Arike Ogunbowale - Super Scorer/Mamba Mentality

Arike Ogunbowale. NCAA Champion in 2018. NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player. Famously, she hit TWO BACK-TO-BACK GAME WINNING JUMPERS the year Notre Dame won it all. First, against the UConn Huskies in the final four, then an off balance leaning three pointer AT THE BUZZER (or very nearly) to win the national championship. That’s cold blooded. While that was happening, she heard from a certain all-time great who happened to be her inspiration growing up. The late great Kobe Bryant would go on to mentor her through the pro career. There’s a link below to a fantastic article by Sean Hurd of The Undefeated, but here is a great highlight after Arike posted a then career-high 35 points in her rookie year:
“Scored 35 once, score it again,” he [Kobe] wrote.
Ogubowale replied that her best WNBA performance to date was no small task.
But Bryant kept challenging her: “Well, at least 20 every game.”

Arike is just in her second season in the WNBA. She currently leads the league in scoring, at 22.2 points per game, while shooting 41.2% from the field. She does so with a masterful midrange jumper that the Mamba would be proud of. There is as much finesse in her finishes as there is force. She can stretch defenses out with her range. Plus, her passing and playmaking for others is on the rise. OH - and she'll take your ankles if you give her the chance.
Ogunbowale has improved greatly in the sense that she waits for the game to come to her. In doing that, she has become on the most efficient players in the Wubble. She has the third highest percentage of field goals unassisted (for players who have played at least half the seasons and are average 26 or more minutes per game). The other two? Superstar guards Chelsea Gray and Courtney Vandersloot. Basically, she’s a bucket and the future is so bright for Ogunbowale and the Dallas Wings.

https://theundefeated.com/features/ho...

https://stats.wnba.com/players/scorin...

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