VITALS: 6-11, 232, Florida OVERVIEW: The son of former French Open tennis champion Yannick Noah, the power forward played a major role in Florida becoming the first team to repeat as national champions since Duke in 1992. Had 14 points and 14 rebounds against Oregon in the Midwest Regional Final. Named to the All-Southeastern Conference first team for the second straight year as a junior. Averaged 12.0 points, 8.4 rebounds and 1.8 blocks in starting all 40 games this past season. Scored a season-high 24 points and pulled down 12 rebounds vs. Mississippi. Was a driving force in the Gators' first title run in 2006, being named the Most Outstanding Player in both the Minneapolis Region and the Final Four. Had 16 points, nine rebounds and a championship game-record six blocks against UCLA. Averaged a team-leading 14.2 points and ranked second in the SEC with 7.1 rebounds as a sophomore. Ranked third in the nation in field goal percentage (.627). Tallied career-high 37 points vs. Georgia. LIKELY DRAFT POSITION: 6-12. COMPARATIVE UPSIDE: Marcus Camby COMPARATIVE DOWNSIDE: Anderson Varejao ROLE PROJECTION: Backup at 4 and 5 spots to start; eventual NBA starter. POSITIVES: Noah has been categorized by some as a mere "effort" player, someone whose contribution is wholly summarized by all-out effort. But this is no Kurt Rambis. Noah is an exceptional athlete who happens to be nearly seven feet tall. He can run the court like a small forward and can impact games on both ends of the court as an offensive rebounder and a shot-blocker. Noah is a smart player who will figure out what his team needs him to do and then go out and do it. He cannot be measured by statistics, but in a few years he will be known as a "stat sheet stuffer," someone who contributes a few points, a few rebounds, a few blocks and a few steals. SHORTCOMINGS: Noah has an ugly shot and an ugly foul shot. He'll never be asked to put on a shooting clinic with Dell Curry, but his shots go in often enough and most of his points are going to come very close to the basket anyway. Noah weighed in at 223 pounds at the NBA Pre-Draft Camp, and he'll need to increase that by 20 pounds over the next few years for maximum effectiveness at the NBA level.
I pretty much agree with this. He won't be a star, but he will do enough to impact a game. I see him as a better defensive without a jump shot Boris Diaw. Diaw impacts the game anytime he steps onto the court because of his versatility. Noah will too. Noah doesn't need to score to be effective. He truly loves the game of basketball and will do whatever it takes for him to get on the court.
<div class="quote_poster">GatorsowntheNCAA Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">I pretty much agree with this. He won't be a star, but he will do enough to impact a game. I see him as a better defensive without a jump shot Boris Diaw. Diaw impacts the game anytime he steps onto the court because of his versatility. Noah will too. Noah doesn't need to score to be effective. He truly loves the game of basketball and will do whatever it takes for him to get on the court.</div> For me this is his highest selling point. It's really rare to find players (especialy lottery picks) who can handle a lesser profile role within a team. We hear cliche comments from players all the time, but when it comes down to it, most want their chance to be option A. Noah really doesn't care about scoring, and is all about winning. However, the double-edge sword here, is for a team who drafts him with expectations of him becoming a franchise player. I think Noah needs to be on the right team, where he doesn't have that pressure and becomes the key guy responsible for the team winning or losing.
If he goes Top 5 then he will have franchise player expectations, but I'm expecting him to go anywhere from 8-14, where the expectations won't be so high.
I say that Varejao is the best Noah will get. Hair aside they are both well comparable they both give 100%
Honestly I feel the opposite. I agree with this scouting report that his comparative downside is AV. He has much more of a complete game then AV with his ball handling, his play making skills, and his decision making. No way Noah attempts to drive in and make a layup at that point in Game 3. Even with all the intensity and passion that Noah shows, he still plays within the game. He won't try to do too much. He knows what he has to do to help his team win a game and scoring necessarily is not one of them. He's just a much smarter basketball player than AV. The both have crazy hair and they both hustle and that is about the end of the comparisons, IMO. Hell even if he turns out to be AV #2 it's not that bad, AV is expected to get the MLE from some team this offseason. He'd still be in the league making pretty solid money.
