10 Feet High

Cole Aldrich is the best pure center in college basketball.

What I like best about the Kansas big man is his tenacity and passion at the defensive end. His ability to read shots as they're released and to time his jumps for blocks is unparalleled at the collegiate level. Aldrich understands driving lanes and knows precisely how to close them with his sheer size. His length above the rim causes at least five extra misses and failed lay-up attempts in addition to nearly four blocks per game.

While point guard Sherron Collins may be the heartbeat and soul of the national-title-contending Jayhawks, Aldridge is the best player.

He runs the floor with ease and is very coordinated for a young center, unlike his Big 12 counterpart Dexter Pittman, for instance. Many big guys have trouble adapting to their bodies as they fill out, but Aldridge is both strong and extremely agile. His dexterity in the half-court at both ends of the floor stands out immediately.

The NBA is all about creating mismatches and exploiting weaknesses. What will propel Aldrich to succeed is his versatility and propensity to create these problems. While he can step away and shoot the 18-footer, he is also a nasty presence down low, a guy who bodies up and angrily snatches rebounds away. Now a junior, he is on pace to average another double-double for the season, averaging close to 12 points and 10 rebounds.

This versatility was in full effect recently against conference foe Missouri, when he dominated the whole game with his 16 rebounds, 12 points, and seven blocks. Often, he’ll only take five or six shots in one game (something we’ll explore later) and still be remarkably effective. Many players - especially young ones – overvalue their scoring to the point where other facets of their game suffer if they either aren’t getting touches or simply aren’t making shots.

This is not the case for Aldrich. Perhaps even more encouraging for scouts is that he’s not turnover-prone (just 1.5 per game) despite being doubled nearly every time he touches the ball on the block. The NBA game – although much faster – will provide him with more opportunities to operate down low against single coverage because of the talent around him. When he does establish himself as a post threat that garners doubles, his court vision and unselfishness will pay dividends.

Passing big men have become a rarity, and Aldrich is one of the exceptions. A perfect example of this occurred against trap-heavy Missouri. Aldrich caught the ball in the paint and was immediately swarmed. Instead of panicking, he re-assessed the situation, turned and faced, and hit teammate Tyrell Reed on the wing who buried a triple. This pace and court vision translates very well to the next level.

(Aldridge's patience in the post will earn him the trust of his coaches, and the respect of his teammates, who will benefit playing off him)

In the NBA, young centers often struggle early on taking care of the ball. Just take Greg Oden for example. Although improved, he’s still in a hurry to score every time he gets a post touch, like he’s playing hot potato or something. Aldrich though, is calm and collected, willing to slow down first before accelerating into his move or find the open shooter. Thus, he’s not the turnover liability most rookies are, and he can actually make his teammates better.

The biggest hurdle that Aldrich has to overcome is improving his lateral quickness and overall post skills. Although a top-notch shot blocker, he will struggle guarding quick 4s and 5s in the NBA who can face up from 12 feet and attack the basket. In other words, there’s no way he can guard Nene or Amare Stoudemire given their fleet-footed nature.

You might ask why I didn't mention his strange shooting stroke. While he may not have the most fundamentally correct shooting form or an aesthetically pleasing game, Aldrich is effective. When you’re almost 7-feet and shoot 55 percent from the floor, and 72 percent from the line, the unorthodox motion isn’t a concern. Plus, he releases the ball at such a high point that he'll never get his shot blocked.

When operating on the block, Aldrich – although marketably improved – isn’t a dump-the-ball-in-and-get-you-a-bucket type of guy. He’s not the center who can score at will. Part of this is because the Kansas system is so guard-oriented that Aldridge doesn’t get a ton of post touches. Too often down the stretch of games he doesn’t demand the ball, instead deferring to clutch shot-maker Sherron Collins. Part of this is unselfishness, but at some point, it can also become plain stupid. He needs to realize that his team needs him to dominate in the key moments of games, something he has been inconsistent with throughout his career. This will come in time.

When you break him down and consider his toughness, physicality, soft hands, wide skill set and overall agility for his size, I think Aldrich has all the assets to become a really good NBA player. He’s not unlike the Lopez twins from Stanford when they came out two years ago in that they all have the mean streak and grit necessary to be a starting center in the NBA. I view Aldridge as a cross between the two – Robin with his rather raw offensive game and Brook with his resolve and ability to alter games defensively.

Assuming he bolts this June, Aldrich is probably the first center off the board and within three years, I think he becomes a third or fourth scoring option, while also developing into a premier defensive stopper, the perfect last line of defense. At his best, he probably won’t average more than 10-12 points, but what he will do is disrupt cutters, take away driving lanes, and hedge high ball screens just about as good as anyone in the league.

This isn't to say that he can't score, because he can at times. When things got heated against Kansas State this past Saturday, he had several key buckets, including a beautiful fake to the right and baby hook off the left shoulder, which shows that perhaps he is beginning to embrace his role as a go-to weapon. All together, I really like his game and all of the intangibles he brings to a team. Aldrich is the kind of kid you can stick in there for a good decade and actually have confidence in.

That’s something to be said in today’s age of subpar centers.