Thursday, February 7, 2013
The upside of Steven Adams
By Luke Lapinski
Steven Adams joined Pittsburgh this season as a freshman with plenty of potential (No. 6 overall on the ESPN 100). The athleticism was certainly there, but the talent was still somewhat raw and it wasn't supposed to surprise anyone if he needed some time to adjust to the college game in North America.
A few months into his career with the Panthers, that's turning out to be a pretty accurate template for how his first season is playing out. He's averaging 6.9 points, 6.7 rebounds and 2.0 blocks while seeing the floor for just over 23 minutes per game. And our own Chad Ford suspects the big man out of New Zealand will likely hang around Pitt for at least another year. He currently has him at No. 26 on his big board, noting that Adams' impressive rebounding ability alone could very well land him in the first round if he decides to make the jump this summer. But he doesn't seem intent on rushing his way through college. And, if he can develop a strong offensive game to match his defensive production, he's likely to be a name that people are discussing much earlier in next year's draft.
