Scouting Report

Cole Aldrich may very well have been the best center in the country last season. Though he may not be the best athlete in the country, Alridch’s dedication to the game and instinctual feel for the game, Cole succeeded and found himself very high on the Oklahoma City Thunder’s draft board. Thanks to a draft day trade involving the New Orleans Hornets (they made out well with this deal, too), Aldrich will suit up for Oklahoma City and will fill one of their few needs as an interior force.

Aldrich averaged 11 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks (five swats per 40 minutes) a game during his junior season, which was actually a step down from his breakout sophomore campaign that saw him put up 15 points, 11 boards and three blocks while scoring 1.56 points per shot. Cole scores most of his points within five feet of the basket where he takes advantage of his active motor, high basketball IQ and excellent footwork to score on his opponents with superb efficiency. The former Jayhawk is also effective passing the basketball when on the block and if cutters are running through the lane he will most likely find them.

Defensively, Aldrich possesses a seven-foot-wingspan which contributes to his ability to dominant a game with shotblocking. His lateral movement isn’t great, which means he can be late rotation on this end which may have cost him a block or two last season but he works to get to where he needs to be and the effort pays off most of the time. He’ll need to put some more muscle on his frame to handle the bigger players in the NBA but his length will always allow him to at the very least change the shots of his opponents.

The Thunder lacked an interior scoring presence last season as most of their bigs prefer to spend their time away from the basket on offense. I’m not saying Cole is a guy Sam Presti should feature on offense but he can contribute on this end of the floor when called upon. He may need some time to adjust to the NBA game but every college player does and once he is acclimated to the new style expect him to be a solid role player (and character guy) for Oklahoma City.