Joshua Chidiebele Ojianwuna | Scouting Report
I’m Kuzey, 19. I’ve been writing about basketball since I was 9. I have been working in Eurosport Turkey for the last 1,5 years. I have written on various sites and magazines before. I’ve been working as a freelance scout for three years. I worked as a consultant. I have interviewed dozens of prospects such as Theo Maledon, Deni Avdija, Henri Drell, Aleksej Pokusevski, Arturs Kurucs, Yves Pons and dozens of notable basketball people such as Luis Scola, Xavi Pascual, Jonathan Givony, Dimitris Itoudis, Joan Plaza, Sarunas Jasikevicius, Derrick Williams. I write an article every day. I live in Turkey, I go to all the Euroleague and Youth League games. MY BIGGEST GOAL IS SCOUTING! Anyway, don’t forget to follow me on Twitter and feel free to DM!
Born: September 13, 2003
Nationality: Nigeria
Height: 6–10
Wingspan: 7–1
Position: PF-C
Joshua Chidiebele Ojianwuna was born and raised in Asaba. His father went to the United States at certain times of the year because of his profession. When he returned to his family, he brought NBA tapes with him. Joshua Chidiebele Ojianwuna met basketball by watching these tapes. He played basketball at local clubs in Nigeria until he was 14 years old. In the spring of 2018, NBA Academy invited Ojianwuna and JCO has been playing at NBA Academy ever since. His English is very good, he is a bit timid in off-court life, but he is one of the most friendly names among his teammates.
Physical Tools
Many bigs born in Europe in 2003 stand out with their physical features. Yannick Nzosa, Lefteris Mantzoukas, Adam Bona are some of these names but I think Joshua Ojianwuna is the best name among international players born in 2003 in terms of both width and power. His upper body is impressively strong. JCO’s arms are long and strong. His wrists are not too strong. Shoulder and chest muscles are wide, also, stiff. Joshua has not core muscles very much, but he transfers energy from the lower body to the upper body, reaching an excellent athletic level. Nigerian prospect’s lower body is generally not fast. His footwork is slow, he doesn’t have hip mobility, but his lower body is strong just like his upper body.
Offense
My favorite thing about his offense is athlectisim. Joshua Chidiebele Ojianwuna has an explosive athlectisim like other African (Badji, Diop, Ballo, etc.) prospects. However, his explosiveness is different. You know, most of center plays with high energy and good vertical pop in the painted area. I think Joshua has these skills but he also plays with IQ. I mean, he is not an explosive athlete who can dunk with high domination. Joshua checks around very quickly before dunking. When he gets the ball, he uses his body as a shield and dunk with perfect vertical pop. JO’s second jump is very good. Nigerian C uses rim perfectly in positions where difficult to dunk the painted area. He knows where to send the ball in the rim. I think he is a good handler in the painted area for his physical tools. For example, he sees the opponent defense rotation and prepares himself according to this rotation, using his handling in doing so. He doesn’t dunk just to be impressive. Yes, that’s what he enjoys doing (she told me) but Joshua uses his intelligence with his body while doing it. You can see the best examples of what I said in NBA Academy matches with Djurgarden Basket and Nyiregyhaza. Ojianwuna is a good post up and PnR player. After the screen, he can roll with good timing from both the left and right channels. After taking the ball, he knows how to use his body as a shield and goes to the pot fluently. He can finish in traffic and also can finish both hands. In post up games, Ojianwuna is not awesome, but he showed good reverse-spin combination in some matches around (Spanish Basketball Academy) baseline. However, the end of the day, he needs to improve on this issue because his arsenal should more dangerous. He is a fast player in transition but not an elite finisher. While in transition, he usually takes a role in the passing organization. He is not a good passer, but wide court vision, game IQ and finger sensitivity make him worthwhile about it. There is nothing else he can do on offense. Cannot make three, does not use mid-range too much and FTs are bad. His dribbling is good but not consistent. Sometimes doing simple ball losses while dribbling. He needs to fix his shooting mechanics completely. In cut sets, he can take role of a good screener. He does it well, but I think he has to be a bit more active on the off-ball motions.
Defense
Based on what I have seen so far from JO, I really think that his defense has more promising his offense. I’ve seen him play excellent defense when he’s totally focused and his motor is running high. Lacks the consistency to have his motor going at all times, but when he’s committed and focused I’m really sold on his ability to impact the game on the defensive end. Has great physical tools to be able to have a meaningful impact as a defender. He is doing a lot of defense. He can move around screens in off-ball. The most fascinating part is he can defend all positions. JO showed that he was able to defend both fast guards and elite centers during the matches he played in EYBL. In doing so, he positions his body well. He bends his hips, gets strength from his feet and uses hand-eye coordination. He knows how and where to move. Including the rim protection, he can do everything on defense, but he is inconsistent. I had mentioned on offense that he should be more active in off-ball. This problem is bigger on defense. Sometimes he can be the worst defender among 24 players. Joshua should definitely improve on it. Joshua Ojianwuna is one of the top five rebounders among international prospects born in 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2003. This applies to both offense and defense. It is very difficult for this child to not get rebounds. If he is in the rebound area, he grabs nine out of every 10 balls like a magnet. He can do these thanks to his body coordination, second jump and game reading.
Summary
I think Joshua Chidiebele Ojianwuna could be a good NBA player. Here are my reasons for that. He is active not only with his body but also with his mind in the painted area. An intelligent and explosive center. He has shown great things on defense so far, but yes, he has to be consistent. He cannot shoot but must not forget that he is 17 years old. In the NBA environment, JCO can be an excellent modern era center.