NBA Draft Profile: Festus Ezeli

Festus Ezeli - C - 6'11, 264 lbs.
Vanderbilt

The Nigerian-born Ezeli, 22, has drawn comparisons to Samuel Dalembert, and has the size to carve out a role as a big man in the NBA.

Unfortunately for Ezeli, he appeared to take a step backwards from his junior season to his senior season at Vanderbilt, as his points per game, field goal percentage, rebounds and blocks all took a slight dip after a knee injury.

Despite those decreases, Ezeli still showed the shot-blocking and rebounding prowess that makes scouts believe he can succeed, at least as a reserve, in the Association. While his offensive game still has a long way to go and will likely never catch up to his defensive game, he doesn't usually force shots and is therefore pretty efficient on the offensive end.

He's not dominant enough and doesn't have a high enough ceiling to be a lottery pick or mid-first round pick, but a near seven-footer with the defensive insticts of Festus Ezeli should hear his name called late in the first round or early in the second round.

Chad Ford of ESPN wrote that "Given his size and the dearth of big men in the draft, he too has a good shot at the first round."