Currently at Wells Fargo Arena to check out Hurley's 2015 JuCo haul, Obinna Oleka, Maurice O'Field and Andre Spight. Figured I'd pass along my notes to help you get to know Arizona State basketball's newest members a little better.
Andre Spight
Spight, the 6'3" South Plains JuCo guard, got the start for ASU and it became evident very quickly that he's the kind of guard that spends a lot of time in isolation when he has the ball, and is good at finding space and setting up for shots without the ball. He can pass off the dribble, and seems to be a rhythm shooter- a nice way of saying he as a lot of confidence as a shooter despite not having a very good night. Here are his 1st/2nd half splits
1st half: 6 points on 2/8 shooting, 1/3 from beyond the arc. 1 rebound, 3 assists, 0 turnovers in 14 minutes
2nd half: 9 points on 3/6 shooting, 3/4 from beyond the arc, 2 assists
Here are my notes on Spight's play
-First shot, missed baseline jumper
-Missed 3 from corner- held ball for an extended period on the possession, created his own room off the dribble
-Started transition off rebound, outran teammates, missed 1-on-2 layup, but trailing teammate secured rebound and scored.
- taken out at 17:00 mark
-put back in at 15:00 mark
-Drew a foul on a pull up jumper in transition, makes shot and free throw.
-Takes a 3 off the dribble on iso play, misses- is starting to draw defender's attention, passes to open Kodi Justice for an assist on the next possesson
-Slow to defensively rotate back to his man at the top of the key, his man hits open 3
-taken out 12:00 mark
-Credited with an assist on a drive where he left his feet under the basket, and then found an open Savon Goodman, who scored after a power dribble
-Called for the ball for 20 seconds of a possession, as left wide open the entire time. 5th pass of possession comes to him on the baseline, no defenders close, his open 3
-Tried to drift back to spot where he was left open on next possession, falls over backwards on top of rouching opposing head coach.
-drives in for a scoop layup- no good.
-Has assist in transition early in second half- seems to be better in transition when he's not leading the break
-Came off baseline pick off inbounds play, hits open 3
-Next possession, hits open 3 from the corner
-Next possession, takes first contested perimeter shot of the game, hits third consecutive 3
-Next possession, uses a pick to free self up for baseline 12 footer- spins out.
-After miss, team stopped looking for Spight, next shot came toward middle of 2nd half. Created room with crossover dribble on the baseline, didn't immediately shoot- when defender recovered, used forearm to push off and was whistled for a foul.
-Missed the rim on a scoop shot, looked like he didn't make up his mind to take the shot until the ball had already started to leave his hand
-Missed final shot- open 3 from the corner
-Spight was not in game for crucial final plays
Obinna Oleka
Oleka, a 6'7" combo forward who had only seen 5 games of live action in the previous two years prior to his ASU arrival, is a tough one to figure out. He could certainly afford to be more aggressive on offense, but he seems to serve a purpose right now as a versatile defender. He also seems to be a bit of a ticky-tack foul magnet. Here are his 1st/2nd half splits
1st half: 0 points on 0/1 shooting, 0/1 from beyond the arc, 1 rebound, 1 steal, 1 turnover in 6 minutes
2nd half: No stats- 1 foul
Here are my notes on Oleka's play
-In at 15:00 mark
-Disrupted 3 point attempt (air ball) from the top of the key using his length
-Got a hand in to disrupt a put-back attempt, one ref said jump ball, but was overrruled and Oleka picked up a foul
-Steals crosscourt pass
-had to switch off defensively and pick up the PG, was able to front the PG and force him baseline, no help defense came and Oleka drew a foul.
-Defending on a 3 point make, comes down on next possession and misses a 3 point shot attempt- Jacobsen gets the offensive rebound and passes it out, but Oleka thinks it's meant for him, and reaches out and deflects it into a defender's hands.
-Taken out at 10:00 mark, reinserted, commits a foul running past Belmont player who had secured a defensive rebound
-Did not factor into second half
Maurice O'Field
Like Oleka, Maurice O'Field came off the bench five minutes into the second half. O'Field, a 6-5 sophomore, could be a solid spot-up shooter, but his off-ball movement wasn't anything to write home about. Here are his 1st/2nd half splits
1st half: 3 points on 1/1 shooting, 1/1 from beyond the arc, 1 rebound, 1 steal, 1 turnover in 7 minutes
2nd half: 1 assist
Here are my notes on O'Field's play
-Comes into game at 15:00 mark
-Does not factor into first half action until hitting a spot up 3 in transition off an assist from Kodi Justice
-Makes appearances in second half, does not play a factor, is not in game during crucial closing moments.
Final thoughts:
Nick Krueger said to me that he believes Oleka and O'Field essentially serve the same reserve forward purpose right now, and offensively I don't disagree. They don't have a repertoire they have displayed that shows either one has a defined role in the offense. Oleka is the physically gifted one of the two, but does not look like he's as natural of a shooter. He'll have to pick and choose when he's going to be a pesky defender because he's the type of player who swipes at the ball a lot and can pick up meaningless fouls.
Spight is going to be interesting to watch. He creates his own offense, but it isn't always pretty. He's much better at finding open spots on the court and making quick decisions once he gets the ball. The longer he dribbles, the more chances he gives himself to overthink and make a mistake. One thing's for sure, he's not anywhere near as shy as the other two new additions.
