Height: 7’0
Weight: 265  pounds

College: Ohio State
Position: Center  
Projection (Star; Starter; Rotation; Bench; Fringe) --  Starter at some point in his career

Games Reviewed: Ohio State v. Indiana; Ohio State v. Cal

Dominant Hand:   Right Handed.

SUMMARY
           Koufas is a remarkably skilled and versatile big man. He is a legit big with a big frame and body that moves well. In watching over an hour his game films he never took plays off, he never took the easy route out of a play. He plays the entire possession working early on both offense and defense. His greatest attribute is his fantastic touch with the basketball. On scramble plays he has very good hands.   He lacks the athleticism to explode and play above people other than with his height.

His offensive game ranges from college three point range to the block. He spent most of his time at Ohio State playing in the block. He has some moves in around the basket, but plays away from contact and almost never goes to the line. He will be able to stretch an NBA floor with his shooting from all spots. He plays offensively from a lot of spots and at a lot of angles. He will fit well into the Jazz system.

Defensively, he plays to stop the possession not just his man. He is a shot blocker. Against both DJ White and Devon Hardin his size eliminated their post up games. He has enough athleticism to rise up with the man he is guarding. Could become better going from weak to strong side, but was very good if the ball moved but stayed on the same side of the floor.   He can change directions.  

            Was the best player on the floor in both of the games I watched with included a total of 4 other draftees.

His most impressive stretch was second half in Indiana at Assembly Hall as a freshman leading his team from behind he was dominate. He controlled the paint abusing DJ White, he scored from all angles and all of them in the paint. He blocked White on the defensive end and he ran the floor. He was unquestionably the best player on the floor for a 10 minute and Indiana has two first picks in Eric Gordon and DJ White. 

OFFENSIVE SETS
Pick and Roll:  pick and pop game will adjust well to the NBA.   Has a good quick release with the jumper. Ohio State guards were three point happy so he didn’t get to use this part of his game.

This doesn’t mean he can’t score in the paint. He does some very nice things. One play v. Cal he slide down the lane from the free throw line to the right block and was open, he got the pass with his left hand above his shoulders and immediately got it to his right hand without ever brining it down and hit a nice 6 foot banker off the glass. This was really nice, athletic and skilled move.   This play translates great to the Jazz offense.

That jump hook is nice and soft. It is his primary offensive move. He hit it over the 7 footer Hardin from the right block going baseline. Right block going over left shoulder is his move. 

He understands how to use his body and how to adapt to the game. After getting his shots block he then sealed White on two occasions where he got White on his outside shoulder and pushed him up the lane getting back to back easy lay-ups.

Works hard to get post up position. Showed a nice drop step to the baseline from the left block where he went baseline and sealed off his man. Caught left block and went middle, seemed to lose his balance a bit and not have his feet right as he missed a rolling hook to the middle.

Able to catch in the paint and in one motion go to the basket. Doesn’t need to set his feet to get his balance. He slashed across the lane caught the pass and immediately turned into a runner for two. 

Passing:   He passed well out of the double teams in the post. This is against smaller players and less pressure so not sure how it translates. More importantly, he showed an understanding of the game in how to deal with double teams.   He is comfortable with the ball. Can be lazy with a pass and it results in a turnover

Ohio State plays a zone. Almost always a 2-3, what jumps out is they have Koufas play a wing on the bottom so he has to move a great deal. He has to close out on shooters on the perimeter or switch back quickly on a skip pass. He does it pretty well.

He showed really good hands on the defensive end. Twice he deflected passes and was able to corral the ball himself in traffic.

He is not very active on the offensive glass. He is in rebounding range but lacks the jumping skills or athleticism to steal a rebound. A bit passive on the offensive glass.

Post-Defense:   Got matched up on DJ White a lot in the zone against Ohio State and Devon Hardin a 7 footer drafter in the 2^nd round in the Cal game. Kept his ground and used his size to deny White and Hardin any shooing pockets. He bothered both using his length to impact their shots. White got nothing on him and got all his offense on other guys. Forced both into fade away jumpers that came up short.   He is a good enough athlete to rise up and effect the shot when they go up. Didn’t bite on the pump fake and held strong forcing White to fade back in the paint and come up very short. He pushes guys off their spot in the post, does a nice job of playing defense early. Seems strong. 

INTANGIBLES
Perservernce:   I really liked this. He opened the second half v. Indiana and got back to back shots blocked by DJ White. On the next possessions he got great position sealed him off and packed it with the right hand for a big dunk and a foul. 3 point play. A freshman unwilling to be intimidated. 

Final 5 Minutes of a Close Game:   Nothing spectacular. His activity increased and his body langugue made it looked like he cared if they won. He committed two turnovers in the final 5 v. Indiana and also hit a big top of the key three.

* He was playing against DJ White, a senior on a the road as a freshman and was completed unintimidated. In fact, White had to be moved off Koufas and had to get his offense when guarded by other players.