Unless Pavel or D.Howard completely dominate in the workouts this summer the Magic better take Okafor. He may not have the "potential" as the other 2 but he's already ready(in my opinion) for the NBA and he's a winner. The other 2 could take a couple of years to develop and I don't think T-Mac wants to wait that long. I'd take T-Mac over the "Next KG" anyday. =) I think we all learned from the Darkko over Carmelo pick already.
This is what I think. Omeka is good and would be great on the magic but even if we got rid juan Howard we still have DREW GOODEN!! has everybody forgot that.
I haven' forgot about him, that's why I kind of want to trade down and get something else in return. Then draft Ben Gordon or Jameer Nelson with the later pick. I don't think Emeka could be a center in the league.
Your'e right Omeka can't play the center spot. This probaly won't happen but think about it. T-MAC with Hakim Warrick. Could you imagine how exciting that would be. But the magic really need a point guard. I miss you Darrel Armstrong.
It's Emeka Shorty... and I think he could play Center in this league..neither Juwan or Gooden are as strong as Okafor , and Who will Okafor Have problems defending against ? Yao Ming , Shaq , TD. We've had some close games with DeClerq as Center....We need defensive oriented players , Any of you guys saw Okafor defending that 7 footer from Georgia Tech? Timing , Post Defense is just great.
I think Emeka's the new Mourning... And Hell , he's only an inch shorter... I really think he could play center in the leauge... And unless, Podkolzine plays unbelievable in summer camps or Dwight Howard scores 50 points each game I think they should pick Okafor...
Well he is 6'10 in College...people say he is really 6'8 ...that's T-Mac's size lol I think he is more of a 6'9...
DOn't forget about his wingspan. They're abnormal.LOL And he already has a rep. for being a shot-blocker. Teams will be thinking twice now when they try to drive it to the hole.
Yea , his wingspan..that's why I said great post defense..Players will know who he is but they will steal attack the basket the first season to see what he is going to do , if he plays like what I've seen in Uconn players will think more than twice his Soph season or last half of the season..
You can't take height into account here, considering one of the best shot blockers in the league is 6'10.. Ben Wallace.. Okafor has timing.. Hands down hes the better pick... And He CAN play center.. He may not be able to battle Shaq.. But Shaq wont be around for ever and he will play him twice a year.. So whats that problem?
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting TMac_OwNz:</div><div class="quote_post">It's Emeka Shorty... and I think he could play Center in this league..neither Juwan or Gooden are as strong as Okafor , and Who will Okafor Have problems defending against ? Yao Ming , Shaq , TD. We've had some close games with DeClerq as Center....We need defensive oriented players , Any of you guys saw Okafor defending that 7 footer from Georgia Tech? Timing , Post Defense is just great.</div> O thanks. You know I didn't think Emeka could play center but youve convinced me. He does have a long wingspan which is great for post up. You know Ben Wallace is 6'9"? Rasheed is 6'11"! But anyways the point is if Big Ben can do it Emeka can.
Good point Zero. There are only 3 legitmate post up big men in the League. Shaq, Duncan, and Ming(although Ming is more of a face up center). 3 out of 29 teams. Getting a dominant pst up big man is overhyped. THere really isn't that many out there. One play that stook out to me in the Tourney was when a player(forgot which game.Think it was Alabama) drove to the basket against Okafor. Okfar went for the block but the player tried for the reverse in the last minute and Okafor blocked it with his off hand. Great play. He just has a great feel for the game that you can't teach. I can definitely see him being an Alonzo Mourning type player.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting crazytown:</div><div class="quote_post"> One play that stook out to me in the Tourney was when a player(forgot which game.Think it was Alabama) drove to the basket against Okafor. Okfar went for the block but the player tried for the reverse in the last minute and Okafor blocked it with his off hand. Great play. He just has a great feel for the game that you can't teach.</div> Lol!! I know I saw that play it was unbeleiveable I have a picture of it somewhere , I showed it to sportsrock... The guy came from the right side of the rim Okafor jumped the guy went under the rim for the reverse lay-up and Okafor got him with his left hand in the air at the same time! lol I'll try to find a pic..tomorrow ...
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting ZeroToOne50182:</div><div class="quote_post">You can't take height into account here, considering one of the best shot blockers in the league is 6'10.. Ben Wallace.. Okafor has timing.. Hands down hes the better pick... And He CAN play center.. He may not be able to battle Shaq.. But Shaq wont be around for ever and he will play him twice a year.. So whats that problem?</div> Hey my bad about Big Ben I didnt see yours. my bad.
