SEMI OJELEYE
BIRTHDATE: 12/5/94
POSITION: Combo Forward
HEIGHT: 6'7"
WEIGHT: 235 lbs
SCHOOL/ TEAM: SMU
CLASS: Junior
OFFENSE
*A little undersized for an NBA 4 but has a strong frame and should be able to play both forward positions
*Good but not great length
*Good athlete who can play above the rim off two feet and one
*Good hands
*Plays with a great motor
*Runs the break hard and maintains good spacing in transition
*Can finish at the rim or as a trailer
*Not much of a ballhandler on the break
*Good handle for the PF position but a bit suspect if he's going to see minutes at the 3
*The same goes for his first step. Very good at the 4, average for a wing
*Adept at flashing to the middle of the paint and hitting a short turnaround or taking a power dribble and finishing
* Lob threat when roaming the baseline
*Has to be boxed out, active on the offensive glass
*Capable of big highlight put backs
*Can finish through contact and draws a good amount of fouls
*Although most of his jumpshots are 3s, he's shown to be efficient at each level out to NBA range
*Smooth mechanics on his jumpshot, high release point
*Could use some more lift on his shot
*Knockdown standstill shooter, solid off the dribble and has shown some ability to shoot off screens
*Becoming more comfortable attacking closeouts
*Likes to get all the way to the rim vs closeouts but does have the 1 dribble pull up in his arsenal
*Doesn't always have great awareness of his effect on spacing in the half court, can bunch up with other players
*Even without a great handle, he's been devastating in isolation this year
*Stare down and pull up 3s and drives to the rim off his first step have done most of the damage
*Once he gets a step on a defender, uses his body well to shield the ball and draw fouls
*Length bothers him around the rim
*Creates a strong, wide base when posting up
*About half his post ups result in quick jumpers
*At his best when he can use a post pin to get an easy bucket
*His post ups produce mostly strongly contested shots
*He doesn’t shoot a high percentage from the block but supplements with drawing fouls at a high rate
*Decent passer out of the post
*Can find shooters on the weakside as well as other bigs and cutters
*Cross court passes are inconsistent hitting the shooting pocket
DEFENSE
*Good motor, gives multiple efforts in a possession
*Can guard 4s and some wings/guards in space on the perimeter
*Can’t stay in front of top level wing talent, he has the quickness for the most part but his instincts on the perimeter need work
*Slow on his initial defensive slide and doesn’t take great angles
*Will stay on the ballhandler’s hip if he gets beat
*When he can stay in front, uses his body well to redirect the ball
*Gets good contests on jump shots but taller players can shoot over him
*Establishes good help defense position but can lose sight of his man when other players drive to the rim
*Good at rotating to the rim, positionally
*Closes out hard on spot up shooters and does a decent job staying in front when they attack his close out
*Has the speed to hedge PNRs but tends to sink just a bit
*He doesn’t step up to stop the guard as he comes off the pick but sinks further
*Leads to a late rotation over to the PNP big
*Easy to screen, runs right into ball screens and has to switch more than usual
*Much better navigating off ball screens, stays connected to his man
*Competes for post position
*Difficult to back down, his strength is an asset
*Too small to defend true post players, they shoot over him and he doesn’t have the length to compensate for his height
*Has the speed and footwork to defend face ups well
Semi Ojeleye looks more like a tight end than a basketball player. He's a very good athlete and a very good spot up shooter (43% from 3.)
He looks like he's of the Jae Crowder family tree of power small forwards. Ojeleye can dribble enough to get himself to the basket.
Just off the eye test, he looks like he has short arms which is never good for a forward. He's an older player so there will be questions about his upside. While he's built like Crowder, he's certainly not the defender Jae is. He gives way too much space on the perimeter and overall his defensive effort isn't great.
POSITIVES:
Yoked (Strong)
Athlete
Versatile
Good spot up shooter
Maybe of the Jae Crowder mold of forwards
Can dribble enough to get himself to the basket
AREAS OF CONCERN:
Average wingspan
Older prospect
Can he defend on the perimeter?
Slow close outs
Questionable defensive effort
JAMES BARLOWE - APRIL 2, 2017
