NBA Comparisons: |
Optimistic Outlook: Rik Smits |
Pessimistic Outlook: Bruno Sundov |
Positives: Pavel Podkolzine is simply
enormous. He has great size; his frame is thick and
well built. Unlike other NBA giants such as Gheorge
Muresan or Slavko Vranes, Podkolzine actually has decent
mobility. He moves well for a man of his size, his mobility
has drawn some comparisons to Yao Ming. Has a decent
midrange jumper and surprisingly ball handling skills
for a man of his size. Has good potential based on his
size and decent skills.
Negatives: Podkolzine is very very
raw. He has little basketball experience and needs to
polish up his game a lot. Almost never plays for his
Italian team, and has only played organized basketball
for four years. Lacks basic fundamentals such as rebounding
and shot blocking. Although he has enormous size, he
does not affect the game on the defensive end. In fact,
defense is his biggest weakness. He has horrible shot-blocking
instincts, and is a bad rebounder. Needs to work on
boxing out for rebounds. On offense he has no post up
game. Has awkward footwork that can make him look very
uncoordinated. There are injury concerns because of
his great size. He had to drop out of the draft last
year to remove his Pituitary gland.
Pavel Podkolzine is a very intriguing prospect with
great potential. Although he is very raw and unpolished,
he could still be picked in the top 5 because of the
NBA’s lack of quality centers.
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