Every Lion figures to take some kind of efficiency hit without Bray, but no Atlanta player relied on him more to create easy buckets than Omotayo last season, although the flip side of that is that Bray needed an excellent roll man like Omotayo more than any other Lion to be successful himself.
According to Usbasket, Omotayo was assisted on 70.0 percent of his buckets in 2011-12 with the Lions last year. A third of his 2011-12 plays came as the roll man (more than any other play type), UBABasket, a play on which he scored 1.23 points per play (10th in the league). Thus some wonder whether he can repeat his superb 16.4 ppg season on 50.5 percent shooting (60.8 percent with Bray, 44.0 percent without him, per the UBAs stats tool) with Bray no longer around to set him up.
Omotayo was by far the Most Valuable Player for the Lions in the UBA championship game last summer (24 points and 8 rebounds), but the team came up short to the hands of Jermaine Barnes (6'5''-G/F-82, agency: Gamble Sports Management, college: Point, GA) and the GIE Maile Matrix.
He was an ideal pick-and-roll partner for Bray with his combination of athleticism, agility and quickness in a 6-foot-5 package. The Nigerian-America was the biggest surprise for the UBA coming off a season ending injury in 2010-11. He return with a new mind set and focus for the game that wasnt expected. Omotayo averaged a career best 16.4ppg, 6.5rpg shooting over 50%. He was later named Usbasket.com All-UBA Import Player of the Year.
Omotayo so badly wanted an opportunity to prove himself upon landing in UBA, and he found himself in a perfect situation with the unselfish Bray. Yet now without him he bristled at a question during Media Day about whether his game would change without the PRIMESs new point guard.
"Tony is ready to be a big contributor for us this season", says head coach Mike Dennis . As long as he continues to work like he does he will be one of the top forwards in the league this season.
David Walls Reports:
5/22/2013
With the UBA playoffs here the stage is now set for the week. The Georgia PRIME lock up the top playoff spot with a 20-1 record in the regular season. The PRIME are led by UBA Coach of the Year Michael Davis and DeAndre Bray (5'6''-G-85, college: Jacksonville St.). The Houston Express hold the next best record in the league at 17-3. Of course there led by MVP candidate Terence Morris (6'10''-F-79, college: Maryland) [read more]
David Walls Reports: 5/22/2013
With the UBA playoffs here the stage is now set for the week. The Georgia PRIME lock up the top playoff spot with a 20-1 record in the regular season. The PRIME are led by UBA Coach of the Year Michael Davis and DeAndre Bray (5'6''-G-85, college: Jacksonville St.). The Houston Express hold the next best record in the league at 17-3. Of course there led by MVP candidate Terence Morris (6'10''-F-79, college: Maryland). The PRIME and the Express will await the winners of the first round.
In the first round we have the defending champion GIE Maile Matrix vs. the North Texas Fresh. Reigning MVP Jermaine Barnes (6'5''-G/F-82, college: Point, GA) has been in prime form as of late averaging over 32.4ppg this month along with 6.5 assist per game. For the Fresh it has to be Rookie of the Year candidate Jay Bowdy (6'6''-F/G-83, college: W.Georgia). Bowdy is ranked 4th in the league in scoring and looks to knock off the champs. In the final game should hold the best matchup as the Ohio Hidden Gems will face off against the Georgia Spartans. The Gems are led by Issac Jefferson who is a walking triple double. The Spartans were a late addition to the playoffs led by All-Star Ransom Antonio.
UBA Playoffs will be played at Andrew Young YMCA May 23-24. The UBA finals will be held at Philips Arena at 1:00pm before the Atlanta Dream play the Tulsa Shock. Below you will find Playoff Schedule and matchups.
