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One of the bigger surprises in the ACC was the standout play of freshman guard Josh Okogie. The 6’4” shooting guard led the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets to a deep NIT run only to fall to eventual champions TCU. Okogie was a slashing nightmare for defenses scoring 16 ppg, good for 8th in the conference.

Okogie did most of his damage either in transition or getting to the foul line, where he led the conference in both makes and attempts. Also a good spot up 3 point shooter, Okogie shot 38% on 2 attempts per game. Okogie’s strong play earned him an invite to the USA U19 team this past summer. The crazy thing is Josh just turned 19 in September of 2017.

I’d like to Okogie continue to develop as a shooter by increasing his attempts at the 3 point line. He shot a really good percentage last season but two attempts per game isn’t a strong indicator of his ability to stretch the floor. In the league, he will be asked to stretch the floor more than he will be asked just to score, so I’d like to see him at about four attempts a game. He shot a respectable 75% from the foul line so I expect him to remain efficient. Okogie snuck up on a lot of teams as a modest 3 star recruit, but he’s no longer a secret and neither is the fact that he wants to go right (90% of the time in his isolations!) Okogie wasn’t asked to make plays but as the focus of the opposing teams main concern, he’ll have to improve his playmaking as he averaged more turnovers than assists. He plays a lot like a small forward but I genuinely think he’s a shooting guard if he can remain consistent from 3.

 

JAMES BARLOWE - SEPTEMBER 24, 2017