2023 Team Outlook

[The Sultan]

It was in an Athletic article taking about Shaka's team.

"Redshirt freshman Oso Ighodaro is a former top-150 recruit from Phoenix. He played limited minutes as a freshman at Marquette last season and missed the last nine games with a foot injury, but he has a ranging variety of skills that could expand his playing time as Kuath's backup. He's 6-foot-10 and 215 pounds, but is strong enough to play through contact".

I know.  I pointed out that it was stated multiple time by posters in the topic, including by tower in the post just above yours.

[panda]

By which time he had played just 38 of 725 available minutes. 5.2% of the available minutes. Fewer than Dexter Akanno, he of the 44.5 ORtg, had played to that point. Even Jose Perez, who was clearly outclassed and not remotely a Big East player, carved out a far bigger role on that awful team. And both of those bad players got those minutes while Carton and Garcia were both playing, so your argument doesn't hold water.

Again, provide the EVIDENCE as to Oso's lack of improvement. The numbers say he improved. The minutes say he improved. Performing better on a better team says he improved. If you have proof to the contrary, have at it. Otherwise, it's just a...how did you say it..."lame June level Scoop semantics battle" that you clearly have no ability to wage.

I just don't understand how you can make a declarative statement about such an inconclusive freshman season that we know effected by injury. He could've been injured earlier than what was publicly announced which explains limited playing time ?

Either way, I just don't think he showed "great improvement" from freshman to sophomore year because of the inconclusiveness of his year one performance. Now do I think he's poised for a breakout "great improvement" season this year? Given his skill set and opportunity for minutes, absolutely.

[Vander Blue Man Group]

How do you know if he improved if he never played? He was dealing with injuries for a chunk of his first year. Maybe his overall performance this year wouldn't have been much different than his freshman year if he played similar minutes ?

Wow. 

[tower912]

Anyway....

Shaka seems enthused about the work Oso has put in.   Shaka clearly has plans for Oso and his skill set going forward.

[jfp61]

How do you know if he improved if he never played? He was dealing with injuries for a chunk of his first year. Maybe his overall performance this year wouldn't have been much different than his freshman year if he played similar minutes ?

Not a chance of this with that 2020 staff. Every single player on that roster underperformed with the lone
exception of Dawson.

[GoldenEagles03]

Love that Shaka basically used a call to action in this interview:  "For bigs that want to attack, have the ball in your hands, be a playmaker, make decisions, our style is great for that."

Oso could prove to have a huge impact on the court for the team, and a huge impact off it from a recruiting perspective by way of being able to showcase his usage/role in Shaka's system.

The Osa/O-Max/Kolek/Kam/Stevie core has a lot of potential.

They have a lot of intriguing lineups they could use this year. I expect Sean Jones to play a lot, maybe even more than Kam's 18.5 minutes per game last season. But...

If they really do plan on using Oso a lot as a decision maker I think a lineup of Oso/OMax/Joplin/Kolek/Kam could be pretty strong offensively. Oso surrounded by another PG and all shooters. That possibility of that lineup will all come down to how well they advance defensively because if that group figures out how to defend it could be really strong.

[brewcity77]

I just don't understand how you can make a declarative statement about such an inconclusive freshman season that we know effected by injury. He could've been injured earlier than what was publicly announced which explains limited playing time ?

Either way, I just don't think he showed "great improvement" from freshman to sophomore year because of the inconclusiveness of his year one performance. Now do I think he's poised for a breakout "great improvement" season this year? Given his skill set and opportunity for minutes, absolutely.

Here's the relevant part: Again, provide the EVIDENCE as to Oso's lack of improvement. The numbers say he improved. The minutes say he improved. Performing better on a better team says he improved. If you have proof to the contrary, have at it. Otherwise, it's just a...how did you say it..."lame June level Scoop semantics battle" that you clearly have no ability to wage.

[panda]

Here's the relevant part: Again, provide the EVIDENCE as to Oso's lack of improvement. The numbers say he improved. The minutes say he improved. Performing better on a better team says he improved. If you have proof to the contrary, have at it. Otherwise, it's just a...how did you say it..."lame June level Scoop semantics battle" that you clearly have no ability to wage.

And I look at those stats and say, how could you possibly reason he is greatly improved from such a limited sample size of data?

To the semantics point, I never contested he didn't improve, just that he didn't greatly improve.

[Hards Alumni]

And I look at those stats and say, how could you possibly reason he is greatly improved from such a limited sample size of data?

To the semantics point, I never contested he didn't improve, just that he didn't greatly improve.

