ADVERTISEMENT

If Oscar was eligible to be drafted tonight

Not one scout or anyone in basketball would agree with you, I'll leave it at that.

The response that I expected. “I can’t judge talent on my mine so I will listen to the experts” I bet you wear a mask in your car when you’re alone too because JB said to right? 😂
 
So a NPOTY in College basketball isnt 1 of the 32 best players available?
That absolutely doesnt make a lick of sense.
Unfortunately he has one of those games and bodies that translates great to College but not so much at the next level. though I think he has enough tenacity and skill to earn a roster spot somewhere for a long time. His rebounding alone will get him some PT somewhere. I think he could have a nice long career as a role player, a lot like Chuck Hayes did for a while.
 
  • Like
Reactions: catburglar
NBA values big men who can spread the floor or swat shots away like Robert Williams. Big O doesn’t do either very well.

Cal gets tagged with outdated offense because he usually has a big man in the paint. Don’t know about others, but I liked seeing opposing players bouncing off Oscar in the paint and him grabbing offensive rebounds at a high clip.

That being said, I think Oscar is working on his shooting and Cal will reward him by allowing him to launch a few 3’s per game. If Oscar can improve his shooting he may sneak into back end of 1st round next year.
Oscar had a very nice mid range jumper. You could almost count it every time he pulled up from about the free throw line. I think they are working on his range and being able to extend him out past the arc. I just hope he doesn't get to where he thinks that's all he wants to do.
 
On the business side of things, why take him first round if you can get him second?
 
He had 14 points and 28 rebounds against a 7’5 guy. Try again.
Congrats you looked at a box score of a game where western played zone and Sharp got injured. If he was Bam Adebayo he wouldn't be a 2nd round pick. Maybe you should get into the scouting business if you are more knowledgeable than the NBA guys.
 
Congrats you looked at a box score of a game where western played zone and Sharp got injured. If he was Bam Adebayo he wouldn't be a 2nd round pick. Maybe you should get into the scouting business if you are more knowledgeable than the NBA guys.

That happened just last season, I knew that from remembrance.. lol Either way, I proved you wrong. I’m not more knowledgeable than any scout, just all you Rupp Rafter geniuses.
 
That happened just last season, I knew that from remembrance.. lol Either way, I proved you wrong. I’m not more knowledgeable than any scout, just all you Rupp Rafter geniuses.


I would love for you to watch this and say he did well against length. Scout that video for me. He got blocked 3 times while I was just skipping through
 
  • Like
Reactions: catburglar
Regardless it is still interesting that a guy can be considered the best player in college basketball and not sniff the 1st rd in the NBA.
The reason is what just a few on here have pointed out, the NBA drafts greatly, not exclusively but greatly on potential. Alot of these guys will be much better in the coming years than they are in college, primarily because they dont stick around long enough.
 
So a NPOTY in College basketball isnt 1 of the 32 best players available?
That absolutely doesnt make a lick of sense.
It’s not that he isn’t, it’s that the NBA values archetypes and combine numbers more than they value on the court success.

Oscar could become back to back player of the year and the highest he could possibly go is like 7th-15th and all of the talking heads would grade it like a C- saying he’s too old, his game won’t translate, etc.

More likely he will go 20-30 if he has another great year.
 
I love Oscar both as a player and as a person. But he definitely needs to work on a number of areas of his game besides his shooting.

I know a lot around here can't stand Cal and are incapable of listening to him, but he pointed out a month or two ago that Bam is really good at setting picks, while Oscar really needs to improve in that area, and that's one thing that will help him get drafted. So look at that area of his game to change this upcoming season.

I've posted a couple times before (usually when he's getting bashed) that Ware sets the best picks on the team. Apparently nobody in rafters thinks this is an important skill. But Oscar needs a lot of work on his picks, especially out on the perimeter. He goes out to a spot, sets a pick, and often rolls to the basket before making contact with the defender. He needs to fix this.
 
  • Like
Reactions: BlueSince92
Cockburn was not drafted. Consider that.
Yep, I think the fact that Cockburn went undrafted makes it pretty clear that last night would not have gone well for Oscar. Both guys were total beasts in college, but with the same sort of limitations turning off pro scouts.

And, if course, another factor working against Oscar is his age. He turns 23 this year. By comparison, Bam was 19 when drafted (could you imagine how good today’s version of Bam would be in college basketball?). That makes a huge difference when scouts do their “potential” assessment.

And, unfortunately, it’s a factor that will only be working more against Oscar next year.
 
You brought up a 2nd Rd pick that is a dominant MVP winning center in the league. As if to say scouts miss on players all the time.... They don't
Sure it happens but they know what they're looking at.
Jokic was a ball handling center with good foot work. Turned into great foot work . To tell you anything about the game is a waste of time. You have made that clear.
The best comparison for Oscar up to this point is Elton Brand. That's the kind of game he plays
Oh, I missed the little cherry picked stat you just made up to fit a narrative.
 
Do you guys think The Big O goes 1st Rd?
I think he woudl go later in the first just because he is so good at what he does, grab boards run the floor and work his tail off. and great teammate to boot. But the NBA game has almost become a collection of 2s,3s, and 4s who with all the tools (drive, shoot, pass) so his type is getting less desired for sure. If you're a true 5 or a power 4 you better have special abilities.
 
Oscar had a very nice mid range jumper. You could almost count it every time he pulled up from about the free throw line. I think they are working on his range and being able to extend him out past the arc. I just hope he doesn't get to where he thinks that's all he wants to do.

