2009 Draft Profile - Cole Aldrich

The 2009 Men's bball season is almost complete and you would be hard pressed to find a player that has improved more than Kansas center Cole Aldrich when given more playing time. On last year's championship team Cole was a decent backup center playing 8 minutes a game and showed his potential when he held his own against Tyler Hansbrough in the NCAA Tournament.

Through 28 games Cole is average 15 points and 10.7 rebounds along with 2.5 blocks per game.

Pros: Cole is your typical post presence on offense and defense with above average athleticism. He has very good shot blocking skills and has shown the ability to keep balls in play that he blocks without fouling the shooter. On offense he shoots the ball at 61% along with 77% at the free throw line which are very good numbers for a big man. His form may look ackward but he can consistently knock down 15 foot jumpers. He only averages 2.6 fouls per game which is pretty good considering he plays almost 30 minutes a game, blocks over 2 shots a game and is the only true low post defender on Kansas. Cole is a very good rebounder and shows very good form boxing out his defender when getting defensive boards and uses his length to grab a few offensive rebounds per game. Cole Aldrich is a very good passer for a big man and has shown he can pass out of double teams to open teammates and even has shown the ability to pass in the open court after securing a rebound on the defensive end. From watching Cole, I've noticed that he does a very good job of flashing out on screens and has pretty good lateral quickness for a player his size. On offense, Cole has shown that he has very good feet for a big man and does a decent job of using his body to gain position.

Cons: His shot mechanics are very ackward because he brings the ball behind his head before shooting, but he does make 15 foot jumpers consistently. Good thing he is tall and realeases the ball high because it takes a long time for him to get his jump shot off (similar to Marcus Camby). Cole could be more agressive on offensive and get lower to the ground when fighting for post position. He has good touch on the offensive end, but sometimes will rely on his jumpshot too often. He needs to work on improving his post skills which will then open up the jumper that he can consistently knock down. Cole could add a little more weight to his frame and this should help him gain deeper position in the post. Once he gains more weight and experience I would like to see him use drop steps and baby hooks to score near the rim.

Overall: I think Cole can be a pretty good center in the NBA. I don't think he will ever become an All Star, but I could see him playing similar to the style of Kris Kaman or Andrew Bogut, but with a better jumpshot and better athleticism. I see a team with an established point guard drafting Cole and could see him thrive in the same way that Tyson Chandler plays with Chris Paul in terms of pick and roll offense.
Draft Profile provided by: John Pusta

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