Yellow Jacked Up
Fansided

Georgia Tech Basketball 2018-19 Player Preview: #24 F Sylvester Ogbonda

By Dylan Callaghan-Croley

ATLANTA, GA - JANUARY 07: A general view of the tipoff of the Louisville Cardinals' basketball game against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets during the game at Hank McCamish Pavilion on January 7, 2017 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Mike Comer/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GA - JANUARY 07: A general view of the tipoff of the Louisville Cardinals' basketball game against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets during the game at Hank McCamish Pavilion on January 7, 2017 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Mike Comer/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

The Nigerian forward missed most of last year due to injuries but could be a heavy contributor this season if he can stay healthy.

After appearing in 23 games during his redshirt freshman season, 6-foot-10 forward Sylvester Ogbonda saw time in just nine games last season as he battled injuries. Expected to be fully healthy entering this season, Ogbonda could be a heavy contributor for the Yellow Jackets.

Through his first 32 career games, Ogbonda has been a quality contributor for the Yellow Jackets and especially so on the defensive end with a career defensive rating of 96.4. Last season, when on the court he didn’t seem to miss a beat defensively and even saw a rise in a few key stats including his block percentage that rose from 5.3% to 15.4%.

In reality, it’s hard to fully gather what type of player Ogbonda can be this season after having such a small sample size from the year before. That being said, if his freshman year was any indication, there is a lot to like from him both offensively and defensively.

His offensive rating his freshman year was 93.4, not great but not bad either. With less established scoring options for the Jackets entering this season, Ogbonda could see a rise in his usage rate and in result his scoring. It’s safe to say his offensive rating from last year of 65.6 is not a strong representation of what he provides offensively.

Either way, if Ogbonda remains what he has been offensive, he will still be able to contribute in major ways for the Yellow Jackets in other facets.

Where he is especially good at is on the boards, where he had a rebound percentage of 19.8% when on the court a season ago. But once again it needs to be noted that it was an extremely small sample size. Ogbonda is bigger and more physical than he was two years ago and even last year which should translate well to his ability to rebound this season.

For Ogbonda, it seems that as long as he stays healthy and can see consistent minutes on the court, he has the potential to flourish. While his offensive game does present a few potential issues and worries about what his ceiling is, the Jackets at the least will have a great piece in the frontcourt on defense and a potential rebounding machine.

Next. Georgia Tech Football: Jackets open as slight favorite over Miami. dark

In all likelihood, Ogbonda will be a rotational player for the Yellow Jackets this season with the occasional spot start here and there. Thanks to his defensive abilities and his abilities on the boards, he could be a player that Josh Pastner looks to sub in when the Jackets are holding onto a lead late in games. The biggest key to all of this, however, is if Ogbonda can keep the injury bug that got him last year away and for the most part stay healthy.