Will he play this year? Or is he more a project we might see his Jr-Sr years ala Les Jepsen?
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Ogundele
- Thread starter JRHawk2003
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I expect he will get minutes. Not sure where he is in the rotation but I think he will be a contributor.
He will definitely play. He's the biggest body we have. I've also seen some videos of him from the offseason and he looks to be in much better shape. He even showed a nice jump shot.
Anyone seen him recently? Has he slimmed down some? Added muscle?
He's basically a Tyler Cook lookalike at this point.
Check out this thread from August (?) ….
Thread 'Josh Ogundele'
https://iowa.forums.rivals.com/threads/josh-ogundele.365025/
Yeah but he's shooting it like JBo.
Josh Ogundele
This, folks, is an example of player development at Iowa! He looks good & in better shape, for sure. #LFG
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I’m in the minority in that I think he will contribute significantly this year. He has the physical tools, just needs experience. A year of going up against Garza every day in practice is the best training you could ask for. We’re definitely going to need him again Kofi and other big centers.
I agree.
This article provides some good insight on the potential fit of the 3 bigs.
An excerpt:
Rebraca, however, has the most basketball experience. While at North Dakota, Rebraca was a two-time All-Summit League selection and has 74 career starts.
"He's been through it. He might be 24 (years old)," McCaffery said. "He's played internationally (Serbia), played in this country at the Division I level. And he wanted to challenge himself to play in the Big Ten. So we're thrilled to have him."
At 6-foot-9 and 230 pounds, he doesn't have the physically imposing frame that Ogundele has but his play-style fits perfectly with Iowa's up-tempo attack.
"It's a lot different that how we played at North Dakota," Rebraca said. "My game is kind of a jack-of-all trades: I can finish in the post, I can create offense in the mid-post and I know the three-point line. I know we use all of that here so it feels natural so to say."
The youngest, and maybe most intriguing of the trio, is true freshman Riley Mulvey. He was originally a member of Iowa's 2022 class but re-classified and joined the team a year early. Since his arrival this summer, his biggest challenge has been adjusting his body to the college game.
"I've changed so much," said Mulvey, who stands at 6-foot-11. "I've gained about 10 pounds (up to 244 pounds) and I feel like I'm getting a lot stronger. Playing against Ogundele, Rebraca and the Murray twins, they're so strong and that's helped me."
Where Mulvey will most likely impact Iowa most this year is as a rim protector. During his last two years of high school, he averaged five blocks per game. However, he may find minutes limited until his body catches up to the rigors of Big Ten basketball.
"Defensively he's ahead of where he is on offense," McCaffery said. "He's 240, but he's still getting pushed around a little bit. He still should be a senior in high school. We'll get him ready at some point."
All three of Iowa's big men bring something to the table: Ogudele's big frame and aggressiveness, Rebraca's experience and skill and Mulvey's defensive prowess.
It's fair to assume that Rebraca has the edge but don't be surprised to see all three get opportunities early in the season when rotations are still fluid.
How do they evaluate the competition among them?
"Every day, it's hard in practice," Ogundele said. "Whether it's Riley dunking and blocking shots, Filip opening up and shooting the ball and me aggressive inside. I think there's a lot of opportunity this year and it'll be interesting to see what happens with the bigs."
I highlighted Ogundele's comment at the end as I think it is telling. Riley's strongest skills right now might be dunking on offense and blocking shots on defense. Rebraca is getting to that mid-range and "opening up" with a Sikma inside pivot move that Garza used often to face the basket and then either shoot it in your face or drive around you if you closed out (which bigger defenders don't like to do). Ogundele sounds like he's using his 265 lbs inside and banging around the rim.
Rebraca's skills fit our offense best, but if we need a low post banger against bigger Centers it might be Ogundele, or if we need rim protection it might be Mulvey. Rebraca against bigger Centers will just take them to the perimeter where they don't want to be. I'm not sure Ogundele or Mulvey can space the floor like that. This allows room in the paint for guys like Perkins, Patrick or the Murray's to penetrate and get to the rim. Rebraca's issue will be defending those same bigs on the other end where we may need to double or play zone.
It does sound, based on Fran's comments, that Ogundele could be ahead of Mulvey but I think as the year goes along both of them will see improvement and that order could change once Mulvey gets enough lower body strength to hold his own in the paint. Both are listed at 6'11" but it wouldn't surprise me if Mulvey has a 4-5" standing reach advantage.
Why is it this kid gains 10 pounds and feels stronger, and I gain 10 pounds and can't wait for pie?
Too bad we can't combine them into one player. Then we would have something similar to Luka.
LOL! the difference in being 19yrs old my friend.....
I had a feeling that Josh would be a rim protector, vis a vis shot blocks. Looks like Riley joins him in this effort. Good stuff and will be fun to see, especially if we get possession off the block and score after getting back on the fast break.
Maybe I am not reading carefully and have missed past threads, but Fran seldom seems to say much about Josh O. Obviously, he is bigger and less likely to get pushed around near the basket, but I don't hear much more. It seems like Rebraca is way ahead of the other bigs in almost everything except size.
That would make sense since he already has 3 years of experience under his belt as a senior transfer.
This. McC has been saying good things about him without going overboard in his praise. I hope we see good things from Big O this year but I am happy that the team doesn't have to rely on him for a major contribution. Let him come along at his speed. Big men can take longer.
Jbo guarded shooting or Jbo wide open? One is a dead eye and the other one sucksYeah but he's shooting it like JBo.
Josh Ogundele
This, folks, is an example of player development at Iowa! He looks good & in better shape, for sure. #LFG
He's won a few games making shots while guarded. But of course you only remember the few bad games he's had. SMH.
This is pretty much what I am saying. Big O has been "getting in better shape" for more than two years. That is great, but honestly, with all that athletes have available, it would be hard not to get in much better shape, especially if you arrived on campus not close to being in playing shape. I keep hoping to hear more about his skills and where he might fit into a rotation. The only meaningful minutes I remember was Josh showing that he could keep from getting pushed around by Kofi for a couple of minutes, but not much more.
People who doubted Josh are embarrassing themselves
Why? Ogundele has played this well in all of his previous 15 minutes
What would a defense 1st starting lineup and rotation be like?
The Iowa team needs to play against a real team. The defensive metrics so far against terrible teams are not good. The raw #'s have been decent for Iowa's D, but adjusted for the absolute horrific teams they have played so far it has them 80th in defense according to Pomeroy. Iowa will likely...
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