who is that 7'5 Russian guy who was on ESPN tonight?

His name is Pavel Podkolzine. I hear he is gonna be a top 6 pick now. He is 7-5 300 lbs. can shoot out to the three, can block shots, rebound and pretty much do it all. I remember Darko Mililic was making fun of him cause he said the last time he saw him he could barely walk due to knee injuries. I guess he can walk just fine now.

 

Yup, I saw him and thought "why haven't I heard much about this guy until now?" He was big and didn't have the twig arms like Yao had when he came into the league. He looked fairly mobile, too.

 

http://www.nbadraft.net/profiles/pavelpodkolzine.htm


I don't think there is anything special about him. He won't have a any long NBA career.

 

Wow, and he's only 18.

 

Insider ran a feature story on him about a month ago.

Like other bigmen such as Ilgauskas and Diop, he's had some trouble with his lower extremities. Specifically, his ankles. It's not something that would end his career, no, but it's something that could limit his contributions.

But nonetheless, he does bring substantial size and, apparently, skill to the table. If his European team's buyout can be overcome (it's several million dollars, though work is being made for him to get out of his deal if it hasn't been done already), then he's looking at a mid-to-late lottery selection.

His size would be perfect for the Knicks. But after Frederic Weis, Layden would have a hard time selling the fans and pres there on another guy they've never heard of, especially if there's other options on the table.

 

Insider posted another article today on Podkolzin. Without copying it or copying from it, the jist is that he now looks like a high lottery pick - meaning anywhere from 3 to 8. One scout went so far as to suggest that the Nuggets may take him over Carmelo, though that's unlikely.

Miami, LA Clippers, Milwaukee, and the Knicks are all interested, among others, but the latter two don't think he'll be around when they pick - yet alone the others further down the draft order who had scouted him.

His workout must've been lights-out to draw comparisons to a young Sabonis and to a more explosive Yao (albeit without as refined basketball instincts). The hype around this kid right now is 2nd to only LeBron, and he's in for a meteoric rise up the draft charts.

Whichever team gets him better do their homework on his health history, though. Darko wasn't lying when he talked about him being able to barely walk due to knee injuries. It's something to watch for with any bigman.

 

This could be ( no pun int.) huge...I have even heard of draftniks saying he could go as high as 2nd! People are comparing him to Yao...and before you cough up your lunch, remember that he's 18, and that makes him several years younger than Yao...and much further along at this age, physically, than Yao was. Several reports have him going anywhere from 3rd to 5th...and we have seen this type of skyrocketing of Euros before...a month before the draft a couple of years back Pau Gasol was rated around 9th or 10th...and shot up in a very short time.


Two points: 1) This, coupled with Bosh's impressive workouts, are doing much to undermine what had previously seemed to be a locked up top 3.

2) For those who saw this kid play, can you please give me a run-down? Few specific things I am interested in are : How would you comare him to Yao, given the age difference? Is he a big player like Yao, or just a big guy? What kind of athlete is he? Can you give a run down on his strengths/weaknesses? Thanks.

 

I don't think you'll find very many that have actually seen him play. He hasn't played much.

I saw the piece ESPN did on him and it showed some of his workout, so I'll go from that.

His body is amazing. For a guy that large, wow. He isn't skinny and he isn't fat, he's near perfectly built. At 18 it is amazing.

Athletically, he definitely wasn't a stiff. Ran the floor well, probably slightly better than I've seen Yao do it (but not much). He was draining threes in the clip, so he's got range. Can't really comment on his post ability, but nobody will be able to push him around, so...

His biggest weakness is obviously the fact that he's barely played. He probably isn't all that smart a basketball player (as opposed to Yao). There is some question about injuries as well.

As a basketball player, he's probably not Yao, but from a physical gifts standpoint, he might...might... be better. Given his age, he's a serious prospect.

 

I found the ESPN video of him:

http://broadband.espn.go.com/player...pl?url=200366211110880.wm9_300k.espn_page.wmv

 

Wow! He's huge, he's mobile, he can shoot!
If he 's coachable he could change a team into a contender in a very short time.

He must be from deep Siberia to have been a secret this long.

Jeep

 

http://www.sportsline.com/nba/story/6415542

the next Yao? I doubt it

 

Sounds like he's physically more talented than Yao.

 

Great! Look like there will be many more 7' 5" guys. I think it is good for Yao to play against someone at the same size as him.

 

Darn, this kid looks very strong and mobile. His skill may need big improvement. But when you are big man and strong, you don't need much skills to play the post game. Just push your defenders around and throw it down like Shaq.

More competition for Duncan and Yao. In playoff 2005, Duncan may find out every opposing PF/C is taller/stronger than him!

 

I've seen him playing garbage minutes, consider that he played 120 minutes OVERALL this season...

He's mobile, he's big, he's everything you read, but at this stage he's light years behind yao as far as game feeling, and he totally has no clue about what to do on the court at both sides.

He's a project, nothing but a project, even if he'll size alone will let him contribute for limited minutes from the beginning.

