Thoughts on Okongwu?

[Wretch]

(duplicate fudge)

[RandomFan]

Sooo, amidst all this hemming and hawwing, has nobody bothered to check out Okongwu's OWN Twitter handle? 

BigO21. Put some respect on his name

[Sothron]

8 hours ago, sturt said:

To no one in particular...

I come from the school that says nicknames are given and accepted, as opposed to self-chosen and accepted.

That is... one can say, I want to be called, "x," but it's really up to others to determine for themselves whether they are going to do that... ie, unless you're one of those who refers to him/herself always in third person, which is really, really irritating to listen to and has been the gist of some really good comedy over the years. I suppose if you do that, maybe, eventually it catches on, but probably only because others think it's hilarious that you talk that way.

And, I'm unaware that OO has, himself, anointed himself Big O. Rather, that's seemed to just evolve in-house among the players, coaches and staff, and among them it's become accepted.

He needs a nickname that everyone will accept. So, no King Kong. No Big O. And waaaay too many don't make it a point to keep up with pop culture enough that a Gwu-Tang thing is going to catch on readily, though unlike the other two, there's nothing as far as I know that would make it offensive or potentially so.

So, I hate that King Kong is off the chalkboard because it's such a fit given the position he plays and the intimidation factor that the title naturally carries... and still bigger picture, it's such a pox on us as people that such a ridiculous negative connotation would exist in anyone's mind to begin with.

And I hate that Big O is taken by a Hall of Famer for whom that name is, in fact, arguably how he's more commonly addressed and spoken of and written about than by his actual Oscar Robertson name, not unlike how we ordinarily reference Dr. J as that instead of Julius or reference Magic as that instead of Earvin.

Best compromise, to me, is to marry OO... and Big O... and so... Big OO.

Oh. And.

I'm buying this today. Today. No, really. @RedDawg#8, what do you think?

 

I also don't believe you can give yourself a nickname. That's just not how that works. 

I got called Timdawg in high school at my part time job after school and it stuck. I hated it at first but then when I saw how it made everyone else smile to call me that I just chilled and accepted it. My best friend then who died about a year and a half ago was who gave that to me and he literally never called me by name  from then until he died. I can close my eyes now and hear just how he said it to me. Timdaaaawg.  Miss you Dan. 

[Sothron]

10 hours ago, AHF said:

Gwu or OO are fine for me.  Big O is sacrilege within the pantheon of NBA greats.  Nobody should be called Wilt the Stilt even if their name is Wilt.  Nobody should be called Pistol Pete even if their name is Peter.  Nobody should be called the Human Highlight Film even if they dunk the ball with impressive force and style.  There are a handful of nicknames that are just not meant to be handed off and Big O is one of them.

I will never call him Big O. That's just never going to happen. It is disrespectful. Same with Will the Thrill if some other baseball player was good.

[Spud2nique]

1 hour ago, Sothron said:

I will never call him Big O. That's just never going to happen. It is disrespectful. Same with Will the Thrill if some other baseball player was good.

I agree. (On my own not because Sturt has kidnapped me and making me do it). 

[aali34]

 

[agentorange90]

On 6/22/2021 at 10:24 AM, Sothron said:

I like calling him Double Oh personally at home or at games. 

He is becoming exactly what he was in college: basically a smaller Capela. The big question for me is can he develop an outside shot and more importantly can he hit free throws. 

That's what I keep thinking.  A lot of power forwards/centers over the years  learned to become great shooters like Barkley, Horford, Karl Malone, Horace Grant,  and even Koncack even deveoped a nice shoot.  Horace could not really shoot once he came out of college but became a great shooter.  That's how guys really elevate to stars and it also helps them later in their career when they can't be as physical.  Collins has improved his shooting a lot but I think if he wants max money he needs to get a dead-eye mid-range shot and improve his 3 pt shooting.  Schlenk really has really done great with his picks; obviously Trae, then Huerter, Okongwu, Hunter, and Cam. 

[Spud2nique]

1 hour ago, aali34 said:

 

I’be been saying it all year and throughout the last draft. Okongwu has “natural” strength like very few I’ve seen. 
 

He’s a rich man’s Carl Landry. That dude had strength but Gwu has a ton of it too. Undersized as far as height but the heart and hustle is off the charts on him. He’s a keeper. 

