Name: DeVon Hardin Position: Power Forward Height: 6-11 (2.11m) Weight: 250 (113kg) College Team: California Golden Bears Nationality: American Birthplace: Fremont, California Birthdate: 9/7/1986 Drafted: Declared for the 2007 NBA Draft but withdrew... Selected by the Seattle Supersonics in the second round (50th pick overall) of 2008 NBA Draft...

Strengths: Athletically and physically, Hardin has a premium NBA body … Runs the floor extremely well … Has shown some resemblance of a back to the basket game with his decent jump hook … Does a great job of keeping the ball high to keep it safe from double teams … Court vision is much improved from last season … Is now able to recognize double teams and pass the ball out effectively … Good finisher around the rim and capable of making some impressive plays … Quality rebounder who uses his long arms and mobility to snare rebounds out of position … Above average help defender who can block shots with ease … Has all the physical tools to be a premier shot blocker with his wingspan, long arms and explosiveness … Gets a good deal of his points on offensive rebounds where he is effective on put-backs … Shows solid hands capable of catching most passes with few issues … Although rare, Hardin has shown the ability to shoot a 16 foot mid-range shot when his feet are set … Despite not being the focal point of his team’s offense, Hardin does a great job of creating contact … Better free throw shooter than his numbers suggest where his form is solid and will improve … Potentially, he is a rare senior that still has a lot more room for growth and further development … Is a top notch student with a stable family life and hasn’t had any issues off the court … Coachable player who most importantly understands what his role is on his team …

Weakness: Doesn’t do a good job of denying post position from opposing forwards … This could be due to his below average leg strength, which is unusually undeveloped … Focus during games tends to wander; Hardin literally loses all his aggressiveness and disappears … Shows good touch, but lacks the comfort level and consistent ability to shoot from mid-range … Is foul prone, as he can get caught up in being too aggressive defensively … Back to the basket moves still unpolished despite his senior status … Improvement on his choppy post footwork would augment his execution and balance in the post … Lacks the ability to absorb contact and finish, which has a lot to do with his below average touch around the basket … Struggles at times to effectively box out physical post players when rebounding in his area … Doesn’t hustle or demonstrate much of a mean streak that GMs love in players his size … Underachiever whose production hasn’t matched his physical gifts that many expected this past season … He can do some damage when everything is clicking offensively, but a problem lies in his confidence, which waivers at times …

Matthew Maurer - 1/22/08