The 2008 draft includes many quality centers but no sure thing; therefore, Alexis Ajinca has as good of a chance as any of them at being a difference maker because he has the best overall skill set on both sides of the ball.

He is an above-average shooter for his age and height with a good release and nice arc.  Ajinca?s release point is an inch or two above his head, and he extends his follow-through cleanly.

Ajinca has great agility with a great quick first step when getting the ball in the mid-post.

In the right post, he will beat his man into the middle and extend for a two-handed dunk.  He has impressive agility when finishing dunks, using his obscene length to get to the rim almost as soon as he rises.  Ajinca?s dunks are quick, fluid, and difficult to block.

While also in the post, he will feel the bump against defender and create space by backing up for a little turnaround jumper.  This will be an unguardable move providing he continues to improve that shot because of his quickness and extreme length.  

In terms of length or simply being able to nearly get to the rim without even jumping, Ajinca is in the 99.9 percentile of all players who have ever stepped onto the floor.

Despite being so thin, Ajinca does a good job of generating contact and going up strong over the defender.  He doesn?t shy away from the contact and doesn?t lose his footing.

His hands are not the best but are passable for a center.  He will sometimes fumble entry passes and offensive rebounds, but his agility will make up for many bad passes.

He sets effective screens and sets a lot of them in the halfcourt.  He is effective on both the pick and pop as well as the pick and roll.

He has good vision as a passer and will find cutters and spot up shooters out of the post, particularly when he get doubled.  Ajinca is comfortable with the ball on the perimeter, looking to swing the ball with overhead passes or even attempt an occasional 3-pointer (he clearly has a gene in him somewhere to believe he is a guard in a 7'1" body).  

His passing technique is a little uncoordinated occasionally, which is a little unsettling but appears to be more out of laziness than a systematic sign.

Ajinca is a clever offensive rebounder, getting into space well and even spinning around the box out to get to the bucket.

Sprinting the floor in transition isn?t one of his favorite things to do, but he moves fairly well and should be convincible to get motivated.

He also uses his length really well when blocking and affecting shots.  He maximizes his length here and becomes a huge obstacle for any sized shooter.  He also doesn?t need much time at all to get his body into the air.

Ajinca has impressive lateral quickness when defending shorter, quicker players, which is largely because he has good balance in his defensive stance.  Also against shorter players, Ajinca performs well, going straight up and not needlessly getting into the air.

His anticipation on when to come over for a help block on dribble penetration is terrific.  His foot speed to cover ground defensively is remarkable, and he uses it to get to the weak side and to close out on perimeter shooters.

Although his technique and instincts defensively are good, he doesn?t have the best motor and will need to increase his effort for a defensive-minded club.

On the defensive glass, Ajinca doesn?t rely merely on his length as he almost always makes a strong effort to box out.

So much of what separates an average center from a great one is his drive to improve and a love for the game that comes naturally, and I believe Ajinca has that drive and love.

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Christopher Reina is the executive editor of RealGM.  He can be reached at Chris.Reina@RealGM.com where he may use your draft questions in a future mailbag edition