Obekpa Blocks His Way to History

Obekpa with a rejection

The St. John's record for blocks in a season was set during the 1985-86 campaign by Walter Berry; recording 76 swats in 36 games (an average of 2.1 per).  Berry went on to win the Big East Player of the Year and the John Wooden Awards that season as he also averaged 23 points and 11.1 rebounds per game en route to leading the Johnnies to a #1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

That record lasted 27 seasons, as it has now been broken a mere 16 games into the 2012-13 season by shot-blocking sensation Chris Obekpa. 

Obekpa (6 foot 9) has already accumulated 82 blocks in the young season, averaging 5.1 per game. 

What does that suggest?  Well that St. John’s has never even had a whiff of a true shot blocker, and that Obekpa is really good at the art of rejection. 

 Plenty of schools lined up to land the rim protector, but the 78th ranked recruit and 16th ranked center in the 2012 class by ESPN was snagged by Coach Lavin.

“He is as gifted as anybody I have ever seen in terms of blocking shots,” Lavin said.  “With his timing, he is a game-changer.  As a coach, you have to think about what you’re going to do against a specialist like that.”  These statements were made by Lavin during the summer.   He has got to be pleased to see his expectations come to fruition.

A freshman, Obekpa has played in all 16 games and has recorded multiple blocks in every game except one, a one block performance against Charleston in the second game of the season. 

While his offensive fundamentals are a bit raw, they continue to improve.  However, that was no surprise entering the season.   The book on the incoming freshman was that while he is a bit challenged offensively, he is a high-energy, long, versatile and athletic big man, with incredible instincts. 

This is exactly what has played out in the stat book thus far, as Obekpa has more games with double digit blocks than double digit points; 1 to 0.  He put on a spectacle December 8^th, blocking a whopping 11 shots versus Fordham.   

He not only leads the Big East in total blocks and blocks per game, but he tops both lists in the country.

The Big East record for blocks in a season is currently held by Alonzo Mourning.  Mourning finished with 169 blocks in 34 games during his 1988-89 season at Georgetown.

St. John’s currently has 14 regular season games remaining plus at least one Big East Tournament game.  With what we know and given Obekpa’s averages so far he is on pace to finish with 158 blocks in 31 games.

That currently comes up short of Mourning’s mark, but Alonzo compiled that total with three more games played.  The Johnnies have the potential to win one or more Big East Tournament games and they could very well earn a berth into a post-season tournament. 

Given that - Mourning’s record could be next in line to be swatted by ‘Oblockpa ‘.

[David Robinson has the all-time record for blocks in a season with 207.  He accomplished that in 35 games played and averaged 5.91 per contest.]

Twitter:  @shane_t_mac

Wooden Award Finalists from the Big East

The 25 Wooden Award finalists were announced on Thursday night, and the Big East has five representatives.  Of the five candidates, none are a real surprise.  If there was a surprise it's the absence of Louisville point guard, Peyton Siva (the Big East pre-season Player of the Year).  Siva continues to improve as this is his fourth year on the team, and he has developed into an upper-echelon point guard, but he has been out-done statistically by his teammate Russ Smith.  However, this list is not set in stone as players can be added and removed as the season progresses.   

The Wooden Award is given annually to the nation's most outstanding player.  Below are the five current finalists (in alphabetical order) from the Big East and what they have done to date and what needs to be done to win the award.

Michael Carter-Williams

12.0 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 9.6 APG and 3.2 SPG

MCW is one of the most dynamic point guards in the country as he leads the nation in assists, but it is his defense that is equally impressive, but doesn’t get talked about (he’s fourth in the nation in steals per game).  However, when he struggles so to have the Orange.  If he can become more consistent, especially in shooting, he could lead Syracuse to a Big East season title, conference tournament championship and a deep run in March, all en route to a Wooden Award for himself.

Jack Cooley

15.2 PPG and 11.2 RPG

Jack Cooley is the only player in the Big East averaging a double double.  Actually, he is the only player in the Big East average double digit rebounds, which is more than two full rebounds over the next (Eugene Teague at 8.6 RPG).  Moreover, Cooley is the only player in the nation to pull down more than 20% each of available offensive and defensive rebounds.  Don’t expect this pace to cool down any time soon, but it will likely take some monster games in the Big East tournament for Cooley to get some serious looks at the Wooden Award.

