Max Abmas / Mock Drafts

[darrenj]

10 hours ago, Hoops Junkie said:

They will get some even without KO. Absmus and KO get all the publicity. But this team was deep last year and EVERYONE (minus maybe KO) is coming back!

Not sure how deep they were last year as only played 7 guys and never took Abmas and Obanor out of the game!:) That is a REALLY big spot to fill if Obanor stays in the portal. None of the new recruits are replacing him. 

Now they will flat out have some shooters on the team for sure! Very good guards but pretty light up front. 

[darrenj]

11 hours ago, eagle88 said:

In my opinion KO would be wise to come back. He has a green light light at ORU in a system he is familiar with. I believe a lot of his success is due to the environment he was in at ORU and the style of play that fit his game.  The old saying that the grass is not always greener on the other side. 

Very good point as he and Max have the freedom to do pretty much whatever they want right now playing for ORU. That is not happening at Arkansas or any of the other teams he is looking at. 

[jmg1984]

Will be interesting to see what they do with all the good guards they signed

[darrenj]

10 hours ago, Old Titan said:

Fascinating decision with ripple effect in so many directions:

• How many preseason All-America teams will Max make?  Could he be a first-teamer?
• What will Max’s box office effect mean for scheduling, both home & away?
• Any pick-&-pop bigs in the portal who might now want to share the spotlight with Max?
• Where does transfer point guard Issac McBride fit in the picture now?  Does he transfer to his fourth school in two years?
• Where do I buy my “MidCourtMax” t-shirt to put a couple of bucks in the young man’s pocket?

I would think they would play a 3 guard system with McBride, Max and Jurgens. Jurgens can handle most small forwards they will play. McBride had to know there was a chance Max would come back.  Now Elijah Lawrence? That is a question. Is he better than Phipps? You know he isn't a better shooter but player? We will see. 

IF i was Max or his folks i would have those Tshirts and sweatshirts out really quickly!:) He would make a bundle on those!

It will be interesting to see what opportunities come up for him in the next month. It would be a really good selling point to Obanor also if something was in the works for him as well. 

[darrenj]

6 minutes ago, jmg1984 said:

Will be interesting to see what they do with all the good guards they signed

Either Phipps or Lawrence will be the odd man out in the rotation as you know Max is not coming out very often.

[ORU40]

10 hours ago, Old Titan said:

Fascinating decision with ripple effect in so many directions:

• How many preseason All-America teams will Max make?  Could he be a first-teamer?
• What will Max’s box office effect mean for scheduling, both home & away?
• Any pick-&-pop bigs in the portal who might now want to share the spotlight with Max?
• Where does transfer point guard Issac McBride fit in the picture now?  Does he transfer to his fourth school in two years?
• Where do I buy my “MidCourtMax” t-shirt to put a couple of bucks in the young man’s pocket?

The pick & pop question is the biggest concern going into next season. It's the foundation of Coach Mills offense, and the the fact that KO could hit that shot when his man helped on Max was critical. If whoever fills that spot cant consistently knock down that top of the key 3 Max is going to see double teams all year long. Max is going to see a lot of gimmick defenses all year as teams will take the "make someone else beat us" approach anyway, so we need someone that is a threat to hit that 3 so his defender cant just leave him to stop Max and can then be a big factor  on the boards as rebounding was a problem area even with KO! Going to a 3 guard offense can work at times, but will be a liability against bigger good rebounding team.

I would think there are still some good shooting bigs in the transfer portal that would love to get the open shots that Max will create for whoever is setting that pick for him!!!

[oruvoice]

11 hours ago, ORUalum said:

I hope there are some Tulsa businesses that hook Max up with some of that NIL money....this is big for ORU!

Now we just need oruvoice to speak KO's return into existence.

You can run the pick and roll/pop with 2 guards. Doesn't have to be a big like KO. 

Just sayin'. 

[Dr. Cornelius]

2 minutes ago, oruvoice said:

You can run the pick and roll/pop with 2 guards. Doesn't have to be a big like KO. 