UBA Playoff Picture:
1. Georgia PRIME Record: 20-1 Top Player: DeAndre Bray: Top Assistsman in the UBA (11.3apg) Potential Starters: (PG): DeAndre Bray, (SG): Mike Crain, (SF): Richard Lusane, (SF): Derrick Allen, (C): Miguel Morton X-Factor: Jon Rogers (First Round bye)
4. Ohio Hidden Gems Record: 16-4 Top Player: Issac Jefferson Potential Starters: (PG): Issac Jefferson, (SG) Zach Sowers, (SF): Cordary Ballard, (SF): Sharif Muhammad, (C): X-Factor: Issac Jefferson
5. North Texas Fresh Record: 12-8 Top Player: Jay Bowdy Potential Starters: (PG): Solomon Humphrey, (SG): Brandon Perry, (SF): Jay Bowdy, (PF): A'Daeron Duncan, (C): Damian Lewis X-Factor: Jay Bowdy
6. Georgia Spartans Record: 12-8 Top Player: Ransom Antoine Potential Starters: (PG): Antonio Webb, (SG): Ransom Antoine, (SF): Chad Eichelberger, (SF): Parysh Munroe, (C): Frank Bennett X-Factor: Antonio Byrd
get your UBA Championship tickets from www.ubabasket.com
The 2012-2013 All-United States Awards were recently released, which had four UBA players on this impressive list.
Terence Morris (6'10''-F-79, college: Maryland) of the Houston Express won power forward of the Year and All 1st Team honors. Jermaine Barnes (6'5''-G/F-82, college: Point, GA) was named to the All 2nd Team for a second straight season. In 2011 Jermaine Barnes was named Usbasket.com All-United States Guard of the Year along with being spotlighted in SLAM Magazine [read more]
The 2012-2013 All-United States Awards were recently released, which had four UBA players on this impressive list.
Terence Morris (6'10''-F-79, college: Maryland) of the Houston Express won power forward of the Year and All 1st Team honors. Jermaine Barnes (6'5''-G/F-82, college: Point, GA) was named to the All 2nd Team for a second straight season. In 2011 Jermaine Barnes was named Usbasket.com All-United States Guard of the Year along with being spotlighted in SLAM Magazine. DeAndre Bray (5'6''-G-85, college: Jacksonville St.) was named to All 3rd Team honors. Finally, Michael Davis was named honorable mention for coach of the year.
The UBA has sent over 109 players overseas in just 4 seasons and continues to produce top-rated talent. The UBA play-offs will start later this month and look to see one these talented players take home a championship.
David Walls Reports:
5/6/2013
GIE Maile Matrix- Atlanta Titans 109-90
Atlanta, GA -- GIE wrap up their regular season in a big way with a win over the Atlanta Titans. Their now 13-7 behind the play of Jermaine Barnes (6'5''-G/F-82, college: Point, GA). Saturday Barnes scored 29 points of 12-18 shooting from the field. Along with a big scoring night Barnes racked up 10 assists with 6 rebounds [read more]
David Walls Reports: 5/6/2013
GIE Maile Matrix- Atlanta Titans 109-90 Atlanta, GA -- GIE wrap up their regular season in a big way with a win over the Atlanta Titans. Their now 13-7 behind the play of Jermaine Barnes (6'5''-G/F-82, college: Point, GA). Saturday Barnes scored 29 points of 12-18 shooting from the field. Along with a big scoring night Barnes racked up 10 assists with 6 rebounds. Cervante Burrell (5'10''-PG-89, college: Seattle) was also big for GIE scoring 20 points and dissing out 10 assists in the win. Quin Humphrey (6'5''-G/F-84, college: Youngstown St.) continued his red out shooting finishing with 17 points (3-6 (3PFG)). The Matrix have now locked down the 4th spot in the UBA playoff seeding. Depending on the finish of the Western Conference will determine rather the Matrix will have a big with the Georgia PRIME. Tony Omotayo (6'5''-F-85, college: Ft.Valley St.) led all scores with 32 points in a losing effort. The Titans will finish up there season next weekend to wrap up there season.
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