| Okafor’s Sophomore Slump Authored by Aaron Bronsteter - January 6, 2006 - 3:02 am
After last year’s draft, myself and a handful of others felt that the Orlando Magic would rue the day that they passed on Emeka Okafor in the 2005 NBA Draft and that the Los Angeles Clippers were fools for trading down to draft Shaun Livingston. One season later, Okafor was the rookie of the year, Howard looks to have more upside and the Clippers are the best team in Los Angeles.
Bernie Bickerstaff was able to move up to the second spot at a ridiculously affordable rate (the fourth overall selection and the fourth pick in the second round) and was ecstatic, declaring Okafor the future of the brand spanking new Bobcats franchise. A year passed and the Bobcats were able to escape being the worst team in the NBA, finishing in a tie for the second worst record in the league with the New Orleans Hornets. Lottery day was a nightmare for the Bobcats, with both the Bucks and Jazz lucking out and drawing spots ahead of the Hornets and Bobcats, leaving the Bobcats with the fifth overall selection in the draft, along with the 13th overall selection acquired from the Cleveland Cavaliers. After drafting Raymond Felton and Sean May, the Bobcats’ young core was established, with Okafor still the central figure.
Looking at Okafor in 2005-2006, he has fared worse than in his rookie season with the same starting lineup as last season. In 25 games, Okafor has finished with six games in single-digit scoring and eight games in single-digit rebounding. Last season, in 73 games, Okafor finished with only fourteen games in single-digit scoring and nineteen games in single-digit rebounding. Okafor also broke the 20 point barrier 13 times in his rookie year (about once every 5.5 games), whereas this season he has only done it once in his 25 games. This either means that other teams are taking Okafor more seriously or that he has hit the feared sophomore slump.
Currently, Okafor is injured with an ankle sprain and has missed the last seven games with the Bobcats. He has committed more fouls and turnovers per game than last season and his scoring and rebounding have suffered drops. The most devastating statistic is that his field goal percentage is barely over 40 per cent, which is an abysmal rate for a big man.
With the sophomore slump aside, the Bobcats seem to be turning the corner as a serious NBA franchise. With 50 games remaining on their schedule, they will only need to win eight of those games to match their record from last season and the team is currently on pace to win 26 games, eight more than they did last season.
The big question to come out of all of this is whether or not Okafor is the Bobcats’ true franchise player. In his absence, they have won three of seven games, two of them on the road and two against the exciting Chicago Bulls. Is Okafor the type of player who can be the face of a team or a true franchise player? He is mainly known for his shot blocking and rebounding skills, but are those skills alone enough to define him as a player who can make the all-star team year in and year out, can he be as good a defender and rebounder as Ben Wallace, who is only arguably the franchise player on the well-rounded, team-oriented Detroit Pistons. The answer to this question will come with time, but for now Okafor is nearly fully healed from his injury, ready to hit the hard wood again and if his past work ethic has proven anything, it is that he’ll come back stronger than ever with his mission to conquer the sophomore slump that is plaguing him. |
