The young centers we have in the pipeline are really solid. I’ve been impressed with them on the college circuit, and they’ve proven they’re not overwhelmed by the international stage. It’s a good start.
Are they ready to be effective on the world stage at the highest level of competition (Olympics, World Champs, etc.)? No. Should they be by this point? No, probably not, they’re still very young. Can they get there in 2 years? Possibly. Castillo, Schneider, Dom, etc. have all shown they can mix it up and be semi-effective against international class. They are, however, obviously not in the difference maker category like the center legends we’ve watched over the years.
I’m not sure you really need a world class center to win anymore. It helps yes, but it doesn’t make or break the outcome anymore. Front court wise, you just need a “serviceable” center (or centers), somebody who can establish position every possession and swim enough to not get lost in transition. There are so many off the ball exclusions in the game now, and what I’d consider “auto exclusions” (i.e., the ball gets entered into good position and the center defender is immediately excluded without the center needing to make a move), that the only thing that truly matters is gaining position and drawing exclusions. BTW, this does not mean we can play the post-up game Dejan’s been trotting out. It’s garbage and doesn’t work. Hungary tried it at a World Champs a few years back and it fell flat. You need a centers, I’m just not sure it has to be Kakaris.
The kicker is that you have to be world class at 6/5 and 5/6. The centers we choose HAVE to be good on 6/5, drawing defenses deep into the cage as every team tries to do now with the new-ish rules. Serbia is a great example of this. They don’t have world class centers (anymore, or at least not last cycle), but they had enough there to draw the necessary exclusions, and they are GREAT on 6/5. They’re also a bunch of MFers on defense, especially 5 man. Spain is the same way: a good center in Tahull, but their system and team cohesion are what take them to the top consistently.
I’m far less worried about our center play than I am about our overall team composition and lack of identity (which has never been established under Dejan). My guess is Hallock comes back, they take a young gun who’s pretty serviceable after 1.5 more years of development, and they get enough out of center with that duo to be dangerous at that position. It will not matter unless the rest of the team and the system/identity they play within improves drastically.
