Isaiah Austin Enters Draft

This is the guy who's legally blind in one eye.  Any interest as a possible second pick?  He has a lot of skills and a lot of deficiencies.  Maybe play two or three years behind someone like Gortat while he fills out and benefits from good coaching and some mentoring by Gortat?

Sam

Sunday, January 1, 2012

Isaiah Austin NBA Draft Scouting Report
7-1 - Center - Baylor

Austin is a lanky 7 footer with a lot of upside. Made the right decision to stay in school and develop for another year.

Pros

Has tremendous height and unbelievable length.  A legit 7 feet tall with long arms.  Is quick up and down the floor and very agile. Handles the ball well for a 7 footer and has good overall skill level. A former guard who had a major growth spurt and still needs to grow into his body but has kept a lot of the skills of a wing player. Should be able to fill out and become a legit center. Comes from a tall family with his dad being 6,8 and grandfather 6,11.

Austin has a nice looking jump shot with range beyond 18 feet. Has an incredibly high release point making his shot difficult to block. Has a good dribble drive and fairly advanced face up game.

Is a great shot blocker with excellent timing. Has the hops and length to alter a ton of shots and elevates higher than most opponents have ever seen.  Is a very good rebounder due to his height but will have to improve his toughness at the college level and beyond. A very willing passer, defender and rebounder who understands the game well.

Cons

Very skinny and could get pushed around early in his NBA career. Will have to work extremely hard to put on weight and add strength. Is built like Tyson Chandler was in High School and could take just as long to develop in the NBA. Not yet a true back to the basket player although he has the potential to become one.

Projection: First round pick in the 2014 NBA Draft

Here's some in-depth video on him:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RTOt0uFr9TA

Sam

I thought he was a 7 foot small forward?

I saw Baylor play an early round game in the tournament, and he stood out, literally and figuratively. I hadn't heard of him, but he sure got my attention.

These videos over-hype the player, but the guy does have potential as an NBA center.

Positives: athletic, mobile, long, aggressive mindset.

Negatives: too skinny and too easily negated by shorter, stronger players. He has a high release point on his jump shot, but he consistently brings the ball waaaay down prior to the release so that a fourth-grader could swat it. Blindness in one eye will affect peripheral vision (he seems to have adapted nicely regarding depth perception). Spends a little too much time on outside shots (get thee into the post, big man). He apparently struggles with consistency, but that's not surprising and could be a blessing if Embiid is gone for the Celtics' first pick and he's still around for their lower first round pick.

He'll have to hit the weight room and fill out, but there's no reason he can't do that. The video hypes him as a lottery pick, but I'm wondering if he'd fall into that midrange first round area so that the Celtics could get him with their Atlanta pick (acquired from Brooklyn).

Is currently listed at 7'1".  220#.  He makes Kelly look like Charles Atlas.  My legs are thicker than his.

Scouting report on the draftexpress site on him.  7'3" wingspan with a 9.3" standing reach.  He could block a shot at the rim, except that at 220# he'll be pushed 4' under the basket.  In fact, if you watch the scouting video, they say he gets pushed under the basket and that's by college players.  What do you think an NBA center or 250# PF with a lower center-of-gravity will do to him?  6'8" Brandon Bass would manhandle him like a rag doll.  Projected by draftexpress as pick #38.  I don't know where outside got the 1st round projection from.

http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Isaiah-Austin-5773/





I might be willing to trade one of our bazillion 2nds to draft him in the early 2nd round.  We have no seconds in 2014, just two firsts.  I can pretty much guarantee, right now, he's going to be spending a ton of time in Maine developing his body and his game for the NBA.  We don't want another Fab Melo taking up a roster spot.  That's why you have 2nd round picks, to build up your farm team.  Colton Iverson will get a shot at making the club before this kid does.  He's Rudy Gobert minus 1" of height, 5.5" of wingspan, 4" of standing reach and 18# and Gobert is only playing 9.5mpg on a team that sucks even worse than us.  

And man oh man does Outside ever get it right about bringing the ball down on his jumpshot. Eddie Gaedel could strip him. Watch the video.

bob


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I think there will be far better options; I'd be surprised if he actually goes in the first round.

On the upside, seeing the tall lineage he comes from, if he ever has kids we might want to keep track of them...

I just finished watching the video.

Under "Weaknesses" they question if he has the strength and toughness to play inside in the NBA and showed some video to support that. Who do they show backing him down and scoring down low in the paint, layups? A certain long-haired 7'0 center from Gonzaga we're familiar with. If Kelly Olynyk can back this guy down until he's 2' from the hoop...

