Is Dinma Odiakosa Someone We Should Be Paying Attention To?

I've gotta be honest - like you, I really don't know much (read: anything) about Dinma Odiakosa.

That won't stop me from saying he's intriguing.

Odiakosa, a 6-foot-8 power forward out of Illinois State (yes, the same college Doug Collins attended), averaged 12.8 points, 8.7 boards and shot 61% from the field his senior year of college.

I can also tell you that he looks to have an NBA body and that he's worked out in Chicago with world renowned trainer Tim Grover.

From what I can tell in the above video he looked a lot better than D-Leaguer Latavious Williams (hopefully he had higher points than those shown) and judging from the following comments from the Grizzlies' Director of Player Personnel Tony Barone (Sr.), I'm not alone.

(Odiakosa) has an unbelievable work ethic," said Barone, Sr. "He will eventually be in the NBA. It will be a longer route; there is no straight line to the NBA for him. He will bang you, rebound and probably end up in the NBA D-League to start off with and go from there in terms of developmental progress. I had one of the coaches come up to me today and tell me that he thinks he will be an All-Star in the D-League next year.

Odiakosa may not hear his name called next week (though it's possible that a smart team that misses out on Williams looks his way), but he definitely appears to be a player to watch for the future.