EJ Onu: A Draftable Highlight Reel?
Written by Tim Smith
For draft enthusiasts like myself, it is always exhilarating to discover new names late in the draft cycle, and the spotlight for this year’s out-of-the-blue riser is shining brightly on Shawnee State’s EJ Onu of the NAIA. The 6’11” stretch-five is both figuratively and literally one of the largest non-division collegiate names to gain draft buzz over the past few seasons amongst the likes of division II’s Amir Hinton and JUCO’s Jay Scrubb. Onu’s admittedly highly entertaining highlight clips have been doing the rounds on NBA Draft Twitter, which is understandable given the enticing face-value pitch that they provide. After noticing several retweets of emphatic Onu swats and fluid trailing threes at such a height on my timeline, enough was enough, and an Onu deep dive was seemingly worthwhile. Entering a binge of his film, I had one question in mind that I wanted to answer: is EJ Onu legitimately draftable, or merely an over-credited afterthought of the 2021 early entrant list?
Floor-Spacing - The Bigman Can Shoot It
Shooting the three-ball has developed into a marquee element of Onu’s game and become the backbone to his surgent draft stock, and rightfully so. Onu’s 40% clip from deep on just under four attempts per game puts him in good company among draft prospects as a frontcourt floor spacer. While his senior season shooting production could give the impression of being a statistical aberration, his relatively sound shooting mechanics say otherwise.
Mechanically, there is a lot to love about Onu’s catch and shoot stroke. As seen here, Onu consistently squares his shoulders with the rim and enters a smooth, albeit low- reaching, rhythm dip which ends with a clean follow-through that holds up in slight-movement plays as such. While the rhythm dip does slow his release down, his release speed from the pocket and high release point (7’6” wingspan) negate any concerns of Onu losing leverage off the catch. A career 72% free throw shooter, Onu’s respectable clip from the line indicates that the shooting touch is valid. While I’m not one to cherry-pick the mechanical flaws of an otherwise reputable shooter, Onu’s tendency to unnecessarily speed up his release when facing closeouts has resulted in rushed, and inconsistent motion in the pocket and subsequent long-misses off the back of the rim.
Many of Onu’s three-point attempts come on spot-ups off of swing actions or, on lesser occasions, trailing threes from the top of the key. I don’t foresee any self-creation upside as a shooter, nor any high-level movement shooting. Nevertheless, Onu projects as a formidable catch and shoot threat, which at 6’11” is valuable in itself. Disregarding a couple notable 6’9” to 6’10” forward-big hybrids whose numbers not only rival but outmatch Onu’s - looking at you Matthew Hurt - Onu sits comfortably amongst the class’ best floor-spacing bigs alongside translatable shooters such as Santi Aldama and Luka Garza.
While a rather inconsistent and ineffective screen setter, which serves as a discussion point for later, Onu has respectable upside in pick-and-pop action. Both of his upper and lower bodies’ alignment and fluidity are mechanically consistent in his shooting motion and highly impressive for someone of his stature.
Defensive Analysis
529 collegiate career blocks makes Onu not only the programme’s all-time leading shot blocker, but also one of the NAIA’s all-time leaders in this category. With his 7’6” wingspan, Onu swats post hooks and jump shots, reaching abnormal high points with excellent timing. His 4.6 blocks per game - peaking at 5.7 in his junior year - is marginally inflated due to him seeking out blocks rather than completing defensive possessions. Learning to play defense through verticality rather than pogo-stick volleyball swats will be key to becoming a legitimate rim protector at the next level. I will say though, Onu has excellent recovery skills with his combination of length and timing
For a man of his size, Onu moves well with guards on the perimeter. He drops into a low-to-the-ground stance, and shuffles east-west with surprisingly good coordination. His hip flexibility isn’t outstanding, but his east-west movement capability, along with his length which swallows guards, should allow him to contain perimeter dribble-drivers if needed. On a similar note, Onu does an excellent job of forcing guards and wings baseline and killing their dribble with his size. From an IQ standpoint, defending in space is a struggle for the big man. He gets caught ball-watching and camping deep in the paint far too often, and he is susceptible to losing his man or arriving a step late on a basic rotation. While he appears to play the game a step behind in terms of his defensive awareness, Onu oddly does a great job of tagging cutters on switches with a big on the perimeter, which gives me hope for him making more intelligent reads in a drop coverage.
