By Antonis Stroggylakis/ info@eurohoops.net
ASVEL Villeurbanne coach TJ Parker said that he’s not much troubled over the recent slump that has befallen his star player and leading scorer of the team Elie Okobo since he prefers to focus on the improvement of his squad as a whole.
“I’m not worried about one player. I’m worried about the team,” said Parker right after the blowout loss of his team to Olympiacos Piraeus on the road. It was ASVEL’s fourth defeat in a row. “Team always comes first. Elie’s part of a team.”
Okobo began the season playing MVP-caliber basketball and by Round 10 he was averaging 19.9 points on highly efficient (60.0 percent on 2-pointers, 48.9 on 3-pointers) shooting. ASVEL was winning, having a 6-4 record, including victories over reigning champion Anadolu Efes and mega-powerhouse CSKA Moscow.
The quality of Okobo’s performances gradually began to deteriorate in regards to both his production rates and his shooting prowess. The former Phoenix Suns player lost his previously hot touch from the perimeter, going 6-24 triples in the last five games while averaging 9.8 points.
The antithesis is even bigger if only Okobo’s latest three matches are taken into account: 8.0 points on 30.0 percent field goal shooting. The guy who was laying waste on every opponent some weeks ago has been completely unrecognizable.
“Of course he is struggling,” Parker acknowledged. “In the beginning, teams didn’t really know Elie Okobo. Now everybody has scouted us and they know who he is so it’s much more difficult. They put the best defender on him every night. It’s not easy. That’s why we need the team. Team is No. 1 for us to get some wins. After that, he will come back. His offense will come back. He’s a great offensive player. But first, we have to get better as a team.”
Parker is hopeful that the offensive issues that have been plaguing Okobo will be solved soon. “I’m not worried about him,” the French coach emphasized. He’s a great kid, he listens, he practices, he watches video, gets feedback.”
Okobo’s decline may be the major and most obvious affliction from which ASVEL is suffering but it’s far from the only one. The team lost energetic two-way wing David Lighty four games into the EuroLeague regular season while captain Charles Kahudi is also out. Big man Raymar Morgan, who came to ASVEL after a spectacular run with Pinar Karsiyaka in the Basketball Champions League, has yet to debut following a back injury that required surgery.
“It’s not easy for us. It started when we lost one of our best players, David Lighty,” Parker said. “Raymar Morgan who is our interior presence, \ hasn’t played a game yet. And we had injuries all season, we don’t have Charles Kahudi. It’s been really hard. We have been hit by COVID-19 also.”
ASVEL is having a tough schedule that includes EuroLeague – often with double-game weeks – French League and moving from one destination to another with non-charter flights. It hasn’t been easy for the team to optimally balance training sessions, rest and the actual matches.
“Now it’s time to go home and of course we still have three games before the break,” Parker mentioned. “That thing will be good for us, we’ll have some time to practice. We’ve never had time to practice.”
“And we don’t travel like any team in EuroLeague,” Parker added. “We have tough travels. And sometimes that takes some energy out.”