Overview: A long, athletic center who never quite lived up to his offensive potential, but is a nice defensive-minded backup. Possesses great length and size for the center spot. Shows good quickness and explosiveness. Not strong enough to maintain position against bigger players. Doesnt offer much offensively, but can have nice games when he has a favorable matchup. Makes his money as a shot blocker. Has been essentially the same type of player since his days at DePaul. Spent only two years in college before making the leap to the NBA. Was picked almost exclusively on potential, and didnt put up big numbers as a collegiate.
Offense: Gets most of his points off of hustle. Runs the floor extremely fast for a player his size. Has some very impressive tools, but never seems to put them together. Will hit a midrange jumper once in a blue moon. Has a slow release, and shoots the ball on the way down, but doesnt have much trouble getting it off due to his size. Doesnt show much back to the basket game because he sets up so far off the block he has no choice but to take a turnaround jumper. Wont get low to fight for position. Has a decent right handed hook shot, but its not smooth enough and he lacks the proper touch for it to be consistently effective. Faces up more than half of the time he gets the ball with his back to the basket. Has a surprising solid handle, but is too tall to avoid turning the ball over. Does most of his damage by using his athleticism, not his skills. Gets a lot of easy baskets by cutting to the rim and working off of his teammates. Not a great finisher due to his lack of touch at the rim, but capable. Will dunk whenever he can, but shies away from contact. Still goes to the line at a decent rate, but shoots a bad percentage. Decent offensive rebounder due to his leaping ability and length. Doesnt use leverage to compensate for his lack of strength. Will shows some unusual skills for a seven footer, but lacks the focus, footwork, strength, basketball IQ and touch to utilize them.
Defense: A talented shot blocker who shies away from physical play on the block. Will get taken advantage of by players who thrive on bullying their way to the rim. Lacks bulk and doesnt use leverage to compensate for it. Gets his hands on a lot of shots by virtue of his length and athleticism. Has the lateral quickness to defend the midrange, but has very poor footwork and plays off balance. Will get caught up in screens and doesnt have the ability to fight through them. Doesnt have great awareness. Contests some shots, but is actually rather poor at rotating over from the weakside. Doesnt box out well either. Bites on too many fakes. Needs to learn to get low and play with leverage.
Comments