FanShot

ESPN (Insider): Top 25 Under 25 - #12: DeJuan Blair

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12. DeJuan Blair, PF, 22 years old The 6-foot-7, 270-pound power forward fell to the 37th pick of the 2009 draft after two seasons at Pitt because he is missing anterior cruciate ligaments in both knees, and scouts did not think he had the lift to finish at the rim. In his first game with the San Antonio Spurs, he scored 14 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, proving some skeptics wrong for a night, but then continued to play well on a very good team. Blair has brute strength and a tremendous feel for the game. He runs the court, establishing early position. Blair fundamentally uses angles and positioning to lock up his opponents in the paint, often finishing in the paint over taller opponents. Tremendous pickup for the Spurs. Similar to: Charles Barkley The full list: (rankings determined by Kevin Pelton's (Basketball Prospectus) SCHOENE projection system) 1. Kevin Durant 2. Derrick Rose 3. Kevin Love 4. Andrew Bynum 5. Blake Griffin 6. Russell Westbrook 7. Greg Monroe 8. James Harden 9. Kyrie Irving 10. John Wall 11. Ty Lawson 12. BLAAAAAAIIIIRRR 13. DeMarcus Cousins 14. Steph Curry 15. Danilo Gallinari 16. Ricky Rubio 17. Brandon Jennings 18. Mike Conley 19. JaVale McGee 20. Serge Ibaka 21. Nicolas Batum 22. Thaddeus Young 23. Tyreke Evans 24. Jrue Holiday 25. Brook Lopez