Bigs for the Wizards to target outside of the lottery...
https://tankathon.com/players/compare?players=rasheer-fleming--asa-newell--thomas-sorberAsa Newell 6-10 PF/C Age 19
Current Mock Position: NBA Draft Room:15 ESPN:21 Bleacher Report:14 YAHOO! Sports:24 The Ringer:17
NBA Draft Room: NBA Comp: Joakim Noah
Newell is a hyper-active big forward with springs in his legs. He works hard on the court and does all the dirty work. Is very efficient with his touches and can hit the 3-ball. His stock is moving up. While he doesn’t have elite size he’s got a nice mix of athletic tools, talent and floor-spacing ability. Newell is a big time athlete at the power forward position who immediately passes the eye test when you see him move up and down the floor. He’s long, explosive, fast and agile and gets off the ground in a hurry. His skills are still developing but he clearly has a NBA level frame. Like most young bigs he’ll have to continue to expand his offensive game. At this point he lives in the paint and does most of his damage attacking the rim, on put-backs and scoring in transition. He has shown an improved outside shot and is capable of hitting the catch and shoot 3. Has somewhat of a slim build and will have to hit the weights and get bigger.
Bleacher Report: Pro Comparisons: Jalen Smith, Brandon Clarke, Jonathan Isaac
Asa Newell had a typical game for himself against Gonzaga in the NCAA tournament, finishing with 20 points and eight boards off a mix of one-handers and timely athletic finishes. He just doesn’t have the skill set to carry an offense for stretches, and the shooting has been unreliable. Newell ultimately gives off safe-pick vibes with his 6’11” size and movement, consistent production, defensive tools and reliable touch whenever he gets it in the paint. He will make plays from off the ball within a set. And it still seems worth betting on the 29 made threes and 74.4 free-throw percentage signaling useful spot-up shooting.
The Ringer: A relentless putback artist and Swiss Army knife defender with higher ambitions on offense
Athleticism
Interior Scoring
Positional Versatility
Hustle
Playing alongside two potentially lottery-bound frontcourt mates in Cooper Flagg and Derik Queen at legendary NBA prospect factory Montverde Academy has certain benefits. When you don’t always know when you’re going to get the ball, you’ll do everything in your power to make sure you maximize your opportunities when they come. Newell is one of the best offensive rebounders in college basketball and will dunk anything in sight. Nearly half of his scoring production comes from putbacks and timely cuts around the basket. While Newell isn’t overtly bulky, he combines ball tracking, hypermobility, and sheer tenacity on the glass, and his quick first and second jump allows him to punch the ball in without hesitation or load up. But that alone isn’t typically the stuff of potential star prospects, which is in Newell’s range of outcomes. The real draw with Newell is his potential out in space on both ends of the floor. He’s a coordinated mover at his size, and his comfort defending out on the perimeter has made him Georgia’s handyman all over the court: He has the instincts and recovery speed to keep in front of a drive and is always active as a weakside rim protector. His steal and block percentages are more in line with a wing stopper’s numbers than those of an NBA center, which paints a picture of his versatility. With more and more teams building offenses around bigger creators, regardless of position, having a player like Newell with the versatility to defend multiple modes of attack could be foundational to a modern defense. The player Newell wants to be on offense is clear. Every once in a while, he’ll have a drive that points to his growth as a ball handler. He has solid touch from the midrange and on short hooks, which suggests that there is room for him to extend his range farther out. But Newell’s biggest knock on offense is his surprising ineffectiveness in the two-man game—for a player who has such a sense for cuts, he isn’t nearly as decisive in his rolls to the rim, which allow defenses a beat to recover. At this stage, Newell seems more comfortable popping into space, even though he doesn’t yet produce the kinds of shooting percentages that would make him a credible threat from deep. Newell presents so many different avenues for development and has a strong baseline given his defensive versatility and efficient play finishing—two highly coveted skills at his position. Then again, what is his true position, anyway? As with most bigs of his ilk, his ceiling will open up to the sky if he manages to develop into the kind of shooter he thinks he is.
Thomas Sorber 6-10 Center Age 19
Current Mock Position: NBA Draft Room:26 ESPN:24 Bleacher Report:22 YAHOO! Sports:25. The Ringer:12
NBA Draft Room: NBA Comp: Jarrett Allen
A big-bodied center who impacts both ends and rebounds the heck out of the ball. A breakout star for the Hoyas who showed some really nice stretches of play but will be out for the rest of the season with a foot injury. Sorber burst onto the national scene this season and is gaining ground as a potential mid first round pick, who could even slip into the lottery. He’s got a nice combination of size, scoring touch and passing vision. He’s a NBA level rebounder and a really good rim protector. He’s got decent feet for a player his size and does a decent job of defending the pick and roll and guarding in space. He’s not a major threat from outside but he can hit the mid range and is a solid FT shooter. His 3pt shot looks like it’ll develop in time and become a bigger part of his game. His rate of improvement over the past year is impressive and the sky seems to be the limit for him.
