2nd round- undrafted underrated defensive/ rim protecting center options for our backup 5 considerationPart 5 of 5 positional prospect list1-
Zach Edey (Purdue)
https://www.tankathon.com/players/zach-edeyhttps://nbadraftroom.com/zach-edey/https://www.foxsports.com/stories/nba/zach-edeys-nba-future-why-is-his-draft-stock-surging-and-will-his-game-translateZach Edey at 7'4 300 lbs with a 7'10 wingspan is just a massively big, very physically dominant, yet smart and fairly polished gigantic center with soft hands, good anticipation, and potentially elite post/rim protection. He has good free throw shooting at 71%, so the opposition really can't foul him, and he's been consistently working on his 3 pt shooting and faceup game. Ultimately, He's a bigger, heavier version of what we already have in Nurkic, but with better hands and finishing around the basket and somewhat similar mobility and athletic recovery concerns. I've listed as the #1 option on the list very simply because of his significant production, his size and length would also give us a modicum of insurance for Nurkic getting injured or fouling out, BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY, His massive size and girth would create significant gravity to force defenss to collapse into the paint and as a result, would leave our elite offensive players basically wide open on the perimeter. This factor alone would make our offense even more lethal, AND would lead to an even higher number of threes per game leading to greater overall success for us.
2-
Cliff Omoruyi- (Rutgers)
https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/players/clifford-omoruyi-1.htmlhttps://nbadraftroom.com/p/clifford-omoruyi/#:~:text=Draft%20Notes&text=He's%20a%20rim%20protector%20and,hard%20and%20dunking%20the%20ball.
https://www.si.com/nba/draft/newsfeed/2023-nba-draft-g-league-elite-camp-recapOmoruyi at 6'11 240 lbs with a 7'4+ wingspan is just a big, long, explosive, very athletic, elite rim protecting aggressive very fluid/ mobile center that has a great motor, is a strong rebounder, runs the floor very well, has some polished moves with his back to the basket, and has a solid developing faceup game. He's kind of a hybrid of Mitchell Robinson and a 7 ft Kenneth Faried! He's a solid elite rim protector and rebounder with an aggressive rugged style of play. Omoruyi is very quick and moves well laterally, allowing him to effectively guard in switches out on the perimeter and also still recover quite well as a weakside recovery defender. There's nothing fancy to his game, he does the dirty work, bangs, goes after 50/50 balls, is tenacious and just plays a physical and gritty style of play also similar to Dale Davis.
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Ryan Kalkbrenner- (Creighton)
https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/players/ryan-kalkbrenner-1.htmlhttps://www.si.com/nba/draft/prospect-profiles/nba-draft-scouting-report-creightons-ryan-kalkbrenner#gid=ci02b53b6d600024c7&pid=usatsi_19671992https://nbadraftroom.com/ryan-kalkbrenner/At 7'1 260 lbs with a near 7'6 wingspan, Ryan Kalkbrenner is just a big very lanky, long thin but very mobile somewhat skilled high end shotblocker with very good lateral mobility, and recovery, a solid post game, willing rebounder (although not strong in that category yet), but also with some floor spacing ability and a smooth touch on his jumpshot! he has a high basketball IQ and is very solid fundamentally. Kalkbrenner will definitely need to get stronger to matchup effectively against legit nba bigs otherwise he'll get pushed around somewhat easily. But his primary value will be based upon his fantastic shotblocking ability due to his crazy length and impressive mobility at his size.
4-
Aziz Bandaogo- (Cinncinati)
https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/players/aziz-bandaogo-1.htmlhttps://www.si.com/nba/draft/prospect-profiles/nba-draft-scouting-report-cincinnatis-aziz-bandaogo#:~:text=USA%20TODAY%20Sports-,Prospect%20Profile,of%20competition%20in%20year%20four.
Aziz Bandaogo at 7'0 235 lbs with a 7'3 wingspan is just a long, very athletic, wiry, super mobile/ nimble, very versatile physical young center that has immense defensive potential due to his elite length, quickness, great recovery and vertical explosiveness. Bandaogo also is so long and quick both laterally as well as his 2nd jump too that he can switch out on the perimeter defensively without getting cooked by faster players due to his elite mobility and recovery strengths. He is an energetic,aggressive rebounder, and such a strong interior presence that he averages a 11.3% block percentage rate, And his impressive versatility allows him to operate as a legitimate defensive anchor in multiple defensive schemes. Offensively he has a ways to go still as he's a bit raw, but snergy has him finishing around the rim with a very impressive 74% efficiency in the halfcourt. Bandaogo is also a very active, high motor player that is constantly moving around, setting screens and creating constant defensive attention drawn to him. His quickness is lightning quick cutting to the rim, and offensively he is crafty in using some misdirection, shot fakes, etc to assist his scoring package. What most people might not be aware of though is that Bandaogo has surprising court vision for his size and will occasionally make some impressive passes. He'll need to add more weight and strength, and isn't yet a reliable floor spacer yet, BUT defensively, he'll be fairly elite already from the jump. He's a mix of a more mobile, versatile Nerlens Noel and Larry Sanders athletically.
5-
Ugonna Kingsley Onyenso- (Kentucky)
https://basketball.realgm.com/player/Ugonna-Onyenso/Summary/192946https://nbadraftroom.com/ugonna-kingsley-onyenso/https://ukathletics.com/news/2022/08/01/kentucky-mens-basketball-adds-ugonna-kingsley-onyenso/#:~:text=He%20was%20rated%20in%20the,at%20least%2010%20blocked%20shots.
