He came out to the Frank Erwin Center for a couple of early season games. I would have preferred not to see him there, frankly, especially to then go out to Chapel Hill to make a comparison. His whole family is from there, though, and he grew up out there, so it's not like he's someone who's been in the Austin area his whole life. He's an excellent perimeter shooter with good shotblocking instincts. Even with his extremely slight frame, he's not afraid to mix it up inside. He's just not physically prepared to do it at the next level at this stage. However, the "want to" is as important in its own way. The nice thing about his slight frame is that he's a multiple year player with a lot of upside. He wasn't one of my top targets for the '09 class, but it sucks to see him pull the trigger for UNC, especially playing his high school ball only 30 minutes from campus. I will say I do think UNC is a good fit for him, especially compared to UCLA or even Texas. I think that's going to be a match that works out to their mutual benefit.
He's much skinnier than Kevin Durant. He's skinnier than Anthony Jones, who is skinnier than Durant. I know that UNC doesn't pack the house for every game, and they have known issues regarding the passion of their fans, but trust me, it would still be night and day compared to the deathly quiet of The Sponge the two games he attended in Austin. I still have to give props to the students who gave him a shout out for the first game he attended. That was pretty darn cool.
I saw him play at the McNeil tourney. Extremely, extremely thin but very athletic for a 6-10 kid...runs the floor like a deer. Has a good outside shot for a big man, but not Kevin Durant good. Good post footwork but he can be pushed around easy inside. The key here is potential. He's got 2 years in HS left to fill out and I'm sure he'll be a monster.
