Thx for stopping by, this site is relatively new (launched in late February) so I think that might explain the quiet comment section compared to other SBN sites.

I think you all will be pleased with Derrick. Without getting too specific, I’ll just list the following points.

1. He isn’t a thug. He may have had issues with perceived laziness and attitude back at UL but he’s never been arrested or implicated in any kind of crime that we know of.
2. He does seem to be working very hard right now. He’s down 30 pounds since the end of the NCAA season. If he continues that momentum, he’ll be an incredible steal at 58.
3. As for his game, he, even when overweight, will surprise you with his quickness. His offensive low post game is polished to say the least. Many people will say he’s better facing the rim, but in my mind, he’s at his best with his back to the basket. He has very, quick feet for a man his size. I can’t repeat that enough. He has a nice variety of low post moves that lead to him taking high percentage shots or nothing. He’s never going to shoot something that he doesn’t have a chance of making. He’d much rather move the ball around.
4. He’s a very underrated passer in the post. He’s great at hitting a slashing guard or kicking it out. He is not, at all, selfish in the post.
5. I don’t know how he fits into the triangle offense. At UTEP, we ran the Dribble Drive Weave offense under Tony Barbee. It called for Derrick to stay on the block a vast majority of the time with some rotation to the ball side at the top of the key. He preferred to stay on the block to post and is athletic enough to go baseline on quicker players.
6. Admittedly, DC had the same body type as Glen Davis. That has caused every “expert” who hasn’t seen him play since 2008 to say his game is like Big Baby’s. Really, it couldn’t be different. Again, the difference is in his offensive skill set. Big Baby doesn’t have nearly the offensive potential DC does. In Texas, we watch a lot of Spurs games, and I tell you, his game is much closer to Dejuan Blair’s. Big, strong, but surprising quickness and agility.

His biggest question marks?

1. WIll he keep the weight off after he gets some $ in his pocket? There have been dozens and dozens of articles on him changing his attitude. At UTEP, we didn’t have any issues until he abruptly left the team after the NCAA Tournament loss to Butler. But, after that he lost 30 pounds so he seems to be on a mission right now. If he faces some adversity in the pro’s, nobody really knows how he will react to that.
2. The C-USA factor. I’ll admit that we didn’t see DC play elite talent week in and week out. Oklahoma, however, had some decent big men and DC tore them up, dominated that game, and UTEP beat the Sooners. I’ll also argue that the C-USA had some of the best big men in the NCAA last year. Whiteside went in the first round and Jordan went early in the second to the Knicks. Derrick manhandled Whiteside in a key conference game late last season. Even so, three of four above average big men is not like what he’ll see in L.A. But, do remember that the C-USA probably had better big men than some BNS leagues.
 If you want more on DC, check out an article I wrote after that Marshall game. It was late in the season, when UTEP started peaking, that we saw DC emerge as a true force on offense. Whiteside, at that time, was considered a potential Top 5 pick. Really, he was rated that high. DC, in front of 14 NBA scouts delivered a knockout performance down the stretch.

I think, at 58, you guys could have done a lot worse.

Good luck, Bruins and your Lakers!