Anthony Bennett

[Dime Dropper]

Just wondering who here has seen him. The guy is a beast. The problem is that he's 6'7'', which is clearly way undersized for a PF. However, he's a great athlete, and I believe he could possibly play SF. He's huge though, so stamina may be a problem. I just think if he CAN play SF, this guy could be a beast at the next level. He's pretty skilled for a guy that is so strong and athletic, and he's only a freshman.

 

[Gilles]

No way he's an NBA SF!

 

[Dime Dropper]

He's as quick, actually quicker, than someone like Deng. He handles the ball well enough to be an SF. However his passing is lacking for a SF, but you could get past that. I haven't seen him enough to know if he's laterally quick enough to guard opposing SFs however, so you could be right. But I see some things that he can do that would enable to play SF and be a nightmare matchup.

 

[bajaden]

He's as quick, actually quicker, than someone like Deng. He handles the ball well enough to be an SF. However his passing is lacking for a SF, but you could get past that. I haven't seen him enough to know if he's laterally quick enough to guard opposing SFs however, so you could be right. But I see some things that he can do that would enable to play SF and be a nightmare matchup.

I've seen him play about 3 times so far. I love the guy, and he plays bigger than his listed height. Frankly, I don't care how tall he is, the guy can play. Barkley was only around 6'5" and he played PF. Last time I checked, no one could stop Barkley. Bernard King was one of the best players I ever saw, and he was only 6'7". We get caught up too much with this height business at times. Lets not forget that he has a 7'1" wingspan, and as Jerry Reynolds said, you don't rebound with the top of your head.

But to answer your orginal question, yes, I think he can play some SF. He's an outstanding athlete, with explosive leapiing ability. And I think his ballhandling is better than you do. I've seen grab a defensive rebound and take it end to end through traffic for a violent dunk. On one occasion during a fast break, I saw him take off from the foul line and easily dunk the ball. He already has an NBA body, and at first glance, he doesn't look like someone thats lightning quick, but he is. He has very quick feet, and great lateral quickness.

He needs to become more consistent on the defensive side of the ball. Thats not to imply that he's horribe on defense, but that he has all the tools to be very good, and as yet, isn't using all of them. Anyone that sells this kid short is making a huge mistake.