Oso

[Vander Blue Man Group]

Still contributing but just doesn't seem like himself in a number of ways. 

I know he's been banged up but any limitation physically the past 2 days hasn't been obvious.

We need him - any ideas what's going on here? 

[Tyler COLEk]

I find it hard to believe he would have sat the last 7-8 minutes of that BET final if he weren't significantly hurting. Hoping he has a bad leg bruise that will greatly benefit from four days of rest.

[1SE]

Still contributing but just doesn't seem like himself in a number of ways. 

I know he's been banged up but any limitation physically the past 2 days hasn't been obvious.

We need him - any ideas what's going on here?

#mindgames - make it look like the 2 man game isn't working so NC State and UH don't prep for it. Shaka's 4 dimensional chess

[Afroman]

If it's not physical, one of their 19 assistant coaches needs to get inside his head. He played timid and that's not him. He stood around and watched too much.

[nyg]

Oso looked much better in second except for that one turnover.  Bad thing is he only had 1 rebound, but Joplin, Ross and Kolek helped fill the void there.  13 Offensive for Colorado and 3 for MU kept Colorado in game. 

Rest and then hopefully he takes care of the NCST big guy. 

[Big Papi]

Oso looked much better in second except for that one turnover.  Bad thing is he only had 1 rebound, but Joplin, Ross and Kolek helped fill the void there.  13 Offensive for Colorado and 3 for MU kept Colorado in game. 

Rest and then hopefully he takes care of the NCST big guy.

1 board from Oso is telling me he is lacking his explosiveness and is hurt.  Hoping the rest gets him back on track. Need him.

[avid1010]

Yeah...he's been soft...hope whatever is wrong is fixed quickly.  That said...they needed him on the court today.

[willie warrior]

nobody knows if he is hurting. This time of year, lots of guys have nagging hurts.

[Bo Ryan's Massage Therapist]

He's fine.  Rebounding will never be his strength.  He's playing tight and can hopefully learn from the first two rounds and relax

[JamilJaeJamailJrJuan]

Very obviously isn't close to 100%. Hope the 4 days off help, but the 4 off after the BET certainly didn't. Going to need much more from him next weekend.

[Elonsmusk]

He's fine.  Rebounding will never be his strength.  He's playing tight and can hopefully learn from the first two rounds and relax

Agree.  I don't think he's hurt per se.  I do think he is physically worn down though from being an undersized big by Big East standards.  Cumulative effect.  But that doesn't explain fumbling a number of passes, some poor turnovers, and only getting 1 rebound in 36 minutes.  Not even a backtap variety rebound.

Shaka mentioned recently that he'd asked Tom Izzo for some advice after their loss last year, and he told Shaka that it is REALLY important to spend A LOT of time individually 1 on 1 with the players between Round 1 and 2.

I suspect Shaka will spend a bit of extra 1 on 1 time with Oso between now and Friday's game.

[jfp61]

He did completly fine today and you guys are rather insane.

[Uncle Rico]

He did completly fine today and you guys are rather insane.

He needs to comeback and work on his mid-range game

[Elonsmusk]

He did completly fine today and you guys are rather insane.

Generally agree with many of your takes, but he was pretty subpar as compared to his usual performance.  Lots of fumbled passes that resulted in live ball turnovers, a couple of bad passes, and an inability to corral rebounds - again as compared to his benchmark performance.

It's actually encouraging in that if he rounds back into form and Chase and Jop stepping up - we are looking good.

[Vander Blue Man Group]

He did completly fine today and you guys are rather insane.

Come on, man.

Love Oso and he still contributed but there's zero insanity in saying he did not look much like himself this weekend.

[Scoop Snoop]

Oso was not "completely fine" today. I doubt if anyone will dispute the second part of the sentence though. 

[Herman Cain]

Lots of pressure to perform well on every possession in a game like this one.

Players react differently . Oso was dealing with some hyper lengthy players inside .

Good news is Oso shot 5/6 from field and we needed every one of those shots 

[1SE]

Hes gotta be hurting - he was walking everywhere- not closing out - getting stuck under the backboard in rebounds.

Either that or someone slipped him some mickeys and he was high out if his mind. Other than the dunk and maybe that lad6 push shot, he just wasn't there

[willie warrior]

Oso was not "completely fine" today. I doubt if anyone will dispute the second part of the sentence though.

Especially about that poster.

[MuggsyB]

Is Davante still hooping?  Maybe he can play D.J. Burns in practice this week?

[tower912]

Is Davante still hooping?  Maybe he can play D.J. Burns in practice this week?

Lampkin was a decent warm up.   Lampkin is listed at 265, by the way.    Ha. 

[Judge Smails]

Lampkin was a decent warm up.   Lampkin is listed at 265, by the way.    Ha.

Kind of like Trump's 215

[MuggsyB]

Lampkin was a decent warm up.   Lampkin is listed at 265, by the way.    Ha.

Lampkin:  285

Burns:  325-340. 

But you're correct, it was a good warm-up. 

Remember that Davante game vs Syracuse at the BC Tower?  When he hit that 16 footer after that pass fake? 

[The Sultan]

Just have to make him defend the pick-n-roll - make him a bigger defensive liability than his offensive upside.

I honestly am not all that worried.

[tower912]

Lampkin:  285

Burns:  325-340. 

But you're correct, it was a good warm-up. 

Remember that Davante game vs Syracuse at the BC Tower?  When he hit that 16 footer after that pass fake?

I do.   The only 15 footers I have seen Burns hit is free throws.   Play to his right shoulder.   Do your work early.   Please, for the love of all that is good and holy, get a body on him when a shot goes up.

