Scouting Report

Solomon Alabi is seven foot one center that has enormous potential to be one of the best defensive players in the NBA. And unlike some of the big men in the league that are tall but suffer with the lack of ideal athleticism and struggle running the floor, Alabi is an excellent athlete especially considering the size benefits he brings. With his long arms, tall frame and athletic abilities, Solomon has the physical tools to be very good.

In college, Alabli was solid offensively, averaging 12 points in 26 minutes a game. That being said, Alabi shot just 53% from the floor, which is a relatively low number for a center considering how easy it should be for him to get easy looks at the rim. Perhaps part of that low FG% is that Solomon is confident with his turnaround jumpshot and face-up mid-range jumpers which are obviously less efficient shots than a dunk or lay-up. Something like that could drag down his percentage but its a nice asset to have. On the block, Alabi has a ways to go but he is young and even if he can’t get a hook shot or step through move to count on his offensive arsenal is solid enough to get by thanks to what he brings on the other end.

Alabi can be a dominant shotblocker both in man-to-man and help situations. He is long and his defensive slides are solid which makes rotation over to the weakside and sending shots back a regular occurrence with Solomon. A lot of centers in college with Alabi’s size (or close to it, at least) tend to do too much defensively, attempting to block shots they can’t get to or overplaying their man looking to get an advantage. That leads to a lot of fouls. Alabi stayed away from that vice during his junior campaign and averaged just two fouls per game.

As a project, there are few teams worse for Alabi to go to than the Toronto Raptors. As a seven footer that needs to adjust to the pace and feel of the pro game in order to maximize his defensive potential, joining the league’s worst defensive team with a bunch of young guns on the wings and Ed Davis (another young pup) and Andrea Bargnani manning the paint. Those aren’t the defensive minded guys you want him to learn from. If there is a silver lining, perhaps playing with the offense-first Raptors will speed up his development on that end and give him a few more reps than he would get with a contender. Still, I don’t think we’ll see the best version of Alabi until he surrounded by competent defensive personnel (players and coaches).