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He's got an NBA body and NBA athleticism... I don't think anyone would question this. He's over 7 feet, really fast for his size, long arms, and can jump with the best of them. He's got a nose for the glass (one of the better offensive rebounders in college ball last year) and knows how to time putback dunks and alley-oops well. He's also a terrific *team* player-- he passes out after a rebound nicely, strong character guy, etc. Sets vicious picks.
Offensively, there's really nothing there-- if it's not a layup or putback, it's not going in. Think Tristan Thompson but worse on that end. He won't force anything up though-- he's a high IQ dude who knows how his bread is buttered. He times his blocks well, but defending anywhere outside of in front of the rim is also a non-starter too. There's a reason he wasn't drafted despite everything I said in the first paragraph-- he'll give you nothing on offense beyond putbacks and is only a body down low on defense, which, in today's NBA, means less and less.
However, it's not impossible to imagine his upside-- he didn't play much til last year at Duke, and I could see him making some improvements as a pro the same way his brother Miles did. He's fast enough that he could learn to move his feet better on defense, potentially-- the shot is broken, but there's a long list of bigs who were valuable teammates because they rebounded and defended well.
In short, expect a backup center at best, a relief man for the starting big who will be a strong character teammate, a high-energy floor runner in transition, and a guy to gather offensive boards and kick them back out to shooters for 15 mins per game. At worst, he washes out, but as far as undrafted free agents go, you won't find many with that combo of size and athleticism, so it's worth the risk. My movies: http://russellhainline.com My movie reviews: https://letterboxd.com/RussellHFilm/ My beer TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thebeertravelguide
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