain has been all world for them for 3 years, and can score, rebound and block shots at 6-8, 235. He is preseason pick for player of the year award in the conference.
Basically Grambling was the last place team in one of the worst conferences (SWAC), and now we are playing the preseason favorite to WIN one of the other worst conferences. This will be a real test for Otule and Mbao, and I'm glad they are getting it to prep for Xavier and beyond.
Any time those guys get on the court its going to be a challenge.
I don't know, we're not exactly talking about a great program here. These guys lost by 40 to Texas Tech and 15 to Oregon State. They have wins against Mayville State and Texas A&M Corpus Christi (by 3 points).
I can't imagine tomorrow not being another blowout over another team ranked in the 300's.