Odimgbe key off bench
Oklahoma center Ijeoma Odimgbe’s ability to make adjustments has helped her become one of the Sooners’ best defensive contributors off the bench.
The first time Ijeoma Odimgbe checked into last weekend’s women’s basketball game against West Virginia, she ran straight at Kristina King in an attempt to slow the Mountaineer forward.
It was the opposite of what coach Sherri Coale put in the scouting report, and sure enough, King faked a shot, drove past Odimgbe and finished at the rim.
So when Odimgbe checked out of the game, Coale told her junior forward what went wrong and how she needed to fix it.
When she went back out later on in the 19-point win, Odimgbe adhered to the plan and stayed on help defense.
Though Odimgbe isn’t a major offensive contributor this season, her ability to be coached and make adjustments has made her a valuable asset in the post.
“She’s more aware, and her understanding is just so much better when we exchange about a possession,” Coale said. “It used to be kind of a deer in the headlights look. I’ve been really proud of her.”
Though she isn’t a starter, Odimgbe has been the first person off the bench when center Vionise Pierre-Louis gets in foul trouble or needs a breather.
Odimgbe has played at least 10 minutes in the last three games, including 15 against Baylor.
Though she’s only scored one point in that stretch, she’s used the opportunity to flex her defensive prowess and become more confident on the court.
Entering Saturday night’s game at Kansas (7 p.m., ESPN3), she’s recorded six blocks in the last three games and has at least one block in nine of 13 Big 12 games.
“Right now, I feel like I’m more of a defensive threat than an offensive threat,” she said. “I always say that ViVi is more of the offensive player than I am. She can score 30 points easily and I know that I’ll get there. I’m still developing in that area, but I feel the most comfortable on defense.”
As Odimgbe remembers it, she averaged 10 blocks a game in high school, but it took her some time to get adjusted to the timing of the college game.
Now, midway through her junior season, it’s all coming together as the Sooners enter a final stretch of regular season games.
“She’s this crazy athletic specimen and can jump up and spike shots and pull rebounds and can run,” Coale said. “She’s working on having her IQ catch up with her athleticism. And for a while there, the game was so fast for her. She was mentally behind the play and couldn’t always see this great athleticism. Now you’re starting to see that she’s more in the moment.”
Until this season, the 6-foot-4 center played sparingly, averaging less than five minutes per game during her sophomore year. During her freshman year, it was even less, and she appeared in just 10 games.
Once Pierre-Louis graduates at the end of the season, Odimgbe will be the veteran center on the roster, and she’s using these final months of her junior season to boost her confidence and prepare for the responsibility.
“I’ve just started to take on a different attitude,” she said. “Just being happy about practice and just being able to be here with my teammates, I think my attitude has just changed drastically over time, and I have such a positive outlook on what we’re building right now.”