https://www.stltoday.com/sports/college/mizzou/dave-matter-read-his-chat-q---a-for/article_c3e22ada-c3b1-5f72-bbd0-3f79567b88af.htm
4 hours ago
Do you expect Okongo to get much time or will he essentially be splitting Nikko's minutes from last year
Hard to say. Four days ago no one knew he existed. Clearly he's a project. He had trouble getting minutes for his juco team. As I wrote the other day, his former head coach and AD at juco didn't believe the team's offensive philosophy suited Okongo's strengths last season, but if you're 7-feet tall and getting looks from high-major teams, you'd expect more production than what he gave last season. From what I've been told the staff likes his upside defensively. Jeremiah Tilmon isn't someone you can expect to play 30 minutes a night, and with a second option at center besides Nikko, MU should have more answers inside, even if Okongo isn't going to produce eye-popping numbers. Also, there's a thought internally that he's the kind of player with the kind of body and demeanor who will challenge Tilmon in practice and make him a better player. I'm surprised they took someone with multiple years of eligibility considering they'll want to clear space for more 2020 additions, but a lot can change over the course of a year when it comes to roster turnover.
Congrats from KC on the Blues win. What is the upside and potential role in your opinion of the new 7' hoops recruit in your opinion? Seems like he would just be in line for a few minutes here and there as the third guy behind Tilmon and Nikko or a redshirt year. Or maybe he is dynamic enough to play some minutes in a rotation alongside Tilmon
I touched on most of these questions a minute ago, but as for the redshirt question, I haven't gotten a clear answer on whether he has a year available. He played two seasons at Northwest College, though the school tried to bring him in a year earlier but had a holdup with transcripts and other issues. From what his junior college coach told me this week, Okongo did NOT redshirt there. If not, then he would have a year available to sit out at Mizzou. But I don't see why that would make sense - unless they firmly believe he'll be an impact player in two years and it's definitely worth taking up a scholarship spot for three season
Edited by longtimereader at 16:15:37 on 06/13/19