Sean Kilpatrick

17.7 PPG, 5.7 RPG, 2.0 APG and shooting 34% from 3

Kilpatrick has struggled a bit recently, but when he gets hot, he’s as hot as they get.  While he did have an 8-12 game from 3 earlier in the season, it is imperative for him to think ‘get to the basket’ first for Cincinnati to have success.  In the three games that the Bearcats have lost Kilpatrick got to the line a total of three times.  He will have to turn up his points per game (which means becoming more of a slasher!) and hit a couple game winning shots if he is to win the Wooden Award.

Otto Porter

12.8 PPG, 7.2 RPG and 2.8 APG

Porter’s numbers don’t blow you away, but when you watch the Hoyas play (which can be painful at times) you see how important he is to the team’s success.  First and foremost, Porter needs to get Georgetown back on the right track, but if he’s going to be considered a serious contender for the Wooden Award he will have to start taking over games, which he is more than capable of, and score more.

Russ Smith

19.4 PPG, 3.7 RPG, 3.0 APG and 2.6 SPG

Oh has Russ Smith been playing extra Russdiculous this year.  He may be the most fun player in the country to watch for combined pure entertainment value and actual basketball skill.  And this year he has cut down on the amount of negative ridiculousness that he has pulled in the past.  But in all seriousness – he is one of the favorites in the nation to win the Wooden Award and he just has to keep doing what he is doing.   

Players who could make their way into the discussion:

Peyton Siva – great point guard who is likely the most important piece on one of the best teams in the country.

Gorgui Dieng – if he hadn’t missed a month due to a broken wrist, he would have made the finalist list, guaranteed.

C.J. Fair – the more aggressive he gets, the better chance he has to become one of the best wing players in the nation.

Tray Woodall – the Pitt Panthers aren’t really being talked about right now, but when they do gain some recognition the conversation will start with Woodall.

Shabazz Napier – Uconn isn’t eligible for any post season play, but that hasn’t stopped Shabazz from being one of the most electrifying scorers in the college basketball.  

Twitter:  @shane_t_mac

Chane Behanan to Miss 7-10 Days with High Ankle Sprain

Louisville forward, Chane Behanan, is expected to be sidelined for 7-10 days after spraining his ankle in practice on Monday.

The 7-10 day timetable is important because in 11 days (Saturday, January 19^th) the Louisville Cardinals host the #7 Syracuse Orange at the Yum! Center.

The Cardinals play three games in between now and then – at Seton Hall tomorrow night (which he has already been ruled out for), home for South Florida on Saturday, and at Connecticut next Monday.

All of those games fall short of the expected timeframe, but even so – there is no way he is touching the court with the monster match-up with the Orange looming.  Ankle injuries can be tricky, but the Cards staff will be doing everything in their power to get Behanan as close to 100% as possible for the highly anticipated match-up; a game (while early in the season) that could decide the Big East regular season title.

Behanan has been a significant contributor for Louisville - averaging 26.4 minutes, 11.4 points and 7.1 rebounds per game.

Twitter:  @shane_t_mac

Cincinnati on a Slide

Both Cincinnati and Notre Dame made nine 3-pointers, but the Irish did it by taking five less.  Notre Dame got off to a slow start, only scoring 11 points in the first 13 minutes of the game, but they closed the first half hot – scoring 21 in the final seven minutes.  They did this by cycling the ball beautifully, and converting six consecutive wide-open 3s.  All while Cincinnati had yet another dismal first half trying to get the ball to go through the net.  This was their seventh straight game that they failed to eclipse 30 points before the break.

Once Notre Dame got the Bearcats to spread-out and discontinue their help defense after hitting that barrage of 3s,   they attacked them with pick n rolls and slashes for the entirety of the second half.

Cincinnati went down by as much as 11 in the early going of the second half, but they quickly went on a run to take a two point, 47-45 lead with over 12 minutes remaining in the game.  

The Bearcats actually out-rebounded the Irish by eight (27 to 19), but obviously that didn’t make a difference in the game.  The difference in this game, as it has been for a few games now for Cincy, is that they lack scorers on the floor.  The ESPN crew pointed this out during the game – Cincinnati does not have more than three players on the court at a given time that are legitimate scoring threats.  The Irish were then able to focus on those three players, force them to take tough contested shots, or watch the other players chuck bricks off the rim.  While on the other end of the court Notre Dame had five scoring threats on the floor at all times, allowing them to work the ball (and burn clock) and find good looks all night. 

