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bjw810 OP
Apr 25, 2024 at 11:37 PM ET
On3 prediction for Tobi Lawal to VT
VCUs backup center. Absolute freak athlete.

62 Replies

Chris Coleman Chris Coleman
He just committed to Tech.
Naturally, since I had already finished an entire section in my Q&A about him. Now I'll have to re-write it slightly, haha. I think I should just quit working when the portal is open. There's no sense trying to cover it in real time.
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hoaf
Watched him one time last year. Go get him!
KiloZulu KiloZulu
I attended the tourney in Orlando last Thanksgiving and watched VCU play...
multiple times. I don't remember specific names and numbers but I do know they were freakishly athletic. I thought at the time several of their players would be worth looking at if they were in the portal. I would be all over Lawal to get him to commit.
YBYSAIAHokie YBYSAIAHokie
VCU highlights. Lotta dunks.
Link: Lawal
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ME Hokie 07
almost hit his head on the rim at 0:41....can't tell if he can shoot a
12' jumper or not based on that but dude has hops and gets at the offensive glass...and those hops translate to shot blocking as well....will be fun to watch
RhinoVT RhinoVT
ACC refs will have him w/ 2 fouls before opening tip.
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ME Hokie 07
looking at his stats, that appears to be a weakness, avgs 5.67 fouls / 40m
will need to clean that up if he wants to play more than 20m
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EDGEMAN
Not afraid to fight for a rebound or take it to the hoop.
From an pure athletic perspective, appears to be a huge upgrade.
Chris Coleman Chris Coleman
He has Deron/Clarke hops for sure.
You can count on one hand the number of guys we've had with his level of leaping ability.
Stork Stork
My son, a VCU hoops guy says “There’s moments he looks like a lottery draft
pick, and moments when he looks like he just started playing basketball”. He says just wait till you see him. It’s nuts. I asked if better than Bamisile who he now knows. Says ceiling is 25 times higher than Bamisile. “You can watch and tell if he gets smarter he’s going to be an NBA guy”. Good stuff
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win-tech
Nice insights. Thanks for sharing.
SmithfieldHokie SmithfieldHokie
Yea, I like this transfer- we needed more athletic players crashing the
boards- plus he'll add an exciting style of play. We needed a player with his talents to complement the others.
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WOJO
For sure; Les Henson in the 70’s could skywalk
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Jwunderdog
My vote for Les as well. Incredible athlete.
Will Stewart Will Stewart
When VT lost to Larry Bird's Indiana State team in the NCAAs in 1979...
Henson threw down a tremendous dunk early in that game. I remember watching that on ESPN Classic years ago, and being astounded by Henson's dunk.
SarahVTHokie24 SarahVTHokie24
I was a bartender at After Sundown for several years..
We hired Les as a bartender. I worked the upper bar with him when he was in training. One of the nicest and most humble guys I've ever met...and yes, we talked about THE shot. ** Edited by SarahVTHokie24 at 4/26/2024, 2:44:38 PM
YBYSAIAHokie YBYSAIAHokie
I remember that dunk. Indiana State went on a 20-0 run shortly after that.
And we never recovered. Fought from behind by double digits the rest of the game. Everybody was screaming to Coach Moir to call a timeout during the run but he didn't.
Nortazhokie Nortazhokie
I actually remember that dunk. Les could leap too.
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EDGEMAN
Deron is still one of my favorite Hokie ballers!
Was going to ask the last time we had a front court guy who was that athletic. Pretty clear you answered that question...a long time...lol
HokieAllMyLife HokieAllMyLife
Pretty sure if Deron played today he would have a Lipton NIL deal.
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OrlandoHokie
Well Lawal is from London so maybe he should have a Lipton deal. Tea time!
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40ozDistrict
LOL, good one!
Atlee Hokie Atlee Hokie
I enjoyed watching Deron.
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Diehard Hokie
Dirk Williams the OG for me...
He played with Bimbo back in the last 80s for a year or two. Can't find any clips of him on YouTube, sadly. Looks like he had a son, Dirk Williams Jr, who played some college ball. Linked is a SportsCenter Top 10 dunk Jr had back in 2018.
Pylons Pylons
One of the few things Frankie Allen had going for him
was the under-the-basket inbounds alley-oop to the Dirkster.
4dhokies 4dhokies
Now that's a name I hadn't heard in a while. And you're right about him!
Nortazhokie Nortazhokie
Dirk definitely had some hops.