 

By Sekou Smith
sekou.smith@indystar.com
June 8, 2003


CHICAGO -- In an attempt to win favor with NBA executives at last week's pre-draft camp, St. Joseph's point guard Jameer Nelson drove his body to the brink of exhaustion daily.

After his final game Friday, Nelson had ice packs on his arms, knees, chest and shoulders to prove it.

"I started out with one," Nelson said. "The next day I had four, and then today five. But what can you do? It's very intense out there."

Nelson spent himself in two-a-day workouts, refusing, like many, to let up in chasing his NBA dream.

But Nelson is not the only player with a dream of being drafted. Many believe a treasure was unearthed Friday at Gold Coast Multiplex, the site of a private workout for 7-5, 300-pound Russian Pavel Podkolzin.

A sure lottery pick who's Yao Ming's size but more athletic, Podkolzin is the type of prospect that is changing the way scouts gauge talent and changing the way NBA teams value college and high school talent.

Podkolzin's workout left the 100 or so NBA executives stunned as they milled around the gym after the teenager displayed nimble feet that belie his mammoth frame. He went up and down the floor with the ease of a man a foot shorter.

"If I was Detroit, I'd take a long look at this kid before drafting (Darko) Milicic," one Eastern Conference scout said as several others nodded in agreement.

From there, most of the caravan moved to another gym blocks away to watch the workout of 6-11 Senegalese center Malick Badiane. Projected by most as a second-round pick, Badiane's representatives printed fliers with facts about their client. Because few in attendance had seen him before, the fliers were must-read material.

For players like Nelson, a junior who can return to school if he withdraws his name from the draft before the June 19 deadline, the mission was accomplished. He proved that his size -- 6-0 and 193 pounds -- would not limit his effectiveness against the best competition.

The question remains, though: Was he playing against the best competition?

"We know there are a lot of players coming from overseas and they're good players," said Arizona standout Luke Walton, a projected second-round draft pick who was one of the more impressive players during the week.

"The NBA wants the best players for their league, so you want to compete with the best. It might not be fair, but that's the way it is."

Decorated Boston College point guard Troy Bell led the camp in scoring, averaging 18.5 points in three games. He was impressive from the first moment the players hit the floor at the Moody Bible Institute, yet he's no better than a middle to late second-round draft pick, according to most mock drafts.

For the most part, point guards dominated. Bell, Nelson, Maurice Williams, Aleksander Vujacic and Derrick Zimmerman were mentioned as impressive by most in attendance.

That doesn't mean any of the aforementioned players, or any of the other players at the pre-draft camp, did enough to creep onto the first-round radar.

Players like Jason Kapono, a 6-8 swingman with arguably the purest shooting stroke in the camp, will have to sweat out his future between now and the June 26 draft.

"I just know that I should have left (UCLA) after my freshman year, played in Croatia, grew a beard and changed my name to Vladimir Kaponovich," he said jokingly. "Then I would have been perfect."

 

The thing to worry about is injuries.

The guy is just 18 years old, and they're already saying he can barely walk at times. That is something you should expect once a big man hits 35...I can't imagine it being something that just goes away. The NBA is bigger and faster than anything he's played in...more pounding on those knees and ankles.

I think it makes the guy something of an Ilgauskas- an all star caliber when he plays, but it's very possible that he's in street clothes more than his jersey and shorts.

Yao is something special- he proved his durability this past year, speaks improving English, and is as cerebral a basketball player as they come. I don't see this guy as being able to attain those 3 things. But, given the dearth of big men, this guy could become a top rate center when he plays.

This draft is shaping up to be interesting. Lebron, Darko, Carmelo, TJ, Bosh, and now Pavel all seem like primo picks. Looks like a good draft.

BTW, there's another 7-6 guy in the draft that is supposedly a stiff, Slavko Vranes, I believe. Still, he's a 7-6 stiff, so I'm sure someone will draft him.

 

This thread brings up something I have been meaning to ask.

Mark Eaton had a servicable NBA career and he wasn't a first round pick. With hindsight being 20-20, if you knew that a player would be equal to or even a bit better than Eaton, where would you draft him?

 

If I knew I was getting a player like or slightly better than Mark Eaton, probably late lottery or mid-first. Centers who can rebound are just so hard to come by these days.

It may sound high for a career 6ppg 8rpg player, but he also blocked 3.5 shots per game. Essentially, you are getting a player the caliber of Shawn Bradley, and he went what, #3 in the draft? Due to the dearth of quality centers, I'd probably start to consider him near pick 13.

But Eaton also was remarkably healthy - Podkolzin comes with quite a few question marks, and those would have to knock him down somewhat. Maybe 15-25 for a Mark Eaton with injury questions.

But, Podkolzin will go much higher. Why? The unknown. His workouts are spectacular, the hype is incredible...but what's reality? This is off-topic, but I wouldn't be shocked to see some of these "potential" and "tools" guys picked highly start to fizzle out with time and basketball undergo a baseball-like (re: Billy Beane) shift in thinking back towards the so-called sure things. Just a hunch.