As it stands now, Ivan Rabb is too skinny for the NBA. The five-star freshman and former McDonald’s All-American from Oakland measures at 6-foot-11, 220 pounds and would probably get eaten alive on the professional level if he were drafted tomorrow.
But here’s the kicker. Rabb’s size is ideal for the college game and has him built like a man among whom most would still consider boys. As a result, he managed to average 12.2 points and 8.4 rebounds per game while shooting 60.5 percent from the field. That’s not at all bad for a college big man, especially a freshman.
Next, let’s discuss the eye test. Rabb has worked primarily in the paint under Golden Bears coach Cuonzo Martin, meaning that most of his offense comes in the paint and under the basket. Given how he’s been playing center at Cal, this makes complete sense.
Except, Rabb doesn’t really grade out as a center on the NBA level, even if he does add another 10 to 15 pounds of muscle ahead of the NBA Draft in June. He has long and skinny arms and isn’t particularly big in the shoulders, nor does he have the big hands one would find on a dominant shot blocker, a la Marcus Camby. To give a better idea, Camby averaged 3.6 blocks per game in three years at UMass, and Rabb only posted 1.2 per contest this season.
Rather, Ivan Rabb grades out more like a power forward in the mold of Chris Bosh or David West. He has a jump shot that he doesn’t use very often in Martin’s system, but has shown the ability to hit it consistently when left open. That sounds quite a bit like Bosh when he was at Georgia Tech.
It just so happens that NBADraft.net believes that Rabb’s best pro comparison is none other than Bosh, and currently has him going eighth overall to the Milwaukee Bucks in its latest mock draft.
Rabb still has the Pac-12 and NCAA Tournaments to play in and also still must decide if he will turn pro, but there hasn’t been any indication that he’ll stay in school. His draft is sky high right now and though Rabb could use another year to get stronger, he’d slowly be able to make an impact in the NBA if he were selected by any team in June.
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*Featured Photo (above) credit to YouTube
