The Suns received rave reviews early in the season due to last summer’s NBA Draft success. People are quick to notice Ryan Dunn’s defensive potential in the first round, which NBA scouts took notice of when he was in Virginia. The counterbalance for him was his poor shooting numbers in college, which hasn’t been the case to this point. Dunn is shooting an impressive 39.5% from behind the arc with 1.5 makes per game. If NBA teams had known he could shoot that well, he would have been much higher on draft boards.
Dunn’s ability makes people forget that he wasn’t the only pick Phoenix made last summer. The Suns drafted Marquette big man Oso Ighodaro with the No. 40 overall pick in the second round. Ighodaro was a bit of a late bloomer in college, but was able to showcase his versatile skill set, which caught the Suns’ attention. He averaged over 13 points, seven rebounds, three assists, a steal and a block per game in his senior season.
Earlier this week, Ighodaro resigned when Jusuf Nurkic dropped out with an ankle injury. He scored six points, grabbed 12 rebounds and blocked two shots in the Suns’ first NBA Cup victory over the Utah Jazz. He was a key presence on the boards and could tip loose balls to his teammates to keep possessions alive. He served primarily as a screener on the offensive end, helping Phoenix’s guards get lanes to the rim.
On a team with Kevin Durant (currently out due to a calf injury), Devin Booker and Bradley Beal, the Suns don’t need a lot of extra scoring, but role players who excel in other facets of the game. Ighodaro will continue to fill a more traditional big man role early in his career by rebounding, protecting the rim and setting good screens. If he can do this at a high level and gain more trust from the coaching staff, Ighodaro has a new level of playmaking ability that he could tap into if he gets the opportunity he showed at Marquette.
Phoenix made the backup big man a priority this season and has found two in Ighodaro and Mason Plumlee. Ighodaro gives the Suns a reliable player capable of stepping in and playing big minutes when needed. If he can build on this performance, more minutes could be on the way for him.
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