I started this post out just meaning to post a video of an assist Oso Ighodaro had last night that made me melt into my chair this morning upon the 45th rewatch, but expanded it to include a bit more context.
Like the fact that Oso is the best big man in a conference loaded with big men.
Sure, he got an incredible amount of love after torching through bigs at the Maui Invitational in November, getting an Athletic write-up as well as making huge jumps on draft boards. But since then, I can’t say I’ve seen even a rote Tweet from the national media about him.
Which is strange because he’s been all kinds of incredible, rising to superstar level of late.
Was that Jokic?
I’ll start with this pass though, because this is the kind of thing that normally blows up on Twitter and I hadn’t seen anyone outside of the MU sphere even note it, let alone clip it and post it. The level of difficulty is insane for anyone, let alone a 6’11” center.
There is 0 passing line, so he one hands a cross court wraparound past 2 players, putting enough English on it to avoid the baseline and find an open and ready Gold.
Let’s see it again, in slow motion.
And slower.
Thank you Ben Gold for making the shot so this kind of art is properly rewarded.
The elite’s elite
Of course one flashy pass is nowhere near enough support for the claim that he’s the best big in the conference. The reason I led with it, though, is that Oso very often gets bucketed in the 2nd tier of bigs in the Big East, and doesn’t get the publicity.
I promise you if Donovan Clingan throws that same pass, there’s a Sports Center live break to build a 5-minute live segment around it.
But because Oso doesn’t shoot, isn’t a monster in size or demeanor, and doesn’t make offcourt headlines, he kind of floats under the radar. But he shouldn’t.
Using Hoop-Explorer’s RAPM (which weights both box score, lineup and on/off data to create a score of how a player impacts both sides of the court), Oso currently rates as the 2nd best true center in the country. No, not the conference, the country, only behind Zach Edey.
And if you want to open up the qualifications from strictly centers to all frontcourt players (including stretch 4s) and non-centers, RAPM still has him grading out as the 3rd best frontcourt player in the country, ahead of two that get no shortage of headlines.
I know that RAPM is an obscure stat even the most online of nerds may not necessarily tout, so I do get it’s not gospel. But if you watch Oso every night, as most reading this do, you can’t help but marvel at how he impacts every play on every side.
He covers the full range of the court, gets switched onto guards, doubles in and out of the post, hedges high and rarely ever gets beat one on one or lost off ball.
He pushes the tempo, creates shots for others, attacked the glass mercilessly and is also one of the most efficient players in the country.
Everything he does, he does at an elite level. He’s truly a special player, and finding the math to back it up makes me incredibly happy.
Next level is the level
And no, this isn’t simply a response to making DePaul look like an AAU team most of the night. There’s no shortage of players that can do that.
This month, he has elevated his already decorated career to another level. Looking at just January stats on TRank, he currently leads the country in PRPG!, which balances out ORtg with usage levels.
Have you heard anyone talk about Oso in this way, as a superefficient assassin offensively? I definitely haven’t.
And the number that should pop out of there is that he’s playing 89% of minutes. Any second he’s on then bench is a win for whoever Marquette plays. It’s not that Ben or Jop can’t play the 5 as well as Oso, it’s that no one outside of Edey nationally can either. He’s the most indispensable player on the team, and I’ve written at length about my love of Kolek.
And every single night, Oso answers the bell. He’s had one negative impact game this season, against Wisconsin, and has been a bedrock of Marquette even while Kam and Kolek fluctuated with their performances.
Count our blessings
With Oso projected as 1st round pick in multiple outlets (ESPN, Athletic, Ringer), it’s not a maybe that this will be his last season. Shaka should kick him out of the Al if Oso even hints at using his COVID year to return.
So that means we are seeing the end of one of the best Marquette bigs to ever put the blue and gold on. I’ll let someone who witnessed the 70s firsthand make the comps, but what I will say is we may never see another 4-year player like him again.
I am so grateful that he decided to stay, and will cherish every minute of every game he has left this season.
Paint Touches 
Oso has perfected the footwork which enables him to get where he wants to be. His quickness comes from the footwork. The area that he needs to work on is blocking opponents off the glass. Kingsley