B. Patrick
As a basketball fan, I have always had a love for the lesser known, obscure and/or underappreciated. At school, when most kids were wearing Penny Hardaway, Shaquille O’Neal or Michael Jordan jerseys, I was wearing Bobby Hurley, Derek Harper and Dino Radja.
This is my open tribute to the lesser known players in today’s game. This is Spotted on the Pine.
KYLE O’QUINN
Name: Kyle O’Quinn
Team: Orlando Magic
Jersey Number: 2
Rookie Year: 2012-13
Drafted: 2012 Draft, Round 2, 49th overall
College: Norfolk State
Twitter: @Kyle_OQuinn
Jamaica, Queens, New York.
A fair share of celebrities hail from this part of New York. Whether you are thinking of entertainers like 50 Cent or star athletes like former Sixth Man of the Year Lamar Odom, Jamaica, Queens has a contingent of residents to go on to the big time. On March 26, 1990, it would be the birthplace of another future NBA player: Kyle O’Quinn.
O’Quinn would grow up in Queens and attend Campus Magnet High School. His primary focus at the time was playing football. O’Quinn was on the basketball team but had seriously considered quitting after his junior year.
Taking a more serious approach during his senior season, O’Quinn would average 20 points and 12 rebounds per game. This serious bump at the end would gain Kyle attention in the basketball community, however, he still was only offered one scholarship opportunity: Norfolk State.
O’Quinn moved to Virginia to play with the Spartans in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. While only getting to start twice his Freshman year, O’Quinn would play in all thirty-one Spartan games and be named the MEAC Rookie of the Week twice.
Much like his high school career, O’Quinn would blossom and progressively make an impact in the NCAA. He moved into a starting role for twenty-nine of thirty games his sophomore year and be recognized as All-MEAC Second Team.
Junior season? O’Quinn would lead his conference in blocks and rebounds. Already known for his defense, he would be the first ever Norfolk State player to be named the MEAC Defensive Player of the Year.
O’Quinn replicated his senior success story from his Campus Magnet days and soared in his senior season with the Spartans. For the second year in a row, O’Quinn would be named the MEAC Defensive Player of the Year. On top of this, he would be named the MEAC Player of the Year. Averaging 15.9 points and 10.3 rebounds, O’Quinn lifted the Spartans into an NCAA tournament bid.
While many were happy with the magical season culminating in tournament appearance, the 15th seed-Spartans were not content with just appearing. In the round of 64, Kyle O’Quinn racked up 26 points and 14 rebounds to eliminate the #2 seed Missouri Tigers.
The Spartans would lose in the Round of 32 to the Florida Gators but people had to take notice when O’Quinn led only the fifth 15th seed to victory of a 2nd seeded squad in the history of the NCAA tournament.
Of the thirty NBA teams, at least eighteen took notice. O’Quinn would get workouts with eighteen squads leading up to the 2012 draft and on draft night, hear his name called by a team that didn’t even grant him a workout!
Orlando, knowing the departure of Dwight Howard was imminent, took O’Quinn with the 49th overall pick to add to their frontcourt depth.
O’Quinn didn’t get much burn to start the season. The Magic had acquired Gustavo Ayon from the Hornets and experimented with the Mexican big man for the first half of the year. When the trade deadline came, Ayon was sent to Milwaukee as part of the deal that saw JJ Redick leave the Magic.
While O’Quinn had been playing single-digit minutes or not at all, Magic coach Jacque Vaughn started giving the rookie Norfolk State product some time and Magic fans took a liking. Chosen by the fans as the “Hustle Player of the Year” for Orlando, O’Quinn produced whenever he could get on the court.
The finest moment of his rookie season may have been on March 27, 2013. When given 42 minutes against the Bobcats, O’Quinn impressively filled the stat line with 23 points, 11 rebounds and 6 assists. Not too shabby for a rookie that had been toward the end of the rotation one month earlier.
O’Quinn, who comes across as humble and likeable in the majority of interviews you will read, picked a different game as the moment from his rookie year. When asked by The Virginian-Pilot what his best rookie moment was, O’Quinn picked his six-point performance against the Los Angeles Lakers on December 2, 2012. In seven minutes and thirty-three seconds of play, O’Quinn scored six points and found it to be his highlight.
Why?
O’Quinn told the interviewer that “six points in the Staples Center on a Sunday versus Kobe Bryant is equivalent to 37 points in triple overtime at Norfolk State versus Coppin State.”
O’Quinn has a busy summer ahead of him. He will be hosting a Skills Academy in Virginia in June and will be reporting to Orlando to join the Magic in the Orlando Summer League. Kyle’s contract for next season becomes guaranteed in July and there is no reason the Magic wouldn’t want to hang onto the blossoming young big man.
A team in a re-build. A promising young player that has a track record of producing more every year? A perfect combination, in my opinion.
If that didn’t push you over the edge, check out his Halloween costume.
