2013 lottery big men

[BrotherDave]

You guys are much more in tune with the college basketball world than I am, so my question is this.

From an athleticism standpoint, would you guys consider Bennett a poor NBA athlete, an average NBA athlete, a good NBA athlete or a phenomenal NBA athlete?

All I've seen are highlights, but he does look like an interesting player.

Good athlete. He is not particularly fast, definitely not laterally, and he's not the highest leaper but he's very explosive and quick. Think a young Elton Brand in terms of athleticism. I think instead of bulking up, I'd like to see him get leaner and meaner b/c his stamina needs improvement and to help his lateral quickness for defense.

[GoBobs]

Watched Noel play tonight and he was amazing. Easily the most important player in the game even though he missed his only shot and went 2-8 from the line. His 12 blocked shots where huge.

He is a much better shot blocker then Anthony Davis from the eye test. Davis would stretch and barely tip a shot. Noel jumps a lot higher and smacks the crap out of them. The speed with which he gets off the ground is amazing. He can get out of position and you think he can't get to it but he recovers incredibly. When he doesn't go for the block his box out is solid. Easily the best prospect in this draft imo.

[CampNightmare8]

Watched Noel play tonight and he was amazing. Easily the most important player in the game even though he missed his only shot and went 2-8 from the line. His 12 blocked shots where huge.

He is a much better shot blocker then Anthony Davis from the eye test. Davis would stretch and barely tip a shot. Noel jumps a lot higher and smacks the crap out of them. The speed with which he gets off the ground is amazing. He can get out of position and you think he can't get to it but he recovers incredibly. When he doesn't go for the block his box out is solid. Easily the best prospect in this draft imo.

Agreed. I think everyone on this forum can agree with me when I say that Noel is more athletic than AD. I think we've all gotta take it in that Noel's teammates aren't half as good as last years Wildcats with Anthony.

[CampNightmare8]

Also: 12 blocks tonight. That is the most by a Division I player this season and the most by a Kentucky player EVER.

[Bosnian-Bobcats-Fan]

Noel definately moved up to #2 behind Ben Mclemore for me after this game....he just seems like such a project offensively and we already have one of those with biz...but the defense that frontcourt would bring would be crazy...i'm torn but for Now i think mclemore would be the better player but if we had to choose a big man go with Noel...anthony benett a darkhorse at 3

[Chef]

Also: 12 blocks tonight. That is the most by a Division I player this season and the most by a Kentucky player EVER.

question: didn't see the game. how many of those blocks were off-man (weakside) help vs. straight on in the post blocks?

reason i ask, we need a straight on shot blocker more than a weakside blocker and it is a sign of a better on ball defender.

[CampNightmare8]

Just found out that me and Nerlens have the same birthday and were born the same year. Another reason to draft him... *sarcasm*

[CampNightmare8]

question: didn't see the game. how many of those blocks were off-man (weakside) help vs. straight on in the post blocks?

reason i ask, we need a straight on shot blocker more than a weakside blocker and it is a sign of a better on ball defender.

Most were straight up. Didn't watch the whole game so I don't know if he got a block out of the post.

[gamecocksmitty4]

question: didn't see the game. how many of those blocks were off-man (weakside) help vs. straight on in the post blocks?

reason i ask, we need a straight on shot blocker more than a weakside blocker and it is a sign of a better on ball defender.

I didn't see all of his blocks, but that is one thing I have commented on before. He gets a lot of weakside blocks (many are VERY impressive as he can cover a TREMENDOUS amount of ground very quickly) but he gets a ton of man-to-man blocks as well. Against post players, he positions himself very well and can get extremely high to block post shots. He occasionally bites on pump fakes but not too much. The great thing is that he can still block the shot after he gets pumpfaked.

When he gets switched out on guards, he occasionally gets beat but can make up the ground quickly and reject the shot. Also, in post defense, this is where he gets a lot of his steals (some of his fouls too, unfortunately). He uses his long arms to deny the entry pass from behind his man. If his man hesitates before making a move, he will strip the ball from him. He has the quickest hands I have ever seen out of a big man and his coordination on blocks and steals in incredible. While he leads the NCAA in blocks, he is also top 20 for steals!

[gamecocksmitty4]

Chef, if you have 3 minutes of free time, watch this video. This shows you almost everything I'm talking about.