2005 Cs

[UOducksTK1]

A decent class overall, but a lot of potential. We should see a few hit and misses here.

Andrew Bynum C 7'0'' 285 18 C+ C- F+ C+ C+ A: Bynum is arguably the best player coming out of high school this year. His size and strength are a mature combination at his age. While he doesn't excel in any areas, he's also not lacking in any area, which is rare for prospects at his age. If he develops as projected, he should be able to produce both offensively and defensively. On offense, he's been working on extending his range, while on defense he posts a solid presence with a knack to clean up anything inside. Only warning: He should never be handling the ball, but otherwise he has room for development.

Channing Frye C 6'11'' 248 22 C+ B D+ C C A:Scoring is what you should expect, and that's what you'll get. Despite being very talented on offense, his game doesn't translate ideally at the center position. Also physically, he's out of his league against some of the other centers in DASL. He certainly has the ability to start, especially with his upside, but I'm afraid he'll be too much of a liability defensively and on the boards. Could be a nice 6th man as a scoring option off the bench, but in the right offense he could start.

Johan Petro C 7'0'' 247 20 C+ D+ D- B- B- A: Shot blocking is always attractive in a center, and Petro is projected as one of the top shot blockers in this class. What's even more rare is to have his blocking skills combined with rebounding. His strong frame gives him a nice advantage on the glass. Coaches and scouts loves his attributes, but are worried about the Guadeloupean's ability to translate his dominance in France to DASL. On the contrary, all he needs is a couple good TCs to help polish an already advantageous game.

Ian Mahinmi C 6'11'' 230 21 C D+ D- B C A: Mahinmi like his fellow frenchman, Petro, also boasts a fly swatter for an arm. Unlike Petro, Mahinmi doesn't offer much else. He is also far less versatile. However, he does not let much by when he's in the paint, and that's something some DASL teams could really use. All his eggs are in the defensive basket, but his upside is enticing. There is a good amount of centers coming from Europe. I don't doubt one of them will be a really good starter in DASL.

Tiago Splitter C 6'11'' 245 20 B- C- C B- C+ B: Splitter certainly has the most polished center game in this class. The comparisons to Pau Gasol also have scouts excited and high on their boards. His B potential will scare some teams off, and justifiably so. Taking B potential players as high as the lottery is usually a great risk.

Mike Ilic C 7'1'' 230 22 B C- D+ D C A: If you thought Araujo was one heck of a scorer, time to reassess his game against Ilic's. Ilic will not contest a shot to save his life, but he saves all his energy for dominating on offense.