Bleacher Report: Pro Comparison: Onyeka Okongwu
A foot injury on a big guy will draw extra attention during predraft and medical reviews. Teams will be hopeful to watch Thomas Sorber work out, since he hasn’t played since February 15 and was often kept in check against ranked or NCAA tournament teams. His finishing tools, post skill and passing were noticeably advanced throughout the season. He was disruptive defensively (2.0 blocks, 1.5 steals) and despite poor jump-shooting percentages, the confidence/comfort he showed to keep taking mid-range shots and threes was still encouraging.
The Ringer: Disciplined two-way big man who wins with physicality and processes the game at 1.25-time speed.
Feel for the Game
Post Presence
Defensive Anchor
Tank
A season-ending left foot injury in February derailed what had been an outstanding run for Sorber, who was in the midst of one of the best-ever freshman campaigns for a Georgetown big man. That’s lofty but earned praise, placing him right up there with Patrick Ewing, Alonzo Mourning, Greg Monroe, and Othella Harrington—all 10-plus-year NBA veterans at the very least. Sorber is a throwback, right down to his choice to commit to ol’ Big Man U. He gets low and wide in the post, sets bone-crushing screens, and understands how to leverage his verticality on defense without fouling. The foundation is rock-solid. What makes him so intriguing is the skills he’s amassed on top of it. One of Sorber’s gifts is his court mapping. He has a sense for where everyone should be on the floor, which allows him to make instinctive, split-second passes out of just about every play type. Nothing fancy, but he can be a playmaker down on the blocks or in the high post, in the short roll or out of dribble handoffs. When he crashes the offensive glass, the biggest concern isn’t how quickly he’ll go back up, but how quickly he’ll spray the ball out to a wide-open shooter. Shooting will be the big determining factor for Sorber’s high-end outcomes because he probably won’t be a compelling rim runner at the next level. Because of his lack of size and the long load-up time of his vertical explosion, his avenues for success in the pick-and-roll will largely depend on both his passing and his ability to stretch the floor from 3. That could come with time; he’s been a solid free throw shooter dating back to high school, and while the percentages aren’t good, he hasn’t been afraid of taking open looks from deep. Sorber’s defense is very much in the eye of the beholder. As a slightly undersized NBA center without outlier athleticism, he may have a clear cap on his defensive ceiling. But he has real lateral mobility for a player his size, allowing him to credibly defend in space on the perimeter and recover for blocks on drives into the lane. He pries the ball loose using his strong hands and quick reaction time. He plays with a deep intuition, reflected in both the film and the numbers. There simply aren’t many college players in the past 20 years who have his steal and block rates and also averaged fewer than three fouls per 40 minutes. He creates moments of rupture on defense and does so cleanly. All while serving as a defensive lightning rod in his freshman year. In that light, Sorber’s discipline is damn near monk-like. There’s a unique blend of skills, production, and youth here that adds up to a lottery-caliber talent. As a freshman, Sorber plays the game with the maturity of a four-year senior. It’s the greenest flag in his evaluation.
Rasheer Fleming 6-9 PF Age 20
Current Mock Position: NBA Draft Room:21 ESPN:30 Bleacher Report:27 YAHOO! Sports:30 The Ringer:2nd Round
NBA Draft Room: NBA Comp: Markieff Morris
Fleming has gone from being a big, athletic PF/C to a big stretch forward with a legit 3pt shot, making him an intriguing value in this draft. He’s a junior who is young for his class and is on a great trajectory. Should come off the board in the mid first round. Fleming has an impressive physical profile with all the tools for the NBA and has expanded and improved his game immensely over the past 3 years to the point of being a possible first round pick.
He’s a very strong and bouncy 6-9 athlete with good length and enough size to play center in the NBA. He’s a fierce rebounder and a very good rim protector. This year he’s shown improved ball skills including a nice looking outside shot. His ability to stretch the floor combined with the big impact he has in the paint give him a lot of value as a prospect. He’s not just a capable 3pt shooter but has a very quick release, good form and projects to be a real threat from downtown at the next level.
Bleacher Report: Pro Comparison: Taylor Hendricks
A rough postseason for Rasheer Fleming was disappointing, though it won’t blind NBA teams from his shooting development and the archetype it’s helped create. He was the only player in the country with at least 60 threes and 40 dunks (one of eight players ever), and there should be a clear stretch-4 role at the next level for a 6-foot-9, 240-pound forward who can catch-and-shoot, finish at the high level and disrupt defensively.
YAHOO! Sports: Fleming is a hustler who drains spot-up jumpers and brings energy on defense, swatting shots and snagging boards. But he has some real warts as a ball-handler with a lack of experience against high-level competition, so teams will have to feel real confident his role player skill set will translate.
