Josh Okogie to hire agent and stay in NBA Draft

kg01

kg01

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Seems he's testing and playing well this week. I'm actually really happy for him. He'll be a good pro. Hope we get him back but I don't expect us to.
 

RamblinRed

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SB Nation

https://www.sbnation.com/nba/2018/5...e-2018-grayson-allen-mohamed-bamba-trae-young

Winner: Josh Okogie and Kevin Huerter
Jonathan Givony

✔@DraftExpress
Josh Okogie is another guy who appears to be crushing the athletic testing. 42 inch vertical, which is the best mark at the Combine so far. Also has a 3.03 shuttle run time, which is also #1 so far (Grayson Allen #2 at 3.04). Playing in the five on five right now.

Okogie is a high-motor sophomore wing from Georgia Tech who profiles as a potential 3-and-D player. He’s only 6’4, but he measured with a 7-foot wingspan and once again proved himself to be a monster athlete in the testing. He hit 38 of 100 threes this season and hit 82 percent from the foul line.

Okogie made his SB Nation mock draft debut this week, as did another player who stood out at the combine: Maryland’s Kevin Huerter.
(FWIW, he has Okogie at #28 to the Golden State Warriors in his new mock draft)
 

lv20gt

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I think the best chance that he returns is that he gets the feeling that with another year he can improve his shot off the dribble and prove he can finish around the rim better in order to shed the 3 and D tab that is being thrown on him. Basically with what he is being described I doubt he'd be much better than a late first round or early second round. However, if in the next year he can improve his finishing at the rim and maybe show more of an ability to score in the midrange then he can be looked at as a player who has more than a 3 and D future, which could be enough to get him in the lottery.
 
jeffgt14

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orientalnc said:
That is kinda what I think, but people change. People work on their shortcomings. He is not a bad shooter, so that could definitely improve. Defensively he is there. I hope he returns, but I will understand if he leaves. There are no hard feelings relative JO.
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Kind of why I made the RJ comparison. Very athletic with a long wingspan and can do everything on the court well. RJ hits a high % of 3’s because he knows when to shoot instead of cranking up a ton. Okogie did the same for us last year. His 3P% was pretty good because he picked his shots well but that’s not his game.
 

YlJacket

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I don't know who Josh's "advisor" is but they will be having some real interesting conversations - both with teams with end of round one picks and with themselves as to what the upsides/downsides of going and staying are.

Obviously the strong performance at the combine puts him squarely in the crosshairs for staying in the draft. Not a done deal as there are a lot of factors for him to consider - including a recognition that a second round pick likely will spend some time in the G League. Plus how much he actually likes college life. But without a doubt he has more options now than at the start of the process.
 
Techster

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Obviously we would love to have JO back, but the brightside if he stays in the draft and sneaks into the first round: CJP can claim on the recruiting trail how he developed a 3 star recruit into an NBA player.

One thing is certain. If JO does happen to return, GT probably gets a supremely confident player who picked up some more tools developed through the draft process. Not that I think he lacks for confidence, but to compete with the best of the best for a week and shine against them just gives him more ammo.
 

YlJacket

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Just as an aside, I am surprised that Grayson Allen is showing as well as he has on the physical attributes testing. Didn't think he would do that well. Will be interested to see how it affects his draft stock.
 
orientalnc

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RamblinRed said:
SB Nation

https://www.sbnation.com/nba/2018/5...e-2018-grayson-allen-mohamed-bamba-trae-young

Winner: Josh Okogie and Kevin Huerter
Jonathan Givony

✔@DraftExpress
Josh Okogie is another guy who appears to be crushing the athletic testing. 42 inch vertical, which is the best mark at the Combine so far. Also has a 3.03 shuttle run time, which is also #1 so far (Grayson Allen #2 at 3.04). Playing in the five on five right now.

Okogie is a high-motor sophomore wing from Georgia Tech who profiles as a potential 3-and-D player. He’s only 6’4, but he measured with a 7-foot wingspan and once again proved himself to be a monster athlete in the testing. He hit 38 of 100 threes this season and hit 82 percent from the foul line.

Okogie made his SB Nation mock draft debut this week, as did another player who stood out at the combine: Maryland’s Kevin Huerter.
(FWIW, he has Okogie at #28 to the Golden State Warriors in his new mock draft)
Click to expand...
It will be interesting to see how well JO does in the shooting drills today. The NBA 3-point line is three feet beyond the NCAA 3-point line. 38% is good, but doing that in the NBA will be a challenge.
 
ESPNjacket

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YlJacket said:
Just as an aside, I am surprised that Grayson Allen is showing as well as he has on the physical attributes testing. Didn't think he would do that well. Will be interested to see how it affects his draft stock.
Click to expand...

I thought it was well known, and fairly obvious, that Allen was very athletic. I've heard a lot of people say the same thing as you today and it has surprised me.
 
H-Wade

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ESPNjacket said:
I thought it was well known, and fairly obvious, that Allen was very athletic. I've heard a lot of people say the same thing as you today and it has surprised me.
Click to expand...

He won the slam dunk contest in high school and had the memorable dunk in the championship game. Hmm... I wonder why people might think he isn't athletic? I can't quite put my finger on it...
 
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