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VT One
Yep. Was about to bring him up. Wasn’t he left handed?
Nortazhokie Nortazhokie
Yes
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OrlandoHokie
I remember the under the basket lob play for Dirk Williams
I was at VT 89-93. I remember that out of bounds play under the basket where Bimbo or Rod Wheeler would throw it to Dirk Williams. Good times!
1980VT 1980VT
Supposed 49 inch vertical in VCU testing last year.
Pylons Pylons
Don't deny him the final 0.5"
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Vippie1
I'm only going on what is written
but this sounds exactly like what CMY teams have needed more of- raw athleticism particularly from a big.
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GCHokie34
Just wait til the fans decry the lack of fundamental skill
vtbball80 vtbball80
God help him if he misses a free throw in a close game. Seriously....
could this guy really play the 4 on this team? Dosen't seem so. Shooting looks like a big question mark.
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WOJO
Defense and Rebounding looks strong
We have not had good shooting from a 4 in years His two and three point numbers are very good but then he gets to the rim and hits threes when he takes them
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HokieBrazil
Maybe Bam can transfer back too,that would be a story!
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EDGEMAN
The first player to play for 7 teams?
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TomA
WOW!
Chris Coleman Chris Coleman
Love his rebounding...6 per game in 18.9 mpg.
Actually, 7.7 points and 6 rebounds per game is very good for 18.9 minutes. 16.3 points and 12.6 rebounds per 40. Only took seven threes, but made three of them. Seems like a high upside guy with two years left and would improve us athletically immediately. Had 14 and 9 against Boise State. Also had 11 against Penn State. 16 and 8 against Memphis. Four double doubles despite not starting a game. Originally from London. VCU says he had a 49.5 inch vertical in preseason testing. ** Edited by Chris Coleman at 4/26/2024, 12:45:43 AM
VTCC 65 VTCC 65
Speaking of rebounding
VMI has a 6' 6" Guard who averages > 10 rebounds per game. But he doesn't score all that much.....kinda unusual
Chris Coleman Chris Coleman
If they run a 4-guard offense, he's probably their 4-man.
VPI63 VPI63
You wrote:
“…with two years left…” Now sure that is relevant given the bidding war, if he succeeds. 🤔
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VT ChemE 1986
He would be an ideal 4 for this team
His athleticism is insane. If we get him, I think we are done. ** Edited by VT ChemE 1986 at 4/26/2024, 12:02:39 AM
vtbball80 vtbball80
He had 11 assists and took 7 3 pt shots all season last year.....
Doesn't sound like a 4 in this system. Doesn't mean he wouldn't be good to get, but he sure looks like a backup 5 this year while the Jones develops.
NC Hoke NC Hoke
A solid back up 5 may be all we require to fill our need at that position.
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Hokie`79
I could see him and Poteat splitting time equally. Poteat can get into foul
trouble easily.
YBYSAIAHokie YBYSAIAHokie
I thought he was a 4
NC Hoke NC Hoke
He can play both and we need depth at both.
At 5 Poteat will play about 20 minutes and Jones about 10 minutes so probably would need about 10 minutes from Toby at 5. Same situation with Burnham and Johnson at 4. He’s perfect for what we need.
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bjw810 OP
I obviously don't know anything for a fact but I feel like he would
most likely be backup 5. While I do like the idea, it would clog up the center spot even more with now 4 on the roster. I just don't know if you can play him at the 4 being the non shooting threat that he is.
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hokietom87
Mutts was a 4 and couldn't shoot outside
SarahVTHokie24 SarahVTHokie24
He could, he just didn't have to
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mghokie
In his 3 years, Justyn was a 33% 3P shooter. If that is bad, bring
on some more like him for a wing or 4 player.
Bmackattack Bmackattack
That % is better than Pedulla's this past year....
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Hokie622
He was also an excellent passer to make up for it. Hard to replicate that
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EDGEMAN
Mutts made our offense run. He was the key.
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hokietom87
Sure.
Person above said the 4 has to shoot 3s .... Mutts is an example of that not always needing to be the case
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EDGEMAN
I agree.
I think the idea of a 4 shooting threes is to give opposing teams something they have to defend, so they can't slack off and drop into the lane.
HoakieCup HoakieCup
Great example. Mutts seemed to work out well for us in a CMY offense.
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jfrance41
Would be incredible. Versatile 4 that can defend and insane vert
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GoldCoast
How is he versatile (at least so far in his career)?
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jfrance41
Can guard multiple positions