Emeka Okafor (335 views)

[Druce]

Emeka Okafor
Age: 22
Height: 6'10
Weight: 252
Position: C
School: UConn

B C- D A- A- C

The Good: Will come in and be an instant impact guy on the glass and on defense. A very low risk prospect, you know what you're getting here. Okafor is a decent low post scorer who should be around 10-15 ppg depending on the other options around him. He'll block a shot or two a game and affect a few more. A defensive presence in the middle. Should be a double digit rebounder right away, uses his athleticism and advanced strength for his age to his advantage down low. 

The Bad: Not a high ceiling guy. He'll struggle at the line where he is a poor shooter. He'll also turn the ball over a bit and isn't a great passer by any stretch. 

The Ugly: Went to the same high school as Ian.

[KwYawnza]

Possible No. 1 pick Dwight Howard on his changing fortunes: "I went from an '84 Crown Victoria that only goes up to 84 miles an hour to a new BMW that goes up to 160." Wow. You can almost hear the Orlando front office screaming, "Change of plans! Change of plans! Get Okafor on the phone!"

Jay Bilas described Howard as "very ball-friendly."
Bilas also graded potential picks in a number of categories, including "Intangibles," from 1 to 5. As Jacko said, "How do you rank intangibles from 1 to 5? Intangibles are the great unknown. And yet he ranks them. Is he clairvoyant?"
My dad uttered a total of eight words: "Who is this guy?" and "Who is this guy?" Both times Stephen A. Smith was talking. I'm not making this up.
7:31 -- David Stern comes out wearing a pink tie. This "Queer Eye" thing has really gotten out of hand. Meanwhile, my dad has already fallen asleep, shattering his previous draft-day record by nearly 75 minutes. That's it. I'm calling the nursing home tomorrow.

7:35 -- Just realized that I'm writing a column about a telecast that involves Dick Vitale, Stu Scott, Tom Tolbert and Stephen A. Smith ... and all of them are off-limits.

7:37 --The Magic are on the clock with the first pick. If they're smart, they take Emeka Okafor. If they're dumb, they take Howard. It's that simple.

Dwight Howard
Franchise center or unproven prep star? Orlando's choice speaks volumes.
7:39 -- They go with Howard. Of course they do. He's the third high schooler taken overall in the past four years, as well as the first top pick with braces since Pervis Ellison. Not a good sign. "Praise the Lord!" screams Dwight Howard Sr., who didn't realize that the Lord had Okafor going first in his mock draft.
7:42 -- I was just typing feverishly . . . I swear somebody just said the word "marginable." More importantly, do you realize that the Clippers traded out of the No. 2 spot when there was a future All-Star center that could have been sitting there, just to pick up a second-rounder and dump a salary? Imagine being a Clippers fan? Having Elgin Baylor run your team must be like getting in the car with my mom at night, when she's careening off curbs and saying things like, "I can't believe how bad my eyes have gotten" and "We shouldn't have ordered that bottle of wine." Just constant fear.

7:45 -- Charlotte can't take Okafor fast enough. Seriously, I'm not sure they even started the clock. They borrowed Dwight Howard's car and raced to the podium at 160 mph.

7:47 -- Not only is Dick Vitale wearing a blood-red shirt, there's a black and red background behind him. And he's screaming. I keep waiting for him to morph into Beelzebub.

7:48 -- We just found out that Okafor's first name is "Chukwuemeka." Didn't they sing "Tubthumping"? And why wouldn't Okafor go with "Chukie" over "Emeka." Imagine the crowd chanting "Chooo-key! Chooo-key!

7:49 -- Bobcats GM Bernie Bickerstaff seems woozy from landing Okafor; he's making my dad seem lively right now. You can't blame him -- they just ended up with a possible franchise center. And if that wasn't enough, during Tuesday's expansion draft, Bernie used the word "Synergism." I think that won an AVN Award last year. Can you have "marginable synergism?" I need to know these things.

[[Account Deleted]]

Looks pretty good

[dilworth]

Should have D potential

[[Account Deleted]]

seriously

[RWisoursavior]

Holy shit he is good. Doesn't even need to go +1.

[[Account Deleted]]

Back: D-

[[Account Deleted]]

Would draft

[Swaggy Z]

This is quite the solid 5-6 pick and possibly great bargain for missing out on the top 3 or so. May even fall a little further depending on the GM.