Speaking of that, Onu is ideal in drop coverage, taking advantage of his extensive wingspan and truly asserting his presence in the paint. In the games I watched, Onu wasn’t forced to defend the pick and roll very often, and thus it is hard to accurately project how he is going to do so at the next level. When controlling the paint against a downhill guard off a screen, Onu tends to sit too far back. Maybe he is concerned about his own ability to backpedal, or he simply has poor spatial awareness and relies on his length. More often than not, the ball handler is given an open look in the midrange, which can get abused by NBA-level talents.
On paper, Onu is a great rebounder, pulling down 8.1 boards per match his senior season. However, the eye test doesn’t quite hold up here. While his measurables can win him his fair share of contests, his poor fundamentals limit the impact he will be able to have at the NBA level. Onu fails to consistently box out and put a body on opposing players, resulting in being outrebounded by non-NBA athletes more often than you would like for a 6’11” prospect. Onu also doesn’t share the knack for anticipating where the ball is going to bounce off the rim, often being out of position. However, when in position, Onu’s poor anticipation and loose hands more often than not lead to his teammates collecting the rebound for him or him committing absolutely avertible turnovers.
A lack of strength limits Onu as a post defender. He also has a tendency to get rather handsy, so despite his size, it is hard to envision him becoming a standout defender in this area.
Finishing & Feel for the Game
Onu’s 66% completion rate on two-pointers is more representative of his ability to convert on high-quality opportunities than of any presumed self-creation. Even then, many of his makes are the result of overpowering undersized and inferior athletes, and not even to a degree that appears translatable to NBA defenders.
Outside of the three-ball, Onu’s go-to offense primarily comes from the post. While not a highly effective post player, his footwork and use of length with his back to the basket deserve some credit. With a wide offensive post stance, Onu makes good use of drop steps and meticulously backs his defender down, which makes up for his lack of core strength. Onu’s sheer size advantage plays into the success of most of his post finishes, as his touch around the rim is less than ideal particularly through contact. Additionally, as previously discussed, he doesn’t have the greatest spatial awareness and is often bothered or stripped by surrounding guards.
As a catch-and-finish player under the rim, Onu has the reach to go up and around the more undersized bigs of the NAIA and is a decent vertical athlete who gets off the ground with relative ease off of two feet. That being said Onu was not as imposing of a vertical spacer as what a 6’11’’ big with an astounding 7’6’’ wingspan should be. As aforementioned, Onu doesn’t have the greatest of hands. Nor does he appear to put himself in positions around the rim to be a vertical threat, as he’d much rather seek out space on the perimeter or work to establish post position.
While not quite a lumbering big per se, Onu doesn’t project as much of a rim-running target like that of Charles Bassey or Kai Jones, who will both thrive at the next level in such a role. Neither do I envision him being a serious option as a rollman. With a slim screening base and a lack of strength and positioning, Onu very rarely sets impactful screens, which is likely why he wasn’t used in pick and roll action very often at Shawnee State.
To make a few final notes on his offensive IQ, Onu's processing speed is blatantly a few notches behind what is ideal of the modern big man; the same goes for his awareness. Offensively, Onu does an excessive amount of ball-watching as he watches the play unfold around him and freezes up. I am highly doubtful of any short-roll passing ability, same with any hi-lo passing, as many of his few attempts resulted in turnovers off of forced post-entry passes.
Draft Outlook
As cynical as my analysis of EJ Onu has been, I can still foresee a viable path to the NBA for him, given specific and much-necessary development. Improving his feel for the game will be of the utmost importance to Onu cracking a 17-man NBA roster. However, expecting much mental growth from a soon-to-be 22-year-old is wishful thinking - not impossible, but proven to be improbable. Having already received an invite to the G-League Elite Camp and reportedly already working out for the Boston Celtics, it will be interesting to see whether he keeps his name in the draft.
Suppose he is to be selected this July. In that case, I doubt he is drafted higher than 50, similar to the Rockets taking a risk on Kenyon Martin Jr. in 2020. Despite the recent NBA buzz, Onu is currently only testing the draft waters while also sitting in the transfer portal. If he is to return to school, we could see him donning a different jersey next season, with Indiana, LSU, Ohio State, and Texas Tech all being keen suitors of the floor-spacing big man. To answer my initial question of whether EJ Onu is a draftable prospect, I will give a highly cautious yes. Sure, he is a fun watch and will likely be one of the better shooting big men from this class. However, to buy into Onu is to place a lot of faith in developing his feel for the game on both sides of the ball, which would be much more justifiable had he been 19 years old entering the draft rather than a college senior. Regardless, Onu should be a fun watch for any armchair scouts looking to add an interesting name to the 60-80 range of their personal big boards.
