NBA Counterparts for College Basketball's Top Centers
They don't make basketball big men like they used to. At least that's how it seems when you consider many NBA teams have gone away from playing a traditional center most of the time.
Gone are the days of dominant back-to-the-basket players like Patrick Ewing, Shaquille O'Neal and Yao Ming—guys who were in there to protect the rim and flush it away when the ball gets dumped inside. Those players still exist, just not in as much prevalence as in the past.
The college game still has a fair number of prototypical centers, and pro scouts remain ever vigilant in their search for the next great big. Eleven centers were taken in the 2016 NBA draft, but only five came from the college ranks, and a similar number of centers are projected to go in 2017, according to DraftExpress.
Finding pro comparisons for center prospects has become more difficult due to the changes in how teams use this position, but we've come up with some for the big men most likely to get drafted after this season. This wraps up our series that previously gave comparisons for the best college point guards, shooting guards, small forwards and power forwards.
Jarrett Allen, Texas
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Compares to: Timofey Mozgov, Los Angeles Lakers
The last big name from the 2016 recruiting class to commit this offseason, Jarrett Allen is projected as a lottery pick in the 2017 draft because of his great motor and a willingness to do the dirty work. This should help make up for what is considered a still-to-be-developed offensive game.
"Allen's ceiling is held down by limited scoring ability and minimal explosiveness off two feet," Bleacher Report's Jonathan Wasserman wrote, noting that his future looks like someone who will be asked to defend and rebound first and only be a finisher with the ball. "Allen has the chance to be a major asset in that supporting role, both for Texas and his future NBA team."
At 6'11" and 227 pounds, he has room to bulk up and become even more of an interior force, but whether that can aid his production will depend on his commitment in that area. At the very least, being a guy like Timofey Mozgov who has become a reliable backup center—though someone the Lakers paid starter money for this summer—isn't such a bad deal.
Marques Bolden, Duke
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Compares to: Al Jefferson, Indiana Pacers
As hard as Marshall Plumlee worked last season for Duke, it just wasn't as effective as having someone who could provide both an offensive and defensive presence down low. Plumlee was usually the fifth option on the court, which put added pressure on the Blue Devils guards to come through, but a much more balanced lineup is in store for 2016-17 thanks to Marques Bolden's arrival.
At 6'11" and 250 pounds with a phenomenal 7'6" wingspan, Bolden is like a combination of former Duke big men Jahlil Okafor and Elton Brand. He's not a center who struggles to move laterally or in transition, which could make him a major force when Duke likes to run out on the break.
One of three Duke freshmen who could go in the lottery in 2017, along with forwards Harry Giles and Jayson Tatum, Bolden stands out because he is "a player that displays excellent quickness combined with solid determination," per SB Nation's Dakota Schmidt.
Bolden figures to add more weight as he bulks up, which will get him closer to the 289 that Al Jefferson played at last season for the Charlotte Hornets. It was an injury-plagued year for him but one that still showed off his physical play and reliability in the post—goals Bolden would be wise to strive for at Duke and beyond.
Amida Brimah, Connecticut
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Compares to: Jeff Withey, Utah Jazz
With a block percentage of 14.3 last season, Amida Brimah would have led the nation had he played enough minutes to qualify. Technicalities aside, there's no question what Brimah's biggest asset is and why he'll get a look whenever he enters the NBA draft.
The 7'0", 230-pound Brimah swatted away 67 shots in 526 minutes last season and has 280 blocks in three years at Connecticut. He entered the draft last spring but withdrew after not getting a combine invite. Scouts gave him feedback, though, which undoubtedly involved trying to come up some with sort of an offensive skill set other than putbacks and wide-open dunks.
Brimah is a career 66.2 percent shooter but has averaged only 6.4 points and 3.9 shots per game.
Jeff Withey was similarly challenged in the scoring department during his first two years at Kansas but became more involved as a junior and senior and ended up going in the second round of the 2013 draft. In the pros, he's not as involved in shot-blocking anymore, but because he developed offensively, it's made him a valuable backup.
Thomas Bryant, Indiana
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Compares to: Karl-Anthony Towns, Minnesota Timberwolves
When Thomas Bryant had the ball in his hands, he was an unstoppable force, assuming he actually got the ball and chose to turn toward the basket. He shot 70.7 percent on two-pointers and 68.3 percent overall, but that only amounted to 6.6 attempts per game on a team full of offensive options.
The 6'10", 241-pound Bryant figures to be far more involved in 2016-17 with Indiana losing a big chunk of its scoring punch, and how he adapts to being a bigger option will dictate his NBA path. For now, it looks promising, but scouts will want to see a more nuanced skill set.
