Josh Oduro Continues to Impress in a Friar Uniform

Friar Family, before I begin I hope you all enjoyed a great holiday and that you are more than ready to attack the year two thousand and twenty-four. If you aren’t already following the Friar Podcast on X or Instagram, or aren’t currently subscribed to the Friar Basketball Youtube or Substack, we would more than appreciate you tapping in with us! We are looking forward to providing more pods and more exclusive content like my interview with Devin Carter heading into the new year.

Josh. Oduro. When I hear his name there is a certain calmness that comes to mind with most fans. I remember a conversation with a friend of mine and his wife about how the game seems to slow down around him. They gave him the nickname “Slowmo-duro” and I think that is pretty spot on. When Oduro moves without the ball he doesn’t exactly have game breaking speed, but even against a more “athletic” potential first round pick like Oso Ighodaro, Oduro more than held his own in Providence’s 72-57 win against Marquette.

Heading into the season I mentioned Oduro’s footwork as being a key to his success against Big East fours and fives, and that has held true to date. For much of the season, he has displayed a few signature skills that have led to easy buckets. The first is Oduro’s ability to create position even when he doesn’t catch the ball underneath the basket. In the first half against Butler, Oduro caught a pass just inside the free throw line, turned into his defender, and immediately took him off the dribble and finished with his left. It is impressive how Oduro is able to finish around the basket even when he starts about 4-5 steps away from the hoop. There is a certain comfort he has that even when he starts his dribble at the elbow, he knows he is going to be able to finish with a layup or hook shot rather than forcing a fall-away type jump shot. 

Oduro also has been really efficient in the pick and roll or getting open in traffic. If we look back to the Lehigh game, he showcased multiple plays in his 29-point performance where he was able to draw his defender out and then show at the right time to receive the pass to score. This to me is so interesting because, again, Oduro isn’t running these types of plays sprinting to the basket. He almost is able to tiptoe past the defender, to quietly get in position, and he finishes with a calm touch more often than not. Whether with his right or his left, Oduro squares to the basket well, which has helped create his over 62% field goal percentage that ranks 22^nd in the nation currently.

Something that is probably still going under the radar on his game in scouting reports? His pump fakes and ability to get defenders out of position. We have seen more than a handful of times this season Oduro back down his defender, hit them with one pump-fake – still keep his pivot foot to slide in another pump fake and finish at the basket. A lot of the time in college basketball we prefer to see bigs simply catch and score around the rim, but Oduro clearly has success when he is creating doubt in the defender’s mind on when he is going to attack the rim. In clear-out opportunities Oduro has shown his ability to use a drop-step and up-fake for easy twos rather than finishing in direct contact. 

Then there is his rebounding. With 14 boards against Butler and nine against Marquette, it seems Oduro is hitting mid-season form when it comes to getting position inside to keep plays alive or stop second chances. Somehow, Oduro is third on the team in rebounds per game behind Bryce Hopkins (8.7 per game) and Devin Carter (7.9 per game) but against a potential taller match-up most nights in the Big East, Oduro has shown the consistency to get rebounds the old fashion way. By boxing out and getting position!

Lastly is Oduro’s ability to pass and create opportunities from the catch. Nate Watson and Ed Croswell, for reference, were half an assist per game guys in their tenure with the Friars. Basically, when either big got the ball down low, chances are they were looking to score and to their credit both were very efficient in finishing around the rim. At 2.2 assists per game right now, Oduro provides a different dynamic to cutters and those out on the three-point line. Oduro turned in a six-assist performance against Butler and had five back against Oklahoma (as one of the only bright spots in that game). His ability to pass further confuses his defender on what he is going to do when he has the basketball in his hands, and especially with Hopkins taking more shots inside the three point line – as we saw in the Lehigh game - they can be hard to guard when the ball is flowing between them closer to the basket.

If you don’t want to take my word on how much of a game changer Oduro has been thus far for the Friars, take Joe Hassett’s thoughts instead. Sonar has been outward about his appreciation for Oduro’s game pretty much all year, and that man knows basketball, Friar fans. Hassett posted on X after the Friars announced their #25 ranking that Oduro is “extremely important” to whatever the Friars want to do for the remainder of the season.

I couldn’t agree more, Joe, and I am looking forward to seeing some near triple double level performances from Oduro as we continue through the gauntlet that is Big East conference play.