NBA Comparison: Marreese Speights/Brendan Haywood

Strengths: An intriguing big with a next level body and an extremely long wingspan … He has a wide and developed frame and has the potential to add further mass … A deceptive athlete, he gets off the ground well and sneaks up on people thanks to his length … Physically, he has all the tools to be an inside force in the future … Off the catch, he powers his way to the hoop for strong finishes, he has the wide shoulders to clear space inside and convert against contact … Shows a fairly soft touch around the basket, he extends on his hook shot and is able to convert plays with finesse … Comfortable stepping out to midrange and knocking down spot up jumpers … His form is extremely smooth for a big, and he is able to get his shot off with good speed and rhythm … Has a lot of potential as a pick and roll big because of his ability to shoot the ball and set wide screens … Currently, most of his value is on the defensive end … He is able to keep defensive position because of his size, but more importantly he blocks and alters a high percentage of shots thanks to his timing and length …

Weaknesses: At this point, he is still a very raw player who has not performed consistently at a high level … Most of his intrigue lies in his potential, but over the last few seasons he has not produced much … Very careless with the ball, he makes poor decisions and throws it away very frequently … He tries to make passes that have no chance of finding the target … Has a bad habit of throwing outlet passes when he is off balance and when no one is looking for the ball … Missed the majority of his High School senior season due to surgery on his left knee … Whether it is the result of his injury or just his natural gait, his running and movements are not smooth and it seems like he is wasting too much energy while getting up and down the court … Needs to become a better shooter at the free throw line … Fell victim to the system that catered to other players at Kentucky, and was not able to get much game experience operating in the post on the offensive end … He lacks confidence in his scoring ability and does not look to establish good position on the block … Could have used another season of college to polish his game and prove that he can be effective as one of the featured players …

Borko Popic – 05/14/2010

Borko Popic is a lead scout/contributor to NBADraft.net. Please check out his premium website / scouting service hooprospects.com, an essential tool for Pro teams from around the world.