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2017-18 Pacers Player Reviews: Ike Anigbogu

By Tony East

INDIANAPOLIS - SEPTEMBER 25: Ike Anigbogu #13 of the Indiana Pacers poses for a portrait during the Pacers Media Day at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on September 25, 2017 in Indianapolis, Indiana. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and condition of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: 2017 NBAE (Photo by Ron Hoskins/NBAE via Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS - SEPTEMBER 25: Ike Anigbogu #13 of the Indiana Pacers poses for a portrait during the Pacers Media Day at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on September 25, 2017 in Indianapolis, Indiana. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and condition of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: 2017 NBAE (Photo by Ron Hoskins/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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Ike Anigbogu Indiana Pacers
INDIANAPOLIS, IN – OCTOBER 10: Ike Anigbogu #13 of the Indiana Pacers handles the ball during the preseason game against the Maccabi Haifa on October 10, 2017, at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Ron Hoskins/NBAE via Getty Images) /

The Good

The good for Anigobgu is less about what good he showed and more about good news, and that is that the scouting reports about him appear to be accurate.

Adam Wells at Bleacher Report described Anigbogu like this coming out of UCLA:

"“At 252 pounds with an enormous 7’6″ wingspan and quick feet, he patrols the paint defensively and finishes inside off dives, dump-offs, lobs, and putbacks.”"

With a raw guy like Anigbogu, you hope he can show skills that he flashed in college so that there is a clear framework for what type of player he can grow into. If Anigbogu couldn’t do any of the things he did well at UCLA while on Indiana, that would have thrown up some major red flags. Thankfully, that was not the case.

Most of Anigbogu’s upside was supposedly on the defensive end, and we certainly saw how that could be where he thrives in the future. He swatted three shots in just 30 total minutes of playing time. That led to him an astronomical 8.9 percent block rate.

Watch here as Ike Anigbogu shows off his springiness and his anticipation skills, as he explodes off the weakside block to deny Shabazz Muhammad at the rim:

Rim protection is arguably the most important skill for a center to posses in the modern NBA, so Anigbogu showing signs of being competent at that ability is encouraging.

Probably the second most important skill for a center in the modern game, and the second item listed on Anigbogu’s scouting report, is finishing. Unfortunately, we can’t say a lot about Anibogu’s finishing as he only took nine total shots this season, making four of them.

In the G League, Ike shot 52.5 percent from the field in around 500 minutes. This is of course against worse competition, but encouraging nonetheless. If Ike can one day be a rim running rim protector, a la Rudy Gobert’s play style, he could be one helluva rotation player.

Also, Anigbogu probably won’t ever be a good jump shooter, but…

Money!

Okay, kidding about the “probably”, Ike won’t ever be a guy who takes jumpers. But he hit one, and a buzzer beater at that, which is inherently a good thing. That doesn’t mean anything, but it was cool and it needed to be included in this section.

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