C'est vrai! I realize that we've talked about Olumide before, but there was concern as to whether or not he would really enter the draft. Oyedeji enters draft By: John Thompson Date: 05/04/2000 EXCLUSIVE NEWS - If you saw the Nike Hoop Summit, you saw some great young players and one was Olumide Oyedeji, a 6-10 power forward from Nigeria. He is working out in the U.S. and has decided to declare for the NBA draft. He is a almost a lock to be a first round pick. Oyedeji is considered one of the better non-American youngsters and is almost a lock for the first round of the draft. Some believe even in the lottery. He has good footwork, athleticism, and great leaping ability. The key to his game though is defense. He has some offensive game, but it is tenacity and hard work on defense that makes him special. He has been playing in Germany, where he even won a dunk contest. he is strong and finishes around the basket, has some ball handling skills. his biggest strength on a team would be his rebounding ability. He gets into good position and boxes out well, he averaged over 14 rebounds a game this past season. There are sure to be a few other European players to enter the draft, Iakovos Tsakalidis and Hidayet Turkoglu are all likely to enter the draft. *************** 14 boards sounds like 9 more a game than Cato, the 7 footer, gave the Rockets per game last year. Hopefully Hakeem can break the kola nut with Olumide and teach him a step or two. ------------------
He's from Nigeria, but for the past 2 years, he's played in Germany. By the way-He's only 19. ------------------ Rockets fans wanted at hoopsboards.com Draft Chat, NBA Chat, Team Chat, and more!
that's right NIKE... he played with Dallas' Dirk N. for the Veder Hausen DJR league, and before that he played in Russia. http://www.nbadraft.net has a reference to his information off of http://www.telebasket.com for those curious about all of the finer details. Do comparisons leave alot to be desired when comparing european and american games? Anyone? ------------------
Well, here's something to note....he was more than 3.5 rebounds more than the 2nd best rebounder in the league..that's a lot. I think a good comparison to his future is an athletic, 2 inch shorter version of Dikembe Mutumbo. He maybe will still grow and inch, and could play center, he's a good shot blocker, and incredible rebounder, plus, we know he can do what Cato does best-dunk (won the dunk contest). I don't expect him to get more than 8 ppg his first 2-3 seasons, but I think when he's 22 or so, he'll be able to score 15 or so. But, he's allegedly more advanced than Hakeem at this stage, perhaps Hakeem could mentor him, and he can become the 2nd coming.... ------------------ Rockets fans wanted at hoopsboards.com Draft Chat, NBA Chat, Team Chat, and more!
That's some good news.....even if we don't get a #1-4 pick, at #9, or if we get it #14 (Detroit) or #10 or #13 from Orlando, we can get Olumide. ------------------ Rockets fans wanted at hoopsboards.com Draft Chat, NBA Chat, Team Chat, and more!
