Devon Hardin, 6’11, Center, Senior, California
10.0 points, 3.7 rebounds, 1.7 blocks, 1.7 turnovers, 44% FG, 67% FT
Joseph Treutlein
While he didn’t have the greatest camp in terms of overall production, Devon Hardin helped his stock somewhat by reaffirming what everyone already thought-- that he’s a truly outstanding athlete with an NBA ready body. His standing reach and body fat percentage tested out very well in the combine, while he posted strong numbers in the lane agility and max vertical leap as well. For a reference point, his overall numbers compare pretty favorably to Al Horford or Greg Oden from last year.
While Hardin’s on-court abilities are certainly nowhere near his physical tools, he does bring some intriguing things to the table, and it’s important to note he’s made strides with his game in his four years at Cal, while also missing the better part of his junior season. Hardin showed the good and the bad of his game on the floor here at Orlando, showing some inconsistency and a lack of polish along with flashes of incredible things around the basket.
Hardin’s post game is lacking polish in terms of his footwork, awareness, and reflexes, while he also doesn’t have the most extensive arsenal of moves either. That said, he does show flashes of turnaround jumpers, hook shots, dropsteps, and step throughs, and has started to show a better understanding of countermoves this season. He doesn’t have a left hand at all, and looks awkward in general going off his right shoulder, as his turnaround jumper isn’t the greatest. His right-handed hook shot and dropstep are his two best moves at this point, and he’s capable of executing his dropstep with incredible range and quickness when he gets it off. He shows flashes of great quickness transitioning from move to countermove as well. At this point, though, it’s hard to see him doing much damage with his back to the basket in the pros, as his balance is lacking and his hands and reflexes are questionable, while his post moves in general are just not consistently effective yet.
What Hardin will be able to do in the pros is finish off pick-and-rolls, off-ball cuts, and by sealing his man on the block, utilizing his size and athletic ability in all three areas to make himself an easy target and a strong finisher. As for the rest of his offensive game, his mid-range jumper is very inconsistent and not very effective, and he’s not a great free-throw shooter either, finishing at 64% this season.
Hardin’s greatest potential comes on the defensive end, where he already does a few things very well, notably hedging and recovering on the pick-and-roll and switching out to defend on the perimeter, where he makes very good use of his terrific lateral quickness. He’s a good defender in the post as well, using his length and aforementioned quickness, though he could do a better job of bodying up more consistently, using his body to force the opposition into tougher shots. Where Hardin lacks the most is on weak-side defense, as he’s just not the kind of shot blocker you’d expect for his size, not doing a great job on rotations. He did a very good job on the boards in college, but is inconsistent, as evidenced by his poor showing on the glass here in Orlando.
Hardin is somewhat of a project pick, but could definitely sneak into the first round if someone is intrigued with his set of tools. Being just a 21-year-old senior who’s shown a decent learning curve, it’s way too early to close the book on what he could add to his offensive game, and with the raw abilities he has, teams will certainly try. Teams shouldn’t be expecting much from him in the early going, though, as his skill set at the moment won’t project him to much more than a role playing garbage man type player initially.
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