I don't care if he can shoot a jump shot. If he can move around the basket, play defense, and rebound that's all we need. He's going to need to improve his lower body strength. He does look more athletic and fluid, and better offensively, than Przybilla.
If we are lucky and he does improve a lot, I see him developing much more in the mold (not nearly as good) of Noah. If you are interested to see how his skills can work, but I don't think he has that super tenacity that Noah has, nor has he figured out how to use a slight build to hold off a hefty man.
When I say jump shot, I'm talking about being able to put it in from 5 feet away. That's kind of important to keep his man somewhat honest. Also, his defensive rebounding is very good, but his offensive rebounding is terrible. It's weird to see one so good and the other so bad.
Watching tape he reminds me a lot of Theo Ratliff. A one trick pony (help defense and shot blocking), but a very useful trick on our team. Not terribly strong, not a scorer, not a great offensive rebounder. I couldn't see much evidence of him setting picks. Przybilla isn't a great comparson, IMO. He wasn't really an elite shot blocker. He was strong, rugged and a scrappy boarder who set good picks. Withey's size and particular talent make him the type of guy who makes a decade-long career in the NBA on benches. Coach can throw him out there to stem the bleeding if a team is getting dunked on too much, but you don't really want him starting. Nice pickup at #39.
Very, he's like the exact opposite of Meyers Leonard. No offensive skills, lacks strength, but has good awareness and shock blocking ability. Should make for a great practice duo.
yep I like his ability to move his feet, very fluid. Looks like the only O he hasis dunk and a roll to the hoop dunk, PERFECT! I dont think we need a streach 5..
Withey is a very solid center, he's smart, tough, plays very good defense, he is a true role player - does many of the little things that help you win games. I haven't checked but I think he has a solid FT%, he's not a liability in any way. We probably need another Big but Withey is a rotation player for any team in the league.
71% freethrow Not bad for a new center. And actually speaks well for him to be able to learn a little 6-8 foot shot which would help out flow of the offense even if he doesnt use it much.
Joel was an elite shot blocker back in his younger years, from 05-07 his block% was above 7%. To put that into perspective, the all time career leader in that stat is Shawn bradley at 7.8, #2 is Theo Ratliff at 7.19%. He also had one of the top rebounding % in the league for many years.....very under-rated center.
[video=youtube;bqD36NuXJOM]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bqD36NuXJOM[/video] [video=youtube;Tx0tQ7tNfNk]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tx0tQ7tNfNk&NR=1&feature=endscreen[/video]
one of Joel's greatest liabilities was his hands of stone. I haven't seen JW play, but if he can catch a pass that hits him in the hands he'll be better offensively then Przybilla. But at just 222 pounds, dude needs to get hooked up with nutritionist/trainers pronto. He's basically got LA's size/length minus 25 pounds STOMP
KU has an excellent weight program and they already tried. His body can't be improved much. I hope he's not another Josh McRoberts, who had a superior Duke attitude when with us.
Meyers and Withey are opposites. And they both have significant strengths and weaknesses. Maybe Withey is more NBA ready, but Meyers has a higher ceiling IMO. Money Quote.
