2014 NBA Post-Draft Profile: Arizona State Center Jordan Bachynski

Age: 24 (9/6/89)
Class: Senior
Height: 7’2″
Weight: 250 pounds
2013-14 Season: 30.9 minutes, 11.5 points, 8.2 rebounds, 4.0 blocks, 54.5% fg, 69.3% ft, 4.0 blocks

Strengths

While Bachynski’s numbers are by no means eye-popping, he showed improvement in several categories throughout his career.

Bachynski’s game averages in minutes, points, rebounds, blocks, field goal attempts, field goals made and free throw percentage increased from the previous year during each of his four seasons at Arizona State.

A six-point, four-rebound guy as a sophomore, Bachynski roughly doubled his production in those areas as a senior, when he scored 11.5 points and grabbed 8.2 rebounds per game, while becoming a rim protector with four blocks per contest, as he became the Pac-12’s all-time leader in blocks with 314. He also finished his senior season as the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year.

Offensively, Bachynski works well off the blocks and in the paint, taking advantage of his high reach to score over defenders with a lefty hook shot — something that normally throws opposing defenders off more than a right-handed shot.

Using solid footwork and his size to gain good position near the basket, Bachynski does a nice job of receiving the ball off of penetration by his teammates, and finishing at the hoop.

He also has a good touch and a nice, smooth arc on jumpers when he steps out to a mid-range area, but that wasn’t a way in which Arizona State used him much.

Defense is Bachynski’s primary staple. In a league without enough big, shot-blocking centers to go around anymore, Bachynski can provide great value without doing much in the box score, simply by altering shots in addition to the many he ends up blocking. Quick hands good timing aid him in that area.

Weaknesses

One area which might have given NBA general managers some cause for concern with drafting Bachynski was the big man’s issues with staying on the floor at times.

While Bachynski averaged a non-alarming three fouls per game as a senior, he did foul out four times and had four fouls in seven other games last year.

A late bloomer, Bachynski is also going to be 25 years old before the next NBA season begins, after taking one year off for ankle surgery and spending another on a Mormon mission.

Although in his senior season, he finally averaged double digits in scoring for the first time, Bachynski was only the third-leading scorer for Arizona State last year, and he was inconsistent, with 14 single-digit scoring games among the 33 contests he played in a season ago.

For his size, Bachynski should be a little better on the glass, as he sometimes lacks some of the natural instincts to go after rebounds.

Bachynski doesn’t always involve himself in the offense enough, despite being an efficient shooter. Although he shot 54.5 percent as a senior, 58.3 percent the year before and 57.8 percent as a sophomore, he only attempted double-digit shots nine times last season.

While Bachynski’s 69.3 percent from the foul line as a senior marked a nearly 10-percent improvement from the previous year, he only shot in the 50s over his first three seasons.

A lack of strength and lateral movement are also hindrances to Bachynski’s game at the other end of the floor, as is his ability to stay with smaller players when they draw him away from the paint.