Let's start at the start.  Quantify 'greatly improved' in an objective manner.

[panda]

Let's start at the start.  Quantify 'greatly improved' in an objective manner.

Justin Lewis freshman to sophomore year

[The Sultan]

Justin Lewis freshman to sophomore year

Oso improved way more freshman to sophomore year than Justin Lewis did.  Mostly because Oso had a much lower starting point, but if we are going to objectively look at both players from where they started (freshman year) to where they finished (sophomore year), Oso's improvement was greater without question.

Now Justin Lewis is by far a better player.  Justin was better as a freshman than Oso was as a sophomore no doubt.  But Oso objectively improved more.

[Vander Blue Man Group]

So for those who watched Shaka's teams and the bigs at Texas, should we expect Oso to have the ball more in the high post to either create off the dribble or via the pass (maybe similar to Noah with the Bulls)?  Or something different?  I'm not expecting Oso to be bringing the ball up the court, leading the break, etc. 

[tower912]

Again, there were glimpses last year.   A couple of drives.   A coue of two dribbles and either a handoff in a different spot or a pass to a cutter.   Judging from Coach's words, there will be sets using Oso that way.

[Markusquette]

Oso improved way more freshman to sophomore year than Justin Lewis did.  Mostly because Oso had a much lower starting point, but if we are going to objectively look at both players from where they started (freshman year) to where they finished (sophomore year), Oso's improvement was greater without question.

Now Justin Lewis is by far a better player.  Justin was better as a freshman than Oso was as a sophomore no doubt.  But Oso objectively improved more.

Way more is a big reach. Oso improved for sure, but skills-wise I'm not sure there was a ton of improvement. He is a rim running big. Other than his outbursts January 1st and 4th, he was relatively quiet and got eaten up on the boards all year.

Lewis improved his 3pt shot and ft% considerably in addition to his face up game, post game and defense. Just the fact that he's being discussed as a potential 1st round pick shows he improved more to me. Very few expected him to be gone after his 2nd year.

[Pakuni]

Oso improved way more freshman to sophomore year than Justin Lewis did.  Mostly because Oso had a much lower starting point, but if we are going to objectively look at both players from where they started (freshman year) to where they finished (sophomore year), Oso's improvement was greater without question.

Now Justin Lewis is by far a better player.  Justin was better as a freshman than Oso was as a sophomore no doubt.  But Oso objectively improved more.

But they were both freshmen last year.
/ducks

[The Sultan]

Way more is a big reach. Oso improved for sure, but skills-wise I'm not sure there was a ton of improvement. He is a rim running big. Other than his outbursts January 1st and 4th, he was relatively quiet and got eaten up on the boards all year.

Lewis improved his 3pt shot and ft% considerably in addition to his face up game, post game and defense. Just the fact that he's being discussed as a potential 1st round pick shows he improved more to me. Very few expected him to be gone after his 2nd year.

So now let's debate the difference between "more" and "way more." 

I am simply using panda's definition for "greatly improved."  Oso improved as much or more than Justin did. It's just that his starting point was much lower.

[Shooter McGavin]

Again, there were glimpses last year.   A couple of drives.   A coue of two dribbles and either a handoff in a different spot or a pass to a cutter.   Judging from Coach's words, there will be sets using Oso that way.

Oso hitting a few10 footers would do wonders for his play making abilities.  Shaka has to be giving him the green light in this regard I would think as well.

[bilsu]

I think generally the greatest improvement is between freshmen and sophomore years.
Players get stronger and know what they need to work on during the offseason. They should get better every season, but the improvement rate may be less than in the past.

The one player who consistently improved was Markus Howard.

[tower912]

So, no discussion about Kolek's appendectomy or Wrightsil's knee procedure?

[The Sultan]

So, no discussion about Kolek's appendectomy or Wrightsil's knee procedure?

What's to discuss? Both seemed routine, it's only June, and both will be 100% well before the season starts.

[lawdog77]

So, no discussion about Kolek's appendectomy or Wrightsil's knee procedure?

Will Kolek's missing appendix improve or greatly improve his 3 point shot?

[Uncle Rico]

Will Kolek's missing appendix improve or greatly improve his 3 point shot?

🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥APPENDIX WATCH🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

Will Kolek's missing appendix improve or greatly improve his 3 point shot?

Losing those 2 ounces can really help him get some more lift on his jumpshot

[panda]

What's to discuss? Both seemed routine, it's only June, and both will be 100% well before the season starts.

Both will give dodds reason to excuse suboptimal performances come February.

[4everwarriors]

Appendix no matta, aina?