Is Omar Samhan an NBA player?
Omar Samhan, St. Mary's
It’s only halftime, but I’m gonna go ahead and say St. Mary’s run as one of the tournament Cinderellas is over. They’re down 46-17 right now, and a few minutes before halftime, Baylor’s LaceDarius Dunn was outscoring the Gaels by himself, shooting 5-for-7 from the field while St. Mary’s had shot 5-for-25 as a team.
So onto a more intriguing matter than this game: Is St. Mary’s big man Omar Samhan ready for the NBA? The 6-11, 260-pound senior was a beast all season in the West Coast Conference, averaging 21 points and 11 boards, but understandably nobody really noticed him until the NCAA Tournament when he dropped 30 points per game in the first two rounds in two upset wins. But going up against Baylor’s athletic front line that has at least one future pro in Epke Udoh, Samhan is struggling. At halftime he’s 1-for-8 from the field, registering three points and six rebounds.
Samhan has skills as a low-post scorer and touch around the basket. But he’s slow, he’s not a great defender, and scouts will downplay his bulky stats because of the mid-major level of competition. Despite his Big Dance breakout, I still haven’t seen Samhan pop up on updated NBA mock drafts. But if he finishes this game strong and (at least individually) goes out with a bang, that momentum could carry him into landing on somebody’s roster next season. And like I’ve said before, if Aaron Gray and Hamed Haddadi can get NBA jobs, anybody 6-11 or taller has a shot.
* One of the announcers said that when Baylor switched to a zone during last year’s Big 12 Tournament, it “completely changed the culture of Baylor basketball.” Should the Golden State Warriors look into this zone thing? How about the Oakland Raiders?
* Ohio State is leading Tennessee by four with about 14 minutes left. I didn’t even realize that Bruce Pearl has taken the Vols to the Sweet Sixteen three times over the last four years. If you’re a fan of a program like Tennessee, where basketball will always take a backseat to football and there’s not that regular expectation of winning national championships like at Kentucky, Duke or UCLA, are you cool with that kind of track record? Or if Pearl always gets just-so-close but never to a Final Four or anything, would you eventually look to upgrade?
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March 26th, 2010 at 10:01 pm
Kyle says:
After watching that first half… I’d have to say no. Before seeing this game(and having seen little of his game)I’d compare him to Kevin Love.
Not anymore. Maybe it was just a bad game, but that’s gotta have scouts and NBA teams thinking twice about even drafting him in the early second round.
March 26th, 2010 at 10:56 pm
S-SiN says:
Шеэы тще еру
March 26th, 2010 at 11:01 pm
dvs says:
The guy has a good feel for the game, but he needs to get into better shape. He might get picked up late in the second round. I hope he makes it to the league, fingers crossed.
March 26th, 2010 at 11:08 pm
nawlage_x0719 says:
I just wanna dropp him,
he gotta face that I just wanna punch haha
March 26th, 2010 at 11:10 pm
S-SiN says:
Time will tell. like u said anybody 6-11 who has a shot..
March 27th, 2010 at 12:21 am
Kyle says:
They say you can’t teach height, but he moved slow and looked lost out there. Whenever the defense can easily stop you in college, that’s not a good sign.
Look at how much focus Kansas State spent on Jimmer Fredette, and he still scored 21 points against a much deeper and athletic team.
Danny Ferry also had a feel for the game…
Saint Mary’s was down 35, and Samhain finally scores 12 incidental points in the second half to give him 15 points.
March 27th, 2010 at 6:09 am
BRUCE says:
Too slow for an NBA Player. Dude will make Jerome James look like an All-Star!
March 27th, 2010 at 8:23 am
Guitar Hero says:
He could be a low post scoring option for a 2nd unit.
Could be.
March 27th, 2010 at 12:34 pm
Dennis Castro says:
Kevin Pittsnogle…Kevin Pittsnogle…Kevin Pittsnogle…Kevin Pittsnogle…Kevin Pittsnogle…Kevin Pittsnogle
March 27th, 2010 at 5:21 pm
hahns says:
pearl is a great coach. i dont understand the logic of firing a coach who has enjoyed success over and over but simply doesn’t have the personnel to take it to the next level.
i didnt think the chargers should have fired schotenheimer and tennessee definitely shouldnt fire bruce pearl. – swt 16 4 years in a row? are you kidding me? thats a great resume…esp for a school where basketball isnt the number one focus.
if notre dame fielded a team that got to the swt 16 repeatedly, id think mike brey was one of the best coaches in the nation.
March 28th, 2010 at 1:01 pm
RC says:
I’ll give the dude a chance. He has some sweet moves around the basket. Gotta admit though that he is slow and maybe mostly because he is not in good shape. Maybe a whole summer of training and losing weight will give him better mobility. If Zack Randolph can be an all star and kill the stat sheets in the NBA then this dude has a shot! Common Z-bo has a 2 inch vert and cant really move fast. So it’s either he turns into a good pro in the NBA or he becomes the next Bryan “big country” Reeves LOL
March 28th, 2010 at 8:03 pm
Dirtball Rotten says:
if Kwame Brown is still in the NBA, this guy has a shot…
March 29th, 2010 at 12:10 am
heavy d says:
Yes, but not a star (not enough foot speed). He’s a true C willing to live on the block and there are precious few of those in the NBA. That’s enough to get him a spot on a roster and keep it.
March 31st, 2010 at 5:50 am
swingman says:
Short answer : no.