It took four players to guard Florida center John Egbunu in a game earlier this year.
Egbunu Strives to Break Body Language Barrier
Monday, February 22, 2016 | Men's Basketball, Chris Harry
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By: Chris Harry, Senior Writer
GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Growing up in his native Nigeria, John Egbunu learned to speak three languages. Hausa is the first language of the country and one of the most common across the African continent. He learned English well before he moved to Atlanta to attend prep school as a 15-year-old in 2010.
The third language?
"Pidgin," Egbunu, the University of Florida sophomore center and biggest, most imposing man on campus, said through what may be the best smile on his basketball team "There are languages and dialects across the country, of course, and it's hard to know everyone's. Pidgin is a means of communication that, wherever you go, you can relate to anyone."
It's not an official language, per se. More of a hybrid slang, he explained, that combines multiple languages, including English. If he wanted to ask, for example, "How are you today?"
"How Bodi? "
Or, "What's going on?
"Wetin dey happen?"
How 'bout, "May I please play this game without getting into foul trouble?" When John Egbunu is probing UF's defensive perimeter, the Gators are at their best (like vs LSU and Ben Simmons)OK, just kidding. The odds of any Southeastern Conference official knowing Nigerian Pidgjn are remote, but no translation is necessary when it comes to what a free-playing Egbunu's value is to the Florida Gators compared to the foul-plagued version that gets hit so often with an early whistle or two. It's happened frequently this season to the 6-foot-11, 245-pounder, especially on the road. When it does, the UF interior defense suffers. Rebounding, also.
It can't happen Tuesday night. Not when the Gators (17-10, 8-6) face Vanderbilt (16-11, 8-6) and 7-foot center Damien Jones in a game with serious ramifications in the SEC standings and postseason tournament seeding, not to mention the respective resumes of the two programs that are sent to NCAA Tournament selection committee next month.
UF coach Mike White, obviously, wants Egbunu at his best.
"He's always got himself going at a really high level defensively when he's scoring a little bit. It's still a process to get him playing at that level, regardless of whether he's touching it or scoring or not, but defensively he's had some really good games as well," White said. "That said, he's got to be on the floor to do so. He's got to stay out of foul trouble. He's got to make good decisions defensively against their interior guys."
Egbunu, in his first season since transferring from South Florida, is averaging 10.6 points and 6.6 rebounds per game. His .533 shooting percentage rates first among the UF starters, thanks in great part to his team-best 49 dunks. But he's also fouled out of a team-high five games, all of them losses, including the Jan. 26 defeat at Vanderbilt when he had two points and four rebounds while Jones was going for 20 and 12.
In each of those five disqualifications, Egbunu drew a quick foul, sometimes two. At Michigan State, for example, he had two barely two minutes into the game. After sitting the rest of the half, he picked up two more in just over three minutes to start the second half. In three of those five games, Egbunu committed a foul before the 17-minute mark; in the two others, he barely made it past the 16-minute mark to get his first whistle.
Now, one foul doesn't seem too egregious, especially for a player as big and physical as Egbunu.It's how he tends to handle those early ones and how they tend to impact Egbunu's play the rest of the game.
"I don't say I get down, [but] maybe frustrated," Egbunu said. "I just want to be out there and play for my teammates. I want to be able to produce and help any way I can. Whenever I'm in foul trouble, I can't do that. It is frustrating, but I also understand, considering my size, I'm going to pick up fouls. I just have to have make sure I'm in the right spot and show my hands and do the right things."
Part of doing the right things is knowing them. In Africa, he grew up playing soccer and it wasn't until around 14 that the growth gods blessed him with about seven inches in a year. Like that, Egbunu was a basketball player.
The nuances of the game, however, had to come later.
"For big men, one of the hardest things to learn is how to use your body," said UF assistant Darris Nichols, who coaches post players. "When you're bigger than everybody else your whole life, you're told to play big. So you play upright. But when you're playing against guys your own size, sometimes you have to play lower."
Sometimes, it's about position, balance, when to slide your feet, when to keep your feet; just being disciplined.
And then there's the IQ part of the game, such as awareness when it comes a double-teams and finding open teammates; not holding the ball too long in the post and thus avoiding seconds of indecisiveness.
Egbunu has 50 turnovers this season compared to 10 assists, but there's plenty of blame to go around when it comes to Florida's struggles for inconsistent play around the paint area. As White has said many times, the Gators just aren't a very good post-passing team.
Another issue's with Florida's offense is spacing on the floor moves, Nichols said. When the guards drive, the post players don't always slide to open areas and make themselves better targets for passes, which is especially important given UF's undersized guards. They can't dump over defenders, but have to bounce passes or wrap them around guys. It's often a point of emphasis in team film sessions.
There also are some private cut-ups Nichols saves just for Egbunu.
"I still don't think John realizes after you commit a foul or the coach subs you out, the camera is zooming in on you," Nichols said. "Sometimes he'll throw his hands up or grimace or be stomping for the world to see it. Even his parents back home. I have the managers clip it up and send it to him."
Egbunu has watched.
"I can see it in myself, so I can see it in my teammates as well," he said. "We all go through this together. There are ups and downs. Sometimes your emotions can get the best of you. For me, personally, I feel that's an area I need to keep working on."
For center John Egbunu, compartmentalizing his emotions when saddled with early foul trouble is something both the player and his coaches are striving toward.
Said backup center Schuyler Rimmer: "Whether on the bench or during practice, I try to stay in his ear and keep him focused on the bigger picture. We need John in games. We need him on the court and off the bench as much as possible. When he gets frustrated over a bad call or missed call, it just takes him out of what's going on. I do think he's gotten better at it, but he also knows it's something he has to keep working on."
Part of that is anticipation by the coaches. Last week, Nichols watched Egbunu make a couple nice plays on defense, then go to the other end and take a couple hits from defenders that went uncalled. The angst immediately showed on his face.
"I went to Coach and said, 'Get him out of there! Something bad's about to happen,' " Nichols said.
Eventually, the Gators would love to see Egbunu police himself and make better body language be the fourth language he has mastered. If facing Jones, projected as a possible first-round NBA draft pick this June, and his team's need to be between the lines against Vandy isn't motivation enough, what is?
"It's such a game of split-seconds and confidence and runs," White said. "Is John more mature and poised than he was in November? Absolutely. And I think he's due for a big game here at some point. We certainly would welcome that [against Vanderbilt]."
So would Egbunu. For what it's worth, his numbers are significantly better when playing at the O'Dome versus on the road. Try 12.7 points per game, 63-percent shooting and 7.8 rebounds at home, compared to 7.3 points, 5.2 rebounds, 43.9 percent and four DQs by foul away.
The Gators need wins. The Gators need Egbunu to get them.
