I'm not the biggest fan of Coll. Basketball. I admit that I only follow the NCAA tourney. Apparently, not well enough though b/c I have no idea what Borchardt does well. What current player in the NBA does he compare to? I saw a pick of him and he looks like a pretty cut player, but not big in size. Can he shoot from the outside, block shots, play a little defense? How is his movements; is he slow, speed wise, lateral wise? I'm asking this b/c in the case we might trade our #1 pick to the Clippers in an Odom deal and get their 8 and/or 12, Borchardt would be a logical choice b/c he is a "safer pick" than Ming and is now the 2nd best center prospect now that Marcus is out.
I have not watched him myself, but Nbadraft.net compares him to Zydrunas Ilgauskas. I think some of the comparison is that Borchardt has had some injuries. I'm no expert, but I see him as a stronger, smarter, more athletic Collier with some shot blocking ability. In 24 games at Stanford, Borchardt averaged 16.5 ppg, 11.2 rpg, and blocked 70 shots. If the Rocks obtain Odom, alot will depend on individual workouts between Borchardt, Hilario, and Ely.
Nothing special, he's high on the board because there's a need for true 7 footers. Chris Mihm was just as impressive.
I've seen a fair amount of Borchardt. I liken him to Raef-I'll do a quick comparison. They play a similar style of defense-Borchardt is an excellent weakside help guy. He's got a very similar body to Raef. Both are fairly quick and athletic, and can be a little foul prone. The biggest difference is Borchardt is a LOT tougher than Raef. He'll fight inside and isn't afraid to get a little dirty. Borchardt isn't Ben Wallace, but he's pretty tough. Borchardt is a decent shooter, but he's not a great outside shooter like Raef. He's a fair shooter though, good enough for Rudy to like him. My biggest fear would be foot injuries. I've heard he's slipping a few slots-my ideal move if we made the Clips trade would be draft Nene at 8, and draft Borchardt at 12. I feel Borchardt could probably start at center right away.
