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DeJuan Blair: NBA Draft Profile
February 25th, 2009
by Jeff Fox
DeJuan Blair - Pittsburgh
DeJuan Blair
College: Pittsburgh
Class: Sophomore
Position: PF
Height: 6’7”
Weight: 265lbs
Accolades: Honorable Mention Freshman All-American - CHN (08), Big East co-Rookie of the Year (08), Big East All-Rookie Team (08), Honorable Mention All-Big East (08), Pennsylvania State Player of the Year - AP - high school (07).
Scouting Report: A beast in the paint.
Strengths: Huge wingspan - 7’2”. Very physical and strong player. Clears a lot of space out in the paint, both on offense and defense. Uses his strength and long arms to score over taller defenders. Good hook shot. Fantastic rebounder - snatches rebounds with two hands. Overpowers defenders in the post. Variety of low-post moves with both hands. Very good footwork. Capable of dominating a game.
Weaknesses: Very undersized for the post in the NBA. Not much of a leaper. Needs a lot of work on defense. Doesn’t block nearly enough shots for a player with his wingspan. Can get into foul trouble. Very inconsistent.
Projected 2009 Draft Range: Mid to late first round pick.
Consensus: DeJuan Blair was proven to be one of the most dominant players in college this year. However, his lack of athleticism and height are big time negatives in terms of the NBA. Still, undersized power forwards are making a bit of a comeback in the NBA nowadays, so he probably will stick around the League.
Stats: DeJuan Blair Stats & GameLog
NBA Draft on CollegeHoops.net
Current NBA Mock Draft Position
Complete NBA Draft coverage
CHN's Six-Star Ranking System w/ 2008 Equivalents
= Superstar/All-NBA Potential - Michael Beasley
= Potential NBA All-Star - Derrick Rose
= Consistent NBA Starter - Brook Lopez
= 6th Man/Fringe Starter - Russell Westbrook
= Career Reserve - Roy Hibbert
= Fringe NBA Player/12th Man - JR Giddens
0 stars = Life in the Minor Leagues - Drew Neitzel
Comments
Not Yet, Next Year
Submitted by Max Sherry on Fri, 2009-02-27 12:35.
If he can stay one more year at Pitt and finish out his junior season, I think he will be a top-ten pick. He is still quite raw and needs to gain some composure and maturity before he can earn the type of money he wants and be a top 20 player in the NBA. He definitely has the potential and the will to get better. Furthermore, he enjoys being an underdog and will do everything possible to succeed. I have no doubt he will be a great NBA player...just wait one more year. He will have a partner in crime down low next year for Pitt in Dante Taylor who may just be the freshman of the year in 2009/2010 and Pitt will be top-ten if he returns.
If he's worried about where
Submitted by Jason Hirschhorn on Sat, 2009-05-02 10:25.
If he's worried about where he's going to be drafted, this is absolutely the year for him to go. Next year's draft class is of a much higher quality, and teams know this. Other than Griffin and maybe Rubio, players going in the top 5 and top 10 this year would not normally be going that high. Blair can take advantage of a weak draft class and perhaps be a late lottery pick.
As much as I love Pitt and
Submitted by Dave DiCerbo (not verified) on Mon, 2009-03-30 00:08.
As much as I love Pitt and wish he'd stay it might hurt him because of the lack of guard play and Pitt not being as good next year. I hate to say this but if I was him, I'd take the moeny and run because if his 15 foot jump shot doesn't get better next year, it will kill his stock with NBA teams and think right now they see the major improvement he made this year and will want to draft him in hopes of getting the weaknesses better!
he is a good player
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 2009-04-28 11:14.
he is a good player
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About Jeff Fox
Columnist
NBA Draft & International Hoops
Contact
foxyjj@sympatico.ca
Background
Jeff Fox is a freelance journalist based an hour outside of Toronto, Canada. While attending University of Waterloo (Canada) earning a B.A. in Economics and Management Studies, Jeff managed to walk onto the school’s varsity basketball team, the Warriors, for 2 seasons. His final year riding the pine for the Warriors saw the team make it to the CIS (Canada’s NCAA equivalent) Final 8 tournament. In addition to this site, he is a regular contributor to SLAM magzine (& online) and The Hoops Manifesto. When he isn’t planted in front of his computer he spends the rest of his time with his wife, Lisa, his son, Adam and his dog Jeannie.
Location
Toronto, CA
Favorite Links
DeJuan Blair is an
DeJuan Blair is an interesting prospect. He's clearly undersized for his position, but NBA GMs love these kind of guys. The highest I've seen him go in a mock is 13, but that seems ridiculous for DeJuan Blair, even in a weak draft like this.