Agree 100%. Oscar can dominate the paint in college and needs to do so. I agree with last year’s mid-range shot and leads me to think mechanics and work ethic is there to extend it out to college 3 pt line. I’m fine with him taking 1-2 3’s a game if he can get in the 30% + range. However, I think his NBA future may rest on being able to take ball in mid range and attack goal with 3-4 dribbles. His Shot already demands defenders come out on him at this range and opens up a lot driving lanes for him.

Big O has convinced me that he’ll exceed any work required to improve his game. Curious to see what he adds to his arsenal this year.
 
Tshiebwe would have been in the draft if there was a chance of him being drafted in the first round. He came back because he knew the guaranteed money at UK through NIL was better than he would have gotten by going to the NBA. So he would have been a second rounder at best. Probably undrafted. College success is not indicative of draft success or NBA success.
 
  • Like
Reactions: shaudyshaud
To show you how broken the system is, Tshiebwe plays all of last season, is the best player in the country, and probably would not have been drafted if he would have left, and Sharpe sits the bench and never plays a single minute of college basketball and is a lottery pick. When it comes to basketball, it feels like we live in Bizarro World.
 
Oscar is a 1950s big man who struggles to score over someone taller than him.
Yeah, against 7 foot shot blocking specialist 1st round draft picks Mark Williams and Walker Kessler, he struggled to get 17 (8/14) and 16 (7/12), respectively.

Great take.
 
Oscar was eligible for the draft but didn’t go because he knew he wouldn’t be a first rounder. Also losing in the first rounder to St. Peter’s the stink sticks to you ask Ty Ty. UK has to make deep runs to get players drafted in the lottery. Ncaa succsss propels players losing early is a massive hit
 
  • Like
Reactions: BlueSince92
Oscar was eligible for the draft but didn’t go because he knew he wouldn’t be a first rounder. Also losing in the first rounder to St. Peter’s the stink sticks to you ask Ty Ty. UK has to make deep runs to get players drafted in the lottery. Ncaa succsss propels players losing early is a massive hit
I wish the stink would have stuck to Sharpe. Oscar balled out that game and he was too scared to play against the peacocks
 
It's a fact. I love him and he might be my favorite cat ever but he can't jump and gets his shot blocked against talented length
I don't get it. I put facts that contradict your claim and you just ignore them and double down.
 
And this statement is also nonsense. We’ve had plenty of guys be lottery picks during seasons when we didn’t make a deep run.
The last 3 years no run no lottery picks. 2013 our lottery pick was injured late in the season. 2016 we were thin in the front court but Murray didn’t need that bump skal otoh did. the last 3 zero so yes there is a connection between success and lottery picks. 2019 pj and herro don’t go lottery if we don’t make elite eight. There is a fine line between being picked 12th or 24th and the last 4 years show why it’s important for players to make deep runs. Team success is what catapults many players to higher draft slots. As cals teams have dwindled in results the nba is becoming more skeptical. It’s right in front of your eyes.
 
I don't get it. I put facts that contradict your claim and you just ignore them and double down.
You're posting stats, I'm talking about what actually happens when he tries to score over someone that's tall. He gets his buckets off jumpers and offensive rebounding against teams with good tall players, not scoring on them
 
Oscar had a very nice mid range jumper. You could almost count it every time he pulled up from about the free throw line. I think they are working on his range and being able to extend him out past the arc. I just hope he doesn't get to where he thinks that's all he wants to do.
That's a slight exaggeration. He probably made 40% from 15/16 ft but that's far from "counting it"
 
Yeah, against 7 foot shot blocking specialist 1st round draft picks Mark Williams and Walker Kessler, he struggled to get 17 (8/14) and 16 (7/12), respectively.

Great take.
Just because he scored points in a game doesn't mean it was against those players. Oscar struggled against auburn
 
  • Like
Reactions: shaudyshaud
If you watched the NBA playoffs no good teams play a center like Oscar very many minutes. Garza barely got drafted too

What? Oscar is a better version of Looney at the same age whos the starting center for the new NBA champions...
 
In his first year at UK Oscar broke records, avg double doubles, and racked up a nice NIL deal on his second year.......Could he have gone pro? yes. Are we never satisfied? Of course. If Anthony Davis came back, we'd be scratching our heads but he loves winning national championships...... just saying. Im excited for Oscar to be coming back, but yeah he could ball in the NBA right now.
 
Unfortunately for today's college players, the NBA Draft has very little to do with the player you are right now. It is almost exclusively about a player's ceiling or potential.

Look at the centers taken last night, Kofi was dominant all season as a college center. But he has no handle and limited range, and the NBA centers today are more like Kofi defensively and Dirk offensively. Bam won a skills challenge at the all-star game if I recall.

I love Oscar, but today's NBA is about spreading the floor. The NBA clearly feels at his age, we are seeing what he is right now. This is his ceiling. I hope Oscar rubs their faces in it. But he has to turn himself into a PF, way too small for NBA Center.

Right now he has Mashburn size, but not even Cousins skill set.

Luckily, he is humble and works hard. He can do great things. His value in life won't be determined by his NBA draft position.
 
What? Oscar is a better version of Looney at the same age whos the starting center for the new NBA champions...
Looney isn't a terrible comparison. That may honestly be the type of ceiling Oscar has. Any minute Looney plays on the warriors they are generally worse off however. He's more of a token size guy when they don't want Draymond to get early fouls at the 5
 
  • Like
Reactions: UK90
ADVERTISEMENT