They also say his "off the ball D" isn't as good as his physical attributes would suggest he should be. So, he's can't stop anybody one-on-one because he's a beanpole and he isn't a good help defender either?

Cowen's latest heart throb, AJ Hammons of Purdue, 7'0", 278# is projected to get picked before Austin at #35. Based upon the scouting reports, I'd rather have Hammons. Nobody is moving him anywhere without a forklift.


bob


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Bob,

So I guess I can put you in the less-than-enthusiastic column?

I do think Austin has a lot of potential. For me, the eye test -- actually watching him play -- was an eye opener.

Is he ready to be a starting center in the NBA? No. Could he be there in 2-3 years? I think so. Does he have the potential to be really good? I'd say yes, that five years down the road, this kid could be really good.

Outside wrote:Bob,

So I guess I can put you in the less-than-enthusiastic column?

I do think Austin has a lot of potential. For me, the eye test -- actually watching him play -- was an eye opener.

Is he ready to be a starting center in the NBA? No. Could he be there in 2-3 years? I think so. Does he have the potential to be really good? I'd say yes, that five years down the road, this kid could be really good.

outside,

I think you'd be safe filing me there.

The video claims he could someday be an NBA "stretch 5".  A stretch 5?!!!  Stretch 4s make me want to commit violence.  The FBI would probably want to keep me off of airplanes if there was a stretch 5 on my team.

He could become a poor man's Channing Frye.  How's that for generous?  Of course, "poor" is a relative term.  "Destitute" is another way of saying poor.

I don't see anyway a player that is 220# can become 260# without losing a tremendous amount of speed and mobility.

Someone like AJ Hammons, who has some game (although not much more or he wouldn't be projected at #35 instead of #38), could be put on a training and conditioning program that gets him down from 278# down to 260-265# without losing strength.  He'd gain mobility and stamina.  Going up 30-40# and still keeping all speed and mobility?  That's tough.  

What worries me, quite frankly, is that not only wasn't he strong enough to hold position in the low post against Kelly, the video also says he's not a good help defender neither.  What does that leave besides a really tall guy that likes to shoot from 3 after bringing the ball down below his waist where a guard out on the perimeter could steal it without having to even reach up?  How long do you think it will take before every NBA scout and NBA video department has figured that out?  How do you defend this kid?  Just go out where he is and get low.  If he brings the ball down, like he does every time before he shoots it because that's his natural shooting motion, slap it.  If he brings the ball up, you're there.  If he puts the ball on the floor and tries to go past you he lacks the ball-handling skills to do it well.  Don't worry, he won't take advantage of his height on mismatches and fight for position in the post and call for the ball, he'll take the easy path and set up outside.  Watch the video, it was very educational.


bob


.

I noticed him pulling the ball down consistently, and they made it a point to emphasize his lightweight (literally) status.  But I wasn't thinking so much about his potential to take over the center spot now.  As I said earlier, I could envision him (and hopefully Humph as well) backing up someone like Gortat (or Asik) while this kid goes on a serious conditioning and skillset regimen.  Only a portion of the game is played in the trenches; and, if people have been intrigued by the idea of Kelly and Sully playing together (which I don't expect to see nearly as much after Danny finds "Mr. Intimidator"), it's because Kelly can play the high post and Sully the low post.  There's no universal mandate that this kid would have to play exclusively in the trenches, which is the impression I'm reading—especially not with his distance shooting ability.  Where, by the way, bringing the ball down isn't advised but it's not a Perk-down-low—automatic-strip type of faux pas either.)  (The croissants are getting the better of me.)  Moreover, if he can blow by people, as well as shoot with a high release, bringing the ball down isn't quite as onerous as a lot of people think because it can be considered as a prelude to driving.

Moreover, just as now is not the past it's not the future either.  Improvement happens.  Even massive improvement at times.

I'm not trying to push him; and I can't help be concerned about the peripheral vision thing—as much as I try to be more objective.  But I'll sure be rooting for him if he does make it into the league.  I sense a New England Journal of Medicine future article on how a half-blind basketball player worked and compensated to became a professional basketball player.

Sam

My biggest concern is the vision. He has adapted very well to this handicap in college but we are not talking college anymore. Looking straight ahead just try closing one eye for a while and moving your hand on that same side towards the front and notice when it comes into view. Now open the eye and move your hand back till you can't see it. No amount of work will ever change this for this kid. Sorry but with the other skills being perhaps adequate at best I'd pass on this kid. I do agree with Sam, I hope he makes it somewhere. it's a hard enough game to play with 2 good eyes.

beat