Skilled big men are tough to find, develop for mid-majors

A good post can be a difference-maker, especially at a smaller program.

By Kyle Nagel and Doug Harris
Staff Writers Updated 1:14 AM Sunday, July 25, 2010

When mid-major level college basketball coaches study post recruits, they’re not always judging by what they immediately see.

“Big guys take a little longer,” said University of Dayton coach Brian Gregory. “Some are not as mature physically. Some have to change their bodies. It just takes a little longer than a 6-2 guard or a 6-4 athlete.”

As college coaches continue through the second of two key “evaluation” recruiting periods this month, everyone will be looking for size. But success in landing a quality recruit at the position is often judged years later and can be the difference between a competitive team and a championship team, coaches said.

“The applicant pool, if you want to call it that, is just smaller,” said Wright State coach Billy Donlon. “That means there’s more competition for those players.”

A look at last season in the Atlantic 10 Conference and Horizon League shows that having production from taller players is a boost in the league race, but that gaining production from the big men is more difficult.

Last season, A-10 teams included 37 players 6-foot-9 or taller on their rosters, while the Horizon League had 23. Each first-place team included significant stats from a big man — Temple, in the A-10, got 11.5 points and 10.7 rebounds per game from 6-9 Lavoy Allen, while Butler in the Horizon League boasted 15.5 points and 8.2 boards per game from 6-9 Gordon Hayward.

In the A-10, each of the top four finishers claimed double-digit point averages from players 6-9 or taller, but production didn’t always equal success. One of the A-10’s best big men, 6-9 Andrew Nicholson of St. Bonaventure (16.4 PPG, 7.1 RPG) played for a Bonnies team that finished 15-16 and tied for eighth in the league. In the Horizon League, Detroit finished seventh despite 11.8 points and 8.9 rebounds per game from 6-10 Eli Holman.

With the prospects for such production, coaches can choose to take chances on players who will need more development.

“Take a 6-10 guy who’s 40 pounds overweight and needs to lose weight like a (Nazr Mohammed of Kentucky, who came to the school at 315 pounds),” Gregory said. “Or you get a guy who’s awkward and thin, and not able to play as a freshman like Sean Finn. Everyone has to give guys a chance to grow into that player, coaches included. But everybody wants a quick fix.”

That’s why gaining production from those bigger players can be difficult. Last season, of the 37 players in the A-10 at that size, 18 failed to average at least 3 points per game. In the Horizon League, 16 of the 23 players 6-9 or taller didn’t average at least 3 rebounds per game.

Coaches also will search further for the big men. A-10 rosters last season included taller players from Turkey, England, Bosnia, Austria, Australia, Nigeria, Canada and the Virgin Islands.

The search will continue this week and into the future for players gifted with height, even if they need to gain weight, or perhaps lose some. But coaches said the importance of such players to a roster cannot be underestimated.

“You try to convince a post that the common thread in the best non-BCS teams is a big guy, and that you have the rest of the pieces in place,” Donlon said. “The perimeter play at our level (mid-major) is very equivalent to the top leagues, so the difference is the interior player. For the big guys, there’s a better chance to come in and have an impact.”

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