NBA Comparison: Theo Ratliff

Strengths: The best shot blocker in the country 4.7 BPG ... He controls the paint well ... Extremely long and athletic player with great motor and ability to run the floor ... Improved offensively since a year ago and looks to post up much more than last year ... His go-to move on the low post is to receive the ball on the left side of the floor and turn around to his left shoulder and shoot the right handed hook shot ... Learned to play pick-and –roll effectively … he is a solid cutter to the basket and has no problems catching the ball in traffic ... His points are mostly inside the paint off of put-backs, dunks, offensive rebounds and second shot opportunities (converts a good percentage of shots out to 10 feet) ... Possesses great timing and excellent ability to block shots and he is extremely explosive off the floor ... It’s very difficult to shoot over him or finish around the rim when he is in the game due to his extremely long arms, and if he doesn’t block shots he will alter them ... Due to his extremely long arms and athleticism, Varnado is a very good rebounder both defensively and offensively ... Even though he averages 3.1 offensive rebounds per game, he gets his hands on many loose balls ... Defensively he often lets opponents get position on the low post and makes them shot over him ... a strong help defender ...

Weaknesses: Lacks body strength for the NBA (he improved since last year, but still has long way to go)... His body frame (shoulders) is a bit narrow for his size ... He gets pushed around too much on the low post, although he shows a willingness to battle ... Varnado needs to become a more effective low post scorer, keeping the ball up and finishing stronger under pressure and in traffic ... Needs to work on fundamentals of the game ... Offensively he is still raw and has to work on developing some more skills in the low post with back to the basket ... Has no left hand. His footwork and lateral quickness needs work as well (not good at defending man-to-man) ... Relies too much on his long arms and ability to block shots ... Has to develop a mid range jump shot ... He is only .654 FT shooter ... Can get in the foul trouble by leaving his ground on pump-fakes and trying to block every shot ...

Games Scouted:

2/3/09 Miss. St @ Kentucky- 6 points (2-6 FG, 2-4 FT), 12 rebounds, 2 turnovers, 7 blocks
2/18/09 South Carolina @ Miss. State- 10 points (3-13 FG, 2-2 FT), 6 rebounds, 4 blocks
3/13/09 Miss. St@ South Carolina- 12 points (6-14 FG, 0-1 FT), 9 rebounds, 3 assist, 6 blocks

Stevan Petrovic 4/22/09