RightTwoCensor
01-30-2015, 05:07 PM
Comparing Okafor With Other NBA Centers
This should certainly not be viewed as an apples to apples comparison, since Okafor is going up against significantly worse competition in the form of 18-22 year old college players, but it does provide a baseline for which to understand the different categories we are looking at. In particular, it shows how much Okafor's role in Duke's offense differs from that of the NBA centers we looked at, as well as the impact a player of his caliber can have in the college basketball setting. It will be interesting to see how Okafor's role evolves as the year moves on, as well as how he'll be utilized in the pros.
http://content.draftexpress.com/gallery/JahlilOkafor/1422643685.jpg
Okafor Rarely Touches the Ball Outside of the Paint
Perhaps one of the biggest things that stood out on first glance is how rarely Okafor touches the ball on the perimeter for Duke, which isn't the case for most NBA centers we looked at using the same stats. 52% of Okafor's half-court touches come off post ups, which is a huge number compared to the likes of Al Jefferson (32.8%), Nikola Pekovic (31.4%), Dwight Howard (19.2%), Nikola Vucevic (18.4%), DeMarcus Cousins (13.5%), Marc Gasol (12.5%), Tim Duncan (11.1%), and Enes Kanter (4.3%), according to SportVU data we were provided with.
This should certainly not be viewed as an apples to apples comparison, since Okafor is going up against significantly worse competition in the form of 18-22 year old college players, but it does provide a baseline for which to understand the different categories we are looking at. In particular, it shows how much Okafor's role in Duke's offense differs from that of the NBA centers we looked at, as well as the impact a player of his caliber can have in the college basketball setting. It will be interesting to see how Okafor's role evolves as the year moves on, as well as how he'll be utilized in the pros.
http://content.draftexpress.com/gallery/JahlilOkafor/1422643685.jpg
Okafor Rarely Touches the Ball Outside of the Paint
Perhaps one of the biggest things that stood out on first glance is how rarely Okafor touches the ball on the perimeter for Duke, which isn't the case for most NBA centers we looked at using the same stats. 52% of Okafor's half-court touches come off post ups, which is a huge number compared to the likes of Al Jefferson (32.8%), Nikola Pekovic (31.4%), Dwight Howard (19.2%), Nikola Vucevic (18.4%), DeMarcus Cousins (13.5%), Marc Gasol (12.5%), Tim Duncan (11.1%), and Enes Kanter (4.3%), according to SportVU data we were provided with.