Strengths: Has really come a long way in a short time ... Intriguing bigman with great size and developing skills ... Has soft touch on his shot and has shown excellent improvement in his offensive game ... Comfortable shooting within 10 feet of the basket and can hit jumpers (out to 10-15 feet) as well as hook shots ... Excellent agility for a player his size ... A fluid athlete who gets up and down the floor well ... Has a chance to be very good if he continues to work hard and improve ... Great footwork for a center ... His post skills are showing a lot of improvement and his confidence is growing ... Aggressive attacking the basket and get a lot of dunks due to his length, and explosiveness ... Good hands, which is unusual for African born players ... Has a massive wingspan and a tremendous basketball body ... Has worked hard in the weight room and gained a great deal of strength. appears as though he can get a lot stronger too ... Length makes him a dominant defensive presence in the paint ... An effective shot blocker who's numbers (2.1 bpg in 22 mpg) can improve with more playing time ... Quality free throw shooter for a big man at 68%, which should improve ...

Weaknesses: Still a work in progress and has a ways to go before he figures out all that he's capable of ... Appears to struggle against 7-footers. Also can be thrown off some by physical players ... Gets himself in trouble at times by trying to do too much offensively, particularly putting the ball on the deck and trying to make a move to the basket ... At times looks awkward and his lack of a "feel" for the game and experience is apparent ... Still working to the point where making plays with the ball (passing, catching, reacting) becomes second nature ... Does not show very good passing ability yet nor vision ... Gets the ball stolen away when he doesn't keep the ball high ... Had a stress fracture in his foot as a freshman so there could be some question marks regarding his health, although he played his entire (redshirt) freshman season injury free ... He's already close to the age of a senior despite being just a sophomore, so detractors will point to that as a negative. Also being African will cause some to question his listed age, but by all accounts, it is correct ...

Notes: Scouts feel he has a great chance to be a better pro than #2 pick in 2009 Hasheem Thabeet ... Could be primed for a breakout sophomore season in 2009-10 ... Hasheem Thabeet’s potential struggles in the NBA could adversely affect his draft stock …

Aran Smith 9/23/09

Weaknesses: Alabi is a project. His offensive game is very limited and he does not have much confidence with the ball in his hands. He also does not have a great shooting touch outside of 5-7 feet from the basket. Solomon seems to struggle banging in the paint as well, since his frame is so slight. He needs to add at least 30 pounds of bulk and continue to work on his post game.

Joshua Motenko - 8/3/2006