Okafor getting High Praise

[fgrep15]

Orlando is trying to decide whether to take Okafor or Atlanta teen Dwight Howard. Unlike Okafor, Howard measured out at 6-9 in his bare feet, 2 inches shorter than the 6-11 he was listed at in high school. Also, Orlando could trade the pick, but thus far the Magic have not been impressed with the list of players being offered in a trade.

Schwartz said that not only is Okafor the most NBA-ready player in the draft, he had better collegiate numbers than Elton Brand (17.7 ppg and 9.8 rpg) and Kenyon Martin (18.9 ppg and 9.7 rpg), the last two power forwards drafted No. 1 overall. Okafor averaged 17.6 points, 11.5 rebounds and 4.0 blocks a game while leading Connecticut to the NCAA title.

NEWS FLASH: Dwight Howard sees himself as more of a power forward or small forward and said that he has no desire to play center, the Magic's position of greatest need.

Not only did Howard measure up short, he struggled with the bench press test. He bench-pressed 185 pounds just seven times compared to Okafor's 22 times. He was also 10 pounds lighter than he had hoped to be, weighing in at 240 pounds. All of those factors make the Magic wonder if Howard will be strong enough to hold his own on the block early in his career.

Agent feels Okafor will be Magic's NBA pick


So for all the wight Howard haters, their none except for Homer , Okafor is seeming like the more likely pick.

[Fresh8]

Go Howard!

[hmm]

.

[fgrep15]

Think about it though, if the Artest trade goes down, this team could be the next big thing defensively, Artest and Okafor. Tinsley can steal but is no elite defender, but with strength and work he could be a good one, Stevenson is a also a good defender.

In reply to this:

Schwartz said that not only is Okafor the most NBA-ready player in the draft, he had better collegiate numbers than Elton Brand (17.7 ppg and 9.8 rpg) and Kenyon Martin (18.9 ppg and 9.7 rpg), the last two power forwards drafted No. 1 overall. Okafor averaged 17.6 points, 11.5 rebounds and 4.0 blocks a game while leading Connecticut to the NCAA title.

Elton Brand averaged 17.7 points, 9.8 rebounds, and 2.2 blocks in 29.3 minutes in college, Kenyon Martin 18.9 ppg, 9.7 rpg, 3.5 blocks and 1.4 steals in 29.3 minutes, and Emeka averaged 17.6 points, 11.5 rebounds, and 4.1 blocks in 32.4 minutes. Emeka did play more minutes than all thes guys, but s'all good.


Drew Gooden also averaged 19.8 points, 11.4 rebounds, 1.8 steals and 1.4 blocks in 30.4 minutes in college. Drew Gooden was a monster on the boards in college and is still good in the NBA, with about 36 minutes he could get about 10 rebounds a game, since if you look at when he was playing PF full time for the Magic last year he averaged 8.4 rebounds in 28.6 minutes, and in the playoffs he averaged 12.7 rebounds in 33 minutes.

Also looking at Brand and Martin, Martin had more blocks per game in college, but Brand is the better blocker now.
So Okafor has a pretty good outlook, all these guys have done pretty well, depending on the minutes, probably like 32 minutes a game he could have something like 14 points, 9 rebounds and 2.1 blocks a game.

[matmat8]

Okafor is a sure pick orlando needs.
He's a solid pf...might not become a superstar but he's my number 1 pick

[Jay-Peso]

They could use him

[Colin]

that orlando okafor jersey is gonna be nice.

[magius]

howard kinda looks wierd too at least okafur is presentable, and his name is cool

i want tmac to stay in orlando. grant hill is healthy, and he can still be 14, 7 and 5. All orlando needs is to get rid of some trash for role players. If okafur is good one on one hunter could be a nice help defender too.

[fgrep15]

howard kinda looks wierd too at least okafur is presentable, and his name is cool

i want tmac to stay in orlando. grant hill is healthy, and he can still be 14, 7 and 5. All orlando needs is to get rid of some trash for role players. If okafur is good one on one hunter could be a nice help defender too.

ChukwuEmeka
He's Nigerian (and so am I), I wonder if anyone can actually pronounce his name propery.

[air gordon]

okafor's wingspan and height make him the no brainer #1 pick. not to mention his workout results (bench, verticle, lateral quickness) at the combine. if anyone's interested, i could provide a link

[Jackal]

Please do, I want to know as much as possible about these guys since we don't get much college hoops over here.

No one has really said what these guys are like...Okafor = supposed to be a Ben Wallace with more scoring abilities.

The rest...it's all mixed..

Then there is that 6'7 PG, going to Bobcats according to draft.net...then a few days ago I hear he cant even bench his own weight..

[PRoPuLsiOnDJ]

Yeah i hope the clipps pick howard. He can play SF for them.

