Indiana Hoosiers Coach Tom Crean may be feeling his seat warming in Bloomington, (and by warming we mean scorching) but that hasn’t stopped him from landing some of the nation’s top prospects class after class. Five star forward Thomas Bryant chose the Hoosiers over Syracuse and Kentucky.
Bryant said he models his game after Kevin Garnett and LaMarcus Aldridge. He’s also a big Lebron James and Minnesota Timberwolves fan (due to Andrew Wiggins). The sophomore center from Rochester, New York was a preseason All-American, and he’s having a solid campaign, despite the Hoosiers’ miserable season.
The 6-10 Center from Huntington (W.V.) Prep. is a true post player, but he can shoot the three-ball as well. Where he fits in at the next level is still a question mark, and hence his NBA draft stock is very volatile right now. It’s kind of all over the map.
Thomas Bryant NBA Draft Mocksourcing
Chicago Now 21 Denver (from Memphis)
NBA Draft.net 47th Indiana
Draft Express 21st Atlanta
Walter Football 22nd Utah
Tankathon 29th San Antonio
NBA Draft Room 25th Toronto Raptors
He is a big who bang down low and shoot the rock from the outside, so there’s always going to be a bull market for blue chips like him. However, his defense is still a question mark, and the defensive end has seen plenty of issues all season long for the Hoosiers.
Also, his scoring average is 11.9 points per game this season, same as last year. He’s averaging 6.7 rebounds per game, up from 5.8 last year.
All in all, Thomas Bryant is probably just better off returning to IU for his junior season, and then quite possibly he could develop into a lottery pick.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, partnered with FOX Sports Engage Network. and News Now. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, Bold and the Chicago Tribune’s RedEye publication, appears regularly as a guest on CGTN America, WGN CLTV News and KOZN 1620 The Zone.
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