Nonetheless, while several of the top picks have made an impression, we need to talk more about one guy in particular.
Evan Mobley.
Projecting bigs from the NCAA is always challenging because of the differences in styles of play, but it appears early on that all the hype about Mobley as a
Chris Bosh 2.0 is legit. If anything, it might have been undersold. In a league that otherwise has grown to devalue most big men, Mobley seems to be the much-coveted unicorn big who can comfortably play on the perimeter at both ends while having enough size, length and athleticism to protect the rim and dive on rolls to the basket.
Offensively, he lacks the heft to punish opponents consistently on the low block, but his post ups have looked better than similar forays from his freshman year at USC. Meanwhile, there are at least two mouth-watering perimeter plays per game from him. He handed out six assists in the opener against Memphis, has looked comfortable enough from the 3-point line to feel confident in his eventual progress as a stretch threat, and has the body control and touch to shoot short-range floaters rolling to the rim when a dunk isn’t available.
And as for his defense… Holy Mobley. While he struggles at times with physicality, he’s already shown the ability to be the positionless, switchable, rim-protecting monster that every team covets.