OB

[CousCuse]

Dont worry, no matter if I agree or disagree with anything you say, I will not question your love of the team or OB. I"m used to being a minority opinion and taking a beating, and suriviving, so I feel some empathy for others when theyre on the defensive. I think you definitely have others who agree with you, though. Like Michael Jackson(RIP) sang, "You Are Not Alone".

OB Just would be wise to get back to doing what he was so successful at last season, to put the team ahead of his looking good for NBA scouts. That last bit may be a abit uncomfortable for some, but I think it's a valid point:

I think he may be plaing 2 games at once...and sometimes they don not both coincide.

Your like a life coach, but for posters on the internet. This could be a new career field. As for OB, he needs to man up if he wants to mine some NBA gold.

 

[br801]

This is a strange thread. And that's saying something for this board during the season.

 

[RF2044]

He is too much of an athlete to just fall back on 3's on stop getting to the hoop.

Agreed. The last couple of games, he's had some nice success driving / dunking [he also had a really sweet reverse layup against ND driving baseline]. I would LOVE to see him attack the basket early in the game before he every takes a jump shot, just to get himself in a groove / to get the lid off of the basket.

Hate seeing a kid like him settle for long jump shots.

 

[CusefanATL]

Sidibe came in and Marek went to the 4. And as posted above that lineup was pretty good.

He just needs to be more aggressive. I remember when he was just a commit for us and watching his videos, the one thing I loved about him was that he was relentless at attacking the rim, rebounding, gettting loose balls, etc...Seems his mentality towards the game has changed more so than his ability. Fingers crossed though we need him!

i dont think he had to worry about getting stripped in high school or had to worry about struggling to finish at the rim like he has. i think mentally it has taken a toll on him and JB is good with parts of motivation but he isnt great at helping mentally struggling players through. i would bet we dont even have a sports psychologist (thats nothing more than a guess) when most major high schools use S.P.'s consistently now.

 

[Trueblue25]

He’s our best rebounder and we were outsized.

 

[007]

Agreed. The last couple of games, he's had some nice success driving / dunking [he also had a really sweet reverse layup against ND driving baseline]. I would LOVE to see him attack the basket early in the game before he every takes a jump shot, just to get himself in a groove / to get the lid off of the basket.

Hate seeing a kid like him settle for long jump shots.

Totally agree.

The primary reason OB is still on NBA draft boards (despite his mind boggling difficulties finishing) is his NBA level first step when driving at 6-8, 210. Defenders struggle to stay in front him. He is routinely able to beat/get his shoulder by just about anyone guarding him with his first step. Once he decides to take that step, he needs to take it directly (or spin move) to the basket and, IMO, try to dunk everything he can. He needs to get back to leading the team in FT attempts.

 

[OttoMets]

In addition to being a shaky finisher (to be kind), Oshae just doesn't seem disciplined on offense. He's skilled. He's athletic enough, and he looks quick to me. But he is constantly making a smart play and then settling for jumpers (often step-back, contested, early-in-the-shot clock jumpers) on his next three touches.

I don't disagree with the OP here. When he does that, sit him. Remind him. Send him back in. But as good as Oshae is or can be, I prefer the Sidibe/Dolezaj lineup over Brissett hoisting jumpshots. His value lies in his abilities driving and working from 15 feet and in. If he's not doing that, he's not the same player.

 

[br801]

In addition to being a shaky finisher (to be kind), Oshae just doesn't seem disciplined on offense. He's skilled. He's athletic enough, and he looks quick to me. But he is constantly making a smart play and then settling for jumpers (often step-back, contested, early-in-the-shot clock jumpers) on his next three touches.

I don't disagree with the OP here. When he does that, sit him. Remind him. Send him back in. But as good as Oshae is or can be, I prefer the Sidibe/Dolezaj lineup over Brissett hoisting jumpshots. His value lies in his abilities driving and working from 15 feet and in. If he's not doing that, he's not the same player.

The Sidibe/Dolezaj combination we saw last night was great. But will they/can they provide something like that on a consistent basis in this league is a huge question mark.

