2018 NBA Draft Prospect Matchup: Josh Okogie vs Miami

Breaking down potential future NBA Draft prospect Josh Okogie’s matchup with fellow draft prospects Lonnie Walker and Bruce Brown

Earlier this week, the 15th ranked Miami Hurricanes went up against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. Georgia Tech, who went into the game with a 6-7 record, were huge underdogs. However, Georgia Tech was able to upset the Miami Hurricanes 64-54.

The Yellow Jackets are led by Sophomore guard Josh Okogie, who finished with 30 points in their upset victory against the Hurricanes. Okogie has recently gained some NBA attention since coming back from injury.

Okogie drew a matchup of two potential first round picks in Lonnie Walker and Bruce Brown. Here’s a breakdown of how Josh Okogie fared against the stellar Miami wings.

Josh Okogie, SG, Georgia Tech

Final Stat Line: 30 points, 10-23 FG, 1-5 from 3, 9-12 FT, 9 Rebounds, 3 assists, and 1 steal

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The Good: Okogie started out the game very impressive, knocking down multiple contested mid-range shots. He seems to have a very nice pull up mid range game making shots over contests from both Brown and Walker early from mid range.

Okogie also impressed with his first step. It wasn’t great, but it was quick enough to give Brown and Walker some fits. He was always looking to attack and often got to the rim and got fouled or finished some tough layups off of poor closeouts.

He also flashed some nice speed in transition – sometimes out of control, but I think that’s just part of his mindset. Okogie was by far the hardest working player on the court out hustling everybody.

Lastly, Josh Okogie worked the pick and roll and give and go plays ran for him very well. He took advantage of the small windows of space and attacked the rim, or pulled up from midrange off of those plays.

The Bad: Despite having a good frame Okogie is a little short to be a wing player at the next level. Standing at only 6-foot-4, he’s undersized for a modern NBA wing.

His jump shot from 3 was horrible. The form wasn’t there and it took him way too long to get off. He needs to able to shoot a jump shot he showed NBA range, but he needs to be able to knock down the 3-point shot consistently from mid-range.

Also, there was very little man to man defense played in this game, so you couldn’t project his defensive impact. Josh Pastner had his Yellow Jackets in a 1-3-1 junkie zone all game. It was effective, but it would have done Josh Okogie some favors to guard Lonnie Walker or Bruce Brown effectively.

Lastly, Okogie is a terrible ball handler, especially for being such a high level scorer. His listed height seems extremely generous. He will have to be able to put the ball on the floor, and be able to create space for his midrange shot.

Overall Impression: Some people are higher on Josh Okogie than others. His stat line was impressive, but on tape it was a very underwhelming thirty points. Even though Okogie is shooting 38 percent from the 3-point line in his first six games; don’t trust the jumpshot.

The mechanics are average at best and it takes him way too long to get his jumpshot off. Once Okogie hit a few contested mid range shots over Bruce Brown and Lonnie Walker in the first half they caught on. There was one play in the second half where Okogie tried to rise up for another contested mid range, and Bruce Brown met him in mid air, and swallowed his shot whole with his hand.

Must Read: 2018 NBA Draft: Top 5 point guard scouting reports

As a sophomore, Josh Okogie is still a good NBA prospect. He’s just going to develop into a good prospect over his junior and possibly senior seasons. He’s still got a ton of potential, and can generate plenty of buzz with more impressive performances against ACC powerhouses in conference play.

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