NCState may actually be an opportunity for Benny, as they play two big guys together a lot of the time.   

[Goose]

tower

I think we see a lot of Ben on Friday. It might just be Ben Gold time on Friday night.

[tower912]

Looking forward to it.   

[burger]

Yeah as long as he scores as many points as the round mound of 400lbs.....

[Don_Kojis]

It is obvious that something is wrong with Oso.  Love him but he doesn't seem to be in games.  Fumbled passes, standing around.   Maybe he just needs rest.

[Milkshakes]

This thread is going to age very badly.

[tower912]

So many do.

[willie warrior]

Lampkin:  285

Burns:  325-340. 

But you're correct, it was a good warm-up. 

Remember that Davante game vs Syracuse at the BC Tower?  When he hit that 16 footer after that pass fake?

Forgot one. Trump 290

[MuggsyB]

For those of you that have elevation and are 6'9 , what do you do not to have your shot blocked from behind? 

[We R Final Four]

Towards the end of the game, you could see Oso laboring to run up court. Twice when running out to set a pick....he skipped into it as to avoid a sudden stop.
He didn't jump on most rebounds.
Why he uncharacteristically lost the ball off his fingertips several times? IDK.
Get some rest and come back ready on Friday.

[mileskishnish72]

I don't think Oso's himself and hasn't been since BET. A little rest, some
therapy, let's see what we get.

[MuggsyB]

Towards the end of the game, you could see Oso laboring to run up court. Twice when running out to set a pick....he skipped into it as to avoid a sudden stop.
He didn't jump on most rebounds.
Why he uncharacteristically lost the ball off his fingertips several times? IDK.
Get some rest and come back ready on Friday.

Good point.  Come out Fri night with fury. 

[tower912]

To review, visibly limping against UConn.  Listed as questionable (knee) for the WKU game.   Had two games not up to his normal standard.   

#notmental

[Tyler COLEk]

Just have to make him defend the pick-n-roll - make him a bigger defensive liability than his offensive upside.

I honestly am not all that worried.

Agreed - I think Oso could be in for a colossal offensive bounce-back. Seems like a nightmare assignment for Burns.

[real chili 83]

Something is really off with Oso. 

Hope the young man can get well. This should be the time of his life.  Really wish him well.

[goldeneagle91114]

We know Oso is "banged up". However, there is been little info shared to the public, so the extent of the injury and what portions of his game its affecting are some what unknown. While I admit the "eye test" today led me to believe he was some what out of sorts, his ORtg was 156...Not too shabby!!

[forgetful]

For those of you that have elevation and are 6'9 , what do you do not to have your shot blocked from behind?

Not 6'9", but when he has gotten it blocked from behind, it has occurred because he didn't feel the defender there, and had brought the ball back behind his head for a power slam.

Basically, don't do that, keep the ball in front of you so your body screens the defender.

[Lennys Tap]

To review, visibly limping against UConn.  Listed as questionable (knee) for the WKU game.   Had two games not up to his normal standard.   

#notmental

Missed time with an illness too - maybe still hasn't gotten his strength back.

[CountryRoads]

Long way to go yet. Oso will be key on Friday.

[GoFastAndWin]

Oso will be fine. People are reading way too much into his performance today. 
Sure, he might still be a tiny bit banged up. Nothing some Epsom salt baths and 432 HZ healing frequencies can't cure.

[Newsdreams]

To review, visibly limping against UConn.  Listed as questionable (knee) for the WKU game.   Had two games not up to his normal standard.   

#notmental

Shaka in BET presser said left knee issue

[junglecat022]

To review, visibly limping against UConn.  Listed as questionable (knee) for the WKU game.   Had two games not up to his normal standard.   

#notmental

I'm choosing to believe that Oso's struggles were due to a concussion that occurred during the BET game against Villanova on 3/14. Oso took a hard fall in the 2nd half, was visibly shaken up, and had to be helped to the bench. He didn't hit his head but there may have been enough whip-lash to cause a concussion. He finished the game but didn't look himself in the games to follow. To me this best explains his apparent lack of focus, aggression, and timing in the tournament.

https://youtu.be/IBdh7RlFmp0?si=LVhQgXp13HcbzM2m&t=3160

[tower912]

Interesting theory. 

[wadesworld]

I'm choosing to believe that Oso's struggles were due to a concussion that occurred during the BET game against Villanova on 3/14. Oso took a hard fall in the 2nd half, was visibly shaken up, and had to be helped to the bench. He didn't hit his head but there may have been enough whip-lash to cause a concussion. He finished the game but didn't look himself in the games to follow. To me this best explains his apparent lack of focus, aggression, and timing in the tournament.

https://youtu.be/IBdh7RlFmp0?si=LVhQgXp13HcbzM2m&t=3160

That looks closer to a knee injury than a head injury.

I'd hope the medical staff would've caught a concussion over 2 weeks.

He also had 4 points on 1/5 shooting that game, so it's not like he was cruising and that flipped his performance. And the next night he scored 20 points.

[junglecat022]

That looks closer to a knee injury than a head injury.

I'd hope the medical staff would've caught a concussion over 2 weeks.

He also had 4 points on 1/5 shooting that game, so it's not like he was cruising and that flipped his performance. And the next night he scored 20 points.

Unfortunately all we're left with is speculation. It's too bad that YT video cut off the part where he became lightheaded on the way to the bench just prior to the TV timeout. If he was actually concussed at that point in the season, it wouldn't surprise me if Oso tried to conceal it so he wouldn't miss any BE or NCAA tournament games though and played through it, which would've caused symptoms to linger.