Brian Spurlock-USA Today Sports
Name: Derrick Nix
Age: 22
Height: 6-foot-9
Position: Center
School/Country: Michigan State
Latest Stats: 9.9 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 1.6 apg
Michigan State senior center Derrick Nix has continuously improved his play and production under head coachTom Izzo. Nix has transformed himself from a rarely used inside presence to a legitimate 28-minute per game bruiser. Nix averaged a career-high 9.9 points and 6.6 rebounds per game this past season and he has the intangibles to play professionally somewhere — whether or not that will be on an NBA roster remains to be seen.
Nix is listed as a center because his skill set really doesn’t extend much further than the rim. At 6-foot-9, he’s undersized for the NBA, but he makes up for it by weighing in at 270 lbs. Nix is a handful inside, but his NBA potential is not all that high in comparison to other centers in this year’s field — mainly because of that height disadvantage. Nix can certainly play overseas, but otherwise, he’s not a likely candidate to be drafted here in 2013.
Strengths: Nix is a brusier and one of the more physical players in this year’s draft class. He is rarely knocked off his block and he can use that size advantage to finish around the rim and rebound on the defensive end.
Weaknesses: Nix is not much of a scoring threat and at 6-foot-9, he’s undersized for the NBA center position. Taller, more athletic players will be able to simply shoot over him. There’s no denying his strength, but he doesn’t really have the talent or skill set to make up for that disadvantage.
Draft Projection: Undrafted
Follow Paul Seaver on Twitter: @PaulSeaverRS
