January 18, 2007 - First time I met Emeka Okafor, I asked him if he thought it would be easier for me to dunk on him in a videogame or in real life. I still remember the "what the hell is this fool talking about" look in his eyes as the 6-1 videogame player was talking about throwing one down on one of the greatest defenders to ever play college ball.
Funny thing is, every time I've seen him since, he gives me a pound and flashes that same smile. "Still think you can dunk on me?"
Hell yeah…at least in the videogame.
Talk to Okafor and he's got this charm, this unmistakable way about him that makes everyone in the room smile.
See him in the paint, though, and it's a completely different story.
He's a shot blocker, a force, an intimidator, and he wouldn't want it any other way.
"Intimidation, that's all you have, really," Okafor says as he takes a break from playing NCAA March Madness 07, a franchise he was the face of just a few years ago. "You're not going to get your hands on every shot, so the main goal of a shot blocker is more to alter shots. Making them miss shots more than blocking them. Throughout the game, you might block 3 or 4 shots, but you might alter 10 or 11."
And, according to Okafor, blocking shots in real life is similar to blocking them in videogames (even if you've got ups like me). Timing is everything.
"Timing and anticipation. Guys adjust fast, and when they know you're a shot blocker, they adjust their shot in the air. So the better you are at blocking shots, the harder it gets. Once they have you on their radar, they know they need to change their shots in order to get them up, so it's up to you to adjust back. You need to remember their tendencies, what they like to do, what shots they like to take."
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Okafor's definitely been studying tendencies, and it's paying off in the stats sheet. Not only is he second in the NBA in blocks per game (2.92), but he's using his big body to snatch board after board, wiping the glass at a rate that's 6th best in the Association.
The Bobcats' bruiser is known to deliver a pounding, but who does he think is the strongest down low?
"Shaq is just massive and he's definitely the strongest down there, but there are a lot of strong post guys out there who don't get as much respect as they should. Erick Dampier is ridiculously strong down there. Rasheed Wallace, I know he gets his respect, but he's even better than people realize. I think it's hard for the average spectator to actually see how strong we are because we're all banging against each other and everything's relative. If you just see two big guys on TV, you really don't get the appreciation for it because you're not actually there to feel it. We're beating up on each other pretty bad, and even if you only see a player get moved an inch, there's a lot of force going on down there."
Okafor's play in the paint has been surprisingly good this season as he leads the Bobcats in a variety of statistical categories, from boards to points per game. Emeka worked out with Hakeem Olajuwon throughout the offseason, and The Dream can be credited with helping his development as a player.
"I had the injury last season, so I just wanted to come out and play and just make up for lost time. I think the preparation with Hakeem definitely helped, and it's something that will help me a lot in the future. I looked up to him a lot as a kid, being a Houston guy, and seeing what he did night in and night out, I can only hope to emulate that success. It's hard to replicate what he does exactly, so he shows me the moves and I do what I can to learn how he does it. He also goes over game-time decisions."
Does that mean the Emeka Shake is coming to an NBA arena near you?
Okafor laughs at the prospects. "Some version of it hopefully."
When he's not working on The Shake, Emeka spends his time reading (Rich Dad, Poor Dad), sleeping, and playing videogames against his teammates (although his PS3 is admittedly still in the box).
Emeka looks at the box of March Madness, a game that features teammate Adam Morrison on the cover (and also featured teammate Raymond Felton as spokesman just a year ago), and speaks on Morrison's skills on the sticks.
"I play, but Adam is one of those guys who has a knack for gaming. He's so competitive in everything he does. I was a bigger gamer back in the day of Tecmo Super Bowl, but I still love playing Madden. I'm a Carolina guy, so I stay loyal and play as the Panthers. Gotta get the ball to Steve Smith. When everything goes wrong, Steve Smith will make the big play for you to bail you out."
Looking at the box, though, I just wanted to know, when Emeka looks at Morrison, does he see more Dirk Diggler or Larry Bird?
"I'm actually wondering where the rest of his facial hair went," Emeka laughs. "All of his hair in general is tame. It's like they gave him a haircut to put him on the cover."
March Madness 07 features true home court advantage for the first time in the series, and if Okafor's reaction is any indication, the crowd translation to polygons is a huge success.
"The crowd adds to the home team's intensity while taking away from the visiting team's intensity. Players can pump up the crowd or dance with the mascot while opposing players can taunt the fans and whatever they do affects the morale of the team."
Which brings the obvious question…did Emeka ever dance with a mascot?
"I don't think coach would've approved of that very much."
Emeka continued to talk about home court advantage and how it plays a role in basketball, including the NBA.
"The crowd is everything. The crowd can get you in it and the crowd and take you out of it. You definitely feel the hostile environment. Then again, when you're on the road, you learn to tune it out to an extent. The only time it gets to you is when the home team starts to make a comeback and the crowd really gets into it, that's where you start to feel the pressure. Right now, though, we have pretty good support at home. They've all embraced us and they've been really patient. They know we're a young team and we're up and coming and that there are a lot of great things to expect in the future."
So what does the big man think the Bobcats need to improve to get to that next level (or at least out of last place)?
"We just need some prep time, man, just need some prep time. I think the average age of our team is 23 and one thing you learn in the league is that experience is everything. In the NBA, competition is so fierce, the game is never over and you have to go out there and leave it all on the court every night."
The Intimidator knows what he's talking about.
Even if he still doubts my ability to jam.