Cincinnati started the season 12-0, but they were barely tested.  New Mexico came to their place and squeaked out a close one, but the Bearcats bounced back nicely by winning their Big East opener on the road at Pittsburgh (never an easy place to play).  However, they have since dropped back-to-back games at home, and three of their last four.  They now go on the road to Rutgers and DePaul before getting Marquette at home, then back on the road to Syracuse.  Winning on the road in the Big East is never an easy task and five of their next seven are away from home. Also, their schedule is back-loaded, meaning every single game they 'should' win, now needs to be must wins.  This was a team that was coasting along through late December, now they can ill-afford to drop too many more, if any, if they want to compete for the conference title.  

Twitter:  @shane_t_mac

Player and Rookie of the Week (week of 12/31 - 1/6)

Player of the Week:

Brandon Triche

Triche led the Orange to three victories last week, which included a win over conference foe Rutgers to move Coach Boeheim into second place on the all time wins list. In that game Triche had his highest scoring output of the season, 25 points, as he went five of seven from beyond the arc to lead the Orange in scoring on the night. He also finished with 20 against South Florida and 13 against Central Connecticut State. Triche, who is never flashy, often goes unnoticed when on the floor with Michael Carter-Williams and C.J. Fair, but he actually leads the Orange in scoring this year at an even clip of 15 points per game and is second on the team in assists per game (albeit that is a whopping 6+ behind MCW). His calm, steady, senior-laden demeanor should bode well for the Orange come March.

Rookie of the Week:

Ryan Arcidiacono

The Villanova Wildcats only played one game last week, but it was a 98-86 overtime victory at home over St. John’s. Arcidiacono led the way with 32 points in a performance that included seven three-pointers. The Johnnies left Arcidiacono wide open time and time again and he made them pay over and over as he only missed four of his attempts. Previously, Arcidiacono only eclipsed the 20 point threshold once in 13 games, and this was the first time he surpassed the 30 point barrier. Arcidiacono is currently second on the team in points scored per game (13.0), but leads the team in assists with 3.4 per. Arcidiacono has displayed flashes of brilliance in the point guard role, but he has also been just as inconsistent (just like my inconsistence in spelling his name even though I am really trying to type it as much as possible in this post). The Wildcats have reeled off six straight victories, but they get Pittsburgh, Louisville and Syracuse twice in the next three weeks. We’ll know more about the ‘Cats and Arcidiacono after this upcoming stretch.

Twitter:  @shane_t_mac

Predictions for the Final Season of the Big East as we Know It

Who Will Win the League?

We will likely find out on January 19^th when Syracuse travels to Louisville for a heavy weight showdown.  The Cardinals and the Orange are the clear cut two best teams in the Big East.  These two thankfully see each other twice, and obviously one will have to lose, however I don’t believe either will finish undefeated in the Big East.  Both will lose two or three games as there are too many quality teams in the conference, and winning on the road is never easy.

Prediction:  Syracuse.  Truly a gut call here as you could flip a coin between Cuse and Louisville.  Defensively, these teams are one and two in the country, both have excellent point guard play and both teams can go fairly deep on their bench. The two regular season games between the two should be great.    

Who are the Player of the Year Candidates?

Right now this seems to be a two horse race between Michael Carter-Williams and Russ Smith.  MCW leads the nation in assists per game at a clip of 10.1.  But he also snatches three steals and makes the Orange extra-long at the top of the 2-3 zone.  However, Russ Smith has been playing as Russdiculous as ever.  There’s not a player in the country that takes as many crazy shots as him, and makes them.  He is currently averaging an even 20 points per game, while being the engine to the Cards up-tempo play.  Jack Cooley and Otto Porter are two others that will deserve consideration at the end of the season.

Prediction:  Michael Carter-Williams.  Given that I believe Syracuse will win the league, I’ll go with Carter-Williams to win POY.  I know that he is not a good shooter, but his slashing and distribution capabilities make the Orange a difficult team to match up with. 

Who are the Rookie of the Year Candidates?

There hasn’t been a Big East rookie stick out yet like Moe Harkless did last year at St. John’s.  But while there doesn’t seem to be a favorite at this time, there are a pool of candidates.  Steven Adams was the Preseason Rookie of the Year, but it is another freshman on Pittsburgh that has excelled, James Robinson.  Robinson has handled the majority of the point guard duties for the Panthers while allowing Tray Woodall to play more freely in the two position.  Adams is still a candidate, but he looks awkward and unsure far too often, and hasn’t been as dominant as many were hoping.  Ryan Arcidiacono of Villanova is a shifty point guard who has a knack for scoring, but needs to become more consistent.  Jakarr Sampson of St. John’s and Cameron Biedscheid of Notre Dame are excellent scorers while Kris Dunn of Providence is an excellent ball handler, who recently made his debut after recovering for an injury,  who are all worthy candidates in the early going.