 

[007]

In addition to being a shaky finisher (to be kind), Oshae just doesn't seem disciplined on offense. He's skilled. He's athletic enough, and he looks quick to me. But he is constantly making a smart play and then settling for jumpers (often step-back, contested, early-in-the-shot clock jumpers) on his next three touches.

I don't disagree with the OP here. When he does that, sit him. Remind him. Send him back in. But as good as Oshae is or can be, I prefer the Sidibe/Dolezaj lineup over Brissett hoisting jumpshots. His value lies in his abilities driving and working from 15 feet and in. If he's not doing that, he's not the same player.

JB can afford to pull OB this year, I think that's a good thing relative to OB's development.

I like having Dolezji on the floor for lots of reasons. He just seems to make stuff happen with his effort and his understanding of the game. He is a "glue" guy for this team.

Back to OB...there is no reason he should not be getting 8-10 rebounds per game. He is very fast off his feet and strong enough to get and hold position. He just needs to assert himself even more on the boards.

 

[rrlbees]

i dont think he had to worry about getting stripped in high school or had to worry about struggling to finish at the rim like he has. i think mentally it has taken a toll on him and JB is good with parts of motivation but he isnt great at helping mentally struggling players through. i would bet we dont even have a sports psychologist (thats nothing more than a guess) when most major high schools use S.P.'s consistently now.

We have a team psychologist. I haven’t looked lately but for years he has sat in the first couple rows behind the bench.

 

[JRHEETER]

It’s all mental for OB. He got in his head that he was a NBA 1st rounder. Most games he looks like he’s out there trying out for an NBA team. What makes OB really good is when he drives to the basket and really hustles.

To me it looks like he thought being good would just come naturally. However, he needs to be aware that he constantly has to have his foot on the gas. As of right now, it looks like he will be back next season because he is not showing the flash that he did last season. I am however hopeful that this will change.

For the record he looked great in the first half. And Marek and Sidibe in the first half looked solid too.

 

[HoustonCuse]

OB was our leading scorer at halftime.

Let's be honest, he was hideous in that game. I thought he was worse in the first half than the second. Jacked 3's, ill advised drives to nowhere getting stripped multiple times, didn't rebound. I would say this is the worst I have ever seen him look. He is totally struggling to find an identity.

 

[HoustonCuse]

This is a strange thread. And that's saying something for this board during the season.

I was just thinking that. Cooper went skitzo! He has 60 posts, 20 of which seem to be in this thread and 10 of those are responding to himself!

 

[br801]

I was just thinking that. Cooper went skitzo! He has 60 posts, 20 of which seem to be in this thread and 10 of those are responding to himself!

lol

 

[OttoMets]

JB can afford to pull OB this year, I think that's a good thing relative to OB's development.

...

Yet another thing lost in the Boeheim-bashing/Boeheim-defending debates over his iron-man treatment of starters in the last few years: brief trips to the bench are a valuable development opportunity. More of that for everyone!

 

[dollarbill44]

Again in no way am I trying to bash OB!

You keep saying that, and yet...

 

[justgold315]

I think the best lineup yesterday is when they pulled OB in the first half and went with Battle, Buddy, Carey, MD, and Sidibe. I don't think I have seen that lineup before, and there was great ball movement on offense. Despite their stats, I think the team struggled more when Frank and OB were in there. Their 3P attempts in the first half were awful. I think OB has the talent to be a star, but he needs to do what is working - driving, rebounding, setting screens/taking up space, etc. He had two horrible plays in the beginning of the game where he drew a double team and forced his way to a bad shot. He would be great to drive and dish.

 

[NineOneSeven]

I think the best lineup yesterday is when they pulled OB in the first half and went with Battle, Buddy, Carey, MD, and Sidibe. I don't think I have seen that lineup before, and there was great ball movement on offense. Despite their stats, I think the team struggled more when Frank and OB were in there. Their 3P attempts in the first half were awful. I think OB has the talent to be a star, but he needs to do what is working - driving, rebounding, setting screens/taking up space, etc. He had two horrible plays in the beginning of the game where he drew a double team and forced his way to a bad shot. He would be great to drive and dish.

