<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">BERKELEY - From the moment Leon Powe set foot on Cal's campus, it was only a matter of time before he left for the NBA. Now, it appears the same can be said about DeVon Hardin. The Bears' center enters his junior season ranked higher on draft boards than Powe ever was. Armed with a chiseled 6-foot-11 body and dynamic athleticism, Hardin is a lock to be an NBA first-round draft pick. The question is just how high can he go. Hardin already has impressed NBA scouts with his defensive presence but has yet to demonstrate any consistent play on offense. With Powe now off to the Boston Celtics -- he was drafted in the second round in June -- Hardin is going to get a chance to prove he has the offensive skills to match his defensive prowess. If he does that with any measure of success, there's no telling how high he might be drafted. "He is a first-round pick right now," an Eastern Conference scout said. "With a solid year, he has a chance to go in the low lottery to mid-first round." Hardin scored just 7.3 points per game last season, but the offense revolved around Powe, who averaged 20.5 points. Cal coach Ben Braun plans on getting Hardin plenty of touches this year. "I think DeVon can be a go-to person," Braun said. "He was at times last year for us. We went to him on the block and he gave us big returns." If Hardin demonstrates a consistent low-post game, there's a good chance this will be his last season in Berkeley. He showed flashes last season, scoring in double-digits in three of his first four games. He also had 10 points and eight rebounds in a key win over UCLA, in which he went 4-for-5 from the floor and scored in a variety of ways. "He's a first-round pick," another NBA scout said. "He's very crude in the low post. That part of his game has to come a long, long way. His game is in front of him. How high he goes depends a lot on who enters the draft." Hardin had a miserable end to last season, partly because he was suffering from a left shoulder injury that required surgery in the spring. He found himself in foul trouble on a nightly basis, and went scoreless in two of the Bears' final three games. That included a goose egg in Cal's loss to North Carolina State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. "It was bothering me a lot toward the end of last season," Hardin said. "I got in the habit of blocking shots with my left hand. That shows you I was hurting. But I'm not sure if it was the injury. I think it was more just being over-excited going into a game. You have to learn how to control your excitement but still have it there."</div> Source
DeVon Hardin is a great talent IMO I project him as a taller version of Ben Wallace in the NBA down the road. He does things that don't show up on the stat sheet, he'll alter shots, deflect balls, keep the ball alive on the boards, and will get on the floor for the ball. He's got the defensive shot blocking and rebounds, but like the article says, he needs a more consistent inside game. I think DeVon Hardin could succeed in either half court or fastbreaking teams.