Is there any scope left in the NBA for efficient 6'6 absolutely one dimensional shooters? I hope so.Ohio State lost their best player to the NBA, and came back better than ever. Their freshman crop of
Jared Sullinger,
Aaron Craft and
Deshaun Thomas has been perhaps the best freshman crop in the nation, and the returning
David Lighty,
William Buford,
Jon Diebler and
Dallas Lauderdale have all improved. The Buckeyes only go 7 deep, save for the occasional guest jumpshooter spot by fellow freshman Jordan Siebert, but they only need to go 7 deep. They could probably do it with only 5. They could probably even do it with only 4.
Diebler is probably the best shooter in the nation, hitting 102 threes on 204 attempts for an exactly 50% average, tied for 4th in the nation in percentage and 6th in makes. It is largely because of him that Ohio State ranks 3rd in the nation in three point percentage; Lighty, Buford and Craft chip in, but Diebler has more than 40% of the team's makes on his own. At 6'6, Diebler can always get the jumpshot off and has 30 feet of range - using this one trick, he scored the most points in the history of Ohio high school basketball, even more than
LeBron James. Diebler does little inside the paint, only dribbles if it involves turning a three into a long two, and has little defensive impact due to his lack of physical tools other than a decent effort level. To somewhat harshly simplify it, he only really brings one tool to the party. But what a tool it is. I have the Diebler Fever.