After a three month paper shuffle DeShawn Painter has been cleared to play immediately for ODU. This frees up Painter to play on the Monarchs upcoming foreign swing through Italy and Greece. Otherwise, ODU only returns one experienced big (senior Nick Wright) after the graduation of Chris Cooper.
Blaine Taylor’s 2011-12 ODU club failed to reach the NCAA Tournament after having done so in the previous two seasons. The problem was on the offensive end. The ODU offense ranked 163rd in efficiency, which was their worst in a decade. Defensively, they ranked 45th, which is right in line with his typical teams.
So what does Painter – a former consensus top-100 recruit – bring to the mix?
As a junior at NC State, Painter played about half the team’s minutes. He struggled from the field, making only 42.5% of his shots. For a 6-9 guy with no outside game to speak of, that’s not good. His career best is 47% as a sophomore. Still, the departed Chris Copper only made 44.4% of his attempts (all 2s as well), so Painter should at least be able to fill his scoring shoes in half court sets.
Painter has developed into a solid free throw shooter, making 72% last season. Though he only draws 3.7 fouls per 40 minutes.
The best part of his offensive game might be crashing the glass where he grabbed 9.2% of his team’s misses. Chris Cooper was one of the best rebounders in the nation, and Painter certainly can’t make that claim, but he’s at least respectable.
On defense, he’s athletic enough to be an elite defender, but his hustle has been questioned. He’ll get a few blocks and he’s a fair rebounder.
The verdict for ODU? Painter has been through three seasons in the ACC, and has shown himself to be a valuable role player. On a team breaking in a lot of new players, Painter will give the staff a big of known value as they’re mixing and matching lineups.