Just sayin'. 

This is a good point...

[ORUJason]

I expect McBride and Herron to both make significant contributions this year and to be in the regular player rotation.  

[darrenj]

Thinking a lot of teams will throw the Ark. defense that they used in the 2nd half of double teaming Max before he crosses half court!:) That was the ultimate sign of respect for Max! 

I think Deshang Weaver will be their starting 4 if Obanor doesn't come back. 2nd on the team in block shots and shot 36% from 3 last year. 

Jurgens will be ok at the 3 as is he is strong enough to hang in there and won't be fun to cover on the other end as good handles and shooting ability. 

They need Clover or Plet to be able to play some minutes for sure. Otherwise they are going to be really small. 

[oruvoice]

4 minutes ago, Dr. Cornelius said:

This is a good point...

And, if you run it with 2 guards, your bigs can stay under the bucket to rebound. 

[Texasgrip]

14 hours ago, ORUalum said:

 

ESPN story.

[Keenan Henderson]

So in the end, the NBA combine became the deciding factor for Max's status in the draft.  Wonder what the NBA guys told Max to work on this year?  He cannot get any taller but he could put on some weight.

[ORU40]

53 minutes ago, oruvoice said:

You can run the pick and roll/pop with 2 guards. Doesn't have to be a big like KO. 

Just sayin'. 

You can, but you rarely see it. The reason you usually don't run the pick out top with 2 guards is you want the defensive guard to get caught on the pick or at least slowed down so you get the mismatch of a big now coming over to help on the guard like Max, who can get his shot or just blow by the big putting pressure on the back of the defense by getting all the way to the basket or making other defenders come and  help creating open shots for the wings(which is why teams spread out around the 3 line offensively when they run that high pick play). If a guard switches onto another guard he can usually keep the guard with the ball in front of him(which is much less of a mismatch then getting the big to switch which is the design of the play), that's why you almost always see that high pick with a big screening for a guard. 

[ORUTerry]

How about using Thompson 6’6”) with Max?

[oruvoice]

5 minutes ago, ORU40 said:

You can, but you rarely see it. The reason you usually don't run the pick out top with 2 guards is you want the defensive guard to get caught on the pick or at least slowed down so you get the mismatch of a big now coming over to help on the guard like Max, who can get his shot or just blow by the big putting pressure on the back of the defense by getting all the way to the basket or making other defenders come and  help creating open shots for the wings(which is why teams spread out around the 3 line offensively when they run that high pick play). If a guard switches onto another guard he can usually keep the guard with the ball in front of him(which is much less of a mismatch then getting the big to switch which is the design of the play), that's why you almost always see that high pick with a big screening for a guard. 

True.

[ORU40]

3 minutes ago, ORUTerry said:

How about using Thompson 6’6”) with Max?

Kareem because of his ball handling ability and how good he is at driving to the basket will most often be guarded by a guard or swing/small forward. Not getting the true mismatch you want on that pick. You need a big setting that pick so you get a big that switches (the old 4 or 5 spot position) and gets the true mismatch you want so Max can come off that pick and basically exploit whatever the defense is not taking away.

Ideally-Max comes off the pick, makes the read and decides if he has the shot or drive and if the big hedges off the pick( which will be very common because the nations leading scorer is coming at you and all week at practice your coach has told you that you have to help that guard being screened or Max will kill you)  to help Max's defender and Max's guy is trying to recover back to Max, 2 guys on or running to Max and the screener is wide open... and KO made a killing off that.  Whoever replaces KO as that screener will get a lot of wide open 3's!!! He just has to make them.  

[Old Titan]

This is all good stuff, but did I miss anyone mentioning that, (at least when they are in the game) Lacis, Weaver and particularly Herron can pick and then "rim run" down one side of the lane with Max driving down the other for the shot or lob, ala Trae Young and Chris Paul?

Obanor did not have the explosive hops that Herron has; can't wait to see if Max throws a lob off the backboard for a jam from Sir Issac!