Washington Wizards NBA Draft Primer 2015: The Big Men
Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports
Robert Upshaw: So., Washington
Robert Upshaw comes into the draft with a very murky status. Not only has Upshaw been kicked off of two Division I programs, Fresno State in 2013 and Washington back in January, (cue the “character concerns”) Upshaw was flagged at the NBA Combine for a heart issue, which has prompted him to suspend his workouts. Obviously that has to be his paramount concern, and it’s certainly very worrying to see.
Acknowledging that we still don’t know exactly how this is going to end, it’s amazing that Robert Upshaw has any draft stock at all after everything that’s happened to him over the last couple of years. But those that watched any of his 19 games at Washington can see why: as a rim protector, there’s no one even close to his equal. Upshaw was the single best shotblocker in all of Division I before his dismissal from the University of Washington, averaging 4.5 blocks per game.
At an even 7 foot, 250 pounds, Upshaw reminds me a fair bit of Hassan Whiteside when Whiteside first came out of college. Upshaw’s never made a shot from further than five feet away, but a center can get away with such offensive crudeness if he can be a hoss in other areas of the game. And oh my God, it is fun to watch Robert Upshaw block shots.
He blocks them every single way you can block them: coming over from the weak side, stuffing drives at the rim, stonewalling his man in the post, and moving out to reject jumpers. And one of the best parts about what Upshaw does? He keeps the ball in play. He’s no JaVale McGee, trying to swat it into the 7th row. I love that.
Upshaw has that one truly exceptional skill, but the rest of his game is extremely raw, and his fundamentals as a defender are distinctly average. That, he often (but not always) gets away with, because he’s such a fantastic rim protector. He’s very limited, but Upshaw has real potential as a defense-first backup center.
The question is, will Upshaw’s career be able to get off the ground? Might he even be there at 49? We’ll have to wait and see.
Next: 1) Rakeem Christmas