Strengths: Powerful post player with tremendous rebounding ability … Uses his wide base, long arms and soft hands to inhale every rebound in his area … Has a true NBA skill, rebounding … Particularly dangerous on the offensive glass (averaged an astounding 5.6 offensive boards per game in his sophomore year) … Big personality. Plays the game with great love and passion. Appears to really have fun playing the game, almost always has a big grin on his face … An intimidating post presence, despite not possessing great leaping ability … Enjoys physical contact and understands how to position himself for rebounds … An excellent passer for a post player. Difficult to double team, has a strong court sense with excellent vision and passing skills … An efficient offensive player … Has a tremendous pair of mits, allowing him to grab boards and gather in post passes with ease … Post skills are strong. He understands how to create space against shot blockers by leaning into them (as he showed matching up with Hasheem Thabeet) … One of those type of players who seems to have better touch around the basket with contact … Converts a lot of And 1s … Extremely A natural leader and strong competitor who wills his team to wins and consistently comes through in the clutch … A solid set of post moves. Very comfortable playing in the paint and using fakes to get defenders off balance and off their feet … An underrated athlete.

Weaknesses: Concerns linger about his ability to get in better shape and stay in shape. Will he be another John “Hot Plate” Williams or Robert “Tractor” Traylor? … Lacks great mobility at his current weight, hindering his ability to play an up tempo game … And in turn would fit best with a half court oriented team at the NBA level … It remains to be seen how much quickness and mobility he can add by dropping some weight … At 6-6.5 is severely undersized at the post position although his 7-foot-3 wingspan allows him to play a few inches bigger … Doesn’t have great explosiveness either which makes creating shots against bigger and more athletic players a challenge … … At times showed his inexperience late in the year making careless mental errors in key moments … Needs to become more efficient from the line (61% FT) … Should also look to add a more consistent mid-range shot … Excess weight makes it difficult for him to face the basket and get by opponents or get to rebounds out of his position … His defensive ability is also diminished by his lack of foot speed … Extremely strong willed, which is both a positive and a negaitve. He goes to the beat of his own drum which could be a real detriment if he’s unresponsive to coaching and taking instruction …

Aran Smith 5/11/09

Strengths: Blair is a man with great girth He does what he looks like he should do C bang on the inside, grab rebounds, and with his 7’3" wingspan, anchor his team’s interior defense … Very soft hands Generally stays out of foul trouble, something especially impressive for someone of his size and propensity for contact Very competitive and eager to improve, there are no motivation question marks with him … A winner. Seems to have a great rapport with his teammates and has already taken on somewhat of a leadership role as a freshman on the upperclassmen-led Pitt Panthers squad. Has a gregarious personality, a natural leader and strong clubhouse guy … Shows soft touch on his shot both with contact and from the line …

Weaknesses: Blair should continue to polish his one-on-one low post moves A deadly-mid range jumper would greatly benefit his game, a la Carlos Boozer or Kurt Thomas. Blair should watch his weight, he’s got good body strength and quickness but could probably improve upon it by trimming 10 lbs … His bulk is one of his strengths, though if he can find a way to balance his bulk and its affect on his quickness he would benefit.

Drew Wolin – 12/21/2007