And Tobe is a freshman while Oscar is a senior. Experience matters in the post. If he keeps rebounding and defending the way he does, and eventually develops some post moves on offense, I can see him being a poor man's Tshiebwe, which is what excited me when we recruited him.They're pretty much the same height. Oscar is 6'9 and Tobe is 6'8. The difference is Oscar turns 23 in a week and Tobe turns 19 in two months. There's still a chance that Tobe isn't done growing yet.
And Tobe is a freshman while Oscar is a senior. Experience matters in the post. If he keeps rebounding and defending the way he does, and eventually develops some post moves on offense, I can see him being a poor man's Tshiebwe, which is what excited me when we recruited him.
I've been begging for us to find a rebounding machine for years, and it looks like we finally have found one. 4 pts, 5 boards, 1 asst in 7 minutes is very encouraging for a kid in his third game. No risk of him leaving early for the pros, but a serious developmental project.
If Olivier Nkamhoua played as hard as Awaka does, he'd be a first-team All-SEC player. Just last night, as an example, ON had 1 rebound in 26 minutes. Awaka had 5 in 7 minutes. Heck, Zakai Zeigler had 6 rebounds and ON is a foot taller than him. I've rode hir rear-end for 3 years over the same issue, so I guess I just need to accept that it likely won't ever change over the long-haul. He'll bust his hump in spurts, but it's never consistent.
ON had 12 boards against the Zags IIRC. It’s in him, just doesn’t consistently bring the intensityAnd Tobe is a freshman while Oscar is a senior. Experience matters in the post. If he keeps rebounding and defending the way he does, and eventually develops some post moves on offense, I can see him being a poor man's Tshiebwe, which is what excited me when we recruited him.
I've been begging for us to find a rebounding machine for years, and it looks like we finally have found one. 4 pts, 5 boards, 1 asst in 7 minutes is very encouraging for a kid in his third game. No risk of him leaving early for the pros, but a serious developmental project.
If Olivier Nkamhoua played as hard as Awaka does, he'd be a first-team All-SEC player. Just last night, as an example, ON had 1 rebound in 26 minutes. Awaka had 5 in 7 minutes. Heck, Zakai Zeigler had 6 rebounds and ON is a foot taller than him. I've rode hir rear-end for 3 years over the same issue, so I guess I just need to accept that it likely won't ever change over the long-haul. He'll bust his hump in spurts, but it's never consistent.