Well, if you want to talk about that, cool, but I thought we needed a thread to talk about Buchanan.
Is Buchanan:
High Floor / Low Upside
Low Floor / High Upside
High Floor / High Upside
0voters
I will go with high floor, high upside. If he can be a shot blocker, and he’s decently athletic, I think he’s got a chance to be in the Akil/Darion/Mamadi mold. And I think I see the beginnings of some crafty moves and maybe the hint of a jumper. Realistically, his floor is probably south of those very athletic / very skilled defenders, but I think his offensive median is probably north of what we got from Darion and Akil (certainly well north of senior year “screw in his hand” Akil).
I think we should be pretty excited to have traudt and Buchanan potentially overlapping for 3 years (and you still have Kadin bridging the gap for a year).
Watch the IG tape posted above. Then watch the latest Hudl tape. BB looks more explosive on both ends and a more consistent shot. Those dunks the senior year were stronger, higher, and more aggressive. I like what I see.
I know he’s done some great things in big tourneys against 4/5 star comp @Hooandtrue , but I wonder if a lot of the ‘he wont be ready’ stuff comes from the majority of his competition, which is as bad as it could possibly be lol. He’s got 7-8 inches on guys every time he plays. I am guessing the assumption is the speed/size/strength transition will be overwhelming, coupled with learning the Pack, with big men take time at UVA
Watching those highlights I’d say Blake’s closest UVA comp is Mamadi. Less explosive but more polished, same size and build. Mamadi was awesome. Let’s hope for a similar outcome with Blake.
For Isaac Traudt, this is the perfect guy to pair with in the front court.
I think high floor, medium upside would be more precise. I think he has a great chance to be a solid to good college player, probably our most capable big since Mamadi’s maturation.
PJ Hall at Clemson is a good role model for what we could hope for. Blake moves better, PJ is a little more coordinated though I think. They’re pretty similar at this stage. Hall was a guy you saw flashes of skill from his last summer a lot like Blake, but neither were polished enough to be consistent with it. Both really physical guys that always had great motors.
I would just love to have big with some post moves. Huff and hopefully Traudt can hit threes and they all seem to be able to catch lobs for dunks but how about someone who can catch the ball in the paint and use a move to put it in the basket. I have hopes that BB could be that guy.
