Yo, Zirg! Ya got me on that one. Caught me in a moment of exhilarated suspension of rational analysis. To that, I plead guilty.
To make it to the NBA, you have to check a lot of boxes, and Oguine checks some: Athleticism (quickness, hops, explosive first step), and Defense (NBA coaches love defense.)
But not others: Shooting (an absolute must to play in the NBA); Size (point guard is the only position where he qualifies); and Handle (ball-handling skills that dazzled us in another era are almost routine in today's NBA game, as in Exhibit A, Steph Curry.)
But if you'd read other of my posts--and I know, your lips get tired--you'd remember that in other threads I said, first, if our coaches wanted to prepare him for the NBA, they'd move him to the point; and second, if Michael truly wanted to go for it, he should spend his summers shooting hundreds of shots a day, as has Pascal Siakam of the Raptors, until he became a consistent outside threat.
In order, none of these things happened.
Of course we had Rorie at the point, so Oguine was not moving there.
But more than that, where the NBA is the only ticket to success for many players, for Oguine it is not. He's smart and well-educated, with a business degree and a bright future in almost any career he chooses. Without knowing him, he comes across as a young man with interests well beyond the gym--well beyond shooting a basketball or improving his handle. I still believe he possesses incredible athletic talent, if not the inner drive to bring his skills to the NBA level.
Meantime, I'll be keenly interested to see if he chooses to play basketball professionally, abroad. For that he is already qualified.
