04-15-2022, 02:34 PM | #151 |
Epic Member
Join Date: Nov 2018
Posts: 1,790
|
Overall I'm not particularly impressed.
I've got doubts that he belongs at this level of play with his level of athleticism. He's slow footed, not particularly athletic and on the short side for a center (pretty much all the same things we've said about Davenport at PF). Defensively he's going to have issues and offensively he's going to find it harder to finish at this level. Not the best shot selection either. The good is that he's a very good passer and has good vision. But I'm not sure that makes up for his issues. If Vik/Ody don't improve and Kalu starts we're probably in trouble. If Kalu is a rotational piece in case of foul trouble/injuries we should be fine. I would have preferred a bigger guy to deal with big/strong big men (since Ody is undersized, but at least he's athletic), but you take what you can get I guess. |
04-15-2022, 03:00 PM | #152 |
Senior Moderator
Join Date: Jan 2018
Posts: 2,395
|
Ezikpe is a solid pickup. Big men who can finish aren't easy to find. We weren't looking for a number 1 option on offense or a versatile defender, just a strong post presence to complement what we already have inside. CUSA isn't a bottom feeder conference, it's just a step below the AAC. They don't have top programs, but a lot of teams would fit in the bottom half of our league. I don't think we'll see a dramatic drop-off in production.
|
04-15-2022, 03:19 PM | #153 |
Senior Moderator
Join Date: Jan 2018
Posts: 2,395
|
Ezikpe is 6'8" 240. I expect he will be our strongest player. Ody is 6'9" 225. Vik is 6'11" 245. Hensley is 6'8" 220. Davenport is 6'7" 210. A strong guy like that who can score and rebound ok is what we needed.
|
04-15-2022, 03:22 PM | #154 | |
Epic Member
Join Date: Nov 2018
Posts: 1,790
|
Quote:
Granted I haven't watched a ton of his play (only watched anything after he committed), but he doesn't look like he's well suited for that. He was already a worse rebounder last year at ODU than Vik/Ody were here. I don't know that there will be a dramatic drop-off, but I'd expect a small one or at the very least no improvement. He also looks like a guy teams are going to target in the pick-and-roll. The more I watch him the more I think it's going to be impossible to play him and Davenport at the same time (maybe he backs up Davenport). As we said with DDJ/Davenport last year, you can only have so many undersized, relatively unathletic guys on the court at the same time, Ezikpe is another one of those guys. I'm not convinced he's going to be any better at finishing than Ody/Vik. The big thing that stands out is his passing and court vision, but I'm not sure that outweighs the negatives. |
|
04-15-2022, 03:55 PM | #155 |
Senior Moderator
Join Date: Jan 2018
Posts: 2,395
|
I don't expect him to be a major upgrade over Vik/Ody. He's replacing Ado/Koval and I think he will be better for our style of play than they were. Neither of those guys were great defending pnr, and neither could finish inside (Ado hit a good percentage but only because his usage was so low that he wasn't attempting shots over defenders).
An OReb rate of 8 is about average for a center and I expect that's what Ezikpe will give us. Ody had great rebounding numbers despite his early struggles. Ezikpe has been good to great in all 4 years at ODU. Physical league or not, they are both average to good rebounders and that should translate. I'm excited about his 56.5 true shooting percentage, much better than anyone on our roster. While I'm sure that will drop some, Ezikpe is a capable scorer which we were sorely missing from Ado/Koval. I don't know about the passing. His assist rate was decent last year, but bad in the previous 3 years. |
04-15-2022, 04:20 PM | #156 | |
Epic Member
Join Date: Nov 2018
Posts: 1,790
|
Quote:
One other concern is Kalu had the worst +/- on his team each of the last two years (-72 21-22, -36 20-21), indicating there might be negatives the stats aren't picking up (depending on how much you trust that +/- and EvanMiya's stats mean anything). I continue to hope Ody/Lakhin improve, Kalu isn't going to make us significantly better than last year. We needed another big and Kalu fills that need. But we need a big who can be good to excellent on both sides of the court and doesn't Kalu fill that need. The potential is there for Ody/Lakhin, but we need at least one of them to get there in one off-season. |
|
04-15-2022, 04:53 PM | #157 |
Senior Moderator
Join Date: Jan 2018
Posts: 2,395
|
We're not getting Gary Clark in the portal. Ezikpe checks all the boxes for me. Strong with ok athleticism for his size, and a proven interior scorer and rebounder in a slightly lesser league. That's as good as I could hope for in the portal this year. I don't think there were many other realistic options. Vik and Hensley still have a lot of developing to do, and Ezikpe gives us a much needed veteran in the frontcourt.
|
04-15-2022, 06:18 PM | #158 | |
Elite Member
Join Date: Nov 2018
Posts: 1,016
|
Quote:
|
|
04-15-2022, 06:29 PM | #159 | |
Epic Member
Join Date: Nov 2018
Posts: 1,790
|
Quote:
He's the Davenport of centers, a guy who's got offensive talent (passing and interior scoring in his case), but who is overmatched in quickness and athleticism. |
|
04-15-2022, 07:09 PM | #160 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2019
Posts: 129
|
|
Bookmarks |
|
|