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tarkaniancourt...nm

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I guess it's easier to look at yourself in the mirror now days. Gotta love participation trophies! He was willing to leave his teammates after a tough loss; that's all I need to know about this kid. Bye!

It's too bad Dwayne Morgan didn't rub off on GO. DM was a higher rated recruit; he didn't have the opportunities GO had last year and he took a lot of criticism. He got tougher and accepted his role; he's working his a** off and now has cracked the starting lineup. If you make it about the team, individual accolades will come naturally. GO Rebels!
 
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Really respect the obvious work Morgan has put in and hopefully Goodluck finds what he is looking for. Competition can make you or break you.
 
I really wish it would have woken him up and ate some humble pie when playing against others and worked harder. I mean at least on rebounding and free throws alone. He doesn't have to shoot the ball, but could be a Joel Anthony type of player with his hustle and improve his free throws. He took the easy way out. Good luck, Goodluck.
 
I get a little of the resentment towards GO, considering when he decided to ask for his transfer. Timing was poor to say the least.

That said Ben Carter was a transfer, and nobody is questioning his heart or work ethic, or saying he left because he didn't want to compete for minutes at Oregon. There are probably Oregon fans saying Carter sucks good riddance, he was afraid to compete etc. Are they right?

Maybe GO was homesick, maybe he felt UNLV was a bad fit. Only he really knows.
 
I think that's where "team first" comes in. If you are a team first player then you adjust your game to HELP the team. He could certainly be a defensive presence and be a good rebounder and outlet man. It's a shame that today everyone thinks they should be more involved in offense. You can do do much like someone already said like Joel Anthony and play to your strengths. I think he could have earned more minutes too f he just worked on being a defensive monster.
 
WeMissYouShark said:
I think we'll miss Goodluck. However, if a man is unhappy with his situation, you can only wish him the best and move on.
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I'll miss his smile and shot blocking ability. Everything else, not so much.

Goodluck=pocket knife
Carter = Swiss Army knife

Ben might not be as athletic or have the upside that Goodluck may have but he has that "it" that screams I've been coached well my entire life. You know what, Ben might be our most cerebral post player of all time if he plays his cards right.
 
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i heard that GO may be headed to ASU. a possible link up with Savon and anti-Rebel, Bobbie Hurley. who knows if that's true.

one thing that is irritating me are these former players that had negative impacts against UNLV in the past are still thorns in our sides. ughhhhh if we were beating them consistently, i'd be loving it.
 
Any truth to GO trying to buy a plane ticket after the ucla game? Was looking to just walk out in middle of the tourney and with a couple teammates sick. If that's true lost tons of respect for the guy.
 
LetsRun said:
Any truth to GO trying to buy a plane ticket after the ucla game? Was looking to just walk out in middle of the tourney and with a couple teammates sick. If that's true lost tons of respect for the guy.
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i heard that too. had to get talked into staying. LAME!

i liked GO, but he scared me to death on the court. he was a turnover waiting to happen. when he shot it, it was a turnover and if he got fouled, it was a turnover. only positive he brought was leaving his man for weakside shot blocking, where if he didn't block it, it was an offensive rebound.

21 year old being outplayed by Freshman.

Quitters can go screw themselves. GO - not a Rebel.
 
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Too much negativity. No one but Goodluck knows what's really behind this move. All I do know is that in his 1+ year as a Rebel I never once saw him sulk or give less than 100% effort. If we were talking about Chris Wood or BD-J I could justify some of these comments, but not GO.

If he winds up playing for Bobby Hurley at ASU, he's not even old enough to know the history there, which BTW includes young Bobby literally pooping his pants vs the Rebels in '90. So the history isn't all bad.

Okonoboh deserves our gratitude and best wishes for his future, wherever it may be...
 
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normally i'd be on your same page, but not this time.

there are reasons to quit, sick family member, homesick, etc....but he QUIT because he wasn't getting enough playing time. even that would be a good reason (Dantley Walker), but he wasn't getting playing time because he didn't do a dam thing in the off season. ZERO. did you see ANY improvement at all? i sure see some in Cornish, i see a ton in Morgan, and even in McCaw (who was our best player last year and this year).

