Paschal Chukwu's Orange Odyssey

[iommi]

Check this out. I wrote this as a mix of a little biographical info, Chukwu's journey here and my opinion on his potential impact. Nothing revelatory or anything; the info is more for the casual fan. Pretty amazing he only started playing hoops right before high school.

Hope you guys like it and thanks for reading, as usual. (Title blatantly ripped off from the name of the '03 title video... Ha)

Paschal Chukwu’s Orange Odyssey – Otto's Grove

 

[bballbeadle]

Great article! I saw other things on the site I want to go back and read, and I will send to my friends as well.

Do you have any more knowledge about why Chukwu needed a change of scenery? From all accounts, Providence coach is a great guy.

I really like Chukwu's presence defensively, as obviously does Coach Boeheim. I remember how hard he worked with Fab his first year ("Fab, I'm trying to help you!") with Fab just not getting it. But by the second year, he did, and everything was coming up roses for us until . . .

<FLASHBACK! FLASHBACK!>

(shudder)

I wonder if Chukwu's problems at Providence had something to do with his having difficulty adapting to the college play (?). Anyhoo, if he can be 2/3 the player Fab was, we will be in very good shape, indeed.

 

[RF2044]

Nice write up, V! Really looking forward to seeing him in action, could be a game changer defensively in our system.

 

[iommi]

Great article! I saw other things on the site I want to go back and read, and I will send to my friends as well.

Do you have any more knowledge about why Chukwu needed a change of scenery? From all accounts, Providence coach is a great guy.

I really like Chukwu's presence defensively, as obviously does Coach Boeheim. I remember how hard he worked with Fab his first year ("Fab, I'm trying to help you!") with Fab just not getting it. But by the second year, he did, and everything was coming up roses for us until . . .

<FLASHBACK! FLASHBACK!>

(shudder)

I wonder if Chukwu's problems at Providence had something to do with his having difficulty adapting to the college play (?). Anyhoo, if he can be 2/3 the player Fab was, we will be in very good shape, indeed.

Thanks, flacusian. I appreciate your interest. If you click on my by line, you can get access to all my other .com stories on one page.

I don't know know why Chukwu left Providence. It was a real surprise at the time and caught the PC staff by surprise. The staff envisioned him having a very big role this past season and Cooley loved him. Chukwu never had indicated that he was unhappy but apparently he never felt comfortable there for whatever reason.

 

[OrangeAl]

Will Chukwu ever be more than a one-dimensional player for us? I see him being a defensive specialist who plays ten minutes a game this year.

 

[PeteCalvin]

Will Chukwu ever be more than a one-dimensional player for us? I see him being a defensive specialist who plays ten minutes a game this year.

Chukwu will not chuck shots from deep, that I can tell you. He's no DeShaun Williams.

 

[iommi]

Will Chukwu ever be more than a one-dimensional player for us? I see him being a defensive specialist who plays ten minutes a game this year.

That's possible but not likely. This year, he might be somewhat limited on offense but he can run the floor and has good hands. Those skills should allow him to give us a little more than shot blocking. He's not uncoordinated; he's just thin and unpolished.

This is not Cat Rescuer Mach II.

Edit: 10 mpg is possible if he's a total liability on offense but I don't foresee that. He can put up 4-6 points for us in about 15 mpg. JB loves him in our zone. His defense could make a great zone special and so JB will get him out there. If Tyler Lydon plays more center then that will cut into his court time too but about 15 minutes seems about right.