I’m not sure that any position in professional basketball continuously demands as much versatility and evolution as the center position. The skills and traits demanded from it have ranged all over the place to such an extreme that we now have myriad archetypes littered and thriving throughout the league. There is no “right answer” for what type of center you have to have to win now. The diversity of the position is now also leaking into the youth levels where we’re seeing more traditional bigs, pure stretch bigs, defensively focused centers, Swiss Army knives, and so many other frameworks. It’s a really exciting time to scout big men, and this year, college basketball has a lot of incoming freshmen who could prominently feature in the 2027 NBA Draft.
Babatunde Oladotun – Maryland
It’s impossible to watch Baba Oladotun and not be captivated. His combination of size, skill, and fluidity is enticing and the exact concoction that makes highlight videos go crazy. Unfortunately, that captivation often leads to you expelling numerous “what the f*** was that?” exclamations in myriad tones every time you watch him.
If Oladotun finds any sort of consistency in his game, he could be an extraordinary player. Being able to handle the ball like he can at his size is a legitimate separator from most of his peers his size. He can push in transition, attack closeouts, create out of the short roll, and string together counters. He can get a little loose with it at times in traffic and has to get much better dealing with physicality, but he’s so far ahead of most players his size at this stage. The fact that he can confidently execute a pick-and-pop, hit his defender with a shot fake, attack downhill, spin off of the help defender, and then finish with a dunk is so much fun.
