http://www.cleveland.com/buckeyeblog/index.ssf/2009/11/basketball_backup_walter_offut.html

 I know its an old article, but I think Walter Offutt will be the best new comer in the MAC this year. Anyone else?

After all the over-hyped transfers the last twenty years, I will be really excited about Mr. Offutt after he plays some games and is really good. 

have to agree with my bro bn. Wait and see for me.

An interesting project would be to put together an All-Star team of all-time underwhelming transfers. No shortage of candidates.

I've got two recent ones:

Marin Bota
Johnnie Jackson

Offutt is the real thing.  Saw him play 2-3 times.  He's no Bota by any stretch.

Johnnie Jackson was supposed to be the "best player on the team" and "best player in the MAC". We were told of his "NBA skills" and the "Kobe Bryant of the MAC.  He his the court and fails to make the 8 MAC rotation before being thrown off the team bitching about lack of playing time.  He was a terrible ball handler and poor shooter. He was a walking turnover his passing skills were poor.  I'll have to see it before I but into any transfer who has averaged less than 2 points a game and sat for 3 years in college.  My guess is Kellogg is the starter at the two and Offutt will be pushed by Johnson and Hall for playing time at the three.  Johnson and Hall had good freshmen seasons and will get a lot better this season.  Offutt will have to put up numbers to start.    
     

My main question is.......

Can he shoot?

Is he deadly when distant?


in the midrange area, can he pull up in someone's grill and basically just say "ohhhh, I'm so sorry, thank you for playing....here's some lovely parting gifts" ? (all without opening his mouth to say one word)


I have no idea what his game offers other than the little I saw on youtube which was just a layup line for him where he showed he can dunk.


Thanks in advance for any more info.

I have watched Walter since 6th grade. THe first time I saw him I was blown away.  He is an extrememly talented undersized 3. Always has been. Plays above the rim. I took a ton of heat when he committed to Ohio State in 8th grade. Got flamed and called a ton of names for predicting he would not see the floor at tO$U. My feeling was that his skills set did not fit the B10+1 and his size would work against him at the 3 spot. THe other factor that ensued through HS was the injury bug. He was everybody's all everything, especially once the 06 and 07 classes left. WIth Hummell, HOward, Hahn, COnley, Oden, Hanragody, McRoberts, Jujuan Jahnson, Eric Gordon to name a couple in each class above him gone he was dubbed Sir Walter by the press as the next in line destined for Indiana basketball royalty.....just ahead of Deshawn Thomas and in the same class as  Tyler Zeller and Gordon Hayward, Walter was a consensus Indiana All Star team member even though he missed the season with a knee reconstruction.. Regardless,  I still take those personal attacks for merely looking at the facts and making a statement to heart. He was never a big body....he would have excelled in the Pac 10 and would have rolled over the likes of any next tier conference. You will recall of course if you are a long time member of this board I said Bassett was the real deal and he dissapointed everyone the entire season (boy I wish I had those pre crash posts telling me how wrong I was about Armon) until he finally showed up in March. Even though I was never a big fan of his personal life I always respected his game. Walter is more talented with infinitely more character and team orientation than our previous Indiana All Star.

OBJC is about to be wrong AGAIN, AS USUAL.  Walter has huge quicks, both the length of the floor and laterally. He is a typical Indiana defender, sees the floor, knows help side defense, takes away angles and does not make mistakes. He stretches the floor with his speed and his first step is deadly. He gets to the basket from free throw line extended about as quick as anyone woh I have ever seen on the COnvo floor. His pull up jumper is a thing of beauty.... I have seen him heading to the bucket at full speed and when the  defender slides over, Walt stops on a dime and elevates...and keeps going up ...and up and at the height of his jump softly releases the ball with a ever rising arc that becomes an extension of his original elevation. THe first time you see it you will be enthralled. He doe be. s throw down with impunity and has done so on fast breaks since 7th grade  Groces Phoenix offense with a mis match on the wing is the offense he has needed for years to use his talents. His 3 ball percent will be close to Kellogg when all is said and done but he will be what everyone wanted Steve Coleman to be on the wing. .

I was not a fan of Offutt to Ohio State or the Big 10 but I have always liked his game. Got to meet his mom and him over the last few years and I have got to say he is a person of high character with great ethics and morals. Now that I have spent time with him and watched his game come round he has won me over. COunt me as a fan. He is the real deal and will provide Cat fans some video clips.

2008 Indiana All Star team

So the answer to my question would be....yes?


lol  just kidding thanks again for the info


If his shooting stroke lives up to your assessment then all we'll really need is one other shooter besides Kellogg and Offutt will have plenty of spacing to take full advantage of his driving skills -- our post players don't figure to demand complete attention so the help may come to Offutt before he can get to the rim unmolested but perhaps that just means more opportunities for facials and the resulting "oh my goodness!! did you just see that?" from everyone in green.


Do you know his scoring averages his junior and senior year in high school?

I covered everyone of your questions quite eloquently I thought.

Yes would be the answer in a nutshell.

I do not know his averages and between the injury bug and the sectionals/league they play in would not even thiink they are significant. TO this day I rarely care for stats in HS as there is so much intra squad  politics, coaching constraints and manipulations with reagard to pace and tempo that those numbers are at best , unreliable and at worst, gives you a really woefully inadequate picture of what a kid will do in college. YOu can have a superstud in FLorida knocking down 35 points a game and can t get on the floor here while you see a kid with 8 points a game in WIsconsin on a team that averages 36 and he may be a stud here.

The answer in a nutshell is NO. The best answer is the kid is quick, has a beautiful jumper and has the ability to defend tenaciously.

Junior Season: 17.6 points, 4.6 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 2.1 steals

Injured his senior season in early December, so sample size would make whatever his average was insignificant.

So, borna, this guy has "NBA skills"? 

Seriously, thanks for all the background information.  I found it very interesting, and I'm anxious for the basketball season to start, even if it overlaps with football.  I'm learning to multi-task.  See an old dog, or fart, can learn new tricks.

You know, recent research has suggest multi-tasking is bad for the brain... you might have to pick a side.

I believe that only applied to women, who tend to get compulsive and excessive about it.

Cue Athena...

This kid hasn't played significant game minutes since his junior year in high school. What he did in high school really doesn't matter. Johnson and Hall played more minutes at the college level so far than Offutt.  I fully expect Johnson and Hall to improve a lot over their freshmen years. Offutt will have to play at a high level at the three to start on this team.  Many fans assume  big school transfers  will start in the MAC after sitting on the bench at a big school. MAC has plenty of undersized guards.  Who can hit shots and play some decent D gets the playing time.
Johnson and Hall were stars in high school too in their states.  

I'm already enthralled.  The team that can hit pull up jumpers consistently wins.  Period.  And, hardly anyone can do this anymore.  Or will even try.  They all try to go all he way to the rim. 

I hope I see this quite often.

I beg of ya, man, please don't be enthralled...

*ahem*

6-9, 4-5 from 3, 7-8 FT 2 reb 4 steals. 23 pts in 28 mins.  ANyone get to see those pretty jumpers? Ahem

If I am not allowed to be enthralled.......after watching the game tonight, can I at least be mildly excited?

I''d say so.  He was drilling shots...  Just wait til Coop and Taylor really start dishes passes and Kellogg is drawing away attention around the perimeter.  

Yah.  Sounds appropriate.