Okorie is the best driving guard in the class, a 6-1 jitterbug who manipulates defenders with a tight handle, sudden changes of speed, and an advanced feel for the game. He's not an above-the-rim athlete, though, and not long ago he was a kid from New Hampshire who ranked outside the top 100 and committed to Harvard. Then Stanford found him, he flipped his commitment, and he proceeded to lead the ACC in scoring with eight 30-point games and a habit for hitting clutch shots. NBA teams will have to decide whether what carved up the ACC will survive against bigger, longer defenders.
Attributes
Downhill Attacker
Ankle Breaker
Crafty Finisher
Basketball IQ
Comparisons
Tyrese Maxey
Kevin Johnson
Scouting Report
STRENGTHS
Attacking mentality: Okorie took 50% of his shots at the rim. He’s constantly attacking the cup, using an array of euro-steps, change-of-pace, and crafty dribbles to get into the teeth of the defense. He moves like a Tesla with his ability to change speeds so suddenly. And despite the fact so many of his shots in the paint were contested — in part, due to his high-usage role on the team — he still made over 50% of them. Even though he’s a below-the-rim player in crowded space, he has excellent athleticism for gliding through the air and the strength to handle contact. He lived at the line in college and attempted over eight per game. But he’s not reliant on it with his scoop layups, off-hand finishes, and ability to toss it up high off the glass.
Primary creation upside: Only 16% of his shots were assisted at Stanford, which ranked in the 97th percentile, per CBB Analytics. He had to do everything for his team and looked like a veteran running pick-and-rolls with his feel for attacking fast straight off the dribble, or slowing down, snaking to the middle of the floor, and then surveying the defense. Even though he was a score-first player in college, he also showed a real knack for passing with accurate lobs and kickouts. Whether he’s laying the ball up with touch, drawing multiple defenders and kicking it out, or tossing up a soft floater, he’s effective once he touches the paint. And despite having the ball in his hands a lot, he logged only 1.9 turnovers per game. Stanford had an 11.9% turnover rate with Okorie on the floor and 20.5% with him off, the largest drop off in the entire nation, per CBB Analytics.
Perimeter shooting: Even though he made only 34% of his 3s, he made over 83% of his free throws and over 50% of his floaters. Going back to high school, he’s shown positive indicators that he can become a knockdown shooter. The odds are his percentages at college would have been higher if he didn’t have to take so many difficult contested shots. But he hit a lot of them, whether pulling up, stepping back, or turning around.
Clutch factor: He hit a game-winning pull-up 3 against Virginia Tech. He hit a left-handed floater in the final minute to tie the game against UNLV. He accelerated through the entire Pittsburgh defense to tie it late. He plays with no fear.
Defensive activity: Okorie averaged 1.9 stocks with quick hands, anticipation, and a willingness to compete on-ball. He's not a stopper, but he plays with energy on that end to make it harder on defenses to target him.
CONCERNS
Size on offense: He's listed at 6-foot-1 and 186 pounds. That's a tough starting point for a lead guard at the next level. He’ll need to create space against bigger defenders who are just as quick as he is. And there’s no guarantee his below-the-rim style will be as effective against the trees in the NBA paint.
Size on defense: No matter how much he competes on defense, any guard his size will get targeted. Or, he’ll need to be so special offensively that he makes up for the fact his team will need to scheme around the matchup disadvantage that he is on defense.
EbukaOkorie
PositionGuard
SchoolStanford
ClassFreshman
Height
6' 1.25''
Weight
186lbs
Age
19.2yrs
I had fun earlier in this mock imagining what the Grizzlies could look like if they kept Ja around, but a clean slate feels like the more sensible approach. While he’s nowhere near the player Morant was coming out of college, Okorie would provide a similar downhill electricity with the ball in his hands, only without the implied touches that would eat into Darryn Peterson’s developmental runway. Ten players in all of Division I averaged 20 or more paint touches per game last season, and Okorie—at 6 feet, 1 1/4 inches tall with a wingspan of 6 feet, 7 3/4 inches—was the most efficient of all of them on those plays.
Hey, Siri—what would it look like if an elite kick returner played point guard?
Downhill
Dynamo
Lather
Scorer
Foul
Magnet
Offensive role projection
Supplementary creator
Defensive role projection
Point of attack
STRENGTHS
WEAKNESSES
- Undersized at the NBA level, but has lanky, long, and wiggly limbs with a defined frame.
- Incendiary athlete however you want to slice it. Explosive in terms of pedal-to-the-metal speed and short, darting movements when he’s changing directions. Decelerates hard. Can angle his legs lower than almost anyone else in this class off the dribble and create some violent movements that leave defenders overextended and recovering. Has impressive vertical pop without a running start.
- Was like electricity finding the ground when it came to paint touches. Strong enough to break through tight gaps and slithery when necessary to find his way through clusters of defenders. Managed to do that continuously this past season, despite being the target of every defense that Stanford ran up against. Teams went out of their way to plant more trees than Aspiration to clog him up. Although he’s listed at only 6-foot-2, he somehow ranked 24th in the country in field goal attempts at the rim, according to Synergy Sports, and he had an impressively low turnover rate (7 percent) on his drives despite being one of the higher-volume driving guards in the country.
- Cobbles together sequences of varying step lengths at varied speeds, which can have a dizzying effect if he’s on an island against a defender. Doesn’t just hammer you with pure speed—uses sharp, fast-to-slow/slow-to-fast gear shifting. Has a good sense for waiting a beat and prepping his driving lane instead of trying to bully his way through someone.
- Clever navigating defenders’ arms once he’s left his feet. Capable of jumping early to use his momentum to get by the contester or contort and find an angle. Really likes to try to sneak past shot blockers by stepping just past them and reaching behind their arms to finish. Generated a ton of fouls in these situations.
- More of a threat from 3 than you would typically see from this type of guard, but dribble 3s are unlikely to continue to be such a big piece of his pie. Definitely the lesser evil within his offensive game.
- Despite the exceptional self-creation gifts, it’ll be exceedingly difficult, at his size, to live the heliocentric life at the next level. Living and dying by the degree-of-difficulty diet he had in college will make it hard to be efficient. Probably better suited to do some on-to-off-ball toggling and take the reins for stints over the course of a game.
- Will inevitably get attacked on defense in switches by bigger guards, handling wings, and mobile bigs. Has quick hands and will likely rack up steals, but that gambling lifestyle will be tenuous.
- Pass placement and touch from a standstill over the top can be a little sloppy at times.
- Could stand to balance out his comfort level shooting the ball on the right side of the floor. Those attempts pulled his efficiency down considerably. Attempted 113 jump shots from the top of the key, left wing, and long midrange on the left side and hit on 44.2 percent of them. On the right side: 115 jumpers at 33 percent. Loads up with his right hip much more pronounced and angled toward the rim. Shoots a low-arcing ball that will probably need to be addressed as he adjusts to the longer NBA 3-point line.
Genau, find ich auch.
