Monroe vs Othella

[MCIGuy]

hoya50 said:

my hoyatalk namesake was a decent college player. i loved othella, but he didn't progress very much during his hoya career and was a player that frankly lost his confidence. i was at the memphis-gu game in toronto (iverson frosh) and you can plainly see iverson and othella arguing on the court - at one point, iverson says something like "i'll slow down for you". iverson just took over the team for othella's last two seasons and it was to the detriment of othella.

I don't think O lost confidence. He simply lost the popularity contest amongst his teammates. Guys like Joey Brown and Robert Churchwell and Lamont Morgan had moved on and Iverson came in along with JYD and Jahidi and Boubacar. Iverson became the most popular guy on the team and O kinda seemed like an outsider. I recall when Real Sports did a feature on Gtown and took a rare glimpse into the Hoya locker room. The players were mostly loud and boisterous. Othella was quiet and introspective and was sitting in a corner by himself. The dynamic of the team had changed overnight when Joey and the gang left and AI and the boys arrived. And with him being a mild-mannered and introspective kid from Mississippi he may have felt he didn't fit in all that well with the rest.

I always find it telling that O seems to have less contact with the program more than any other of JT's four-year big men. Jahidi appears to have kept closer ties to the program and school than Harrington. I think I recall Othella being interviewed on JT's show only once during the time JT has had that show (even Iverson has done that show at least four times). And Othella was at the conference when JT announced his retirement. But other than that I just don't hear much about O coming back to play during the summers or O interacting with other Hoya players/coaches (except for the short time he and Sweetney were on the Bulls).

Othella was always the classiest Hoya that I can recall (at least before this most recent bunch). The finest example of that was during the first BE game of the '94-'95 season (AI's first game). I've mentioned it before. The Hoyas played Providence in a tight contest that the Friars led for the majority of the minutes. Othella had a lousy game and Hoya fans in the crowd were getting on him. Iverson was having a brilliant game (end up scoring 30 points) and the crowd was showering him with adoration. The Hoyas won in the final seconds of the game and when the horn sounded and Providence missed its final shot, an excited AI ran off the court thrusting his fist into the air. He was like a rock star and had such a glow and so much charisma that most of his teammates ran off the floor with him. The crowd stood and applauded as Iverson nd the others made their way to their dressing room. But Othella stayed on the court and shook every hand of the Providence players and coaches. He could have felt sorry for himself for having a bad game, for the crowd getting on him and for his being upstaged by the younger Iverson who did not pass the ball the way a typical point guard would. He could have sulked; he could have been angry and stormed off without a word. But he was classy, respectful and mature enough to show sportsmanship and represent his team/university in the right way. This isn't a slap at Iverson or the other players who ran off the court. The thrill of the moment overcame them and the joyous emotions that they felt (and we in the arena as fans felt) took over. Instead this is a pat on the back of Othella who didn't let his emotions or pride get in the way of doing what was more appropriate.

During his last two seasons Othella could have fussed over how he was being treated by JT, by fans, by the media and at times by his teammates on the court. But he didn't complain. All class.

[MCIGuy]

paranoia2 said:

. Othella was played in the post by JT 2 because he lacked the foot speed to play on the wing on offense or defense. I think a more apt comparison could be a Lamar Odom but with a higher basketball IQ and more of a penchant for playing the team game. Time will tell.

No one expected O to play the wing. But he could have played the 4.

And the odom comparison is a bad one. Odom is more of a natural big guard or at best a SF. He doesn't play well in the paint.

[Hoya50]

mciguy said:

hoya50 said:

my hoyatalk namesake was a decent college player. i loved othella, but he didn't progress very much during his hoya career and was a player that frankly lost his confidence. i was at the memphis-gu game in toronto (iverson frosh) and you can plainly see iverson and othella arguing on the court - at one point, iverson says something like "i'll slow down for you". iverson just took over the team for othella's last two seasons and it was to the detriment of othella.

I don't think O lost confidence. He simply lost the popularity contest amongst his teammates. Guys like Joey Brown and Robert Churchwell and Lamont Morgan had moved on and Iverson came in along with JYD and Jahidi and Boubacar. Iverson became the most popular guy on the team and O kinda seemed like an outsider. I recall when Real Sports did a feature on Gtown and took a rare glimpse into the Hoya locker room. The players were mostly loud and boisterous. Othella was quiet and introspective and was sitting in a corner by himself. The dynamic of the team had changed overnight when Joey and the gang left and AI and the boys arrived. And with him being a mild-mannered and introspective kid from Mississippi he may have felt he didn't fit in all that well with the rest.