Our best lineup does not include Buddy, ever. Not at this stage of his very young and limited minute career.

 

[justgold315]

Our best lineup does not include Buddy, ever. Not at this stage of his very young and limited minute career.

I was talking about the lineup yesterday only. I think it is good that we have the bodies to shake things up. Buddy's shot was in and out. We would not be complaining if it went in, and OB's first 3 attempts at 3P barely hit rim.

 

[moqui]

Totally agree.

The primary reason OB is still on NBA draft boards (despite his mind boggling difficulties finishing) is his NBA level first step when driving at 6-8, 210. Defenders struggle to stay in front him. He is routinely able to beat/get his shoulder by just about anyone guarding him with his first step. Once he decides to take that step, he needs to take it directly (or spin move) to the basket and, IMO, try to dunk everything he can. He needs to get back to leading the team in FT attempts.

agree with everything, but this last especially. his best offensive skill is drawing fouls & knocking down the free throws. i don't mind him taking 3 to 5 three pointers a game so long as he is also shooting half a dozen or more free throws. he's really backed off from that lately. through the georgetown game, he was averaging nearly 6.5 ft attempts per game; since then its been basically half that, 3.3.

maybe jb should give him a quota/reward system: you can't attempt a 3 until you draw 2 fouls.

 

[Scott11]

As frustrating as Oshae can be shooting the ball and turning it over, when he is on he is an elite rebounder. We need him to be right for this team to reach it's full potential, he was a huge reason when we beat good teams last year. His rebounding has been excellent the last two games. He also made a couple of difficult drives last night that he has been consistently missing, including the critical runner to get us back up by 6.
A nitpick but I would have preferred Oshae credit Marek for a great look last night rather than raise the roof and celebrate himself for an uncontested dunk that Marek created for him.

 

[OrangeFoo]

I think the best lineup yesterday is when they pulled OB in the first half and went with Battle, Buddy, Carey, MD, and Sidibe. I don't think I have seen that lineup before, and there was great ball movement on offense. Despite their stats, I think the team struggled more when Frank and OB were in there. Their 3P attempts in the first half were awful. I think OB has the talent to be a star, but he needs to do what is working - driving, rebounding, setting screens/taking up space, etc. He had two horrible plays in the beginning of the game where he drew a double team and forced his way to a bad shot. He would be great to drive and dish.

Didn't Clemson go on a min-run against that lineup and get the lead down to 2 possessions from 3 or 4? I remember JB hustling the starters back in before Clemson tied the game.

 

[Zelda Zonk]

I don’t really know how to say this. I’m not one to bash our players. I love all Orange. I didn’t watch the first half but saw the second half. OB did absolutely nothing until hitting a 2 pt lucky jump shot at the end. I have watched Cuse a long time and understand JB rides the people who got him there, but why not play Marek, Sidibe, Hughes, Battle, and Howard. If OB is giving you nothing why not try it? It’s can’t be much worse! If OB continues to play like this then he will be back next year and honestly I’m ok with that. Nothing wrong with leading for 3-4 years. Seeing why Akok didn’t come here. And seriously I wouldn’t be surprised if Battle came back and we have our whole team back!

Also toward the 8 min mark when we were up 12 or so and started to get stagnant, wouldn’t that be the time to put in Carey to inject some life into the offense? Just curious what everyone else thinks?

OB has a higher upside than Marek. He's either capable of it in that particular game, or it's a matter of getting him experience and letting him learn and work through mistakes/bad judgment until the upside is reached, whether that's this year or next.

 

[kingtidge]

Oshae Beast Mode.

We need it back...

Oshae 3-Jack, no defense, no rebounds NBA mode blows.

 

[CaptainJ]

We have a team psychologist. I haven’t looked lately but for years he has sat in the first couple rows behind the bench.

Apparently he needs to move closer.