In Shining Armor (Nathan Knight)

[Atlantaholic]

Just now, Peoriabird said:

He plays like a power forward though...Mobile big that can shoot 3's

I agree, but we have a bunch of PFs on this team and no centers. Someone has to get those C minutes.

[Peoriabird]

2 minutes ago, Atlantaholic said:

I agree, but we have a bunch of PFs on this team and no centers. Someone has to get those C minutes.

Probably can't pair him with Gallo.  John Yes

[terrell]

2 hours ago, Atlantaholic said:

At the very least he should take Bruno's role of third C.

Absolutely..A stop sign could take Bruno's role..

Edited March 16, 2021 by terrell

[terrell]

45 minutes ago, Peoriabird said:

Probably can't pair him with Gallo.  John Yes

If we can pair John with Gallo, we can pair Knight with Gallo..lol

[Peoriabird]

15 minutes ago, terrell said:

If we can pair John with Gallo, we can pair Knight with Gallo..lol

John is a better defender right now and is a vet so he knows how to play center.  Knight is a rookie prone to rookie mistakes particularly on defense

[JayBirdHawk]

 

 

[RedDawg#8]

31 minutes ago, JayBirdHawk said:

 

 

Im telling you this kid may be listed as a big, but he got some nice mobility and look is very fluid.

Edited March 17, 2021 by RedDawg#8

[HawkItus]

[sturt]

Okongwu... age 20... is, for now, a center, with hopes he can develop to be durable b/t PF and C... Schlenk said as much when he drafted him, and so far, that's seemed to be a reasonable way of thinking of him... not unlike JC when we drafted him, though in an opposite way--JC was an offense-first C who we thought might evolve to play PF, and King is a defense-first C who we think may evolve to play PF. Could be very special when we actually become a legitimate threat to compete for a conference title, and fully anticipate some "coming out party" game will happen for him. Probably not this year, though.

Fernando... age 22... is, for now, a center, and though there was some early talk that he might develop enough of a 3 point shot to be a plausible PF, that's not yet emerged and at this rate, might not emerge until mid-career as it did for Millsap (both of them having been complimented from early in their careers to have "pretty" shooting form). So, yes, he's still a bit raw, still seems to be in that stage where he's having to think too much on the floor rather than just play, not unlike his first year at Maryland. But the skills that had him going as high as the mid-teens in the 2019 draft are still there--he can put the ball on the floor, he can make the good pass, he can jump higher than anyone else who went to that year's combine. Patience. Let him develop. There's reward on the other side.

Knight... age 23... is so far showing himself to be a more of a PF than a C. Such a small sample size, though. Again, patience. Given his size, he still could establish himself as a viable C option, but as others have said, he's mobile for his weight/height, and seems capable both to shoot and to guard on the perimeter, whereas I've seen him getting pushed around still within 5 ft of the basket. Been surprised to see his handles as strong as they are, because he didn't seem to have that in the W&M highlight clips I'd seen.

 

Bottom line, we essentially have 2 SFs who can play some PF (Hunter and Solo)... 3 PFs who can play some C (Collins, Gallinari, and Knight)... and 3 Cs who really can't play anything but C for now (Capela, Okongwu and Fernando).

 

The trading deadline will be very telling about how Schlenk defines success for 2020-21... we likely can get to the playoffs with this roster... we likely cannot win a series without a veteran, solid-not-necessarily-spectacular "enforcer" C getting the bulk of the back-up minutes behind Capela.

[JayBirdHawk]

 

 

[Sothron]

Knight it 6'10" and 253 pounds. He can absolutely play center. He's probably heavier than most NBA centers.

[ATLHawks3]

2 hours ago, Sothron said:

Knight it 6'10" and 253 pounds. He can absolutely play center. He's probably heavier than most NBA centers.

He looks way slimmer than that; closer to 230 - 235.

[Gray Mule]

Some where around the half way mark in this season, suppose we take a peak at what the last draft would look like if the NBA were to have a re do.

I believe that our current, undrafted center, Nathan Knight, would be gone before the second round and very possibly in the lottery section.  Any one agree?

That's how good I believe he is.  How did so many NBA teams miss on this?

[AHF]

1 hour ago, Gray Mule said:

Some where around the half way mark in this season, suppose we take a peak at what the last draft would look like if the NBA were to have a re do.

I believe that our current, undrafted center, Nathan Knight, would be gone before the second round and very possibly in the lottery section.  Any one agree?

That's how good I believe he is.  How did so many NBA teams miss on this?

I don't think he'd move up to the lottery.  He is an older rookie (older than JC) and is averaging 4.6 ppg and 2.3 rpg so teams would really have to buy in to the limited minutes against a couple of depleted front courts (Cle and Hou).  I think he has shown enough that he would definitely be drafted but late first round would be the best case scenario if I had to guess and more likely moving into the second.  He would have the 36th most minutes among drafted rookies so I think his rise would be limited somewhat by that limited play time.  

[JayBirdHawk]

whaaaaat!!!

 

 

[MarylandHawk]

On 3/17/2021 at 11:08 PM, ATLHawks3 said:

He looks way slimmer than that; closer to 230 - 235.

And he is really only about 6’8”. 

[Gray Mule]

8 hours ago, MarylandHawk said:

And he is really only about 6’8”. 

Our shrinking center.  He's listed on the official roster as 6'10" and now he's 6'8".  At this rate, I hope he's going to be a great 6'4" PG in a couple of years.  I've heard of older than teen agers having a growth spurt but not this.