March 15, 2011

At centre, Terrence Jennings has elements of Jerome Moiso about him. He is an important, productive, athletic and versatile centre.....sometimes. And then sometimes, he's a no-show. Jennings can outrun any centre when he chooses to, can finish around the basket, block shots, rebound, and pass better than his numbers suggests. But these things are mainly predicated on athleticism and effort, which he doesn't always give. In stark contrast to this, his backup, freshman Gorgui Dieng, never lacks for effort. Dieng plays much like Jennings - the athleticism, the rebounding, the shot blocking, the ability to change a game primarily due to little more than physical profile. He doesn't have the abilities of Jennings to finish in any way other than a dunk, occasionally spot-up for a jumpshot or pass, but then nor does he have the same lack of motor. Dieng is as exciting of a prospect as Jennings once was, maybe more so. Time will tell if he projects the same way.

(Jennings still has time - he has another year of eligiblity left, and no incentive to leave early. This is far from the end of his story. But with Samardo Samuels leaving early for the NBA, Jennings was given a huge opportunity. And he hasn't really taken advantage of it.)

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