I believe, in terms of impact on the game, he can be a Marcus Camby, with more potential to impact the floor on offense than Camby ended up being able to do.

I think his skills on defense are among the best I've seen from a post player of his age in college, and while, yes, he could totally underachieve and not live up to said potential, I can only operate right now under where I'd project him to be if he does.

I think, if he does, he's a double-figure rebound guy, 1.5+ steal per game guy, a 2.5+ block per game guy, and in three or four years a All-Defense team guy. I think his ball handling and passing are strong for a big of his age, and while he needs to work on his touch, again, so does nearly every big his age. His "faults" (needs to gain muscle, needs to work on touch, needs to develop a wider variety of post moves) are the exact same problems that nearly every big has... but not every big has his vision, hand skills, and nose for the ball on defense that he has. In fact, few do.

His athleticism and motor give him a distinct advantage to guys like Chandler, who never really seemed interested on the offensive side in anything other than putbacks. Noel, like Davis, had the disadvantage of not being fed the ball a lot in college due to the team he was on, but, like Davis, he showed potential when he was. Not as much offensive potential as Davis, obviously, but enough to get to 14+ PPG on a yearly basis.

I expect, if healthy, Noel to be a 14/12/1.5/3 guy by year three, not to mention the impact he'll have on defense. I expect him to gain 15 pounds during this first year and to make his way into the 220s, where plenty of bigs his size have been just fine in the pros. He's no John Henson-- Noel may not have a Len or Drummond style frame, but he can push 230 in muscle mass, which is all he needs imo.

Obviously a million things could go wrong. He could stay hurt. He could suddenly have a drop in work ethic for some unknown reason. He could simply not pan out, as some guys do. But I watched Noel several times this season, and he never seemed to me like a guy who would bust. If your worst case scenario is Camby/Chandler in terms of offense, boards, and defensive impact, and your best case scenario is higher, that's why you're still a possible #1 pick guy while hurt.

I simply can't envision a world in which Noel, if given 27+ minutes per game, averages single digit rebounds. Dude is a hawk.

I hope that answers your question in regards to comparison and why I'm personally high on him, despite having zero invested reason to be.