They'll also want to see if Bryant can be in more control of his body, since he averaged five fouls per 40 minutes with two disqualifications—including in six minutes in his Big Ten debut—and several other games where foul trouble limited his minutes.
If he can put it all together, the sky is the limit for Bryant. Comparisons to Karl-Anthony Towns seem lofty now, but if Bryant can have a sophomore year similar to Towns did as a freshman for Kentucky, then he could be one of the first big men taken in 2017.
Jessie Govan, Georgetown
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Compares to: Greg Monroe, Milwaukee Bucks
Georgetown at one time was like an assembly line for NBA-caliber centers, producing the likes of Patrick Ewing, Othella Harrington, Alonzo Mourning and Dikembe Mutombo in the 1980s and 1990s. Since then, the numbers have thinned, but the Hoyas were also where Greg Monroe and Roy Hibbert cut their teeth before joining the pros, and Jessie Govan could be the next if he continues to progress.
The 6'11", 266-pound Govan had a solid freshman year in 2015-16 with 6.8 points, 4.1 rebounds and 1.0 blocks in 17.7 minutes per game.
Though his overall shooting numbers don't show it, Govan has already displayed a knack for the pick-and-roll game when it comes to taking it to the hoop. He could someday be a serviceable mid-range shooter, too, based on him making 14 of 28 three-pointers last season, but he only made 47.5 percent of shots inside the perimeter.
Monroe was involved immediately when he was with the Hoyas, but it took him a bit to catch on offensively in the NBA. Now he's one of the more consistent centers in the game.
Isaac Haas, Purdue
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Compares to: Omer Asik, New Orleans Pelicans
The tallest player on Purdue the last two seasons, Isaac Haas had to play second fiddle to A.J. Hammons and even fell behind Caleb Swanigan on the big-man depth chart in 2015-16. That led to the 7'2", 297-pounder to get only 14.3 minutes per game, but he still averaged 9.8 points on a team-best 59.4 percent shooting.
A sniff at the NBA seemed likely, even to head coach Matt Painter, who was surprised that Haas didn't bother to enter the draft at all.
"He came in and met with me and was like, 'Coach, next year is my year,'" Painter said, per Nathan Baird of JCOnline.com. "'I want to be able to make an impact on our team.'"
Hammons has graduated, moving Haas into the traditional center spot while Swanigan will continue to be the power forward. The added playing time will give us a better idea of how much of an impact he can have in full games, but for now, Omer Asik fits because the Turkish center's career numbers look much better when spread out over 36 minutes instead of the 20.3 minutes he's averaged in six NBA seasons.
Kennedy Meeks, North Carolina
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Compares to: Jared Sullinger, Toronto Raptors
Kennedy Meeks has gone through a physical metamorphosis during his three seasons at North Carolina, from over 320 pounds as a freshman to 260 for his senior year (per his online bio). The weight loss has directly correlated to increased playing time and production, though injuries and the rise of Brice Johnson took him back a few notches in 2015-16.
He's now the main big man for the Tar Heels as a senior, and the hope is the 6'10" Meeks can stay on the court long enough to make a big enough impact. And if that happens, his shot at the NBA will increase, since he's been looked at mostly as a fringe prospect to this point.
Meeks sits 51st in the latest DraftExpress 2017 mock draft, though that's dipped from 46th in April. For most teams, he probably will work more as a power forward than a center, one who is strictly in the paint instead of the stretch 4s are all over the NBA.
Jared Sullinger was in a similar situation coming out of Ohio State, a team that didn't use a true center, and he's managed to morph that into a promising start to his pro career.
Omer Yurtseven, North Carolina State
8 of 8Compares to: Nikola Vucevic, Orlando Magic
What we know of Omer Yurtseven to this point is that he comes to the U.S. with high praise and some unreal numbers, particularly one game in which he dropped 91 points in a Turkish U-18 league in May. How he'll fit in on a college roster is anyone's guess, though the scouts will be looking more at what pro tendencies he shows while with North Carolina State.
The European style and the one played in college is vastly different, so Yurtseven could experience some growing pains at least at the outset. But it's hard to deny his upside as a 7'0", 228-pound prospect who DraftExpress said "possesses nimble footwork for a player of his size."
Nikola Vucevic faced some of the same uncertainty when he arrived at USC, even though he'd played one season of prep ball in California after moving from Montenegro. But by the time he left college, he'd elevated himself to a first-round prospect and has started 283 games in five NBA seasons.
All statistics courtesy of Sports-Reference.com unless otherwise noted. All recruiting information courtesy of 247Sports unless otherwise noted.
Follow Brian J. Pedersen on Twitter at @realBJP.
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