At 7'0 225 lbs with a 7'5 wingspan, Ugonna is just a long, bouncy, athletic young project big that moves well, uses his size and wingspan effectively to block shots with great timing, can move well laterally and is a switchable solid defender with encouraging recovery ability and anticipation. Ugonna does have decent basic post skills to build upon, and is a willing rebounder and a pretty solid positional defender in the post with good footwork. He's a bit thin and will need to fill out and add strength, but his potential as a solid defensive center is reasonably high if he lands in the right development system. He's a bit of a mix of a slightly smaller moses brown 2nd and Christian Koloko (upside outcome)??
6-
Felix Okpala- (Ohio State)
https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/players/felix-okpara-1.htmlhttps://nbadraftroom.com/felix-okpara/#:~:text=Draft%20Notes&text=He's%20got%20really%20good%20length,try%20to%20do%20too%20much.
https://247sports.com/Article/scouting-report-ohio-state-felix-okpara-181581310/At 6'11 230 lbs with a 7'4 wingspan, Okpala is a very explosive, athletic, long, very energetic, aggressive, very mobile athletic, young high level shotblocking center option that's kind of raw ( needing significant development), But he already has a very high, elite defensive trajectory. He's very long, quick, and has great defensive versatility, recovery and weakside recovery ability due to his quick twitch explosive athleticism and his mobility and quick 2nd jump too. He'll also need to put on weight and add strength. But the defensive potential is immensely high. Okpala is basically an athletically explosive very quick, long, high motor, aggressive rim protector that's a mix of Theo Ratliff and Kelvin Cato.
7-
Nfaly Dante- (Oregon)
https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/players/nfaly-dante-1.htmlhttps://nbadraftroom.com/p/nfaly-dante/#:~:text=Draft%20Notes,twice%20before%20entering%20the%20lane.
https://www.nbascoutinglive.com/nfaly-dante-scouting-report/ Nfaly Dante at 7'0 250 lbs with a near 7'6 wingspan is a big, strong, physical, athletic, intimidating rim presence that has elite defensive potential and is a strong, physical rebounder too. His motor is very solid, BUT he's still pretty raw offensively, and will need significant development, although he does already have good coordination, can play in transition, and has a smooth touch and dunks with authority. He's more or less a more physical and aggressive high motor oriented version of Ayton with tenacity, but not as advanced yet polished overall offensively. He has a high defensive ceiling if he lands in the right situation.
8-
Baye Fall- (Arkansas)
https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/players/baye-fall-2.htmlhttps://www.nbadraft.net/players/baye-fall/https://nbadraftroom.com/baye-fall/At 6'11 215 lbs but with a 7'4 wingspan, Fall is a thin,wiry long, energetic center with a high end motor. He's still very young and pretty raw and will need to add significant weight and strength as he's just so thin. He'll need a lot of development to reach his ceiling outcome of somewhere in the range of a more advanced Marcus Camby. But he's very athletic, long, quick, and vertically explosive playing effortlessly above the rim. He'd offer great value as a long, very switchable, hyper athletic, high energy rim runner and paint protector. But again, he'll take a few years of development to reach his elite defensive ceiling.
9-
Ariel Hukporti- ( Germany- MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg)
https://www.proballers.com/basketball/player/74961/ariel-hukportihttps://www.nba.com/draft/2022/prospects/ariel-hukportihttps://nbadraftroom.com/ariel-hukporti/ At 7'0 250 lbs, Ariel Huktpori is a big, strong, athletic, mobile, physical throwback type center that plays solid defensively, but isn't much of a threat offensively, and has no real floor spacing ability or shooting touch yet.
But he does roll hard to the rim, and has good footwork in the post with decent offensive post moves. On defense, he's big, strong, and athletic as a strong positional defender due to his great defensive anticipation, hand speed and ball mapping with opponents only shooting 27% when being defended by him. he moves and rotates really well as a weakside shotblocker, he's a physical rebounder and defender, and is fairly mobile and plays with grit and tenacity. He's a mix of a low end Capela and a slightly bigger emeka Okafor perhaps.
10-
Kel' el Ware- (Indiana)
https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/players/kelel-ware-1.htmlhttps://www.nbadraft.net/players/kelel-ware/https://nbadraftroom.com/kelel-ware/At 7'0 242 lbs with a 7'7 wingspan, Ware is a long, athletic, very lanky and versatile defensive center prospect. He shows great mobility, recovery as a weakside shotblocker and lateral mobility with advanced defensive anticipation. His fluidity, length and plus athlticism allows him to switch really well and potentially anchor various defensive schemes/ matchups. Offensively he has a solid jumpshot, improving 3 PT shot too, is already a good rebounder and floor spacer, has good "in game" processing ability, and cuts well too. His major weaknesses are his slight frame, aversion to physicality, and his questionable hot/cold inconsistent motor. He'll need significant polish to reach his ceiling outcome of a hybrid version of Tyson Chandler and Jarrett Allen primarily because of his questionable motor and work ethic. But if he can turn these issues around, then he has elite starter level two way defensive center potential.
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Honorable mentions********************************
*** Connor Vanover. A 7'3 shorter, just as skinny but still somewhat skilled high motor version of Shawn Bradley.
- Jamarion Sharpe. A lanky 7'5 but more mobile version of Rudy Gobert with similar game and mobility/ strength concerns.
- Jason Jitoboh. A 6'11 285 lb old school physical bruising center that's almost identical in playstyle to Udoka Azuibuke.
