2016 NBA Draft Watch List: Kaleb Tarczewski

Kaleb Tarczewski, Senior, Arizona, Center, 7’0, 245

(2014-15, 26.0 mpg) 9.3 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 0.6 bpg, 0.4 spg

57.2 FG%, 69.9 FT%, 61.3 TS%, 57.2 eFG%

17.8 USG%, 8.0 OREB%, 16.6 DREB%, 12.5 TRB%, 2.5 BLK%

DOB: 2/26/1993 (22)

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It’s a shame that Tarczewski plays in an offense which neglects him for the most part, because he has slowly continued to improve on that end of the floor. He has great size and moves very well for a 7-footer. While he has shown some good skill as a low post scorer, especially making moves over his left shoulder, he still hasn’t developed a complete set of moves which would allow him to take advantage of his size and his footwork. Tarczewski has shown nice touch around the basket, along with some ability to hit the occasional shot out to 8-10 feet. He does need to be more aggressive with the ball around the basket, often hesitating so long that defenders can converge on him easily. He has a good nose for the ball and looks to get into position quickly for offensive rebounds, but again, Tarczewski should be more aggressive, especially battling smaller players. Tarczewski does a good job drawing contact around the basket, and while his free throw percentage dipped a bit last year, he has a good enough free throw stroke that he takes advantage. Tarczewski does have the ability to finish strong if given some space, and he’s become much better at cutting to the basket off of perimeter penetration. On defense, Tarczewski is an active defender, using his athleticism well to challenge shots around the basket, even if he hasn’t proven to be a great shot blocker. He has good awareness and has improved as a weak-side defender. He improved both his perimeter and post defense as the year went on, but he still has a lot of work to do.

What he needs to show this season: As of noted over the last few years, Tarczewski’s development has been slower than a lot of big prospects, primarily because the Arizona offense doesn’t feature any real emphasis on post play. He needs to continue to work on using his body better to get position in the post, and continue to develop his footwork and post moves on both sides of the basket and over both shoulders. Along with this, he should also work on finishing with either hand around the rim. Once he adds more strength, he should be able to get good shots off around the basket, even in traffic. While he seems to know what to do in pick-and-roll situations, and he’s become a good screener, he needs to work on opening up quicker to the ball and rolling to the basket. On the defensive side, his defense on high screens needs to improve, especially showing that he can hedge out on the ballhandler and recover. He has a tendency to drop off right away as the man comes off the screen, leaving a lot of space. Tarczewski has done a good job becoming a more physical post defender, and he has used his length well to deny entry passes into the low post. Tarczewski has the size and athletic ability to be a good rim-protector, but he seems to be always just a bit behind the shooter and late to the ball. As I mentioned earlier, Tarczewski needs to be more aggressive on the floor, and add defensive rebounding as one more area for him to do this. Arizona does rebound well as a team, so it doesn’t hurt much, but for the next level, Tarczewski has to go stronger after the ball.

Where he fits at the next level: It’s obvious that Tarczewski’s skill level on either end of the floor really isn’t up to the NBA level yet, but still, with his size and athleticism, he could eventually develop into a decent back-up big man. Before that happens, he’ll likely need to show more improvement this year, with a place for him to develop more in his early pro career.

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