Ken
Guest
2015-16 Men’s Basketball Player Profile: Daniel Giddens
Ken via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
(Photo courtesy HoopsIntel.sportswar.com)
The Ohio State men’s basketball season is right around the corner. The upstart Buckeyes will take on Walsh in exhibition play on November 8th. To help get you ready for tip-off, The Buckeye Battle Cry will be bringing you Player Previews leading up to the beginning of the season. Today, we profile freshman Daniel Giddens.
Daniel Giddens joins the Buckeyes as a much needed post player with the departures of Amir Williams, Trey McDonald and Anthony Lee.
Daniel Giddens
Hometown: Mableton, GA
High School: Oak Hill Academy
Position: Center/Forward
Year: Freshman
Height: 6′-10″
Weight: 230
High School Awards
Daniel had numerous team achievements while at Wheeler High School and Oak Hill Academy. However, I want to point out three achievements that impressed me.
– Oak Hill won 5 invitational tournaments
– Member of USA Basketball’s Under-16 Team that won the Gold medal in 2013
– A 2015 McDonald’s All-America nominee
At some point, the “what were his numbers?” doesn’t mean too much, since it is often dependent upon the level of competition. What impresses me is that Giddens’ teams were successful numerous times at a high level of competition. Big Ten basketball should not be a difficult transition for Daniel.
The other “metric” I like to consider is a player’s offer list. Daniel held offers (to name a few) from Indiana, Kansas, Louisville, Maryland and UCLA. These are several NCAA ‘blue-blood’ programs. He appears to be a very good “get” for Ohio State.
Strengths
Based on a small sample (this video) a couple things strike me about Daniel’s game. He seems to have a well developed sense of anticipation on both offense and defense. He positions himself well in relation to the ball and the basket, being able to seemingly make plays look fairly effortless. Of course, his effort is putting himself into positions to make plays at both ends of the court.
At his size (6’10”, 230) he has the height and weight (I’ll get to that later) to be able to compete with “power” match-ups in Big Ten play. He also appears to be nimble enough to create some match-up issues in his favor. Getting back to his weight, I’ve seen Giddens listed weight ranging from 220 lbs to 240 lbs. So, the 230 seems like a reasonable number.
Weaknesses
I’m pretty hard pressed to come up with a weakness right now. If I have to guess (Joe tells me I’m contractually obligated to do so) it may be his transition from a high level high school program to high level NCAA competition. The match-ups will be a bit more even-keeled at this level and in Conference play, the game will be a good bit more physical. What worked for Daniel in high school may not work that well in college.
He just needs to be patient and heed Thad’s instruction. The game may initially be more frustrating to him, he just needs to weather it out. We’ll have to wait to see what develops.
Role on the Team
I believe that he can provide much-missed athleticism in the post position, along with team-mates Trevor Thompson (6’11”, 250) and David Bell (6’10”, 225). Daniel is listed as Center/Forward, which indicates that he has enough athleticism to slide into the power forward position, if needed.
The Center position in young and inexperienced, comprised of a Freshman, a RS Freshman and a RS Sophomore. Thankfully, they all appear to be very talented.
The post 2015-16 Men’s Basketball Player Profile: Daniel Giddens appeared first on The Buckeye Battle Cry: Ohio State News and Commentary.
Continue reading...
Ken via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
(Photo courtesy HoopsIntel.sportswar.com)
The Ohio State men’s basketball season is right around the corner. The upstart Buckeyes will take on Walsh in exhibition play on November 8th. To help get you ready for tip-off, The Buckeye Battle Cry will be bringing you Player Previews leading up to the beginning of the season. Today, we profile freshman Daniel Giddens.
Daniel Giddens joins the Buckeyes as a much needed post player with the departures of Amir Williams, Trey McDonald and Anthony Lee.
Daniel Giddens
Hometown: Mableton, GA
High School: Oak Hill Academy
Position: Center/Forward
Year: Freshman
Height: 6′-10″
Weight: 230
High School Awards
Daniel had numerous team achievements while at Wheeler High School and Oak Hill Academy. However, I want to point out three achievements that impressed me.
– Oak Hill won 5 invitational tournaments
– Member of USA Basketball’s Under-16 Team that won the Gold medal in 2013
– A 2015 McDonald’s All-America nominee
At some point, the “what were his numbers?” doesn’t mean too much, since it is often dependent upon the level of competition. What impresses me is that Giddens’ teams were successful numerous times at a high level of competition. Big Ten basketball should not be a difficult transition for Daniel.
The other “metric” I like to consider is a player’s offer list. Daniel held offers (to name a few) from Indiana, Kansas, Louisville, Maryland and UCLA. These are several NCAA ‘blue-blood’ programs. He appears to be a very good “get” for Ohio State.
Strengths
Based on a small sample (this video) a couple things strike me about Daniel’s game. He seems to have a well developed sense of anticipation on both offense and defense. He positions himself well in relation to the ball and the basket, being able to seemingly make plays look fairly effortless. Of course, his effort is putting himself into positions to make plays at both ends of the court.
At his size (6’10”, 230) he has the height and weight (I’ll get to that later) to be able to compete with “power” match-ups in Big Ten play. He also appears to be nimble enough to create some match-up issues in his favor. Getting back to his weight, I’ve seen Giddens listed weight ranging from 220 lbs to 240 lbs. So, the 230 seems like a reasonable number.
Weaknesses
I’m pretty hard pressed to come up with a weakness right now. If I have to guess (Joe tells me I’m contractually obligated to do so) it may be his transition from a high level high school program to high level NCAA competition. The match-ups will be a bit more even-keeled at this level and in Conference play, the game will be a good bit more physical. What worked for Daniel in high school may not work that well in college.
He just needs to be patient and heed Thad’s instruction. The game may initially be more frustrating to him, he just needs to weather it out. We’ll have to wait to see what develops.
Role on the Team
I believe that he can provide much-missed athleticism in the post position, along with team-mates Trevor Thompson (6’11”, 250) and David Bell (6’10”, 225). Daniel is listed as Center/Forward, which indicates that he has enough athleticism to slide into the power forward position, if needed.
The Center position in young and inexperienced, comprised of a Freshman, a RS Freshman and a RS Sophomore. Thankfully, they all appear to be very talented.
The post 2015-16 Men’s Basketball Player Profile: Daniel Giddens appeared first on The Buckeye Battle Cry: Ohio State News and Commentary.
Continue reading...