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.
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Article written by Brian Pedersen
NBA Counterparts for College Basketball’s Top Centers
September 18th, 2016 by Brian Pedersen Leave a reply »
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