MEET CHIMEZIE METU

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Welcome to the Spurs Family, Chimezie! We're thrilled to have you, too!

What a wonderful moment:

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San Antonio selects USC's Chimezie Metu with 49th pick

The San Antonio Spurs selected USC's Chimezie Metu with the 49th pick (second round) in the NBA Draft.

Metu played three seasons with a Trojan as a forward. As a junior, Metu averaged 15.7 points, 7.4 rebounds and 1.7 blocks. He also shot 52.3 percent from the floor....

Meanwhile, Metu provides depth behind big men LaMarcus Aldridge and Pau Gasol.

https://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/spurs/article/San-Antonio-selects-USC-s-Chimezie-Metu-with-49th-13016156.php

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Chimezie Metu NBA Draft 2018: Scouting Report for San Antonio Spurs' Pick

Offensive strengths

Metu was one of the country's top pick-and-roll big men, ranking in the 86th percentile and demonstrating good hands and coordination in traffic. He scored more baskets as a cutter than in any other area, but with the ball, Metu has sound footwork. He was 25-of-50 out of isolation last season and has the ability to face up, dribble and finish on the move. He was also highly efficient around the basket, where he shot 68.4 percent.

Offensive weaknesses

Metu has touch, but he only made 30.6 percent of his total jumpers. And though capable of creating shots with his back to the basket, he didn't convert at a strong rate, ranking in the 42nd percentile on post-ups. Metu also totaled 68 turnovers and 53 assists. And despite his impressive tools, he wasn't much of a threat on the offensive glass, ranking in the 32nd percentile on putbacks.

Defensive outlook

Metu was a decent shot-blocker in college, having averaged between 1.5 and 1.7 rejections per game during his three seasons. He was never the impact rim protector you'd hope he'd be, however. Scouts wanted to see more toughness around the basket, both under the boards and defensively. Metu will also have to prove he can slide his feet around the perimeter, or it will limit him to minutes at center.

Projected role: Second-unit scoring big

Metu will try to stick as an offensive-minded reserve who can get easy baskets and eventually become a top option for a second unit. Ideally, he'll continue to extend his range. He made 12 threes last season after making one as a sophomore. If he can add the three-ball to his everyday arsenal while also becoming a sharper post scorer, he'll compensate enough for suspect rebounding and defense.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2781715-chimezie-metu-nba-draft-2018-scouting-report-for-san-antonio-spurs-pick

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Chimezie's in-game sophomore highlights:

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Spurs' draft pick Metu shaped by childhood days in Nigeria

Spurs second-round draft pick Chimezie Metu points to the six years he lived in Nigeria with his father as a life-shaping experience. Metu, who was born and raised in Lawndale, California, moved to Nigeria when he was six. Although he journeyed back to the United States each summer, Metu couldn't shake what he had seen and experienced in Nigeria.

"Living in the area I did in Nigeria, (I saw) a lot of poverty and people struggling," the 6-foot-011, 225-pound forward told the ozy.com. "It kind of pushed me. I didn't want to be in that situation."

Driven by his Nigerian experience, Metu graduated from Southern Cal in three years with a degree in law, history and culture. He also has paid his dues in terms of sweaty workouts designed to insure his success in the NBA.

"Chimezie is a worker," USC coach Andy Enfield said, per the NBA 2018 Draft Media Guide. "He's in the gym all the time working on his game."

https://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/spurs/article/Spurs-draft-pick-Metu-shaped-by-childhood-days-13018199.php

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Nigerian childhood paved way for Metu’s NBA journey

When Chimezie Metu suits up for his first full-scale practice with the Spurs, he will face bigger, stronger, older men who will attempt to punish the 6-foot-11, 225-pound USC alumnus with sharpened elbows and well-honed low-post moves. And it will all be oh so familiar to him. Metu, selected by the Spurs in the second round of last week’s draft, spent many a sweaty, pain-filled day as a teenager playing at King/Drew Magnet High School in South Central Los Angeles in the Drew League, the nation’s top pro-amateur summer league.

“I played against guys who had been pros for years,” he said. “That was a huge part of my development, going there and getting beat up. It really helped.”

Metu was born in L.A. and raised primarily in the South Bay city of Lawndale, but he lived in Lagos, Nigeria, with his father, brother and sister for six years after moving there at age 5. Metu’s parents hail from Nigeria.... Metu traveled back to the United States each summer. But what he saw and experienced in the land nestled on the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean had a profound effect on him.

“It formed the basis of who I am,” said Metu, 21.... "There are a lot of people over there who just don’t have the opportunity people get over here,” he said. “I learned things can easily be taken away from you as clearly as they can be given to you...." Those lessons were reinforced by ones he received daily from his parents.... In addition to being recruited by several basketball powers, Metu also was courted by Harvard. He graduated from USC in three years with a degree in law, history and culture after earning Pac-12 All-Academic Second Team honors 2017-18 with a 3.18 grade-point average.... Metu earning his degree in three years “really impressed” the Spurs, said Brian Wright, the team’s assistant general manager. “Just the way he carried himself also,” Wright said. “You could tell he was raised well, has the right values.”

After choosing USC over rival UCLA, Metu improved each season to the point where he was an All-Pac 12 First Team selection as a junior in 2017-18 after averaging 15.7 points, 7.4 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.7 blocks per game. “We really saw growth and improvement in his game in his time at SC,” Wright said. “Sometimes you look at guys that are juniors and you think, ‘Can’t continue to grow.’ He was a kid we looked at with still significant room to grow with a game that fit the modern style of the NBA....” While at USC, Metu studied Spurs game film and heard plenty about the team’s culture from Trojans assistant coach Jason Hart, who played in 63 regular season games for the Spurs in the early 2000s.... Metu’s college days weren’t without controversy.... According to documents obtained by Yahoo Sports, Metu and/or his adviser, Johnnie Parker, received $2,000 from ASM Sports, an East Coast agency. Metu said he spoke to the Spurs about those potential red flags in a pre-draft interview....

What’s in front of Metu is a future with what he called a “storied franchise” after the Spurs selected him 49th overall. “It will be a great situation for me,” he said. “I am going to go in there with an open mind and try to learn as much as I can. Hopefully, down the line I’ll get my chance to shine. I heard Tim Duncan is always around the facility, so I am going to try to learn from him as much as I can.”

https://www.expressnews.com/sports/article/mm-Nigerian-childhood-paved-way-for-Metu-s-NBA-13028670.php?utm_campaign=twitter-premium&utm_source=CMS%20Sharing%20Button&utm_medium=social

[GopherIt!]

Chimezied to Metu!

Spoiler:

I will excuse myself now

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What a coincidence. Like Chimezie, I started playing organized basketball in grade 6 as well. Alas, our paths diverged. But here they are converging via the Spurs way:

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