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Kelly Oubre Struts His Stuff For Utah Jazz On Sunday

By Ryan Aston

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Mar 22, 2015; Omaha, NE, USA; Wichita State Shockers guard Tekele Cotton (32) drives around Kansas Jayhawks guard Kelly Oubre Jr. (12) during the second half in the third round of the 2015 NCAA Tournament at CenturyLink Center. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

One day after seeing Myles Turner and Trey Lyles up close, the Utah Jazz continued their evaluation process in preparation for the 2015 NBA Draft by hosting two workout sessions this Sunday. Headlining the group of prospects was Kansas Jayhawks guard-forward Kelly Oubre.

The six-foot-seven, 200-plus pound Oubre averaged 9.3 points, five rebounds and 1.1 steals per contest in his lone season under coach Bill Self at Kansas. Oubre ranked in the top 10 of the Big 12 Conference in PER at 21.1, defensive rating at 92.6 and steal percentage with 3.3 percent.

Oubre’s season at Kansas makes for an intriguing case study of a highly-touted recruit faced with adversity and changing circumstances with a big-time program. Early in the college season, the athletically-gifted Oubre found himself stuck on the Jayhawks bench more often than not.

Further complicating matters was Self’s high-low attack on offense. The system has a reputation of nullifying the creativity of wing players in favor of an inside-out, post play approach. This also affected the performance of Andrew Wiggins last season.

In addressing misconceptions about his game at the NBA Combine, Oubre spoke with Basketball Insiders about the difficulty he had in mastering his role in Self’s sytem–

"“Some people say that I’m lazy. Some people say that I don’t work hard all the time, and that’s not true. This year at Kansas it may have come off as lazy because I really didn’t understand some of the things that I was doing, so it caused me to so slow down. When I don’t understand something I slow down to try to get it right. I don’t want to just do anything throw anything out there; I want to be a perfectionist. (I have to) go hard every time, even if I mess up. I’ve learned over the past year in college that if I’m not going hard it’s because I’m thinking, so stop thinking and just play.”"

Despite the rocky start to his college career and an adjustment period to Self’s system, Oubre persevered to become one of the true standout freshmen in the conference. As an NBA prospect, his game is very raw at this point. That said, his scoring instincts, defensive potential and that nearly seven-foot-three wingspan provide an enticing canvas for an NBA coaching staff to paint on.

Following his workout with the Jazz, the local media was abuzz with talk of confidence exuded by Oubre. From Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune and the Deseret News’ Jody Genessy via Twitter–

Interesting stuff from an intriguing option for the Utah Jazz with the No. 12 pick in the upcoming draft.

Next: Utah Jazz Hold Free Agent Mini-Camp

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