Strengths: One of the top athletes in the country, Aminu had a solid sophomore year, with more opportunities to shine after James Johnson and  Jeff Teague left for the pros …  A huge leaper with freakish athleticism, explosiveness and solid length, Aminu uses these 3 strengths to make him an excellent rebounder and defender …  His athleticism contributes to a quick first step, while possessing a good enough handle to take his defender off the dribble north to south rather than east to west … His solid frame, length and athleticism give him the ability to be an excellent defender, with the option of allowing him to guard the 2, 3 or 4 … His leaping abilities allow him to get up and block shots, as well as eliminate second chance opportunities on the defensive glass … Again he uses his pure athleticism to keep the ball alive on the offensive glass making him a tough target to box out … High energy player, will lay out for the ball … Showed an improved post game, using his quickness to elude his defender down low and get off uncontested shots even with his man on his back … He has a good enough handle to match his athleticism following a rebound, allowing him to go coast to coast where he thrives in transition,  as he runs the floor very well and can soar around the hoop making him a point guard’s best friend on the break …

Weaknesses: Aminu’s glaring weakness is his inability to create shots for himself and hit from the outside … He lacks any real range on his outside game, and does not have the ability to pull up off the dribble … He lacks touch around the basket when he’s not close enough to dunk … Turnover prone, with a tendency to be out of control and a bit awkward when taking his man off the dribble … Handle is not diverse enough, most of his drives are made because of a quick first step, while limited to mainly just going right … His lack of shooting ability hurts his chances of playing the 3 at the next level, most likely he will play the athletic and high flying power forward role until he broadens his perimeter skills … Not skilled enough to immediately be effective on the offensive end…

Overall: Aminu’s strengths include all of the things you can’t teach, which is a great sign for potential and upside considering all the things he needs to improve upon can be learned and developed as he grows as a player … More than just a highlight reel type player, Aminu would be a great fit on a team that wants to run and gun, or a team that lacks athleticism at the forward position … His defensive and rebounding abilities make his stock higher than those players who may be more skilled at this point in time … His versatility on defense, energy and athleticism on offensive, and tremendous upside should make Aminu a surefire lottery pick in June…

Jonathan Wasserman 4/26/10