Efeosa Oliogu-Elabor, a 6’6 wing/forward out of Butler has committed to playing for your George Mason Patriots.
If you want to know about his background, read the visit article linked here.
Efeosa Oliogu-Elabor By The Numbers
The numbers aren’t what you get excited about with EOE, so I won’t expand too much upon what was mentioned in the visit article. He averaged 5 points and 2 assists in 16 minutes per game.
Offense
Long story short, Efeosa is pretty limited on offense, with a 46.8% true shooting and 23.6% turnover rate, but has a 22.1% assist rate and 55.2 free throw rate. There are pieces here.
The offense had an eFG% of 47.5 with him on the court, and 52.4% with him off. I think may have more to do with the strength of schedule, as Efeosa missed the first seven games of the season, the weakest slate of games for sure. He was probably a small negative on offense, but not a whole 5% eFG. Combine that with a year of development and moving down a level where the athleticism difference will be higher, and you can get excited.
The shot diet is why I put the forward part whenever I mention his position.
Defense
This guy makes plays on this end, with a 1.7% and 2.6% block and steal rate, while having the horizontal athleticism to be able to stay in front of his man. The tools are insane, they just have to be harnessed.
Efeosa’s steal rate being high is a good sign, as generally higher steal rates show that a player knows where the ball is going before it gets there.
A big green flag is him only committing 3.7 fouls per 40, which is generally high for a non-big, but is low for a freshman.
The defense had a 52.6% eFG given up with him on the court, and 51.6% with him on. Once again, I point to the strength of schedule during his missed time to start the season. So he was probably a positive when you weigh the difficulty of opponent, and that is as a freshman in a power conference.
Efeosa Oliogu-Elabor Scouting Report (vs. Boise State, First Half Georgetown)
Boise State was only six minutes and the video I found of the Georgetown game was only the first half, and was on what seemed like VR Goggles with a curved display.
The first 75 seconds of the Georgetown game was nuts. I’ll mention again later but I had to now because of how excited I was to see the instant impact. He bullied and drove on Malik Mack to make a floater, got a pick-six steal and made a fancy layup, and then got a weakside rim protection block on a big man dunk.
Offense
Efeosa Oliogu-Elabor, a 6’6 athletic forward body, was playing point guard.
The first offensive possession of the Boise State game, he brought the ball up court and then used a pick and roll to kick out for an open three. Drive and kick is a decent amount of his passing volume, but there were some crazy reads that stuck out. Efeosa made an amazng no-look pass to a cutter mid-drive.
I cannot find the stats since not every play-by-play clarifies what type of turnover occurred, but I would assume that a decent amount of his turnovers were more handle-based than bad passes, which is a good sign.
Georgetown was throwing a decent bit of zone press at him, and he was not the weak link on the floor there. One time his handle caused a near turnover, but Efeosa made a great pass on a line that turned into a hockey assist.
The handle is very inconsistent and loose but can have some high-end moments.
Something I really like is that the 6’6 ballhandler plays up to his size. He bullied Malik Mack, a small guard, and moved him all the way to the paint for a short floater. Mismatch nightmare.
Efeosa will go through and above guys at the rim, and will get a lot of foul calls. He doesn’t shy away from contact. The Canadian will go for his own rebound on inside shots, and has a decent chance to get them and go right back up.
The cutting was pretty good as well. Oliogu-Elabor will cut when there’s open space and he sees the ballhandler is not going to get to the rim. The 6’6 future Patriot struggles with length at the rim, and will need polishing.
Defense
The first thing you notice is his on-ball perimeter defense. That’s how he was used in both the Boise State and Georgetown game. Efeosa was fighting through screens and staying in front of Malik Mack. That will play in the A10. The only negative was him not being great in the pick-and-roll, but it is hard to do that as a freshman. Butler had him pressing full-court, and you could tell it was annoying the Georgetown guards.
In the Boise State game, Oliogu-Elabor was posted up by 6’11 Drew Fielder, who transferred to Oregon, and forced a tough missed shot close to the rim.
The second thing you notice is the off-ball playmaking, as he is crazy at jumping passing lanes. I saw him jump three perfectly, two of them turning into buckets on the other end, and did not see a single time where he was taken out of the play because of it. Selective and effective.
His digging is very good, as he helps over and swipes with perfect timing, while also having the athleticism to run back to his man.
