NBA Comparison: Rodney Hood

Strengths: Great size and length for a wing (6’8”, 195 pounds) … Very athletic. Can throw it down with ease … Explosive athlete … Dangerous in the open court with the ball … Has the tools to guard multiple positions on the floor (2-4, maybe some 1s) … Runs the floor really well in transition … Handles the rock well … Very comfortable with the ball in his hands … Very quick with the ball … Does a good job using the triple-threat … Has a bit of an unorthodox shot, but did a good job improving it over the summer … Shot 22.6% from 3-point range as a freshman on 1.3 attempts per game … As a sophomore, he’s shooting 44.8% from 3-point range on 3.1 attempts per game … Capable of making shots with a hand in his face … You have to guard him close out on  the perimeter … Not a selfish player … Willing to find the open man for the easy basket … Smart player … Can drive and kick out to open shooters … Moves well without the ball … Flashes to the high post, comes off screens, and knows how to get open … When he attacks the rim, he’s very difficult to stop … Few players have the length to really give him trouble … Finishes well inside … Very versatile … Solid rebounder (6.0 per game) …

Weaknesses: Defense could improve … Especially when going up against quicker ball handlers that can attack the rim … For having so much height and weight, he doesn’t block a lot of shots (0.7 per game) or get a lot of steals (0.9 per game) … Needs to learn how to take more advantage of his physical tools to be more disruptive on defense … He needs to add weight to hang with NBA wings and forwards. He struggled at times against Arizona State’s Luguentz Dort (6’4”, 215 pounds) … Sometimes loses his man and gets beat … Effort needs to improve … Needs to learn how to fight through screens … Commits 2.6 fouls per game … Sometimes he’s a bit too afraid to pick up the foul, resulting in blow buys … Doesn’t finish through contact as well as he should … Needs to improve his physicality inside and learn how to throw it down in traffic with more regularity … While his shot has improved, he still has more work to do … He’s a good college 3-point shooter, but needs to be able to extend his range to the NBA 3-point line … Free throw percentage needs to improve (69.4%) …

Overall: It’s not shock that Okpala is drawing attention from NBA scouts in the manner that he is … He has fantastic physical gifts and is becoming a polished basketball player that can do a variety of things on the floor … If he can add some weight, improve his physicality, and be more aggressive on defense, he has the chance to have a very successful career in the NBA …

Ben Parker 1/30/19