GO probably had more goal tending calls than blocks this season.

Max Good nailed it with what he said.
 
the Florian Trout said:
Quitters can go screw themselves. GO - not a Rebel.
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There's a whole lot of high and mighty judgement in this. Hope it feels good to vent it.

Goodluck left because he was getting thoroughly outplayed and felt like leaving was HIS best option. It doesn't sound like he was in any sort of denial about the fact that he wasn't competing. If that makes him a quitter in your book, judge away. I'd rather appreciate his contribution and wish him the best, knowing he's making the best move for HIS future. I suspect he's right.

In 2015 players aren't willing to go from starting as freshman, then drop back to 9th or 10th man in the rotation. Doesn't happen. They transfer and find a more sure path to playing time- every time. Most of the time they throw a fit and blame the coach on the way out, which hasn't happened here. Kind of the opposite, this situation seems like the player completely understood and agreed he was getting crushed, so he stepped down. As poorly as he was playing, you can easily argue it was for the good of the team.

If Goodluck runs his mouth post departure i reserve the right to change my mind. Until that happens, I suspect most people will be a bit more understanding of his decision, and a bit less judgmental than you seem to be.
 
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TarkisGod said:
Okonoboh deserves our gratitude and best wishes for his future, wherever it may be...
Click to expand...

He has it from most of us.

Others will choose to rip him, but I suspect most would make the same decision if they found themselves in Goodluck's shoes.

It's a privilege to rep the Rebels and the kid ultimately couldn't hang. If he was being outworked off the court, it didn't show in his game day hustle or attitude. End of the day, Goodluck's "legacy" (if you can call it that) as a Rebel ended abruptly and poorly. It was disappointing, and a result of his on court performance. That's an indisputable fact.
 
I understand wanting to transfer for more playing time. What doesnt make sense is that he requested to come off the bench and give up starting position. Plus season is so young and he has plenty of time to earn more minutes. Had tons of minutes as a freshman, was a starter to begin the year and is going to run because of limited minutes the past 3 or 4 games. To top it off is why? try to leave right after the UCLA game in the middle of a tourny. Your teams first lost and you run?? Things great if winning but, the weak run away from and blame others when they lose. Rather than, work harder and learn from it. I dont know. Looking forward to the Oregon game and hope the MGM is sold out!!
 
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To put it mildly, GO is inept on offense. It was always a huge surprised when he would pull up and make an actual shot (not a dunk). He has ok hands for a big man, and will no doubt do well defensively anywhere he goes. This team dynamic isn't like last season where Rice let guards drive and then they ran into GO. GO now has to step out and create offensively because he has help down low with Zimm and Carter. He didn't get all those blocks by chance last season, it was by design. I tell ya what I won't miss...FREE THROWS
 
Mjs_702 said:
There's a whole lot of high and mighty judgement in this. Hope it feels good to vent it.

Goodluck left because he was getting thoroughly outplayed and felt like leaving was HIS best option. It doesn't sound like he was in any sort of denial about the fact that he wasn't competing. If that makes him a quitter in your book, judge away. I'd rather appreciate his contribution and wish him the best, knowing he's making the best move for HIS future. I suspect he's right.

In 2015 players aren't willing to go from starting as freshman, then drop back to 9th or 10th man in the rotation. Doesn't happen. They transfer and find a more sure path to playing time- every time. Most of the time they throw a fit and blame the coach on the way out, which hasn't happened here. Kind of the opposite, this situation seems like the player completely understood and agreed he was getting crushed, so he stepped down. As poorly as he was playing, you can easily argue it was for the good of the team.

If Goodluck runs his mouth post departure i reserve the right to change my mind. Until that happens, I suspect most people will be a bit more understanding of his decision, and a bit less judgmental than you seem to be.
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If he worked his hardest and busted his a$$ to get better and he was still getting outplayed and realized he'd never get minutes, then I wish him well, like Walker.

