Speaking of the depth need on the wing for the Chicago Bulls, a name that should only continue to come up in conversation is the Auburn Tigers true freshman 6-foot-6 small forward Isaac Okoro. The former four-star recruit and Powder Springs, GA, native truly had a breakthrough during his first season at Auburn.
The ultra-talented wing played in 28 games for Auburn last season (starting in all of them), while averaging 12.9 points per game, 4.4 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 0.9 steals, and 0.9 blocks, while shooting 51.4 percent from the field and 29.0 percent from beyond the arc. Okoro also shot 67.2 percent from the charity stripe.
The rather poor shooting percentages for Okoro did pick up a bit as the season moved along. He shot 32.6 percent from beyond the arc in SEC play, which came against tougher defensive opposition. Part of the shooting woes could be a long-term issue that whatever NBA team selects him has to work through. It could also be something he’s already improving upon.
The .157 win shares per 40 minutes, 58.7 true shooting percentage, and 7.8 box plus/minus rating are all very positive numbers for Okoro that should help him translate his game naturally at the next level. Hopefully his shooting and two-way skill set will continue to improve heading into his NBA career, but he’s showed signs he’s capable of making that happen already.