Ht/Wt: 7' 0" / 255 lbs
Position: C
Team: Washington
Class: Sophomore

2015 Draft Profile - Robert Upshaw

Strengths
Although Upshaw was dismissed by Washington in early January for violations of team rules, he still has potential to succeed at the next level with his tremendous size and strength. Before being dismissed, Upshaw was leading the nation in blocks at 4.5 a game.

Besides being a dominant shot-blocker, he's also a rebounding force standing at six-foot-eleven with a seven-foot-five wingspan. Overall, he has great, natural instincts on defense which is why many scouts still believe he's still one of the most talented big men this class has to offer besides his off-the-court issues.

Upshaw is also surprisingly very athletic for a man of his size. Offensively, he isn't the most efficient, however he does use his athleticism to get easy baskets. Similar to DeAndre Jordan, he aggressively dunks everything around the basket. He also uses that athleticism defensively, either by blocking or altering shots inside the paint.

Weaknesses
Although he's great defensively, Upshaw needs to drastically improve his offensive game to transition into an NBA player. He tends to rely on his athleticism too often instead of getting a consistent low-post game. Most of his points come on alley-oops or dunks dished off by teammates, since he can't create on his own shot.

If Upshaw wants to succeed at the next level, he has to develop a go-to move in the post and be able to use both hands to score. He struggles with double teams and tends to fadeaway every time.

Upshaw also struggles from the free throw line. Although many centers don't shoot great percentages either, Upshaw shoots an awful 43.4 percent from the line. If that doesn't improve, we can likely expect teams in the NBA to start the "Hack-a-Shaq" strategy to force Upshaw to beat them from the line.

However, the biggest concern with drafting Upshaw has nothing to do with his basketball skills, it's whether or not he's going to conduct himself properly off-the-court. In college he played for two schools, Fresno State and Washington, and got kicked out from both programs for violating team rules. The talent is there, but it is clear that Upshaw needs help dealing with off-the-court issues. It is this that makes him a risk for many teams in the first round.

Statistics
PPG: 10.9 RPG: 8.2 APG: 0.5 SPG: 0.4 BPG: 4.5 FG%: 59.3 FT%: 43.4

Robert Upshaw Videos

Robert Upshaw 2015 NBA Draft Video Breakdown


Robert Upshaw Highlights


Robert Upshaw 7 Blocks & 12 Points (Washington Huskies vs. San Jose State 2014)


Robert Upshaw Blocks against Seattle U 11/29/14





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