|
BRIGGS
Posts: 53275
Alba Posts: 7
Joined: 7/30/2002
Member: #303
|
Posted by Ira:
One guy who isn't talked about very much is Devon Hardin. The guy is a bull on the boards and plays strong d as well. If we do trade Lee, Hardin could play either the 4 or 5. He'd give us the kind of inside toughness that we haven't seen since we traded Kurt Thomas. Here's Givony's write-up on Hardin.
It’s been almost a full year since the last time we saw Devon Hardin in real game action. 12 games into his junior season, Hardin broke his foot, being forced to sit out the rest of the season for Cal, but still allowing him to test the waters of the NBA draft. He supposedly had a guarantee in place from the Detroit Pistons at the end of the 1st round, but decided to return to Cal regardless, in order to get his degree and move himself further up the draft.
So far, Hardin looks a better prospect than the one we evaluated last season. He’s added quite a bit of strength to his frame, making him even more imposing physically, if that was at all possible. He’s now listed at a sculpted 250 pounds, up from 235 a year ago, and looks every bit the part of NBA center, with a massive wingspan and terrific athletic ability.
Offensively, Hardin looks better than we remember him as well. He’s finishing much better around the rim, going up and taking contact better, not rushing his shots as much as he did in the past, understanding his limitations more willingly, and doing a better job establishing position in the post. His free throw attempts are up considerably (8 per 40 minutes, compared with 5.5 last year), as is his field goal percentage (from 48% to 54%), all because of the reasons described above. Hardin is knocking down his right-handed jump-hook somewhat regularly with range out to about 8 feet, as well as his turnaround jumper, and is looking incredibly active hitting the offensive glass as well, where he can get his team a couple of easy baskets every game by just utilizing his outstanding physical tools to his advantage. When he finishes, the entire arena feels it, and that’s exactly what you want to see out of a player this size. We had concerns in the past about the tentative, uninspired manner in which he conducted himself on the court at times, but these are slowly starting to dry up the more we’re evaluating him these days. He doesn’t always make his presence felt offensively the way one might hope, but it’s no longer because of a lack of effort on his part.
That’s not to say that Hardin is any kind of offensive juggernaut. Far from it, actually. He’s not the type of player you throw the ball to and expect to be able to create offense for himself, as his footwork is noticeably unpolished and he’s fairly limited outside of a few feet around the hoop. He’s somewhat mechanical with his post-moves, and really struggles when forced to finish with his left hand.
This year, Cal seems to be using their center in a role that more closely resembles the one he would play in the NBA. Hardin’s usage is down from 15.4% of his team’s possessions to 12.2%, but he’s doing a much better job with the possessions he is given, improving his points per possession from 1.01 to 1.17. His assist to turnover ratio up is by 150%, which a very encouraging sign for a player like him.
Defensively, Hardin looks excellent at times, but could still make some small adjustments that could make him even more dangerous on this end. He did an excellent job in a game against Michael Beasley by the way when the two were matched up, swatting his shot a number of times (even twice on the perimeter), and not giving him many opportunities at all to score inside the paint. Hardin’s combination of size, length, strength and athleticism is virtually unrivaled at the collegiate level, and allows him to be quite an effective threat challenging shots around the rim. He also has quick enough feet to accurately hedge a pick and roll and recover in ample time, which is very rare from a player his size. His lateral quickness also comes in handy in the post, where he can step in and take a charge, which he looks quite willing to do. Hardin is fouling at a much lower rate than he did in years past (3.3 per 40 minutes this year, compared with 4.9 last year and 5.2 the year before). He’ll still bite on the occasional pump-fake, and will at times get called for a foolish foul far away from the basket, but he’s obviously making solid progress in this area, which is very encouraging. His 2.6 blocks per 40 minutes pace adjusted is certainly solid, but still only ranks him 33rd amongst draft prospects in that category.
To continue to establish his value in the draft as a potential defensive anchor, Hardin must do a better job closing out on his man in the post. He gives up too much space here at times, letting his matchups get deep position in hopes that he’ll be able to outquick them going up for the block when the shot finally goes up. He got scored on quite a bit by players like Kevin Love and Luke Nevill for this reason, from what we saw. We’d also like to see him do a better job protecting his basket making rotations to stop slashers on their way to the rim.
Another encouraging sign we’re seeing has to do with Hardin’s rebounding ability. His 14.9 rebounds per 40 minutes pace adjusted ranks him 4th amongst all draft prospects in that category, and certainly is an important stat considering what his likely role will be at the next level. His hands look better, as does his timing and aggressiveness—which will surely help his cause.
All in all, Hardin seems to be in great shape heading into the second half of his senior season from what we can tell. His team is winning at a pretty solid rate, he’s done a solid job addressing many of the concerns scouts had about him, and he’s producing very well in the areas he needs to most. Considering the lack of true centers in the NBA, especially those who can be considered outstanding athletes, Hardin should find himself in pretty high demand come draft day if he can keep it up. He’ll be under the microscope in this very difficult Pac-10 schedule, so making the NCAA tournament and continuing to play well will be imperative for him. Apparently Detroit offered to draft him 27 last year with a rpomise and he decided to go back to school. There is no doubt about it--there are some really good late first early to mid 2nd rounders this year--I think more than 1 team will get a steal. Thats why giving the 2nd rounder for nothing ws stupid. Its easy to ah so what--but yeah so what if we executed a strong pick? RIP Crushalot😞
|
5/26/2008 12:06 PM