[NBASupes]

16 minutes ago, Spud2nique said:

I’be been saying it all year and throughout the last draft. Okongwu has “natural” strength like very few I’ve seen. 
 

He’s a rich man’s Carl Landry. That dude had strength but Gwu has a ton of it too. Undersized as far as height but the heart and hustle is off the charts on him. He’s a keeper. 

He's undersized for a center but not for a PF. Carl was undersized for a PF 

[Atlantaholic]

We are gonna need him to step up again this series like he did against Philly. Feel pretty confident the Hawks can take it but we are gonna need all the supporting cast to step up and play at peak performance with Bogi ailing. 

[RandomFan]

 

[AHF]

On 6/22/2021 at 3:18 PM, RedDawg#8 said:

I don't think the use of Big O is the same as calling someone Pistol or the Stilt. Those are obviously unique nicknames that were used to caricaturize that specific person's game on the court.

Big is such a vague attribute that is commonly used as a means of affection, especially among men/jocks. Big Guy, Big Man, Big Bro, Big Homie, etc.... it's a very common Prefix in our modern lexicon.

I do not think they are truly trying to use and market OO as "Big O". It seems to just be an endearing nickname within the locker room, with very little reference to the original. He has a good game, Okay Big "O", I see you doin your thing, keep it up. Sort of like that. But he has always been called "O"  even back to his Chino Hills days under Lavar. That's just his name no matter how anyone feels about it. It's not forced or created. He has always been "O".

1 tiny detail that I think is being glossed over as well as is that Oscar wasn't known as just Big O, he was "THE" Big O. That was literally attached to his nickname. Oscar Robertson, The Big O. 

The most similar comparison that I think could happen is how when Dwight started being called Superman. Sure, people were like "Um, Shaq?" But otherwise people just let it ride. 

I think as long as nobody says "The" Big O, they will let Big O ride among the team. It's not blasphemous, it's coincidental more than anything. They play different positions, different styles, yeah I don't think its that bad. There's Big-O, and then there's The Big O, no comparison.

 

Can you tell me a nice list of the other NBA studs who have been nicknamed something like the "Big L" or the "Big S" or something so I can see just how generic and unconnected to Oscar this is?  I can't really think of any.  This seems to me like it is in play because Oscar made that name such a big deal and it is being used for OO because it is familiar to hear "Big O."  Like when Westbrook was coming to break Oscar's record it was Big O and not The Big O.   Everyone knows Big O because Oscar made it a legendary nickname in the NBA.

[ATLHawks3]

3 hours ago, RandomFan said:

 

Simple defensive mistake that can be cleaned up. 

[Spud2nique]

THAT SHOT OUTTA THERE!!!

 

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[QuantumHawkz]

On 6/22/2021 at 1:25 PM, benhillboy said:

I think I’m gonna fall in line with @aali34 and call him “The Woo/ Wu.”  He kinda favors Inspectah Deck actually.  Inspectah Yek?

WU is what I call him

[JayBirdHawk]

Wow. The understanding at such a young age bodes well for the Hawks going forward.

 

 

[benhillboy]

6 minutes ago, JayBirdHawk said:

Wow. The understanding at such a young age bodes well for the Hawks going forward.

 

 

His feel and spatial awareness are just off the charts for a rookie.  Combine that with his super-solid base and quick jump and you just have a player I’m sure the coaches are thrilled about developing.

[Cwell]

He’s gonna be a monster. I don’t watch college hoops much so I don’t really know the players, but when looking up the top prospects last year, I thought his game would fit the best. Great to see its working out for us

Edited June 30, 2021 by Cwell

[turnermx]

17 minutes ago, Cwell said:

He’s gonna be a monster. I don’t watch college hoops much so I don’t really know the players, but when looking at the top prospects last year, I thought his game would fit the best. Great to see its working out for us

Good work by scouts and Travis on Wu. I feel he's gonna be special. Great attitude on court and off as well.

[Spud2nique]

During the draft process I thought Onyeka was a top 3, I thought he would be slotted at the Hornets pick at 3. 
 

Honestly think the Warriors made a HUGE mistake and if they had drafted Okongwu they would be in the playoffs and let me just say this, Curry and Okongwu would have been trouble. 
 

We got him, they got Wiseman.