2011 NBA Draft Scouting Report: Jonas Valanciunas

Written by Paul Banks of the Washington Times, and David Kay of the The Sports Bank.
Send Paul an e-mail here: paulb05 AT hotmail DOT com.
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2011 NBA Draft Scouting Report: Jonas Valanciunas

Position: Center

Size: 6-11, 240

School: Lithuania, 1992

Strengths:

Length

Athleticism

Assertive on the glass

Timing as a shot blocker

Aggressiveness at the rim

Plays extremely hard

Effective in pick and roll situations

Good feel around the bucket

Soft hands

Power dribble with his right hand

Weaknesses:

Needs to get stronger

Face up game

Comfort level with his jump shot

Most of his baskets come off dunks or easy lay-ups

Left hand/ball handling

Summary: It is easy to see the intrigue surrounding Jonas Valanciunas in this weak draft. He recently turned 19 years old and has great upside to complement his God-given size. Valanciunas plays extremely hard, and if that work ethic continues throughout his NBA career, the potential is there for him to be a very solid big man.

Player Comparison: Andris Biedrins. Due to his rebounding and activity on the defensive end, Valanciunas falls somewhere between Darko and Andris Biedrins for me right now. Both players are limited on the offensive end, and until Valanciunas can develop any resemblence of a game outside of five feet from the hoop, that comparison appears to be pretty safe.

RELATED LINKS:

2011 NBA Mock Draft

2012 NBA Mock Draft

2011 NBA Draft Prospect Rankings

2011 NBA Draft Scouting Reports

Written by Paul Banks of the Washington Times, and David Kay of the The Sports Bank.
Send Paul an e-mail here: paulb05 AT hotmail DOT com.
All other e-mail, including advertising and link proposals, send to: [email protected]

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