However, that wasn't the case. He ran instead of battling. Almost even ran out of Maui.

Nothing about his lack of any progress?
 
the Florian Trout said:
If he worked his hardest and busted his a$$ to get better and he was still getting outplayed and realized he'd never get minutes, then I wish him well, like Walker.

However, that wasn't the case. He ran instead of battling. Almost even ran out of Maui.

Nothing about his lack of any progress?
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That's the thing about transfers. Every situation is different. Dantley? Cannot fault him for a second. He wants to play, it's important to him. And it was evident that he was always going to be buried several deep by better talent. Do your thing, find a place that's a better fit, a place where you can get the minutes and an education.

But GO? That was pretty weak. Expected at some point, but still pretty weak. Of all the transfers, the two that stick out as wimpy/poor... KR and GO.

For the rest of them, understandable reasons for transfer. But there have been so many I might have missed another one or two.
 
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fr33py said:
Don't be so naive.....
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I understand many people saying Rice just said that to save face for GO. Really? So Rice is going to lie about why he switched a starting position? A whole news article is written about GO stepping up and asking to come off the bench because he thinks it will benefit him and the team. Rice is usually a pretty up front guy. Don't think he would have to lie and make up a story for Carter starting over GO. Maybe he did? Maybe i am native. But doesn't really make sense to me. Why would a coach create a "story" rather than just say we are trying a new line up, or Carter has earned his way into the starting 5. I dont know. Just guess I'm native in hoping our coach is an up front guy that doesn't make up a story of GO approaching him and asking to come off the bench.
 
LetsRun said:
I understand many people saying Rice just said that to save face for GO. Really? So Rice is going to lie about why he switched a starting position? A whole news article is written about GO stepping up and asking to come off the bench because he thinks it will benefit him and the team. Rice is usually a pretty up front guy. Don't think he would have to lie and make up a story for Carter starting over GO. Maybe he did? Maybe i am native. But doesn't really make sense to me. Why would a coach create a "story" rather than just say we are trying a new line up, or Carter has earned his way into the starting 5. I dont know. Just guess I'm native in hoping our coach is an up front guy that doesn't make up a story of GO approaching him and asking to come off the bench.
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I highly doubt a kid who just left a team to transfer to another team, most likely because he wasn't getting the minutes/touches he and his felt he needed to get to his end game (NBA) just "decided" to come off the bench because it was going to be better for him. There are certainly unselfish and team motivated individuals who would make this call, but I can't for one minute think GO made that type of decision. Now I don't know anything about GO other than what is reported. But I can certainly read between the lines and make a pretty accurate assumption about what may have happened. Rice has always had his players back to a fault, why wouldn't he lay out a story that benefits and makes GO look like the saint, regardless of truth? Truth plays no role here and telling a white lie doesn't hurt anyone in this case. I can easily see the conversation in Rice's office going something like this:

Rice: "Hey Goodluck, thanks for coming to my office today. I appreciate all your hard work but practice has proven other players are really stepping up and are deserving of a starting spot. I think I'd like to see how you play coming off the bench and see if it might improve your game. We can spin a story to the media that you requested to come off the bench so you can get a better grasp on the flow of the game before seeing the court. This way it will save you a little face and it won't feel like the demotion it really is."

Goodluck: "But.... but.....ok coach"

Moments after exiting the office he was probably on the phone with his handlers looking for transfer options.


Why would the kid transfer if he was only a week ago asking to come off the bench to help the "team" and hopefully help his own game? It doesn't really add up.
 
