I think this is a very fair solid piece on Whiteside
Draft Report: Hassan Whiteside Of Marshall
By: Christopher Reina
RealGM.com Writer
AP Photo
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May 7, 2010 6:31 PM
While Cole Aldrich and Greg Monroe are easily projectable centers, both their high-side and low-side potential, Hassan Whiteside is a far more difficult and enigmatic prospect to be completely comfortable in evaluating.
Despite clearly being relatively new to basketball, Whiteside has a remarkable offensive skill set. You only need to watch him play for a few trips down the floor, see the No. 21 and realize that he idolizes Kevin Garnett and attempts to pattern his game after him.
Whiteside has a jumper that projects to be above average for a big. Despite being so inexperienced in many facets of the game, his shot is so smooth that it looks advanced. He is able to use that shot to make turnaround fadeaway jumpers and three-pointers. The shot can be a bit streaky and nobody wants a seven-footer playing away from the basket too much, but it is a weapon that should allow him to stretch defenders at least a little bit. When Whiteside hits a jumper, it typically looks very pure.
He has impressive good touch around the bucket, using the glass skillfully when available. Whiteside's innate ability in this facet of the game is something you can't really develop or teach too well.
Whiteside's scoring efficiency is particularly remarkable for two reasons:
1. Whiteside had to work against collapsed defenses for his offense. You would rarely see him receiving passes for easy layups or lobs due to the multiple defenders in his vicinity.
2. Perhaps more importantly, Whiteside has barely begun to utilize his length. He rarely extends straight up to shoot over his defenders, instead contorting into an upside-down L-shape. This is somehow fairly effective, but he isn't using 50% of his potential that he will once he functionally uses his height and wingspan.
In the traditional post, I think we begin to really see where Whiteside's limitations of strength and fundamentals catch up with him. Ahead of the catch, he is far too stationary and therefore doesn't end up having the ball where he wants it. He will be weak with the ball when doubled in the post and will end up settling for lower percentage shots.
But to Whiteside's credit, he already has a nice up and under move, has proven he can score with a little baby hook and has some nice spin moves off the dribble from the mid-post. He has a really smooth handle for his size and I think if he gets really comfortable in the mid-post where he doesn't need to be quite as strong and goes a little lower as he evolves, it will be an easier transition.
The most immediately effective part of Whiteside's offensive game will probably be setting on-ball screens. He isn't strong enough where defenders will be unable to fight through the screen, but he's long enough to create a wide obstacle and then the dribbler will have the option of hitting him rolling to the bucket for a Chris Paul to Tyson Chandler type of lob that we frequently saw in New Orleans, or they can also hit him for an open jumper. Whiteside will have the option of taking a 15-footer that he should eventually be able to hit at an efficient percentage, or he can put the ball on the deck to drive the lane.
Even though Whiteside will need to gain mass to really be an elite rebounder, his length makes it a relatively easy endeavor for him. His instincts on the offensive glass are very encouraging, as almost half of his boards were on that side of the floor.
As an athlete, Whiteside is clearly agile and coordinated, which isn't always a given for seven-footers. His movements resemble a guard a little bit. I don't suspect his vertical will ever blow anyone away, but his length compensates for that considerably and he unquestionably will be an above the rim player on both sides of the floor.
Whiteside has a remarkable block rate, completely negating the paint, though how his out of this world Conference-USA numbers will compare to superior competition will take a while to determine. We really won't know that until we see him in summer league following the draft.
Regardless of what level it might be, Whiteside averaged 5.4 blocks per game while receiving just 26.1 minutes, which is unshakably outstanding.
He has a good natural anticipation when the ball is near him, but he struggles with the absolute basic fundamentals of off-ball defense. Whiteside also doesn't yet understand how to defend the post both pre-pass and when his man has the ball.
Physically strong post players will outmuscle him and quick post players will simply go around him. He relies too heavily on his length, not getting into a strong enough defensive stance. This makes his center of gravity easily movable and also restricts his lateral movement. Whiteside inexcusably struggles to stay in front of his man.
To his credit, Whiteside does do an excellent job of getting as long as he can when his man gives up his dribble, something he doesn't do offensively as I mentioned earlier.
Read more: http://realgm.com/src_feature_pieces/900/20100507/draft_report_hassan_whiteside_of_marshall/#ixzz0ne0YZNaO
5/11/2010 12:29 PM