No problem.. Okafor has instinct to do that type of things... You cannot say that it's just a bunch of college people, because things like that make me belive that he can do that stuff in the NBA.. Paul Hewitt basically called anyone crazy to pass up Okafor in the NBA Draft... And he is right.. If we pass up Okafor for someone like Pavel and get a bust, the franchise is either stupid or they just want to screw everything up... He's too much of a special player to be passed up.. I hope fan and media outlook on Okafor pushed the Magic to take him, because without pressure of them taking the best guy in the draft they will take Pavel.... I have to hope its one of those Lebron Situations.. Where the Magic actually say they are going to take him before the draft.. If they don't... Then they could very well take anyone they want at the last minute..
Orlando needs help ASAP. Dwight Howard has already been looked upon as a player who needs time to develop his game. His stock is very high due to his potential, but he won't make an impact as quick as Oakfor.
Zerotoone. I'm all for getting Okafor, but someone also mentioned that you can't pass up on Dwight Howard too.
Emeka Okafor Hey a lot of people (including myself) wants Orlando to draft Okafor , there has been a lot of discussions about him , like if he could playe Center or we could do other trades to get something better. I just wanted you guys to read this article , it was back in his freshman year but I think is really interesting , here are some quotes. <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Okafor took Gordon aside during the preseason in an effort to get into Gordon's mind, into the mind of a scoring guard. Not because the 6-foot-9 Okafor wanted to play a few minutes in the backcourt this season, work on a few new drives to the basket or start pulling up for a jumpers in 2002-03. No, Okafor wanted to understand how a guard decides which way to go on a drive, and when a shooter will most likely pull up for a mid-range jumper -- so he would know when to block the shots. "He wanted to know what kind of things I do to avoid him blocking my shot," Gordon said. "He wants to get into the mind of a guard so he knows what it's like when a guard is coming at him and how to anticipate the play. He's real cerebral with his stuff. He thinks about the game a lot and that's why he's such a great defender." So, what did Okafor extract from the mind of a scorer? "What I got out of it was that a guard will make one move to get to another," Okafor said. "Emeka is so meticulous about everything he does that sometimes, offensively, it can take him longer for his move, but he can score 15 a game," Calhoun said. "He's done the math. He said he could add six or seven points to his game. Emeka has to get more touches and we'll do that." EDIT: lol this is funny he averaged 7.9 then and made this comments then he actually averaged 8 points more..just what he averaged isn't the kid smart? "Emeka could have nine blocks in a game (against Arizona), but he could have nine hurries so he's affected 18 shots," Calhoun said. "He has impeccable timing. Donyell Marshall (whose record of 111 blocks in 1993-94 was broken by Okafor) had the long arms. But Emeka has the ability to do three things: to want to block shots; to recover from any situation to get to the ball; to mentally stay tough no matter the circumstance. "This game is cerebral to the point that it becomes instinctive," Okafor said. "You've got to think about it so much that it becomes a habit. Some guys can just react naturally, but I'm not that type of person. I have to break it down, learn it so much that I don't think about it anymore, and then I just react." The reaction usually results in a blocked shot, rebound or simply affecting the way the game is played at the defensive end of the court. It's almost like Okafor's inside their minds. </div> More I mean , how could you pass him up?? even if I had an ALL STAR team I couldn't let something like that go! who you think the Lakers would pick if they had #1 draft pick? I'm sure any team would pick him even if they dont' need him he could become very valuable and/or fit somehow in the team.
Nice article, thanks for sharing it with us. I believe no one would pass this guy but he has injury problems that may be something to consider. But that's not the point. One point is that I don't believe that our coaching staff is able to teach him. I don't see him doing anything if he ends up in Orlando. Not because he's not good and not ready for the NBA it's because I think our coaching staff is just bad at developing young guys and getting them accustomed to the NBA. So I hope we get a new Head Coach or that Okafor ends up in another team. By the way I don't think we're getting the No. 1 pick, over the last 13 years it happened only twice (or was it even only once?) that the team with the worst record got the first pick.
The Magic have needed a center ever since they lost Shaq. I have been watching Emeka for years and I dont think that he and Tracy McGrady would work well together because there game styles are complete opposite.
