What are the chances Okogoe goes pro?

[dtm1997]

nbadraft.net is solid, but I'll give more credence to the possibility once Draft Express lists him in their mock draft. The former has a history of throwing **** against the wall sometimes, while the latter is more plugged in.

Regardless of whether he stays in next year's draft, I 100% think he should declare for it and get a baseline for his NBA stock. Josh has some great measurables, but his stock is going to depend on improvement & production, as opposed to potential.

I do find it amusing that Josh is slated 1 pick behind Hami Diallo. Diallo would've been picked higher this year and his skill level is getting exposed at the U19 games.

 

[orientalnc]

I want to see Josh use his left hand effectively and improve his 3 point shooting before I count him gone. He's not likely to play the 3 or 4 in the NBA.

 

[dtm1997]

I want to see Josh use his left hand effectively and improve his 3 point shooting before I count him gone. He's not likely to play the 3 or 4 in the NBA.

Leave your concepts of position in the past. Josh is a wing, pure & simple. He also has a 7ft measured wingspan. There will easily be at least 2 spots on the floor for him to play and as a late 1st round pick, expectation is he'd be a rotational 3 & D type of wing, not a future starter. Pretty sure shooting 38% from spot up 3s is a pretty solid foundation.

If Josh Okogie can make it as a 3&D rotation player, he probably makes $2MM-$4MM on a rookie deal and could see $6MM-$12MM/year on a second contract. That would be a tremendous success. With that kind of money at stake, he should leave as soon as he can to get to that 2nd contract.

 

[CuseJacket]

Looks like that mock draft is showing Okogie end of 2nd round i.e., not likely to make a roster.

Is it still true that college players can only declare once to gauge draft stock and then return to school? That could be an argument against testing the waters after this season.

I think for Josh to crack the first round after this season he's going to have to have a similar type of "where did that come from" year. E.g., maybe more off the dribble stuff (pull-up, distribute, etc) or ability to show more from the post. Is he better than MGH - similar build - who is trying to push through now? Not yet imo, so there's a ways to go. I think he's certainly further ahead than MGH after year 1 though.

 

[RyanS12]

Looks like that mock draft is showing Okogie end of 2nd round i.e., not likely to make a roster.

Is it still true that college players can only declare once to gauge draft stock and then return to school? That could be an argument against testing the waters after this season.

I think for Josh to crack the first round after this season he's going to have to have a similar type of "where did that come from" year. E.g., maybe more off the dribble stuff (pull-up, distribute, etc) or ability to show more from the post. Is he better than MGH - similar build - who is trying to push through now? Not yet imo, so there's a ways to go. I think he's certainly further ahead than MGH after year 1 though.

He can declare without an agent. Get feed back and return. I think one of the UNC kids did this 2 years ago and had a great season this past year. I'm blanking on his name at the moment.
I think JO, if he continues to improve and not have a "sophomore slump" should declare, get info and come back and go after his Jr year.

 

[CuseJacket]

He can declare without an agent. Get feed back and return. I think one of the UNC kids did this 2 years ago and had a great season this past year. I'm blanking on his name at the moment.
I think JO, if he continues to improve and not have a "sophomore slump" should declare, get info and come back and go after his Jr year.

So I get that you have to declare without an agent to return. My understanding is you can only do that once though. Is that right / still the case?

ETA: just looked it up. Can only declare once and leave the door open to returning

Basketball student-athletes may enter a professional league’s draft once during their college career without jeopardizing their eligibility as long as they are not drafted by a professional team and as long as they declare their intention to resume playing for their college team before the first day of the spring signing period, typically in April.

http://www.ncaa.org/remaining-eligible-professional-draft-inquiries

 

[tbglover]

He can declare without an agent. Get feed back and return. I think one of the UNC kids did this 2 years ago and had a great season this past year. I'm blanking on his name at the moment.
I think JO, if he continues to improve and not have a "sophomore slump" should declare, get info and come back and go after his Jr year.

The UNC player that you're talking about is Justin Jackson. The rule used to be that you could only declare and then come back to school once. The rule has been changed so a player can declare for the draft and then withdraw and return to school multiple times.
As for the comparison to MGH. MGH is taller by about an inch but his wingspan is about 4 inches shorter than Okogie and he's not as explosive of an athlete as Okogie. Both are good rebounders and are willing to play but in terms of how they play that's about where the similarities end IMO.

 

[RamblinRed]

I agree with Cuse on this one.
Right now I don't think Josh is close to a level where he would get drafted at any place worth leaving early from.

He's going to have to show significant improvement in shooting and ballhandling skills imo to get drafted.
His shot is sort of a slow release (or at least was last season) and he is going to have to show the ability to get that shot off faster and at roughly a 40% clip (given the distance between college and NBA threes) to be a serious threat to be drafted.

I think the MGH comparison is a good one. He is farther along at the same point, but not as good as MGH was as a SR yet.

 

[ChasonBaller]

I said it when he was a senior in HS...3 year player for us. He would be foolish to not enter next year and get his feedback, then go to work as a junior and get that mid 1st round pick (ala Shumpman) along with our fellow wing Nas Little.

 

[ChasonBaller]

 

[MiracleWhips]

Bump... lol

 

[gtpi]

I say the chances are pretty good