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fr33py said:
I highly doubt a kid who just left a team to transfer to another team, most likely because he wasn't getting the minutes/touches he and his felt he needed to get to his end game (NBA) just "decided" to come off the bench because it was going to be better for him. There are certainly unselfish and team motivated individuals who would make this call, but I can't for one minute think GO made that type of decision. Now I don't know anything about GO other than what is reported. But I can certainly read between the lines and make a pretty accurate assumption about what may have happened. Rice has always had his players back to a fault, why wouldn't he lay out a story that benefits and makes GO look like the saint, regardless of truth? Truth plays no role here and telling a white lie doesn't hurt anyone in this case. I can easily see the conversation in Rice's office going something like this:

Rice: "Hey Goodluck, thanks for coming to my office today. I appreciate all your hard work but practice has proven other players are really stepping up and are deserving of a starting spot. I think I'd like to see how you play coming off the bench and see if it might improve your game. We can spin a story to the media that you requested to come off the bench so you can get a better grasp on the flow of the game before seeing the court. This way it will save you a little face and it won't feel like the demotion it really is."

Goodluck: "But.... but.....ok coach"

Moments after exiting the office he was probably on the phone with his handlers looking for transfer options.


Why would the kid transfer if he was only a week ago asking to come off the bench to help the "team" and hopefully help his own game? It doesn't really add up.
Click to expand...

I don't think ANYONE buys that story @fr33py. But "Accurate Assumption" is an Oxymoron. At this point, it doesn't matter who said what. He is transferring because he couldn't cut it here, and obviously saw that his game was going to be overshadowed by better players for some time to come. Simple as that. Maybe with a little hard work and determination, he could have improved, that didn't happen. See ya later GO. I wish him luck no matter where he goes. It doesn't make him a devil spawn because he wants to transfer. Lazy maybe, but not a bad kid.
 
That's fine. I wasn't attacking you fr33py. I was just saying, I am in the boat with you. I don't buy that he offered to sit either. It was done to shield him from looking bad while he looked for another team.
 
the Florian Trout said:
Nothing about his lack of any progress?
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Ever consider that perhaps Goodluck was a tad overrated as a prospect? That happens too.

You say he didn't work hard. I can't speak to that, so perhaps you're more in the know than I am there. Again, I never saw lack of effort on the court. Lack of skill, frequently.

I just think its clear the Rebel front court is a lot better and deeper than it was a year ago, which had as much to do with the departure as anything Goodluck did or didn't do. Despite being a returning starter the roster had clearly passed him by.

It was a sorry way to go out, but ultimately Goodluck did what was best for Goodluck, and the team is probably better for it. I can't be mad at him.
 
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Mjs_702 said:
Ever consider that perhaps Goodluck was a tad overrated as a prospect? That happens too.

You say he didn't work hard. I can't speak to that, so perhaps you're more in the know than I am there. Again, I never saw lack of effort on the court. Lack of skill, frequently.

I just think its clear the Rebel front court is a lot better and deeper than it was a year ago, which had as much to do with the departure as anything Goodluck did or didn't do. Despite being a returning starter the roster had clearly passed him by.

It was a sorry way to go out, but ultimately Goodluck did what was best for Goodluck, and the team is probably better for it. I can't be mad at him.
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Don't know whether his rating was higher than it should have been or not, but he was probably closer to his ceiling than most - he was a couple years older than most guys in his class. GO, I believe, is 21.5 years old as sophomore.

Dwayne was born in '96, Goodluck was born in '94. Same HS graduating class. So GO hit his HS numbers vs guys a couple years younger than himself, which can be significant especially at a post position. And being older, he may have been closer to all that he was supposed to be than some other guys. Maybe all that lead to being a tad over-rated, maybe that all lead to part of the reason his improvement from freshman to sophomore year was negligible.
 
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j. spilotro said:
Of all the transfers, the two that stick out as wimpy/poor... KR and GO.
Click to expand...

Both were wimpy/poor, but very different circumstances.

Katin bailed because he wasn't allowed to do whatever he wanted. He walked away from 30+ minutes a game and a leadership role. His departure left a huge, season killing gap in the roster.

Goodluck went from being the 2nd most skilled big on the roster as a Freshman to being the 5th as a Sophomore... 6th if you count the transfer who practices with the team. It's hard to say a guy as highly rated as Goodluck could be "recruited over", but seems to me that's really what happened. His departure, while sad, probably makes the Rebels better this season.
 
Mjs_702 said:
Both were wimpy/poor, but very different circumstances.

