NBA
Kelly Oubre Looking To Show Competitiveness
Jeff Hawkins is an award-winning sportswriter with more than four decades in the industry (print and digital media). A freelance writer/stay-at-home dad since 2008, Hawkins started his career with newspaper stints in Michigan, North Carolina, Florida, Upstate New York and Illinois, where he earned the 2004 APSE first-place award for column writing (under 40,000 circulation). As a beat writer, he covered NASCAR Winston Cup events at NHIS (1999-2003), the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks (2003-06) and the NFL's Carolina Panthers (2011-12). Hawkins penned four youth sports books, including a Michael Jordan biography. Hawkins' main hobbies include mountain bike riding, 5k trail runs at the Whitewater Center in Charlotte, N.C., and live music.
All posts by Jeff HawkinsUpdated15 Oct 2021
Nineteen-year-old small forward Kelly Oubre knows he has a lot to prove as he goes through the draft process.
“The knock on me was that I didn’t really compete, which was wrong, because I’m one of the most competitive people that’s ever come on this planet,” said the Kansas product at a draft workout on Thursday for approximately 150 NBA executives, hosted by agent Billy Duffy.
“I want to show them that I’m a competitor, that I have a drive to win and a drive to be great,” continued Oubre. “Not understanding, that’s what kind of gave me that knock, because when I don’t understand something, I’m a perfectionist, so I want to do it perfectly. I’m not going try to go extra hard and do it wrong.”
At 6’7, Oubre has NBA size and athleticism. He’s projected to be a lottery pick on June 25.
Through 36 appearances with the Jayhawks, he averaged 9.3 points, 5.0 rebounds and 0.8 assists, while shooting 44.1 percent from the field.
“At Kansas, I wasn’t able to show a lot of my offensive game. I made shots, but sometimes they were like bad shots,” said Oubre. “I’m working on one-on-one moves, being able to get by my defender and create for my teammate.”
Oubre will be meeting with teams over the coming weeks. In addition to showing his development offensively, he’s confident he can defend at the next level.
“I can lock somebody up on the defensive end and [be] one of the best offensive players,” he said. “I’m really good at coming off screens.
“At Kansas, I didn’t have a lot of assists because I wasn’t breaking my guy down and getting into the lane.”
Oubre said he’ll be the green room on draft night, a long-time dream. He’s got a suit picked out, although he wouldn’t give out any hints as to his look.
“I’m a swaggy person,” he said, mentioning Los Angeles Lakers guard/forward Nick Young. “Swaggy P, Swaggy K, you know what I mean? Nah, I don’t want to take his name, but I definitely take pride in that fashion sense. Nick Young does too, so I kind of look at him, things he has – not try to swagger-bite, but more like out-do him a little bit.”
Oubre is confident he’ll show that he’s a “monster,” as he travels franchise-to-franchise to build up his draft stock.
“I’m ready for this test,” Oubre said. “I’m ready to overcome and make these teams fall in love with me.”
