Wildly Unnecessarily Lengthy 2015 NBA Draft Board, Part 4: NCAA Centres
Jordan Railey
A late bloomer, Railey is still something of a project who needs more work, but who nevertheless began to make some strides as a senior.
Big if not nimble, Railey struggled early in his career at pretty much all facets of the game. His skills were underdeveloped, he struggled with the physicality, his awareness on both ends was poor, and his fouls and sub-40% shooting made him unreliable. Most concerning of all was a certain softness - Railey did not like the physical contact and actively avoided it, and a timid centre is no asset on either end.
In this last facet, Railey made some big strides in his final collegiate year. While he will likely exactly be a bruiser, Railey added some upper body muscle to his frame and played with a bit more fight, which immediately made him a better player. He developed slightly as a passer and finisher, and thus could be trusted to occasionally catch the ball on offense, and his timing and rotations on interior defense improved slightly. Railey also showed a bit of a willingness to run the court, and improved his play as the season went on. As he began to enjoy a bit of success, he gained some confidence, and thus gained enjoyed even more success.
Skill and awareness wise, though, Railey remains raw. He has pretty much one move in the post, a righty hook, and he still seems to premeditate his offense, unable to react to shifting defenses around him. He occasionally flashes an extremely high arcing mid range jump shot, but it is occasional, and something he ought develop into a reliable pick-and-pop option. Railey's footwork continues to need work, as does his finishing ability and positioning to create an angle for a feed over the top. But the bulk of his work needs to come defensively. Railey still does not fight on the glass much, relying on size alone, and his defensive ability is limited entirely to being around the basket. His pick-and-roll hedges are slow and clumsy, he misses cutters, gambles when he needn't, and generally avoids the leaving the paint on shooters or perimeter bigs. Railey is also a very poor foul shooter, something at which he has regressed rather than developed. There is, then, plenty more to do.
This is a negative-sounding write-up, perhaps, but it's not meant to be. The to-do list is long, but Railey can be seen to be doing it, and that counts for something.
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A late bloomer, Railey is still something of a project who needs more work, but who nevertheless began to make some strides as a senior.
Big if not nimble, Railey struggled early in his career at pretty much all facets of the game. His skills were underdeveloped, he struggled with the physicality, his awareness on both ends was poor, and his fouls and sub-40% shooting made him unreliable. Most concerning of all was a certain softness - Railey did not like the physical contact and actively avoided it, and a timid centre is no asset on either end.
In this last facet, Railey made some big strides in his final collegiate year. While he will likely exactly be a bruiser, Railey added some upper body muscle to his frame and played with a bit more fight, which immediately made him a better player. He developed slightly as a passer and finisher, and thus could be trusted to occasionally catch the ball on offense, and his timing and rotations on interior defense improved slightly. Railey also showed a bit of a willingness to run the court, and improved his play as the season went on. As he began to enjoy a bit of success, he gained some confidence, and thus gained enjoyed even more success.
Skill and awareness wise, though, Railey remains raw. He has pretty much one move in the post, a righty hook, and he still seems to premeditate his offense, unable to react to shifting defenses around him. He occasionally flashes an extremely high arcing mid range jump shot, but it is occasional, and something he ought develop into a reliable pick-and-pop option. Railey's footwork continues to need work, as does his finishing ability and positioning to create an angle for a feed over the top. But the bulk of his work needs to come defensively. Railey still does not fight on the glass much, relying on size alone, and his defensive ability is limited entirely to being around the basket. His pick-and-roll hedges are slow and clumsy, he misses cutters, gambles when he needn't, and generally avoids the leaving the paint on shooters or perimeter bigs. Railey is also a very poor foul shooter, something at which he has regressed rather than developed. There is, then, plenty more to do.
This is a negative-sounding write-up, perhaps, but it's not meant to be. The to-do list is long, but Railey can be seen to be doing it, and that counts for something.