Katin bailed because he wasn't allowed to do whatever he wanted. He walked away from 30+ minutes a game and a leadership role. His departure left a huge, season killing gap in the roster.

Goodluck went from being the 2nd most skilled big on the roster as a Freshman to being the 5th as a Sophomore... 6th if you count the transfer who practices with the team. It's hard to say a guy as highly rated as Goodluck could be "recruited over", but seems to me that's really what happened. His departure, while sad, probably makes the Rebels better this season.
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I understand why he did it. The minutes weren't there. I get it. And quite honestly, there might be just a couple more minutes next season had he stayed - Ben is better, Obepka is better. So I understand why.

If he was gonna mope, cry, whine and poison the well because his minutes were down, I agree, better off without. If he were to accept his reduced role and wanted to be part of a team, then his leaving would be considered bad for the Rebels.

I believe, for numerous reasons, that the former would have occurred, so I'm in agreement with you - better for both parties to part ways.

I'd just rather he went the second route because it keeps the Rebels loaded up front and allows some latitude with illness/injury and foul trouble.
 
So anybody that transfers doesn't work hard or doesn't want to compete or just Goodluck?

I only ask because we have benefited from some guys transfering to UNLV. Carter and Moser come to mind.
 
Bullmastiff 1 said:
So anybody that transfers doesn't work hard or doesn't want to compete or just Goodluck?

I only ask because we have benefited from some guys transfering to UNLV. Carter and Moser come to mind.
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It works both ways. It's about opportunity and fit. Coming here and leaving here.

With a regular rotation guy, I'd rather have it before (not David Collette before) or after the season, not mid season.
 
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j. spilotro said:
It works both ways. It's about opportunity and fit. Coming here and leaving here.

With a regular rotation guy, I'd rather have it before (not David Collette before) or after the season, not mid season.
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Joe-

Totally agree the timing was horrible for Goodluck. Probably shows a little immaturity on his part or getting some bad advice.

I just think people are making a slight leap questioning his work ethic. Nothing on the court said he lacked effort. He actually seemed like a guy pressing to hard. Unfortunately for him, his game really seems to have peaked already.

Even with Zimm probably leaving after this year, GO's spot in the pecking order might even be worse next year. This year you could have GO on the floor with Zimm, or Carter or Morgan. Next year having he and Obekpa on the floor together would seriously limit your offense. I think he saw the writing on the wall.

His timing was awful though.
 
Bullmastiff 1 said:
So anybody that transfers doesn't work hard or doesn't want to compete or just Goodluck?
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non-workers
D Morant
G Okonoboh

workers
D Walker
D Smith
B Dejean-Jones
M Moser

freaks
K Reinhardt

wildcard
K Smith - not sure if he just felt he was better than the minutes he got or he felt he needed to find a school where he could get a lot of run.

STUDS - No Transfer
D Cook - more pgs constantly recruited and he sticks it out and keeps trying to get better (very unfortunate about this suspension)
Q Thomas - ridiculous front court and he stuck around, battled, and was one that i admired. went from hands of stone to hands of soft clay.

i'm sure there are more, but i can't think of any.
 
Bullmastiff 1 said:
Joe-

Totally agree the timing was horrible for Goodluck. Probably shows a little immaturity on his part or getting some bad advice.

I just think people are making a slight leap questioning his work ethic. Nothing on the court said he lacked effort. He actually seemed like a guy pressing to hard. Unfortunately for him, his game really seems to have peaked already.

Even with Zimm probably leaving after this year, GO's spot in the pecking order might even be worse next year. This year you could have GO on the floor with Zimm, or Carter or Morgan. Next year having he and Obekpa on the floor together would seriously limit your offense. I think he saw the writing on the wall.

His timing was awful though.
Click to expand...
I'd say Goodluck has a relatively high motor, good effort, when the lights were on.

In terms of year round work, which really is a necessity to keep up rather than optional to get ahead, he was ok, at best. Never the first to arrive or last to leave but not the last to arrive or first to leave either. Kind of in the middle, at best, of what you're really hoping for with offseason effort.
 
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