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Username Post: Oni to Enter NBA Draft        (Topic#22981)
james 
Masters Student
Posts: 777

Age: 48
Reg: 03-18-19
05-15-19 12:16 AM - Post#284513    
    In response to HARVARDDADGRAD

Totally agree. No guarantee. And narrative right now is dIII to the combine. Not 21 almost 22. So with a decent showing I think he hits his draft ceiling. If that is drafted and in the 40s range he will go. And he leaves on top excluding his last game. With a degree to follow shortly

 
westcoast 
Senior
Posts: 302

Reg: 03-08-16
05-15-19 12:10 PM - Post#284529    
    In response to james

A player has to withdraw from the NBA Draft by May 29 if he wants to keep his NCAA eligibility. Oni cannot wait until the draft and then make his decision. And a player can only be drafted once - if he's in the draft this year, then he cannot play again in college, and he cannot be drafted again in a future draft.

 
palestra38 
Professor
Posts: 32682

Reg: 11-21-04
05-15-19 12:30 PM - Post#284530    
    In response to westcoast

I just don't see him, at least right now, as an NBA player. I though Copeland had better NBA skills on last year's Yale team. Certainly is a better offensive player.

I wonder if Oni has thought about withdrawing from the draft, sitting out the year while getting his degree and then trying to transfer to a Power Conference school

 
westcoast 
Senior
Posts: 302

Reg: 03-08-16
05-15-19 12:37 PM - Post#284531    
    In response to palestra38

If Oni wants to play in the NBA, I think this year is his best chance. Oni will be 22 years old when the next NBA season starts, which is already considered "old" for a drafted player. Playing one more year at Yale or transferring would make him 23 or 24, which would make his draft chances even worse.

 
palestra38 
Professor
Posts: 32682

Reg: 11-21-04
05-15-19 12:46 PM - Post#284532    
    In response to westcoast

I get that, but when you watched Yale, did you think Oni had NBA skills, as Copeland seems to have? Copeland can break your ankle on a drive and shoots better than Oni. I just don't see it---other than that he has superior physicality.

 
HARVARDDADGRAD 
Postdoc
Posts: 2685

Loc: New Jersey
Reg: 01-21-14
05-15-19 12:57 PM - Post#284533    
    In response to palestra38

Copeland’s skills translate to pull up 2’s. That is not the way NBA teams play the game

 
palestra38 
Professor
Posts: 32682

Reg: 11-21-04
05-15-19 01:02 PM - Post#284536    
    In response to HARVARDDADGRAD

He was a slightly better 3 point shooter than Oni by percentage--just didn't take as many. But he has NBA moves and Oni does not, IMO

 
SRP 
Postdoc
Posts: 4894

Reg: 02-04-06
05-15-19 01:05 PM - Post#284538    
    In response to HARVARDDADGRAD

Plenty of pull-up twos being taken in the NBA playoffs. And Copeland can hit threes. Not sure he can guard at that level, though.

 
PennFan10 
Postdoc
Posts: 3578

Reg: 02-15-15
05-15-19 01:07 PM - Post#284539    
    In response to HARVARDDADGRAD

  • HARVARDDADGRAD Said:
Copeland’s skills translate to pull up 2’s. That is not the way NBA teams play the game



CJ McCollum scored 37 pts in game 7 Sunday and took only 1 3pter. And CJ is a mid major college player.

 
james 
Masters Student
Posts: 777

Age: 48
Reg: 03-18-19
05-15-19 01:23 PM - Post#284541    
    In response to westcoast

No crap. It’s why you do the combine workout for individual teams and have ur agent do his diligence. You frame it. But there are no guarantees until draft day







 
james 
Masters Student
Posts: 777

Age: 48
Reg: 03-18-19
05-15-19 01:26 PM - Post#284542    
    In response to james

cut and paste posts above. Save some effort

 
james 
Masters Student
Posts: 777

Age: 48
Reg: 03-18-19
05-15-19 01:31 PM - Post#284544    
    In response to james

copeland isn’t in the same zip code as a 3 and d guy. Hell he wasn’t perceived as a pg going into this yr even at Yale

he will make money in Europe.

I don’t know if oni sticks. But he has the intangibles-size speed athleticism and isn’t a reluctant 3 point shooter. On paper he is perfect. I have doubts on film

Copeland doesn’t have the size isn’t a true point and is a reluctant 3 point shooter. But he has great skills for Europe

 
bradley 
PhD Student
Posts: 1842

Age: 74
Reg: 01-15-16
05-15-19 02:04 PM - Post#284550    
    In response to james

I agree with your comments regarding Copeland and he should have a good career in Europe. In fairness, he was very impressive in the game against LSU although LSU is not the NBA but a step up from the IL.

