With another season of UNLV basketball in the books, we’re going through the Rebels’ roster and assigning grades for each player based on their performance in 2015-16
Today we’re kicking things off by looking at the players who earned “incomplete” grades, for one reason or another: Goodluck Okonoboh, Daquan Cook, Tyrell Green and Chris Obekpa.
REBELS REPORT CARD
Player: Goodluck Okonoboh
Position: Center
Year: Sophomore
Stats: 6 games, 15.2 minutes, 3.5 points, 3.0 rebounds, 1.2 blocks, 38.1 FG%, 35.7 FT%
Expectations: Coming into the season, Okonoboh was expected to assume an even bigger role on defense, protecting the rim and serving as the team's quarterback on that end of the court.
Performance: Okonoboh didn't appear to show any improvement in Year 2, but it was hard to tell because he only played in six games before transferring. Once it became clear that freshman big man Stephen Zimmerman was the superior player, the coaching staff cut back on Okonoboh's minutes, prompting him to pack up and leave town.
Future Forecast: Okonoboh's future remains clouded. He hasn't been linked to any other schools since his transfer five months ago, which is odd, considering he should be a coveted commodity. He has two-and-a-half years of eligibility remaining and a track record as a game-changing shot blocker, so you figure programs would be lining up. Instead, it's been radio silence.
Final Grade: N/A
Player: Daquan Cook
Position: Guard
Year: Junior
Stats: 2 games, 2.0 minutes, 1.5 points, 0.0 assists, 50.0 FG%
Expectations: Cook was coming off an ACL tear that caused him to miss the entire 2014-15 season, and he never played much even when healthy, so expectations were pretty low.
Performance: Still, Cook somehow managed to come in way under those low expectations. He picked up a DUI in the offseason, earning him a 13-game suspension, and when he became eligible he still lagged behind every other option at point guard. He continued to have off-court issues, and less than a month after being reinstated he was dismissed from the team by interim coach Todd Simon.
Future Forecast: Like Okonoboh, Cook hasn't popped up in connection to any other schools yet. It's unclear whether Cook is even interested in continuing his college basketball career, given the way he threw away his junior season. In the end, his indiscretions didn't hurt the program too much—UNLV was likely going to try to open up his scholarship spot this offseason anyway.
Final Grade: N/A.
Player: Tyrell Green
Position: Forward
Year: Junior
Stats: 7 games, 5.4 minutes, 2.0 points, 1.3 rebounds, 21.4 FG%, 25.0 3FG%
Expectations: Green was a somewhat late addition to the 2015 recruiting class, coming in after two years at junior college, and he was supposed to add deep depth as a sharpshooting forward.
Performance: There isn't much to evaluate here. Green only got into seven games—almost entirely during garbage time—and logged just 38 minutes. Then a shoulder injury put him on the shelf, and the coaching staff decided it was best to hold him out for the rest of the season in hopes of obtaining a medical redshirt and preserving his final two years of eligibility.
Future Forecast: Green is one of the few players on the roster who I expect to remain next year under Chris Beard. And if he puts in the work to learn Beard's defensive system and commits to patrolling the defensive boards, he could play significant minutes as an undersized power forward.
Final Grade: N/A.
Player: Chris Obekpa
Position: Center
Year: Senior
Stats: N/A
Expectations: Obekpa transferred in from St. John's with one year of eligibility remaining. His contributions were supposed to come from his work on the scout team in practice while he served his redshirt year.
Performance: In practice, it appeared that Obekpa was engaged with his teammates and putting forth good effort just about every day. Offensively, he showed decent touch from mid-range, but scoring is not his game. He's a rim protector first and foremost, and his shot-blocking ability was as good as advertised.
Future Forecast: Obekpa was brought in to be a replacement for Stephen Zimmerman (who was always expected to turn pro after one season), and that timeline is still intact. But with the coaching change, it's unclear whether Obekpa will stick around to fulfill that plan. If he decides to stay at UNLV, he should open practice as the No. 1 center on the depth chart.
Final Grade: N/A.
The post Rebels Report Card 2015-16: The Incompletes appeared first on RunRebs.
