RYAN KALKBRENNER
Position/Archetype: Dirty Work Anchor 5
College: Creighton
Pros:
Interior Defense: Extremely good interior defender in college, I think its his best skill, Swallow shots, very able anchor in the paint uses his wingspan greatly and uses his advantages being 7'1 and having a 7'5 wingspan. Averaging 3 blocks last season, slightly less this season but had an DRTG of 99 and has been a 4x Big East DPOY, thats defensive Pedigree
Efficiency: 68 EFG%, extremely efficient scorer on the court, primarily taking easy shots in the pain, high percentage looks but has no problems converting and takes and makes threes at a good percentage although low volume.
Post Play and touch: He's got a real good touch around the rim, he can convert difficult angled lobs and uses the glass really well, but also moves well in the post to create space and advantages under the rim, utilising his height advantage which won't be as common or useful in the NBA but shows the IQ to identify gaps in opponents.
Offensive IQ and use in plays: He's a great connective passer, smart enough in plays to create advantages using screens for others, rolls well and pops well creating a lot of space, passes out the post to the perimeter well. Just in general a great player to fit into a system, what is a great swing is how well he will adapt into a new NBA system, but shows everything to be a 1 team long term vet in the league.
Progressing 3pt Jumper: Improved every year, big swing factor for impact if it translates well but I personally believe it will take a few years before it becomes a consistent asset to his game in the NBA
Cons:
Mobility: heavy feet, HEAVY FEET, maybe less heavy than Zach Edey has had but yeah he's gonna be slow and heavy footed which will really hurt his perimeter defence on that end as well as the in general movement offensively but if you are worried about Edey in this way your gonna feel a similar motive with Kalkbrenner to maybe a smaller magnitude.
Shot Creation: Outside of just being given the ball in the post, he doesn't create for himself and Is pretty much served all the plays on a platter, which I don't hate for a center like this and who is so efficient but its something to note that he probably needs a strong creator on the court with him to have a smooth transition.
Rebounding: low rebounder for someone of such a tall height and wingpspan, you'd expect way more offensive rebounds etc. But he probably needs to put some weight on which usually isn't something you want to say with an older prospect so I don't think this is something that will develop.
Age: 23, old guy and I really cant see too much development from this guy to where he looks better than he does right now in college, this is why I cant really see him breaking into being a starter or a consistent starter at that for the majority of his career, why I regard him as a long term bench roleplaying center, a very valuable type of player.
NBA Pro Comp: Luke Kornet, Walker Kessler with worse Mobility
Projection: Probably a consistent Bench centre, long NBA career ahead for him
CHEESE FINAL BOARD RANKING: (coming soon)