His only off-ball weakness is getting blindsided by screens a decent bit. Twice I saw him get taken out of the play because of it.
Butler him up against Boise’s freshman 6’10 big and he was able to box him out.
Joe time again.
Efeosa Oliogu-Elabor Scouting Report (Joe)
Thanks Palmer.
The good news just keeps coming Mason Nation! Efeosa Oliogu-Elabor, whose name I shall shorten to EOE for now (will need to find a nickname for him too), will don the green and the gold next year.
I watched the first half of Butler’s away match against Georgetown this year, when EOE started at the three spot. It was a fun first minute and a half watch. EOE went on his own four possession run, first taking advantage of a size mismatch when Malik Mack was switched on to him to drive to the hoop and finish with a nice floater.
Then on the defensive end the next possession, he creates and gets his own steal, which EOE takes down the court himself for the next possession for the easy transition basket. Then capping off his dominating period, he jumps crazy high for a block against Georgetown’s big man Julius Halaifonua. You really should go to the video and watch it yourself, it was fun as hell.
His passing is another attribute that makes EOE a really intriguing player while the turnover rate was high, the assist rate was also high, and you can see why on the tape. EOE was generally Butler’s lead guard coming up the court, meaning he handled bringing up the ball and starting the play. He was also their main inbounder when Butler was on offense, and he made multiple good passes from that spot.
He does lack outside shooting, but he doesn’t force any shots up (only took 19 threes on the season), but it does show in his below average free throw percentage. It is an area he will have to improve upon, but the defense is already at such a strong level, plus the other intangibles, it’s hard to see him not making an impact at all levels of the game as a Patriot.
Back to you Palmer.
Ratings
20-80 scale, 50 is average, every 10 is a standard deviation.
Horizontal Athleticism: 60 – Efeosa moves so well, both in a straight line and while changing direction.
Vertical Athleticism: 60 – This guy gets high very fast.
Shooting: 30 – 2-19 from three, 62.1% from the line, and I can’t find him being an adequate shooter at any level. This is probably what keeps him from being a major offensive option, but if there’s high 20s low 30s shooting somehow, oh my.
Driving: 40/60 – This is a 40 right now, but the high-end flashes are just absurd. He is so fast with the ball in his hands, but it is pretty inconsistent.
Finishing: 40+ – Efeosa shot 51.3% on at the rim, but 45.3% on layups, which is not good. The reason it gets a plus is because the assist percentage on them is 33.3%, meaning two thirds of them were self-created.
Handle: 40/55 – This is another bottleneck on his game. The handle is inconsistent and can lead to turnovers, but when it goes right, it goes right. Think Fatt Hill.
Passing: 60 – Oliogu-Elabor is such a good passer, especially for being 6’6 and big. The turnover rate was not because he was making bad passes.
Perimeter Defense: 65 – This is the part that will no doubt translate. This guy was a Big East team’s point of attack defender, and it went well. This guy will be on the opponent’s best ballhandler, and it will work out.
Screen Navigation: 55 – He’s awesome at getting through screens when on the ball, but is a little rough off-ball because they are a bit more unexpected.
Pick and Roll Defense: 45 – This was pretty clearly his biggest weakness on this end, but this could be masked by Kanga’s PnR defense strength, along with having the chance to develop.
Off-ball Defense: 60 – This would be higher without some occasional lapses, but this guy jumps passing lanes and digs at the ball perfectly.
Rim Protection: 60 – This is weighted for being a 6’6 wing. He’s so athletic and has the timing to fly over and make life difficult.
Feel: 60 – The passing lane timing along the offensive cutting and passing really gives you confidence this guy just understands the game.
What Does This Mean For Mason?
This guy should be billed as the point of attack defender. It would be irresponsible to expect Jared Billups impact out of him, but that is probably the role you want him in, even if he cannot execute it to the same degree. Not everyone can be an 80-grade defender.
It is worth noting that KenPom had Kymany Houinsou’s freshman season at Washington State as a very similar year metrics wise. It would be a home run if you could get Houinsou’s level of offense along with what we project his defense to be.
This guy was playing part-time point once Azavier Robinson went out with an injury. There is so much here and so many things can go right.
Based on the pieces on the roster at this moment, point guard is possible, although I would not hinge my season on that working out. The most likely scenario is probably playing the three and being a sick secondary playmaker in a lineup with shooting at the four and possibly five.
Get excited Mason Nation, this is a home run swing that will still likely be a double.
