I'm just going to say this now before the NBADraft.net's start glorifying this guy: he's the real deal! 6'7", 265 lb freshman from the University of Pittsburgh. He's an absolute monster around the basket with NBA-level strength, rebounding ability and post presence. Solid, developing offensive game with above average athleticism, shot blocking ability and basketball IQ. He plays smart, controlled and doesn't commit stupid fouls. He's the total package. Add him to your lists of terrific freshmen before everybody else does!
For those that are wondering who this is...... Tonight, nationally televised: #6 Georgetown #16 Pittsburgh Blair plays center for Pitt and will likely be matched up with Hibbert. Granted, Hibbert has 6-8 inches on Blair. I still expect Blair to hold his own though.
He had a monster game today against the Rockets. 16 pts, 19 rebs in 22 mins. Spurs got a steal...if he can stay healthy.
We have Scolandry. There are 96 minutes allotted for the PF/C positions. Chuck Hayes is better defensively. These 3 can share the minutes. Andersen will have to play better to earn some of those minutes.
Obviously Blair will be a beast when he plays. That's not why he wasn't drafted. He was not drafted because he's got a decent chance of going down with a knee injury on account of his not having ACL's, and if his injury involves and ligament damage at all you might as well call it a career. The Spurs are reaping the benefits right now, but who knows how long he will last.
Loved the play where he nearly ripped Landry's arm off. Thats the kind of player Blair is. He brings that to the table. After about 7yrs he is going to be one nasty awesome vet nobody is going to mess with.
Do I get some sort of award for giving everybody the heads up on this guy almost two years ago? As for the knee issues: never missed a practice or game in college. Pitt Coach Jamie Dixon was emphatically telling NBA GM's of this leading up to draft day but I guess only one GM listened. Is it any coincidence that GM just so happens to be the best in the business? I think not.
He has all-star potential. This one really hurts... Damn DM, Damn... I remember watching this guy drop and going WTF? Reminds me of Boozer dropping a few years back...
I don't feel too bad about skipping him. Blair is at best when he's at PF, and we are absolutely STACKED at that spot (Scola, Landry, Hayes, even Andersen is ideally a 4). Blair would be great as a PF at the workhorse-below-6'9 mold (Landry, Powe, Davis etc.), but as a C he would still be too undersized to become an elite at the position.
Actually, in all honesty he plays more like a 6'7" center. He's at his best playing close to and underneath the basket plus he's not particularly quick by a PF's standards. So that, along with this bogus paranoia over his knees, seems to be sufficient reason for overly cautious GM's to pass on him. All the same, Blair is one of those unique cases where you have to toss out the common variables and just focus on what's in front of you: a man-amongst-boys type of player with an INCREDIBLE nose for the ball that can physically dominate and impose his will on you. He has power, he can rebound, he can get his own offense, he has upside......the dude can play. I couldn't quite put it together on draft night. In theory, I understood why these teams were passing on him but I was absolutely astonished that he lasted as long as he did (37th overall pick). Once Stern started getting to the Euro's whose names he couldn't even pronounce being taken before Blair, I was damn near ready to have a meltdown. All the while, I had a hunch that a team that KNEW what the hell they were doing besides us (i.e. San Antonio or Portland) was going to take him. Well......the rest is history. The Spurs may have just gotten a top five player in this draft for literally nothing.
I'll never forget the way Blair dominated Thabeet last season in their game at UConn. That's when I concluded that Thabeet would pretty much fail in the NBA. After watching Blair a few more times in college, I realized he may have a shot in the NBA. Blair might lead the NBA in rebounds per minute played this season. He won't score much except on putbacks, but the guy has a good NBA future ahead of him if he avoids being a foul magnet.
I remember watching that game and coming to the same conclusion about Thabeet, Blair owned him on both sides of the floor that night, showing a surprisingly good shooting touch. I thought he'd be a late-first rounder at worst. was shocked to see him fall so far. Maybe injury concerns?
"I can dominate in pre season games too" -Signed Kelvin Cato Its been one game guys, its the pre season, he did all this against a player who just played his first nba game.
His offense got exposed when Chuck was on him, too (except for that circus shot underneath the basket).
It is not about one game. He was real good in college. Everybody knew cato was overpaid the minute they signed him.
On draft night, if the Rockets made a trade to get him, how many would have said... "Another short 4? why? And he has knee problems?" It was a good pick by the Spurs especially where they were able to land him. Unfortunately, we were stocked with shorter 4's and if we were going to get another 4, he would have had to be taller that 6'9" while bringing something new to the table.