[fgrep15]

Yeah i hope the clipps pick howard. He can play SF for them.

Corey Maggette, if the Clips pick Howard they'll trade him where have you been.

[air gordon]

the workouts were listed on espn insider so its not possible to give a direct link. (its about time! the past few years, these came out much earlier)

you can catch some of the players scores at the chicago forum @bbb.net under the 2004 combine scores thread. sorry no link... a little lazy now

[PRoPuLsiOnDJ]

Yeah i hope the clipps pick howard. He can play SF for them.

Corey Maggette, if the Clips pick Howard they'll trade him where have you been.

Maggette can play the guard

[magius]

if the clippers pick him and he stays, i guarantee he will be a bust. yes, clipper management is just that bad. either that or they keep him for 2 years and trade him to, say, atlanta, where he becomes a bonafide superstar. yes, the clippers are just that unlucky

i somehow feel comforted knowing that the clippers will always suck, kind of like knowing theirs always someone dumber than you. And if all esle fails i still have washington, and golden state, and atlanta, heh, and toronto (i know im gonna get feedback on that one, im just playing. kind of not really)

[fgrep15]

if the clippers pick him and he stays, i guarantee he will be a bust. yes, clipper management is just that bad. either that or they keep him for 2 years and trade him to, say, atlanta, where he becomes a bonafide superstar. yes, the clippers are just that unlucky

i somehow feel comforted knowing that the clippers will always suck, kind of like knowing theirs always someone dumber than you. And if all esle fails i still have washington, and golden state, and atlanta, heh, and toronto (i know im gonna get feedback on that one, im just playing. kind of not really)

Okay why does everyone like to hate on the Clippers, Odom, Maggette and Q-Rich don't look like busts to me.
Wilcox is pretty good if he got minutes he can give 13 points and 8 rebounds, can't block though for such an atheletic guy.
Kandi was pretty good when he was here, 12 points 9 rebounds and 2 blocks.
Brand is sick, players get good from going to the Clippers, the Clippers jut let them go to another team after their rookie contract all the time.

Man you're just on the haterade no, Golden State could actually have been good this year if not for injuries, but they are pretty dumb.

What did Washington do? I don't think it's the management's fault everyone got injured, or is this a Kwame thing?

Toronto? That one just has no basis.

Maggette can play the guard

Dwight Howard isn't currently capable of playing the 3, and the Clippers will not retain him to be a swingman/PF, he will be traded of play backup at the 4 to Brand.

[Colin]

Man you're just on the haterade no, Golden State could actually have been good this year if not for injuries, but they are pretty dumb.

Maybe, but mostly loosing their two best players, and the best back-up pg that year, tha Laker killer (I think he put away 3 Laker games in the 4th quarter that year) Earl, and only getting a declining injured Van Exel. GS is not 'pretty dumb,' they are really dumb.

Not hating, GS was one of my favourite teams in 02-03 (along with the Suns), almost bought myself a Jamison jersey, but chose T-Mac instead.

[allamerican08]

Why does so many people, includinf probably NBA scouts, mesure player my their phisical shape. Who cares is the guy is 6'9 or 6'11 or 6'8? For years it has been proven that players who dont fit into the "official player size" catagory, end up one of the best at their position.
Iverson, Ben Wallace, W.Reed, KG, etc
Then you have guys who do fit, J.Benderand many others, who fit perfectly for their position yet dont play well.
Personaly I think they should draft E.Okur because as soon as a player tell you that he is not playing a position b4 u draft them, thats just wrong. As Artest, Walker, J.O'neal, any1 who is good, they will play any position u ask them.

[fgrep15]

Why does so many people, includinf probably NBA scouts, mesure player my their phisical shape. Who cares is the guy is 6'9 or 6'11 or 6'8? For years it has been proven that players who dont fit into the "official player size" catagory, end up one of the best at their position.
Iverson, Ben Wallace, W.Reed, KG, etc
Then you have guys who do fit, J.Benderand many others, who fit perfectly for their position yet dont play well.
Personaly I think they should draft E.Okur because as soon as a player tell you that he is not playing a position b4 u draft them, thats just wrong. As Artest, Walker, J.O'neal, any1 who is good, they will play any position u ask them.

Elton Brand, Peja Stojakovic is 6'10, Dirk Nowitzki, but they still need measurments, because if your skill isn't outstanding when you go to the NBA and every defender isn't as short as they were in college you won't be able to handle them.

[Calvenn]

Good to see a fellow Nigerian on board! Igbo? Yoruba?

I tell you what, the Houston area has some serious up and coming talents. Would be quite interesting seeing Hill, Mcgrady and Okafor in the lineup. Unfortunately, it seems T-mac is bent on leaving. Waiting to see how it pans out!

