Hands of Stone

[mileskishnish72]

Chris cannot catch the GD ball! I'm reminded of Al's suggestion to bigs - if you want the ball, get a rebound.

[KipsBayEagle]

He's playing with one eye, give the guy a break.

[drewm88]

I'm reminded of Al's suggestion to bigs - if you want the ball, get a rebound.

I don't think I've ever heard that Al quote. But like all the other ones, I love it.

[PGsHeroes32]

He's playing with one eye, give the guy a break.

So we should give him a break at the expense of turnovers and the other team in transition?

[KipsBayEagle]

So we should give him a break at the expense of turnovers and the other team in transition?

No, you should have the common sense to realize that maybe his bad hands have something to do with a disability, not lack of coordination.

[chren21]

Thought you were talking about jae's hands at the free throw line

[NavinRJohnson]

Not unique to COT, because we definitely lead that nation in passes from 2 feet away, otherwise known as turnovers.

COT definitely has bad hands. I am not gonna rip on the guy because man, has he improved. Not sure what techniques/drills are out there to improve a guy's hands, but if they can figure that out, he is gonna be something.

[marquette09]

I think I heard somewhere that Chris has a problem with short/fast passes because of depth perception with the one eye

[wardle2wade]

Chris cannot catch the GD ball! I'm reminded of Al's suggestion to bigs - if you want the ball, get a rebound.

You cannot catch, what you cannot see.  It's not his hands.

Otule does an absolutely great job for MU... and he's only a Soph by eligibility with room to improve.  Tremendous improvement in skills, strength, aggressiveness, and even FT in the conf season.  Chris also has a presence in the paint on both ends of the floor which we haven't had since dare I say Jimmy Mac? 

I'm all for meaningless whining posts like the next guy (we don't get enough of them here), but this post is a joke.

[wardle2wade]

I think I heard somewhere that Chris has a problem with short/fast passes because of depth perception with the one eye

Yes, exactly... Rosiak mentioned it.  When it comes flying in from close distance, it's hard for him to get a read.  He does a great job, and will get even better the next couple years.

[BCHoopster]

Chris has great timing with his blocking ability.  He is the only big MU has, the Ox can not jump.
Considering his handicap, he is doing great!  This is his first year playing in three, he should improve
the next two years in all areas.  If you had the films earlier in the year compared to now, he really
has improved.

[Silkk the Shaka]

Chris has great timing with his blocking ability.  He is the only big MU has, the Ox can not jump.
Considering his handicap, he is doing great!  This is his first year playing in three, he should improve
the next two years in all areas.  If you had the films earlier in the year compared to now, he really
has improved.

Love the fact that we get two more years of COT.  The one-two punch of Otule and Gardner should finally give us the well-rounded attack necessary to make a deep run.

[brewcity77]

Chris catches it just fine when he calls for it. The problem is when our points try to force it in to him. After 30+ games uou'd think they'd understand nit to give it to him unless he's ready. Every time he fumbles a ball to the opposition on an unexpected pass, it's on the passer, not Chris. They are with him every day and should know better.

[El Duderino]

Chris catches it just fine when he calls for it. The problem is when our points try to force it in to him. After 30+ games uou'd think they'd understand nit to give it to him unless he's ready. Every time he fumbles a ball to the opposition on an unexpected pass, it's on the passer, not Chris. They are with him every day and should know better.

I agree for the most part

Whenever one of our guys gets to close to Chris and tries passing him the ball or they throw it to him before he's firmly got position and calling for the ball, he rarely is able to handle catching it. This should be known by now.

That said, given how both Junior and Buycks can throw some seriously head scratching/hair pulling out type of bad passes for turnovers, it's not surprising to me that they've yet to figure out when and where to deliver passes to Otule. Neither guy strikes me exactly as the most cerebral type of basketball player or point guard.

[mileskishnish72]

Don't get me wrong - I'm aware of the physical problem. I think Chris has come a long way and am appreciative of the effort behind that improvement. I think he's a great shot blocker and not as bad on the boards as some have claimed. But catching the ball is a problem.

[tower912]

The one thing he can do better that might help is get his hands up and ready for the drop off when a guard starts to drive.    He always looks stunned that the 3 foot pass is coming.   He is still going to struggle, but at least his hands will be in the right area and the guard will have a target.   

[CTWarrior]

I'm all for meaningless whining posts like the next guy (we don't get enough of them here), but this post is a joke.

Love Otule, love how much he has improved.  But regardless of the reason, if he can't catch certain passes (which he has demonstrated time and again) we probably shouldn't throw him those passes. 

[Skatastrophy]

Chris rarely bobbles when he's fed up high from the wing.

He struggles when he's fed below his chest on a straight pass or a bounce pass.  That's on the passers.  Crowder and Buycks needs to talk to Cadougan about how to get Otule the ball effectively.