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NCAA Basketball: 5 mid-major players who should be on your radar in 2021-22

By Caleb Hightower

Dec 29, 2018; Syracuse, NY, USA; St. Bonaventure Bonnies guard Kyle Lofton (0) drives to the basket against the Syracuse Orange during the first half at the Carrier Dome. Mandatory Credit: Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 29, 2018; Syracuse, NY, USA; St. Bonaventure Bonnies guard Kyle Lofton (0) drives to the basket against the Syracuse Orange during the first half at the Carrier Dome. Mandatory Credit: Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports /
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NCAA Basketball Josh Oduro George Mason Patriots (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
NCAA Basketball Josh Oduro George Mason Patriots (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) /

Josh Oduro | Forward | 6’9″ | Junior

2020-21 stats: 10.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 1.2 assists per game

If you look at George Mason’s individual player stats from 2019-20 and 2020-21, you won’t find a Patriot that made a bigger scoring leap than Josh Oduro. The 6’9″ forward averaged 10.0 points per game last season after putting up just 4.9 points per game as a freshman.

Oduro’s improvement as an offensive player resulted in a 6.6 minutes per game increase (16.9 to 23.5) and a 10.5 offensive rating increase for the big man in 2020-21 (97.0 to 107.5). If I had to describe Oduro in 10 words or less, I would simply state that he is a workhorse.

Although his teammates don’t always reward him in the low post when he keeps his defenders on his outside hip and signals for the ball, he never stops repositioning his body when the ball gets tossed from side to side.

So, what happens when perimeter shots go up and don’t fall? Well, because Oduro’s defenders are usually behind him when the ball bounces off the rim, Oduro has a relatively easy time grabbing offensive boards and extending possessions for his team. That should explain why Oduro finished the 2020-21 season with a 12.2 offensive rebounding percentage, which ranked in the top 100 nationally (67th to be exact).

Now, I understand that knocking down the three-ball on a regular basis isn’t Oduro’s strong suit right now, but he is still able to function on the perimeter and take a few dribbles before getting the ball to the right player via a dribble hand-off. However, Oduro is a more impactful player when he is setting or slipping high ball screens and calling for the rock once he realizes that he is being ignored in the lane.

He isn’t a superb athlete by any means, but his sturdy body allows him to successfully complete a hard power dribble into his defenders repeatedly, which makes it difficult for them to maximize their athletic abilities at the rim. Essentially, Oduro isn’t easy to contain when he has a significant size advantage over his opponents. With Oduro taking such an encouraging step forward last season, I expect him to put the Atlantic 10 on notice this season in a larger offensive role.

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