http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Chinanu-Onuaku-7254/ 19 year old center/pf prospect who's posting good numbers across board in his second year, Chinanu Onuaku is projected in mid second round for now. I think he has lottery level talent, and could fill in nicely if DWH left. Along with Capela, our center position should be set with rookie contracts of great value. It's rare to see a young prospect with such rebounding/finishing ability and defensive potential, especially in second round.
http://thecrunchzone.com/the-improvement-of-chinanu-onuaku/ Stats breakdown shows how he improved to top tier efficient college player in one year. You can see the graph with stats in the link. By the way he's projected in the range of our second round pick right now.
A project at best. And simply too much of a project for our team at this time. His measurables are mediocre. Standing reach slightly above 9 feet. Max no step vertical reach is just 11'4". That's simply not long enough for a banger defensive big who doesn't have a discernable super offensive skill. Sorry. He won't be ready for at least 3 years. And most likely he never is ready to contribute to an NBA rotation.
As strong as he is, he's got enough length. He can play the similar role of Tristan Thompson(at 4, or 5 in smaller lineup), who has similar measurements but inferior college stats across board at the same age. Draftexpress has him at #37 pick slotted to Rockets as of today.
TT much more explosive with 3 inch vertical reach advantage. Doesn't seem like much but it is. When bigs can't hit 11 and a half feet vertical with no step their odds of making an NBA rotation decrease significantly if they can't shoot and do not have Sabonis/Millsap rebounding instinct. I'll be shocked if we draft him. He doesn't fit. He's raw. And he doesn't distinguish himself with an outstanding skill, or size, or athleticism.
That's the name of the young man that was drafted by the Rockets. What benefit do you receive by making fun of someone's name?
Chinanu has similar rebounding rate as TT and Milsap in college. His strength and the ability to box out compensate the vertical, which young players tend to improve before age 25.
We'll see, won't we? I hope you're right and I'm wrong. Because I had a nightmare last night that Kay Felder came flying down the lane for a put back dunk on his head for the win. Hope I missed something here. Because he's now a Rocket.
LOL. I started the thread for Kay Felder as well, and really hoped we could buy that late pick. You never know 100% projecting 19 year old, but risk/reward is pretty good for Chinanu as second rounder. I hope he can develop well quickly.
Rick Barry also shot FT underhanded. I remember years ago, he tried to get Shaq to learn the style. Here are his stats: #1 all-time ABA free throw percentage and #4 all-time NBA free throw percentage: http://www.basketball-reference.com/leaders/ft_pct_career.html
Small sample size, but he's at 100% free throw rate and PER over 20. Keep up the Capela style late rookie season surge, Chinanu.