[paradox]

It's my understanding that he was going with Greg, and decided that he was moving on before RM assembled his staff. Had GM stayed in Rock Hill, Okon would have been there with him.

I believe that Ritchie wanted both Okon and Orukpe, but Okon obviously had other options and decided to commit to Greg Marshall.

Whether or not WSU benefits from all of this remains to be seen. I guess time will tell.

I've heard that Marshall thinks that Orukpe can be developed into an NBA-caliber center. I'm not predicting that it will turn out that way because his offensive game still needs a lot of work, but if it comes to fruition and this kid fully developes, then I'd imagine a few cartwheels may be in order for shocker fans.

[olldflame]

That's an interesting hypothesis dox, and I don't know enough to say if it is accurate, but I have to ask......... If Marshall had stayed at WU, which of his assistants would he have let go to make room for Okun? There wasn't an opening I'm aware of, but then I don't follow the inner workings of their program that closely.

Orukpe is/was one of 7 or 8 athletic players 6'9 or taller on his club team in Nigeria. Could he develop into a D1 post player, and eventually a pro prospect..... sure he COULD, but that could be said of any player with size and athleticism, and there are a lot of them all over the African continent, but not many succeed here. That's why, with all of those "prospects", an like Julius Nwosu was still a key part of the Nigerian national team as recently as a couple of years ago.

[paradox]

Again, we'll have to wait for the outcome and see if Orukpe developes into a solid starter for WSU.

As much as I value GM's eye for talent, it's important to understand that Orukpe is still raw in terms of contributing in a significant way offensively.


Speaking of Nigerians, didn't Jeff Meyer deal one of our prospects over to GM shortly after his LU departure?

[olldflame]

When GM hired Jeff as an assistant, JM was able to use the connections in Nigeria he had established while at LU to recruit a post player to WU. The name escapes me, but I remember he went by the nickname "Bubbles" and had more personality than game. I'm sure Realist or WEF could probably fill in the gaps.

[LUconn]

Did JM himself have the connections or was it an assistant? If it was him, why hasn't he used those connections at OU or IU?

[paradox]

LU's original Nigerian connections were largely missions-based.

Juice was very raw when he got here, but quickly developed into a big-time center.

Aluma was a star in Nigeria. If I remember correctly, LU missionaries in Lagos were very influential in the initial process.

We still had connections with Nigeria when Hank was here. Anneboham and Okotie were pretty good.

[olldflame]

JM and RD made at least one recruiting trip to Nigeria together, and I think RD made 1 or 2 more. They both would have had personal contacts. It is my understanding that after the fiasco with Steven Bami, JM became disenchanted with all of the red tape and beurocracy needed to get a player cleared and swore he wouldn't go through it again, but then made an exception when he first came to Winthrop because GM believed a big, athletic post could make a huge contribution to the program. That was like 8 years ago, and I suspect the "connection" now has a major short in it.

[olldflame]

LU's original Nigerian connections were largely missions-based.

Juice was very raw when he got here, but quickly developed into a big-time center.

Aluma was a star in Nigeria. If I remember correctly, LU missionaries in Lagos were very influential in the initial process.

We still had connections with Nigeria when Hank was here. Anneboham and Okotie were pretty good.

Annaboem and Okotie were both transfers, and were recruited (by LU) right here in the USA. Actually, I believe Okun may have been involved in recruiting Kenneth to Eastern Wyoming JC.

[paradox]

True --- but it worked out well for us in the end, especially with regard to Vince, who played for Steve Fisher out west before he transferred here -- and part of the old connection process nonetheless.

Speaking of EWJC, it would have been nice if they could've fed us another Jason Dixon every two years or so.

[paradox]

JM and RD made at least one recruiting trip to Nigeria together, and I think RD made 1 or 2 more. They both would have had personal contacts. It is my understanding that after the fiasco with Steven Bami, JM became disenchanted with all of the red tape and beurocracy needed to get a player cleared and swore he wouldn't go through it again, but then made an exception when he first came to Winthrop because GM believed a big, athletic post could make a huge contribution to the program. That was like 8 years ago, and I suspect the "connection" now has a major short in it.

Programs like Indiana and Mizzou usually have McDonald's All-Americans manning the post. It would seem counter-productive putting a great deal of effort into developing raw and unpolished talent from Nigeria when they probably have more potential on their bench already. So, it may not have factored in while JM was at UI or Mizzou.

I wouldn't be surprised if Meyer tried to reestablish his Nigerian connections when he was at Butler, though -- red tape or not. Landing an Aluma-type player at Butler would have been huge for that program.

[checkmate]

Is Dickens really as small as his comments. And we must categorize our uprising against negativity only if it aims at certain targets. But the reality is that is politics. So as in Iowa tonight the Democrats can be the Democrats and the Republicans the Republicans.

[Southbeach]

My early reads are the guy(dickens) has a problem.

[HenryGale]

LU's original Nigerian connections were largely missions-based.


We still had connections with Nigeria when Hank was here. Anneboham and Okotie were pretty good.

Vince Okotie was from California...his mom was from Nigeria

[paradox]

LU's original Nigerian connections were largely missions-based.


We still had connections with Nigeria when Hank was here. Anneboham and Okotie were pretty good.

Vince Okotie was from California...his mom was from Nigeria

I'm aware of the fact that he played his prep ball out west and that he originally played for Steve Fischer before transferring here. However, my understanding was that, Andrew Abachah, who was an old old Lagos contact, was involved in that process in some way -- I may be mistaken though --- somebody call Hank

[Rocketfan]

LU's original Nigerian connections were largely missions-based.


We still had connections with Nigeria when Hank was here. Anneboham and Okotie were pretty good.

Vince Okotie was from California...his mom was from Nigeria

I'm aware of the fact that he played his prep ball out west and that he originally played for Steve Fischer before transferring here. However, my understanding was that, Andrew Abachah, who was an old old Lagos contact was involved in that process in some way -- I may be mistaken though --- somebody call Hank

He is busy writing another book "Starting a guard that i told never to shoot" - the Rob Attaway story.

[paradox]

When GM hired Jeff as an assistant, JM was able to use the connections in Nigeria he had established while at LU to recruit a post player to WU. The name escapes me, but I remember he went by the nickname "Bubbles" and had more personality than game. I'm sure Realist or WEF could probably fill in the gaps.

I think that his name was Eyo Effiong or something to that affect.

[paradox]

Vince Okotie was from California...his mom was from Nigeria

I'm aware of the fact that he played his prep ball out west and that he originally played for Steve Fischer before transferring here. However, my understanding was that, Andrew Abachah, who was an old old Lagos contact was involved in that process in some way -- I may be mistaken though --- somebody call Hank

He is busy writing another book "Starting a guard that i told never to shoot" - the Rob Attaway story.

funny stuff

[paradox]

We'll have to see how this Okon/Orukpe drama plays out in Witicha.

Orukpe, will probably turn out to be a decent post defender at the very least.

I heard that Okon brought in two ju-co guys for GM. One guy is struggling and the other is pretty decent so far.

[Realist]

When GM hired Jeff as an assistant, JM was able to use the connections in Nigeria he had established while at LU to recruit a post player to WU. The name escapes me, but I remember he went by the nickname "Bubbles" and had more personality than game. I'm sure Realist or WEF could probably fill in the gaps.

It's Eyo Effiong. He was pretty good and getting better until he injured his back in his early in his junior year I believe and never really came back from it. He also was one heck of a student and once he struggled coming back from injury just focused on academics. I think he he had a 4.0 and got some award from playboy as their academic all american. He works for a bank in Greenville, S.C. last time I heard.