Prediction:  James Robinson.  He certainly is not the best scorer of the candidates (that belongs to Sampson), but he plays a large role on a team that should finish near the top of the conference.  However, Arcidiacono and Sampson are the likely favorites today.

How Many Teams will Make the NCAA Tournament?

Prediction:  Seven.  Syracuse, Louisville, Notre Dame, Georgetown, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh and Marquette. 

Twitter:  @shane_t_mac 

Time to Get Back to Action

The busy holiday season has forced me to go over two weeks without blogging.  I’m not happy about that.  But in between traveling, eating, drinking, shopping, spending hours to wrap a handful of presents, more traveling, eating and drinking, I’ve found little time to sit down and write.  But that doesn’t mean I haven’t been watching Big East basketball; because I made sure to get my fill.  Well, in fairness, I watched the games that didn’t involve Alcorn St.

With the non-conference portion of the schedule over with (finally), and with every team getting at least one conference game in the books, it’s time for me to step it up.  With that, let’s go over what happened in the past two-plus weeks during my writing absence.  

Kevin Ollie Received a Contract Extension

It was 12 games into his one-year trial that Kevin Ollie deservingly received a five-year contract extension from the University of Connecticut.  The deal is supposedly worth ~$7 million, but more importantly brings stability to the program.  Recruiting and retaining players should be much easier now that they know who they are playing for.  Ollie has done an excellent job coaching a team that essentially has nothing to play for at the end of the season.  This team could have easily rolled over with no conference tournament or NCAAs in their future, but they have gotten out to a 10-3 start, led by their superb guard play.  Congrats to Ollie and kudos to the Huskies for standing strong.

Boeheim Passes Knight

In Syracuse’s Big East conference opener at home on January 2, the Orange beat Rutgers 78-53 to propel Coach Boeheim to number 2 on the all-time wins list.  Most impressive about the accomplishment is that he achieved every single victory at Syracuse - a feat that we will likely never see again.  He now trails Coach Krzyzewski by 37 wins.  But with Coach K still coaching and thriving at Duke, it will be difficult for Boeheim to cut into the deficit any time soon.  

Dieng Returns and the Cards Beat Kentucky

The Louisville Cardinals had been playing without their center, Gorgui Dieng, since Thanksgiving, when he broke his wrist at the Battle 4 Atlantis.  However, he returned on December 29^th, the day of their much anticipated game with interstate rival Kentucky.  Dieng came off the bench and only played 20 minutes, but he made his presence felt on the defensive end by snatching seven boards and recording two blocks.  KenPom ranks Louisville as the second best defensive team in the country and Dieng will be a key reason why that will continue.  

Syracuse Loses in Their Second Home

Temple had just come off a home loss to Canisius (Go Griffs!); while Syracuse was cruising through their non-conference portion of the schedule looking to enter Big East play undefeated.  But on Saturday, December 22nd in Madison Square Garden, the Owls had different plans.  Khalif Wyatt went off for 33 points, seemingly hitting everything in the second half, while the Orange missed 15 free throws.  Temple attempted two more free throws than Syracuse did (36 vs 34), but they only missed seven.  This proved to be the difference as the Orange fell uncharacteristically in the Garden to a non-conference opponent 83-79.

Todd Mayo Returns for Marquette

Prior to the season kicking off, Todd Mayo was ruled academically ineligible, and it sounded as if his time at Marquette had come to an end.  However, out of nowhere seemingly, he was reinstated as soon as the first semester was complete.  Some find this suspicious as the Golden Eagles were coming off an embarrassing loss at the hands of Green Bay, and feel they were desperate to improve the team, even if that did mean not honoring team discipline practices.  Who knows if that was the case?  Mayo may have propelled himself to becoming Marquette’s most upstanding student in the entire university for all I know.  However, what I do know is that Marquette is 4-0 since his return, including two close but impressive wins at home over UConn and Georgetown to start 2-0 in conference play. 

No Un-Beatens Entered Big East Play

Louisville fell way back in November to Duke (albeit without Dieng on the court), but it looked as if one or two teams would reach Big East play without a blemish on their resume.  As already mentioned, Syracuse fell to Temple on a ‘neutral’ court, but it looked as if Cincinnati might pull it off.  However, the Bearcats lost to New Mexico at home 55-54 in their last non-conference game before Big East play started.  

Twitter:  @shane_t_mac