Strickland33
Well-known member
He's a 21 year old that rebounds above the league average. He'll play 10+ years, either as rotation guy or as a guy filling out the end of a bench. Guys like that always have work in the NBA, and Aminu's got soft hands and a nice shot to boot. I have no problem saying he'll have a long NBA career. I don't think he's really found his niche yet.
That's because still has no skill that contributes to an NBA team outside of athleticism and some size.
For one, though he's 6'9, he's still 215-pounds. And he's a skinny 215-pounds. He can't shoot from inside or outside of the arc (31% 3FG last year and 0% thus far this year vs. 43.7% 2FG last year and 36.4% this year), he's not a great finisher, and he still lacks the handles to create anything for himself. He's a solid defender, but that's almost entirely contingent on his athleticism right now. I liked AFA at Wake, but he has not improved (via stats or tape) at all despite being placed in two optimal positions to produce and produce a lot.
In five games he's rebounding the ball at a respectable rate, but last season he was pretty terrible all things considered (7.3 rebounds per 40 minutes is nothing to cheer about if you're an elite 6'9 athlete with a 7'4 wingspan). He is also just as turnover prone as at any point in his career...