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Seven blocks, or as they will now be called, seven OkonoBLOCKS. In his first ever game for UNLV, Okonoboh swatted shot after shot, showing flashes that the Runnin’ Rebels may have a tremendous rim protector.
His most important OkonoBLOCK came after a UNLV turnover that led to a Morehead State fastbreak. The Eagles should have had layup to the tie game with under 2 minutes to play, but…
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Where Okonoboh was most useful was on help side defense when Morehead State’s guards got into the paint via ball screens.
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College basketball loves high ball screens, and teams with quick guards can be difficult to stop. But Okonoboh showed he’s there to clean up a defensive mess. The one concern will be when UNLV faces a guard that looks to pass when in the paint – like Cody Doolin. Okonoboh has to leave his man to get these blocks. So opponents can get open shots with proper spacing, but you always take away the layup first.
This one might be the most impressive.
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Verticality! Or at least that’s what Okonoboh started out with. Hands straight up while jumping to make the layup as tough as possible. But as Miguel Dicent tries to shoot around Okonoboh, the freshman shows awesome reaction time to adjust his arms and turn away the shot.
Welcome to college basketball, the OkonoBLOCK.