A guy I've been meaning to address sooner on here is Dayton sophomore forward Obi Toppin, who is averaging 19.8 points and 7.8 rebounds per game. Toppin is projected to be a top three pick according to my guys at NBADraft.net and has the Flyers ranked #3 in the country. Admittedly, I haven't watched a ton of Toppin but from the film I've seen of him, he looks to be the real deal.
For starters, he has great physical tools. At 6'9", 220 pounds, he is light on his feet, runs the floor like a gazelle, and really excels in the pick and roll. He is perfect to catch lobs from point guards and throw it down a la Blake Griffin. He has good hands and has all the pieces to be a killer power forward in the NBA.
Secondly, Toppin is a pretty good 3-point shooter, shooting 41.6% from 3-point range during his two years at Dayton. He shot 52.4% his freshman year on .6 attempts per game and is shooting 38.8% this year on 2.8 attempts per game. It's natural for guys to see a dip in their percentage when they start to shoot more threes since they're not being as timid with their shot selection. Perhaps he could improve his shot selection a bit, but even so, his 38.8% shooting is pretty good in and of itself.
Finally, Toppin is comfortable being the man on a championship contending team. As it stands, the Flyers are projected to be a #1 seed in the NCAA Tournament and they'll go as far as Toppin can take them. So far, he has proven to be up to the challenge of being the main player on his team and accepting the pressures that come along with it. If he can lead Dayton to a national title, that will bode very well for his draft stock, potentially making him the top pick in the draft.
The bottom line is Obi Toppin has all the pieces to be a really good player in the NBA. He has the physical tools, he has the skill, and he has the intangibles. I look forward to seeing what he does in March and whether or not he can lead the Flyers to a national championship.
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