Scouting Report: Christian Wood, PF, UNLV

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Sophomore breakouts are a strange and fickle thing. While they may portend further development potential and indicate a strong work ethic, they can also highlight questions about a bad freshman campaign.

Both outcomes seem to be at play in the case of Christian Wood, the 19-year-old UNLV power forward who made an enormous statistical leap in his second season. Wood went from an afterthought with the Runnin' Rebels to a core piece, and his obvious talents have NBA scouts excited about his ultimate potential. At the same time, his interviews at the NBA Draft Combine are said to have raised some questions about his maturity, conditioning, and NBA-readiness.

Relevant Background

Scouting Report

Strengths: Wood has the length and athleticism teams dream about in their power forwards, and his moves on the court makes certain things look easy. He has fluidity and speed, and could immediately be a threat in transition, even if the rest of his game may need some time. Those physical gifts helped him become a terrific rebounder and shot-blocker, and despite a poor shooting performance, teams believe his jump shot will be serviceable enough to help space the floor. There have been plenty of power forwards who got a look in the first round based on body and athleticism, but don't undersell Wood based on comparables. He also does a nice job playing off the ball, putting himself in position to succeed, which proves himself a strong finisher in close in a set offense.

Weaknesses: Wood's body has the measurements of an elite NBA athlete, but requires a lot of filling out. Calling him wiry would be putting it mildly, and he'll need to add a good deal of strength to avoid getting bullied on the block and seeing his rebounding numbers decline. He's unrefined on both ends of the floor despite strong numbers, and he'll need to spend time learning the intricacies of the game on both ends, like shot selection and when to gamble. He's a raw sophomore, in other words, and the team taking him will need to accept he's a long-term project.

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What to Expect on Draft Day

Given the concerns about his readiness and his timeline for contributing, there are simply too many more intriguing prospects for Wood to eke into the lottery. His range probably starts around No. 20 and finishes at the end of the first round, with his immediate future most likely involving a contending team short on obvious needs plucking him with the intent of supplying ample development time.