Since news broke that center Moustapha Diagne wouldn't be coming to Syracuse this year, we've speculated a lot about how the Orange should distribute minutes at the center position.Admittedly, most of that speculation has come under the assumption that Chinonso Obokoh, SU's junior center, isn't going to take a big leap forward in 2015-16 after a dismal 2014-15.
In limited playing time last season, Obokoh was very inefficient offensively. He averaged fewer than a point per game and in the final five games he appeared in, Obokoh didn't attempt a single field goal. There was never any indication that the big man was even slightly comfortable in the offense, prompting head coach Jim Boeheim to say after one game that Obokoh wasn't ready.
In other areas, Obokoh wasn't nearly as bad -- in fact, he wasn't bad at all. He rebounded at a pretty solid rate (9.4 boards per 40 minutes) for his position and flashed potential as a shot-blocker, denying 1.8 shots per 40 minutes. And even though the sample size was small -- Obokoh blocked only four shots the whole season -- his size is enough for me to believe he can be at least a serviceable rebounder and rim protector moving forward.
Still, it's difficult for some to justify having Obokoh on the floor for long stretches, because when you do, you're essentially opting to play 4-on-5 on the offensive end. That's a big sacrifice to make, but it's one SU head coach Jim Boeheim will probably be willing to make as long as it benefits the 2-3 zone. Obokoh, who wasn't needed last season thanks to Rakeem Christmas' dominance, is one of only two centers on the roster -- the other being DaJuan Coleman -- eligible to play this season. Unless Boeheim wants to use super-small lineups, Obokoh will almost certainly be used in a recurring role.
And no, I'm not retracting my argument that Boeheim and Syracuse should use smaller lineups from time to time. Rather, I'm acknowledging that they won't. Because even if it might make sense in theory to experiment with something new, it's hard to expect Boeheim to go against the basic principles of his 2-3 zone, which is at its best with a traditional center protecting the rim. Remember, Christmas got into foul trouble on a few occasions last season, and Boeheim had the option of either going small or plugging in Obokoh. Boeheim repeatedly chose the latter, and there's no real reason to believe he won't do the same this season when Coleman needs rest or gets into his own foul trouble.
By that logic, Obokoh's growth and subsequent on-court performance could be one of the bigger keys to SU's success in 2015-16. If he's added any semblance of a post-game, it would make the world of difference for the Orange's offense when he plays.
And, by all means, it's possible that Obokoh could have at least started to figure things out over the summer. It's not as if we haven't seen it before; Christmas progressed greatly between his junior and senior seasons, and Arinze Onuaku did the same between his freshman and sophomore seasons. It's just difficult to buy the notion that Obokoh will do something similar before he actually shows evidence of those progressions. So as we'll need to do with a number of other players, we really just have to stay in wait-and-see mode with the Nigeria native -- for now.