Andre Spight
Spight, the 6'3" South Plains JuCo guard, got the start for ASU and it became evident very quickly that he's the kind of guard that spends a lot of time in isolation when he has the ball, and is good at finding space and setting up for shots without the ball. He can pass off the dribble, and seems to be a rhythm shooter- a nice way of saying he as a lot of confidence as a shooter despite not having a very good night. Here are his 1st/2nd half splits
1st half: 6 points on 2/8 shooting, 1/3 from beyond the arc. 1 rebound, 3 assists, 0 turnovers in 14 minutes
2nd half: 9 points on 3/6 shooting, 3/4 from beyond the arc, 2 assists
Here are my notes on Spight's play
-First shot, missed baseline jumper
-Missed 3 from corner- held ball for an extended period on the possession, created his own room off the dribble
-Started transition off rebound, outran teammates, missed 1-on-2 layup, but trailing teammate secured rebound and scored.
- taken out at 17:00 mark
-put back in at 15:00 mark
-Drew a foul on a pull up jumper in transition, makes shot and free throw.
-Takes a 3 off the dribble on iso play, misses- is starting to draw defender's attention, passes to open Kodi Justice for an assist on the next possesson
-Slow to defensively rotate back to his man at the top of the key, his man hits open 3
-taken out 12:00 mark
-Credited with an assist on a drive where he left his feet under the basket, and then found an open Savon Goodman, who scored after a power dribble
-Called for the ball for 20 seconds of a possession, as left wide open the entire time. 5th pass of possession comes to him on the baseline, no defenders close, his open 3
-Tried to drift back to spot where he was left open on next possession, falls over backwards on top of rouching opposing head coach.
-drives in for a scoop layup- no good.
-Has assist in transition early in second half- seems to be better in transition when he's not leading the break
-Came off baseline pick off inbounds play, hits open 3
-Next possession, hits open 3 from the corner
-Next possession, takes first contested perimeter shot of the game, hits third consecutive 3
-Next possession, uses a pick to free self up for baseline 12 footer- spins out.
-After miss, team stopped looking for Spight, next shot came toward middle of 2nd half. Created room with crossover dribble on the baseline, didn't immediately shoot- when defender recovered, used forearm to push off and was whistled for a foul.
-Missed the rim on a scoop shot, looked like he didn't make up his mind to take the shot until the ball had already started to leave his hand
-Missed final shot- open 3 from the corner
-Spight was not in game for crucial final plays
Obinna Oleka
Oleka, a 6'7" combo forward who had only seen 5 games of live action in the previous two years prior to his ASU arrival, is a tough one to figure out. He could certainly afford to be more aggressive on offense, but he seems to serve a purpose right now as a versatile defender. He also seems to be a bit of a ticky-tack foul magnet. Here are his 1st/2nd half splits
1st half: 0 points on 0/1 shooting, 0/1 from beyond the arc, 1 rebound, 1 steal, 1 turnover in 6 minutes
2nd half: No stats- 1 foul
Here are my notes on Oleka's play
-In at 15:00 mark
-Disrupted 3 point attempt (air ball) from the top of the key using his length
-Got a hand in to disrupt a put-back attempt, one ref said jump ball, but was overrruled and Oleka picked up a foul
-Steals crosscourt pass
-had to switch off defensively and pick up the PG, was able to front the PG and force him baseline, no help defense came and Oleka drew a foul.
-Defending on a 3 point make, comes down on next possession and misses a 3 point shot attempt- Jacobsen gets the offensive rebound and passes it out, but Oleka thinks it's meant for him, and reaches out and deflects it into a defender's hands.
-Taken out at 10:00 mark, reinserted, commits a foul running past Belmont player who had secured a defensive rebound
-Did not factor into second half
Maurice O'Field
Like Oleka, Maurice O'Field came off the bench five minutes into the second half. O'Field, a 6-5 sophomore, could be a solid spot-up shooter, but his off-ball movement wasn't anything to write home about. Here are his 1st/2nd half splits
1st half: 3 points on 1/1 shooting, 1/1 from beyond the arc, 1 rebound, 1 steal, 1 turnover in 7 minutes
2nd half: 1 assist
Here are my notes on O'Field's play
-Comes into game at 15:00 mark
-Does not factor into first half action until hitting a spot up 3 in transition off an assist from Kodi Justice
-Makes appearances in second half, does not play a factor, is not in game during crucial closing moments.
Final thoughts:
Nick Krueger said to me that he believes Oleka and O'Field essentially serve the same reserve forward purpose right now, and offensively I don't disagree. They don't have a repertoire they have displayed that shows either one has a defined role in the offense. Oleka is the physically gifted one of the two, but does not look like he's as natural of a shooter. He'll have to pick and choose when he's going to be a pesky defender because he's the type of player who swipes at the ball a lot and can pick up meaningless fouls.
Spight is going to be interesting to watch. He creates his own offense, but it isn't always pretty. He's much better at finding open spots on the court and making quick decisions once he gets the ball. The longer he dribbles, the more chances he gives himself to overthink and make a mistake. One thing's for sure, he's not anywhere near as shy as the other two new additions.
