Tag: Isaac Okoro player comparison

Jeff Goodman on Isaac Okoro: ‘There may not be a better defender in this year’s NBA Draft’

Isaac Okoro was a one-and-done star for Auburn last season, finishing second on the Tigers with 12.9 points and 4.4 rebounds per game.

Isaac Okoro knows defense, that is for sure, and Jeff Goodman, a basketball analyst for Stadium, knows what he sees in the former Auburn star.

“There may not be a better defender in this year’s NBA Draft,” Goodman said.

Okoro, who finished second on the Tigers last season with 12.9 points and 4.4 rebounds, was a menace defensively, often guarding the opponent’s best offensive player and being responsible for keeping them in check.

“The 6-foot-6 Georgia native can guard multiple positions and is terrific in the open court,” Goodman continued.

There has never been a question of if Okoro can guard. The only question for him going into the NBA Draft is his mid-range jump shot. Okoro, speaking to the media this week, said it has improved vastly.

“I would say during the college season it was probably like a C+,” Okoro said of his jumper. “But I feel like right now I’ve been working every day just putting up a lot of shots and I feel like right now it’s around a B+ / A.

“Just taking more time with my jump shot, just being more fluid with it. Just learning how to get the ball higher. During the college season I shot a lot of flat balls, so I’m just learning right now to shoot that high and get a higher arc on it.”

The 2020 NBA Draft takes place on Wednesday, Nov. 18.

Hoops Hype compares Isaac Okoro to a couple of NBA all-stars

Isaac Okoro is expected to be a top-10 pick in next week’s NBA draft.

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We are just more than a week from the 2020 NBA Draft and Auburn one-and-done star Isaac Okoro will finally figure out where he will be playing professionally.

Over at USA TODAY Sports Hoops Hype, the NBA writers have broken down each prospect by their player comparison to current guys in the NBA. For Okoro, it couldn’t get much better.

The Powder Springs, Ga. native’s comparisons including Jimmy Butler, Andre Iguodala and Justise Winslow.

From Hoops Hype:

“Auburn’s Isaac Okoro is a defensive-oriented wing physically built like Jimmy Butler. He is an uber-athlete, known for his intensiveness and his tenacity and his speed. His college coach Bruce Pearl has compared Okoro to Iguodala due to his ability to impact the game. He still needs to round out his game to score beyond five feet of the basket, though, which will be an essential element for him to have success in the league.”

Butler, a 2011 first-round pick out of Marquette, is a five-time NBA All-Star, made the All-NBA third-team three times and has earned a spot on the NBA All-Defensive Team second team four times.

Okoro is definitely a fierce defender as, as a freshman for Auburn during the 2019-20 season, he was responsible for the opponent’s best offensive player on most nights. He finished second on the Tigers with 12.9 points and 4.4 rebounds and is expected to be a top-10 pick in the upcoming draft.