[magius]

fgrep. chill out. im not on a hatearade i was just having fun and maybe push some buttons and obvioulsy that worked a little too well

what did washington do? They traded rip hamilton, ben wallace, chris webber, rasheed wallace to name a few, and in return have one of the most pathetic teams in the nba to date.

the clippers was a joke, because the clippers have historically speaking sucked more oft than not. This is not a joke though -- the clippers have a plethora of talent and cant seem to do squat. that may change next year, in fact im sorta betting on it, but right now is not next year, and right now, the clippers suck butt juice.

Toronto is because i feel that the majority of american nba players do not want to play in Canada, because one its far from home, and because two the taxes. Every rookie with potential that toronto drafts will, once their contracts expire, prefer to play in american or near their hometown. Players will not like getting traded to toronto because it will not only uproot their families, but uproot their families to a whole other country. Unless toronto magically conjures a bonafide reason to play in toronto, players will prefer to play elsewhere. Would you want to go to mexico AND get paid less? I didnt think so. I've lived in canada and i have loyalty towards it and if i were an nba player i would play for canada no doubt, but americans also have that loyalty towards america, and their are only so many canadian players around.

When was the last time golden state made the playoffs? Yeah, i forgot too.

anyway, i was just playing in my first post, but after you responded so rudely i felt the need to put you in your place because their is truth to what i was saying like it or not.

[fgrep15]

Okay so Toronto is dumb because they're located in Canada? They're also dumb because players don't want to go there, I still don't see the dumbness there.

I agreed with you that Golden State was dumb.


I thought you were reffering to the drafting Kwame, but Rip for Stackhouse many thought the Wizards got the better deal even though I never liked it, so it's actually not dumb. A trade that wasn't dumb when made and is considered dumb 2 years later is not dumb it just didn't pan out as expected.
1997-1998 the Wizards had a 42-40 record, if you want to count as Bullets , 95-96 (39-43), 96-96 (44-38), started rebuilding (after 98), had 3 bad seasons, then with Jordan has two 37-45 seasons, and this year due to injuries 25-57, if you realized that Arenas played 55 games, Hughes 61 and Stack 26 games

The recent Clippers haven't really been dumb, just injured, they haven't been about winning so for their goals it's not really that bad.

[magius]

i didnt say toronto was dumb, i said toronto would always suck. theirs a difference between dumbness and suckiness. Belive me, i want toronto to be a good team, but lets be realistic, no matter how smart toronto management is what do they have that american teams cant offer? nothing, but the privilege of canada, which is a good thing, but americans generally want to stay in america. What do americans team have that a canadian team cant offer? More money, play closer to home, live in your own country. I dont see how toronto will ever be able to retain most of their picks (of course some will stay loyal, but a higher percentage will leave compared to other teams), or be alluring to free agents. In the end they will develop their rookies for 3 years, and most of those rookies with any value will move on after their rookie contract expires. Their is really no incentive to play in canada, even the decent foreign rookies/free agents will prefer more money in america. I wish it was different, but it isn't. Toronto will always suck unless the currency changes, or the league instates some kind of rule to matke it more attractive.

the clippers i agree with you, and like i said i just said it because the clips have a history of losing and unluckiness.

i dont see how washington ever felt that a backcourt of arenas, hughes, stack would ever work, their defense is mediocore, and they all pretty much need to touch the ball often to be succesful. you are right that making deals that at the time look good and turn out bad doesnt define dumb, but it sure is fun to call it that in hindsight and washington traded away 2 young big men for older backcourt players, i dont think that was incredibly smart from my perspective.

[fgrep15]

Oh okay, I thought you were saying they were dumb because they were in Canada which isn't something they can do anything about if they want a Canadian team.
I don't know, many players don't want to go to Toronto, but when they do go there they want to stay.
Carter likes it, Jerome Williams never wanted to leave, Jalen Rose likes it, Chris Bosh isn't complaining, Rafer Alston wanted to stay but was never offered a contract, and the only complaint's have come from Antonio Davis' wife, Damon, Kenny Anderson and Tracy McGrady, but he had other reasons too.


Well Arenas and Hughes are fine, but Stackouse doesn't fit in with them, he's not a guy that can shoot, and he needs to go to the basket and get to the line to be effective. Arenas and Hughes can both shoot and Arenas needs the ball but can also be on the recieving end, Stackhouse can't really do that.
Arenas is a good defender, Hughes works, but he's so small, and Stackhouse is just bad, but how many teams have three good perimeter players that are good defenders apart from the Suns with Barbosa, JJ and Marion.

Good to see a fellow Nigerian on board! Igbo? Yoruba?

Edo, mom is yoruba