USC basketball Coach Andy Enfield praises Omar Oraby, regrets loss of Dewayne Dedmon
New USC basketball Coach Andy Enfield participated in an online chat session, or Spreecast, Tuesday.
Among his comments, Enfield said he was disappointed that Dewayne Dedmon, who would have been a redshirt senior, chose to leave for the NBA, and that his most pleasant surprise so far has been the play of 7-foot-2 senior Omar Oraby.
“With Omar, we’ve seen dramatic improvement even over his production from last year,” Enfield said. “He’s going to play a lot more minutes. He’ll play as much as he can unless he gets in foul trouble. We think Omar can have a dramatic effect next season. He has great footwork, great hands, great touch around the basket. We expect him to come in and be one of the best centers in the country.”
As for Dedmon, Enfield said he had felt he could have made him “a first-round [NBA] draft pick next year.
“Personally, I thought if he came back and played for us, he would have been very effective in our system,” Enfield said. “He could have really developed his skills. But he made his decision and I’m sure he’ll sign a contract in the NBA or overseas.”
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