The Center (C) position is the weakest spot in the draft by far. The argument could be made that it has been that way for a few years now. Sure, a Dwight Howard comes along once in a while but all in all, teams are using the C by committee approach much more and the game is about the G’s & F’s scoring in open floor and pick/roll situations while the bigs play defense, rebound and score when set up by a teammate.
SHOULD THABEET GO HIGHER BECAUSE HE LACKS COMPANY?
Since there are so few quality big men, does that raise your opinion of Hasheem Thabeet, the 7′3 Post from UConn? Has anyone noticed that Joel Przybilla is still the starting center for the Portland Trail Blazers, not Greg Oden? Oden has definitely sold a lot of season tickets since his arrival but hasn’t done a lot in terms of production (at least that warranted being a #1 pick). I’ve said in many posts before, I don’t think you can ignore Thabeet’s obvious tools but there are lots of reasons why I wouldn’t draft him too high if I had the chance to grab a quality Forward or Guard instead.
Centers:
- Hasheem Thabeet - 7′3 267 C - UConn: Crazy long 7′6 wingspan and natural timing allows him to block shots very well. Not a physical defender, how will he react to fighting for position on box? Doesn’t pursue rebounds hard enough for my taste either but then again, I don’t think anyone else will grow to be 7′3 so he has that going for him. Will be a garbage offensive guy, would be good in Pick/Roll lob situations similar to Tyson Chandler from Chris Paul.
- Best Available Player (Regardless of position)!
- Go small and play Chuck Hayes, Leon Powe, or Brandon Bass at the C position figure it out later…
- Pick up Marcin Gortat (Magic) or another Free Agent…
- BJ Mullens - 7′1 258 C - Ohio State: Said it before, say it again…Oden (OSU) hasn’t done much yet, Kosta Koufas (OSU) was fine in NBADL, and both did more for the Buckeyes than Mullens. He didn’t even start! His talent is clear, he’s big, runs and jumps well, and looks good shooting the ball. In other words, he’s a great camp guy, good in drills but once you start playing 5-on-5 he disappears. He has been dominated in workouts by 7′1 Aussie Luke Neville (Utah) who many say will go undrafted…TWICE! When it was announced they’d be paired together in the recent NJ workout, he pulled out, hmm.
OTHERS:
- Luke Nevill - 7′1 260 C - Utah (Australia): Solid career in Mountain West, see BJ Mullens.
- Goran Suton - 6′10 245 PF/C - Michigan State: Great tourney run, will have a good Euro career.
- Aron Baynes - 6′10 270 C - Washington St. (Australia): Very strong & physical. Sound defensively.
NOT TO MENTION:
- Several International bigs who’ll stay in Europe for a couple years even if drafted.
-Chris Denker
Tags: basketball, euroleague, Gortat, international, international basketball, Mullens, nba, nbadraft, Nevill, Oden, Orlando Magic, Portland Trail Blazers, rankings, Scouting, Thabeet