I always find it telling that O seems to have less contact with the program more than any other of JT's four-year big men. Jahidi appears to have kept closer ties to the program and school than Harrington. I think I recall Othella being interviewed on JT's show only once during the time JT has had that show (even Iverson has done that show at least four times). And Othella was at the conference when JT announced his retirement. But other than that I just don't hear much about O coming back to play during the summers or O interacting with other Hoya players/coaches (except for the short time he and Sweetney were on the Bulls).

Othella was always the classiest Hoya that I can recall (at least before this most recent bunch). The finest example of that was during the first BE game of the '94-'95 season (AI's first game). I've mentioned it before. The Hoyas played Providence in a tight contest that the Friars led for the majority of the minutes. Othella had a lousy game and Hoya fans in the crowd were getting on him. Iverson was having a brilliant game (end up scoring 30 points) and the crowd was showering him with adoration. The Hoyas won in the final seconds of the game and when the horn sounded and Providence missed its final shot, an excited AI ran off the court thrusting his fist into the air. He was like a rock star and had such a glow and so much charisma that most of his teammates ran off the floor with him. The crowd stood and applauded as Iverson nd the others made their way to their dressing room. But Othella stayed on the court and shook every hand of the Providence players and coaches. He could have felt sorry for himself for having a bad game, for the crowd getting on him and for his being upstaged by the younger Iverson who did not pass the ball the way a typical point guard would. He could have sulked; he could have been angry and stormed off without a word. But he was classy, respectful and mature enough to show sportsmanship and represent his team/university in the right way. This isn't a slap at Iverson or the other players who ran off the court. The thrill of the moment overcame them and the joyous emotions that they felt (and we in the arena as fans felt) took over. Instead this is a pat on the back of Othella who didn't let his emotions or pride get in the way of doing what was more appropriate.

During his last two seasons Othella could have fussed over how he was being treated by JT, by fans, by the media and at times by his teammates on the court. But he didn't complain. All class.

i too remember that hbo piece.

what i remember most about othella's senior year (besides the umass loss) was how many times he came to bench looking frustrated and looking to jt for help and was greeted with a tap to the back of the head. it seemed to me that othella was overthinking the game instead of just playing. he certainly didn't seem to be enjoying himself.

one area where i think jtiii excels is maintaining a homogenous culture. recruiting kids of the same ilk promotes continuity in the program and lends to kids being comfortable. this may keep monroe around a few years, just like it kept roy around for his senior season.

[Highsmith]

Haven't seen enough of Monroe to talk about any comparisons, but I always enjoy hearing other's memories of some of my favorite Hoyas. Othella was always a favorite of mine when he played and it is a big credit to his attitude and hard work that he has had as long of an NBA career as he has.

[blueandgray]

bronxhoya87 said:

Monroe looks like Derrick Coleman to me. Although from that tape I did not see the explosive athlete I thought I would see. Lots of lay-ins around the hoop not the thunderous dunks I would have expected.

How's this for a thunderous dunk!?!

[757hoyafan]

O w/Joey as his PG >>>>>> O w/Bubba as his...

[Locker]

I think Mississippi prep stars from the early and mid 90s were simply overrated -- Othella, Ronnie Henderson, Jerry Nichols. It wasn't the fault of any system JT2 employed that Harrington's astounding high school rebounding numbers never translated into dominant rebounding at the college level.

Othella did seem like a class fellow, though. Loved his Rockettes style kick line and belting out of "Sweet Caroline" at The Pub his freshman year.

[MCIGuy]

757hoyafan said:

O w/Joey as his PG >>>>>> O w/Bubba as his...

O preferred Joey from all indications. Not that that means he hated AI.

[balla]

There is no comparison. Monroe and O are completely different players.

The O/Braswell comparison is pretty good, but O is the ultimate over achiever. Unfortunately, Braswell has not shown a tenth of O's work ethic.

[idhoya]

Braswell seems to be a better athlete.

[Omega]

No one should ever have anything negative to say about O. He was a great Hoya! His finest moment may have been his performance against an undefeated Texas Tech team in the round of 16.

O was a power forward forced to play center because JT did not have a quality center. O was the BE rookie of the year and many people considered him to be a top 5 pick by his sophmore year. The problems that plagued O was JT's shift from a low-post offense to an up tempo offense once Iverson arrived. O bulked up for the low-post game and then had to shed weight for the uptempo offense, which did not suit his game.

O is one of my all-time favorite Hoyas because through all of his struggles to appease JT, he never once complained!

[Dhall]

A very telling moment from a game (I don't recall which) was Iverson turning to Othella with a disgusted look on his face asking Othella "do you want me to walk it up the court??".

Othella was nicknamed Baby Shaq coming out of high school. He was the master of the triple-pump fake but usually scored or got fouled. Nice to always have someone on the team with those skills, but I understand Monroe has a much more diverse skill set (even if not as good of a low post game).

[prhoya]

Let's hope that, like Othella, Monroe stays in school for 4 years.