10 Super Duper Early St. John’s Season Takeaways

O’Blockpa Still Swatting Shots

The first thing that pops in my cranium when I hear Chris Obekpa is O’Blockpa, man-beast, eater of souls, etc. Normal people probably think about him being great at blocking shots. Thankfully we are all correct.

This isn’t a surprise that Obekpa is still blocking shots nor is it really any relative takeaway other than the fact that Lavin knows what he is going to get from him on a nightly basis (the ability to alter and deflect shots). But for a team whose defense is as suspect as John Wilkes Booth (what, too soon?), Obekpa’s defensive strength might be enough to hold this team together until they figure out how to play solid team defense. Nothing wrong with having the best last line of defense in the nation.

Oh, also some top-secret info. While still not great (or good, or even average for that matter), Obekpa’s offense is getting more efficient and if you look close enough, you might even see a post move or two in his arsenal. His offense is probably still another year from taking a dramatic jump, but it’s not as limited as last season. Which is kind of like saying the girl who no longer boinks everything walking is not as dirty as she used to be, but the remnants of previous disasters are still lingering.

I should have labeled this slide as a NSFW.