Patrick OBryant announced his presence to the national audience with a career high 28 points and an unlikely Sweet 16 berth. Two players by the name of Marcus Williams help their draft stock out with terrific individual performances, one in a winning effort and one for the losers. Rajon Rondo likely finishes up his career at Kentucky with a solid all-around performance concluding in a loss. LaMarcus Aldridge comes up extremely flat for Texas but still sees his team win emphatically without him. Those and much more in our fourth installment of the NCAA Tournament stock watch.
Round of 32, Saturday Games, Stock Up prospects
Round of 32, Saturday Games, Stock Down and Neutral prospects
Round of 64, Thursday Games, Stock Up, Down and Neutral prospects
Round of 64, Friday Games, Stock Up, Down and Neutral prospects
Stock Up
Patrick O'Bryant, 70, Sophomore, Center, Bradley
28 points, 7 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 block, 10-17 FG, 8-9 FT
Joe Treutlein
Patrick O'Bryant made his name known to the entire country on Sunday afternoon, using his physical tools to completely outplay his counterpart, Pittsburgh center Aaron Gray.
O'Bryant was very impressive offensively, posting up Gray for most of his 28 points. He had no problem establishing position, receiving the ball very deep in the post on multiple occasions. He had a few easy lay-ins and dunks from the good positioning, but also showed he can work for his baskets from further out in the post. Over the course of the game, OBryant exhibited a turnaround jumper from a few feet out, a drop-step move on the baseline, and a jump hook across the lane, which seems to be his weapon of choice.
Defensively, OBryant had a pretty strong impact, showing bursts of good man and weakside defense. He was outplayed by Gray on a few plays in the post, but also blocked him once, stole the ball from him on another occasion, and contained him on quite a few other possessions. There were a few instances where he lost Gray in the possession, letting him get deep under the basket for an easy dunk or lay-in. He also played some pretty solid weakside defense, altering a few shots and making most of the necessary rotations. He uses his length and mobility especially well on the defensive end.
It should also be noted that OBryant stepped up huge in the clutch with the game hanging in the balance. He had a crucial rebound as the game was getting close with 2:11 remaining. He then hit 6-of-6 free throws as time winded down, helping secure the win for Bradley.
While there were a lot of positives for OBryant today, he has some significant weaknesses he needs to work on. He has no mid-range game to speak of, as he scores all of his points around the basket. He could be a much more effective player if he added this element to his game. OBryants effort also wavers throughout a game, not consistently showing the fire to be as good as he could. He seemingly never boxes out on rebounds and doesnt fight very hard for them in general. He also seems to take a lot of plays off, simply going through the motions and not giving it his all. This could in part be due to conditioning as well as motivation, though.
OBryant has a great set of physical tools, possessing excellent mobility, length, and size. His athleticism wont blow you away, but hes very fluid and mobile and has all the tools one could want from a center. OBryant also has a sort of misleading strength. He looks pretty thin, but he makes good use of his frame. That said, his frame could stand to add quite a bit more bulk, and he could definitely use the extra strength. OBryant would probably be best served spending another year in college getting into better shape and developing a mid-range game, but considering the market for athletic and long 7 footers in a draft like this and the likelihood of ever getting the type of exposure hes receiving right now after an unlikely Sweet Sixteen berth, it wouldnt surprise anyone at DraftExpress to see him declare for this years draft.
O'Bryant was very impressive offensively, posting up Gray for most of his 28 points. He had no problem establishing position, receiving the ball very deep in the post on multiple occasions. He had a few easy lay-ins and dunks from the good positioning, but also showed he can work for his baskets from further out in the post. Over the course of the game, OBryant exhibited a turnaround jumper from a few feet out, a drop-step move on the baseline, and a jump hook across the lane, which seems to be his weapon of choice.
Defensively, OBryant had a pretty strong impact, showing bursts of good man and weakside defense. He was outplayed by Gray on a few plays in the post, but also blocked him once, stole the ball from him on another occasion, and contained him on quite a few other possessions. There were a few instances where he lost Gray in the possession, letting him get deep under the basket for an easy dunk or lay-in. He also played some pretty solid weakside defense, altering a few shots and making most of the necessary rotations. He uses his length and mobility especially well on the defensive end.
It should also be noted that OBryant stepped up huge in the clutch with the game hanging in the balance. He had a crucial rebound as the game was getting close with 2:11 remaining. He then hit 6-of-6 free throws as time winded down, helping secure the win for Bradley.
While there were a lot of positives for OBryant today, he has some significant weaknesses he needs to work on. He has no mid-range game to speak of, as he scores all of his points around the basket. He could be a much more effective player if he added this element to his game. OBryants effort also wavers throughout a game, not consistently showing the fire to be as good as he could. He seemingly never boxes out on rebounds and doesnt fight very hard for them in general. He also seems to take a lot of plays off, simply going through the motions and not giving it his all. This could in part be due to conditioning as well as motivation, though.
OBryant has a great set of physical tools, possessing excellent mobility, length, and size. His athleticism wont blow you away, but hes very fluid and mobile and has all the tools one could want from a center. OBryant also has a sort of misleading strength. He looks pretty thin, but he makes good use of his frame. That said, his frame could stand to add quite a bit more bulk, and he could definitely use the extra strength. OBryant would probably be best served spending another year in college getting into better shape and developing a mid-range game, but considering the market for athletic and long 7 footers in a draft like this and the likelihood of ever getting the type of exposure hes receiving right now after an unlikely Sweet Sixteen berth, it wouldnt surprise anyone at DraftExpress to see him declare for this years draft.