As to Oni, I hope that he receives the opportunity to play in the NBA but I have my doubts. The NBA does love the athletic types, like Oni, but he just may not have the skill sets to be a NBA player but it is worth giving it a try. Will he be drafted?

Currently, I do not believe that there is a future NBA player on anyone's roster although hopefully, I am wrong. At some point and time, it would be nice to see a break through IL player but very challenging to play in the NBA.

 
mobrien 
Senior
Posts: 389

Loc: New York
Reg: 04-18-17
05-15-19 02:29 PM - Post#284553    
    In response to palestra38

"Other than his superior physicality" is quite the caveat. Oni has NBA size and athleticism; Copeland does not. I agree that Copeland has much better moves and feel for the game at this point — I thought that, even in the Ivies, Oni struggled against better defenders who he couldn't just overwhelm athletically — but that can be learned. Being 6'6'' and having a good vertical can not.

Because he's old for a junior, this really might be Oni's best chance to be drafted. The question, though, is what's best for his chances of getting a second contract — i.e., of sticking. Maybe it's staying for his senior year and being the de facto point guard to really work on his ball handling. Maybe not. It's not an easy decision.

 
palestra38 
Professor
Posts: 32682

Reg: 11-21-04
05-15-19 02:37 PM - Post#284555    
    In response to mobrien

I tend to disagree with you. Unless you are 7'3" like Embiid, simple athleticism is not nearly enough in the NBA. A first step like Copeland has is far more important for a smaller player. But it is true in today's NBA, a player like Copeland has to be a great 3 point shooter.

I just don't see Oni getting drafted, although I wish him the best.

 
SRP 
Postdoc
Posts: 4894

Reg: 02-04-06
05-15-19 09:24 PM - Post#284563    
    In response to palestra38

I'm sure the NBA guys are going to look at potential, and Oni's physical gifts are a lot more impressive than Copeland's. But as far as dribbling past a good defender and hitting a shot, making PG-type passes, and controlling the pace of the game, Copeland is ahead of Oni right now. (Copeland was not a bad three-point shooter last season, plus that's a skill that can be developed by a natural shooter.)

There is a legitimate concern about whether he could defend NBA-level guards at all. And there are probably a lot of other players we haven't heard of who are about that good offensively who aren't playing in the NBA, possibly interchangeable with the Van Vleets and Cooks and such who have have made it as bench players.



 
james 
Masters Student
Posts: 777

Age: 48
Reg: 03-18-19
05-15-19 10:19 PM - Post#284565    
    In response to SRP

If you don’t watch the games ( not sure I missed one) look at the stats. Oni led the team in assets playing off ball most of the time.

The year before he led them in assists and played point a lot.

Copeland had a terrific year but wasn’t perceived as a pg internally coming in to even this year. According to James Jones “ arguably the best player on the team at getting us into offensive sets and putting the ball where it needs to go is Eric Monroe.”

Because copeland stepped up this yr in this role and because of the high ball screen offense they didn’t really need a true point. should mean copeland with his stepup in a/to and prolific mid range game and quickness should be able to grow and play well as a pro somewhere. Bc he will need to be pg in a competitive league

He was reluctant as a 3 point shooter until the marbles were down. He shot it well and less reluctantly at the end. Certainly James Jones thinks he is more capable than his career stats and reluctance indicate. He says as much. But Oni has real range and isn’t reluctant. And he is 6 6ish with a 6 10 wingspan. Which he is why he is one of 66 players in the world at the combine. On paper he is perfect for the modern nba.



Copeland’s defense is fine in the ivy. He isn’t in the zip code of defending nba guards

Oni has a chance bc he can guard wings and some 2 men. At least on paper. 3 and d. Which is why he has a chance to prove himself

Btw getting invited to the combine is unprecedented in the modern Ivy League. Unprecedented. You have to have the measurables and fit the prototype. Copeland isn’t close

Bruner is the closest thing I have seen at Yale and in the ivies.



 
rbg 
Postdoc
Posts: 3044

Reg: 10-20-14
05-16-19 08:53 AM - Post#284569    
    In response to james

Here is a breakdown of Oni from a Hawks writer at SB Nation. The Hawks have pick #41 in the second round.

https://www.peachtreehoops.com/2019/5/15/18616307/...

 
SRP 
Postdoc
Posts: 4894

Reg: 02-04-06
05-16-19 12:51 PM - Post#284574    
    In response to rbg

I don’t disagree about Copeland’s deficiencies. No way would I project him as an NBA guy at this point. But the fact that he was harder to guard than Oni and played better against Princeton and LSU (at least offensively) than Oni makes me a bit skeptical about the latter’s prospects.

 
palestra38 
Professor
Posts: 32682

Reg: 11-21-04
05-16-19 01:28 PM - Post#284578    
    In response to SRP

I agree 100%. Copeland has an NBA first step---Oni has an NBA body. Guess it's a question of which is more important.

 
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