Thoughts on Olivier Nkamhoua?

#1
Freak

Freak

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#1
First off, yes, I had to copy and paste his name.

We talk a lot about Bowden, James and recently Vescovi, but what about this guy? Barnes repeatedly mentions him in his postgame press conferences as a guy that we really need to step up.

Can he be a guy that gives us more this year?
 
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#2
#2
He showed promise at the beginning of the season, but seems to have slightly regressed. Maybe it's conditioning related, but I thought he seemed to be in much better shape to start than Admiral or Grant were.

I still see a lot of potential for him, just seems to make a lot of "freshman mistakes".
 
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#3
#3
hard to say, right now this team is still trying to tie their shoes and find an identity...believe that the deeper we go the better we'll get...it may not be for the faint-hearted though...basically agree with VEKZY Sir Olivier...:D
 
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#4
#4
I think he has solid potential, but there is no guarantee it'll ever click. He could turn out to be the next Grant Williams or he could be the next Derrick Walker. It's not often that Rick Barnes raves about the potential of a player, so maybe he'll figure it out, but currently he seems to be really struggling with the speed of the game and the length of Division 1 basketball players. He's just a freshmen, but I'm a little underwhelmed by his game on the offensive end of the court. Hopefully all these minutes he is getting this season benefits him for 2020, otherwise he's going to get buried in the depth chart by Corey Walker, Josiah James, (yes I see him playing the 3 and 4 in 2020), Fulkerson, and Pons next year.
 
#7
#7
I could see his game improving ONLY if he listens to more gangsta rap.
 
#9
#9
Freak said:
First off, yes, I had to copy and paste his name.

We talk a lot about Bowden, James and recently Vescovi, but what about this guy? Barnes repeatedly mentions him in his postgame press conferences as a guy that we really need to step up.

Can he be a guy that gives us more this year?
Click to expand...
I’ll be honest, I was really against signing him when he committed. I didn’t see a lot in his game film that excited me. BTO tried to talk me down off that opinion, of which I admitted that I hoped I was wrong and ON made me eat my words.

Then he played well to start the season and out came the Grant Williams comparisons and the effusive praise Barnes had for ON, and I thought to myself, “What did I miss when I watched his HS film?” How was I so down on the guy and people are comparing him to GW...and not just fans; media members were making that comparison, too.

Now, I am seeing more of the kind of guy I thought I saw. A guy that didn’t seem like he’d make much of an impact for a couple years, if ever.

Hopefully, he kicks it back into gear, and (at least) settles into the medium of GW comparisons and my expectations. If he can give us a Kyle Alexander type career, he’d exceed my expectations, but I still hope I’m wrong and he follows more of a GW path, just potentially at a slower rate.
 
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#10
#10
He's young. He has one or two moves and some athleticism. Teams started taking that away from him and he hasn't found a rhythm or niche in the team flow yet. He's okay defensively so he's staying on the court but I imagine it will be mid-way through the SEC schedule before we see him make an impact again. However, I think he takes a HUGE leap for his sophomore season as he appears very willing and moldable in practice. Does whatever he's asked.
 
#11
#11
TheMookieMonster said:
I think he has solid potential, but there is no guarantee it'll ever click. He could turn out to be the next Grant Williams or he could be the next Derrick Walker. It's not often that Rick Barnes raves about the potential of a player, so maybe he'll figure it out, but currently he seems to be really struggling with the speed of the game and the length of Division 1 basketball players. He's just a freshmen, but I'm a little underwhelmed by his game on the offensive end of the court. Hopefully all these minutes he is getting this season benefits him for 2020, otherwise he's going to get buried in the depth chart by Corey Walker, Josiah James, (yes I see him playing the 3 and 4 in 2020), Fulkerson, and Pons next year.
Click to expand...

He's on the court regularly so he already has more potential than Walker haha.
 
#12
#12
He has a lot of potential, but needs more reps/floor experience to get his confidence up. Looks like he might be thinking too much. He had more success early because he was just playing and using his instincts around the rim. He has a good feel for body position and all that - I think it's just confidence and a level of physicality that he still needs to adjust to. He's a guy that's going to be awesome to have on the roster by his junior season.
 
#13
#13
He's as pitiful as the rest of the new class. Don't know why Barnes even recruited these guys. They wouldn't see playing time in the the MAC.
 
#18
#18
Soft. Nimble. Snake-bit.
Hope he overcomes these shortcomings. We need him to be a force inside.
 
#19
#19
VEKZY said:
Sarcasm? Hopefully.
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I think just a straight up troll attempt
And it has been disheartening seeming him kind of backslide from the start of the season but I’m not in any rush to make judgements on a freshman who has played 12 games of collegiate basketball. He showed potential and Coach Barnes swears by him so I think he will be a solid starter by the time he leaves UT. If this season goes awry, as it appears to be more likely to do so with each passing game, I will be more frustrated with guys like Bowden and Jalen Johnson, who haven’t been able to elevate their games in new roles after several years in the program
 
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#20
#20
He will be fine. This time next year will be a more true assessment of what he is going to be here.
 
#23
#23
Lefteye said:
Getting a little pissed off from time to time would help him a ton. Imo
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I think a lot of the guys would benefit from playing with a chip on their shoulder like Lamonte. I loved seeing his fire and fearless attitude on the court and you can tell the other guys looked up to him as the leader. Unfortunately, we don't have anyone like that to replace him this year.
 
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#24
#24
I think the ceiling is maybe higher than grant (as far as NBA potential) but the floor is much, much lower. and he’s about at the bottom of it right now. Not as far developed as grant was.
 
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