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Rockets select Montrezl Harrell with No. 32 pick in 2015 NBA Draft

Mark Konezny-USA TODAY Sports

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The Houston Rockets came up with a second-round steal, selecting Louisville power forward Montrezl Harrell with the No. 32 overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft on Thursday night.

Harrell projected as a mid-to-late first-rounder, but concerns about his size and ability to translate his skillset to the NBA saw him free-fall into Houston's lap.

Here's hoping Rockets fans like highlights, because Harrell is the king of Vines. No, seriously. The king. Those highlights speak to both his ability in the open court and his terrific athleticism, and while his role will probably be smaller in the NBA, a lot of what made him great over the last two seasons could carry over.

Harrell measured out well enough to conceivably play both frontcourt positions - his exceptional length offsetting his underwhelming height (6-foot-7.5 in shoes) - and his body comes NBA-ready. His reach gives him a nice defensive base to work from and explains his rebounding prowess. He may not be tall, but he's functionally big.

If the Rockets are serious about dealing Terrence Jones, or if they subsequently whiff on free-agent power forwards to replace him with, Harrell would stand as a solid option to soak up some frontcourt minutes off the bench.

In his junior season with the Cardinals, Harrell averaged 15.7 points, 9.2 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks, while shooting 56.6 percent from the field, mostly on shots close to the hoop.

The biggest challenge for the Rockets will be refining his offensive game to turn him into a potential starter. He's not much of a shooter or passer, and a lot of the buckets he could bully his way to in the NCAA may not be available against pro bigs.

You can read more about Harrell in our scouting report.

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