The game: Ohio State Buckeyes (14-5) @ Indiana Hoosiers (5-14.)

The result: Ohio State 93-81.

Mullens, the top-ranked big-man prospect in the 2008-09 freshman class at the beginning of the year and a consensus lottery pick if he declares, came into the game averaging 9.4 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.3 blocks a game.

What he did well:

• Move. He’s not a stiff. He has good speed, quickness and agility for a 7 footer.
• Weak-side defense. He showed good anticipation off the ball and was a capable team defender.

What he didn’t do well:

• Everything else. He didn’t impact the game at all, and if he wasn’t such a highly-touted prospect, his name would never have been mentioned. He floated. He didn’t rebound, he didn’t work hard to establish position before he got the ball on offense or do anything when he did get get it.

The Verdict: Rotation big man. Most teams can use one of those, but any team expecting to get a star (which is what he was supposed to be) will be disappointed.

Harden, a consensus top-5 pick if he declares for the 2009 NBA draft, came into the game averaging 23.7 points, 5.7 rebounds and 4.9 assists.

What he did well:

• Pass. Harden made plays for his teammates both off the dribble and from a triple threat position. He was especially effective penetrating to the middle of the floor, drawing defenders and kicking it out to a teammate for an open jump shot.

• Got to the free throw line. Harden didn’t settle for jump shots. Getting to the free throw line is one of the things that separates elite from ordinary NBA swingmen.

• Played under control and made good decisions. He is never in a hurry and doesn’t look like he is moving particularly fast, but usually gets to where he is trying to get to on the floor. Similar to a Paul Pierce or a Joe Johnson in this regard.

What he didn’t do well:

• Shoot. Harden went 5-12 from the field (1-6 from 3) and 8-13 from the line. He appears to have the range and touch to be a reasonably consistent NBA shooter but it’s going to take some work for him to get there.
• Move without the ball. Harden only caught one pass within 10 feet from the hoop, which he converted for a layup. The rest of the game he caught the ball 15-20 feet from the hoop and faced up. He was not active without the ball.
• Go right off the dribble. Harden is left-handed and the only time he went right it was for show, to set up a crossover dribble to go back to his strong side.

Offensively, Harden has a lot of the tools to be a plus player on the wing for an NBA team. He doesn’t have plus size or plus athleticism, however, so he is going to have to work hard to become even more skilled than he is now to reach his potential. Defensively, it was hard to get a read on his ability and desire b/c ASU spent the entire game in a pretty soft 2-3 zone.

The verdict: Harden is going to be a solid starting 2 guard but not a star.

The game: Utah Utes (5-3) @ Oklahoma Sooners (9-0.)

The result: Oklahoma 70 Utah 52.

Griffin, the consensus #1 pick in the 2009 NBA draft if he declares, came in averaging about 24 points and 15 rebounds a game. In this game he was matched up for the most part with Utah C Luke Nevill, who, as a reasonably skilled 7 footer, might end up in the NBA himself. At the very least he has NBA size, so it was interesting to see how Griffin approached him on both ends of the court.

What he did well:

• Court awareness. Griffin was able to determine quickly whether or not the double was coming and pass if it did and start to make a move if it didn’t.
• Pass. Showed a nice touch for a big man.
• Get to the line and convert. He has a pretty good first step for a big man and was able to use it to get past his man and draw a foul on several occasions. He went 11-14 from the line.
• Keep his body on people. On defense, he kept his man far enough from the hoop so even if he caught the ball he couldn’t do anything with it. He did his work before his man caught the ball. He puts his body on people underneath the glass as well and works hard to get rebounds. He pulled 11 boards.
• Screamed at his brother when he missed a pass for an easy assist. Noone likes a fuckup sibling.

What he didn’t do well:

• Establish low-post position. He was not able to set up shop near the bucket when he was being guarded by Nevill, which is not encouraging.
• Score on the block. He showed some ability off the dribble but he’s not going to be able to make a living 18 feet from the bucket in the NBA.
• Alter shots on defense.

The verdict: Griffin has good but not great size and athleticism so he’s going to have to outwork and outskill NBA players. He has a chance to do this b/c by all acoounts he’s a good kid and a hard worker and he already has plus skill for a big. He should settle in near or at the all star level.