NBA Draft 2016: Jakob Poeltl taken 9th by Raptors

The Toronto Raptors have selected Utah center Jakob Poeltl with the ninth overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft.

Poeltl spent two years at Utah developing from a relative unknown into one of the best prospects in his class. The big man was recruited to the Utes out of Austria, where he was playing in the country’s second division. He had a breakout freshman season by averaging 9.1 points and 6.8 rebounds per game.

A potential first-round pick by the summer of 2015, Poeltl decided to return to Utah for his sophomore season instead of going pro. The move proved to be a smart one for the big man and a fortunate one for the Utes.

Poeltl, 20, led Utah to a 27-9 record -- the school’s best since 2004-05 -- and a No. 3 seed in the 2016 NCAA Tournament. The Utes got blown out in the second round by 11th-seeded Gonzaga, which was a disappointing end after reaching the Sweet 16 the year before, but it was still a strong season for Utah.

At the center of it was Poeltl, who earned Pac-12 Player of the Year honors by averaging 17.2 points, 9.1 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game. He had no issues handling the major increase in usage from his freshman season and quickly established himself as a core part of the team’s offense. The scoring came efficiently, too, as he shot 64 percent from the field and 69 percent from the free throw line. The latter is a major improvement from the disastrous 44 percent he shot at the charity stripe as a freshman.

The rest of Poeltl’s game is solid if unexceptional. The big man is a decent rim protector, but lacks the athleticism or length to develop into an elite shot-blocker. Rebounding is a similar story: according to DraftExpress, Poeltl ranked 12th among their top 100 draft prospects in pace-adjusted rebounds per 40 minutes. Where Poeltl does show potential is as a team defender thanks to his solid positioning, movement and quick hands, as we saw on this play against Washington State:

Poeltl believes he can model his career after Pau Gasol, another big man who left Europe to pursue his NBA dreams.

“I can be a lot like Pau Gasol,” said Poeltl at the NBA pre-draft combine. “He’s a guy who has good touch around the basket and is a very good passer. He can dribble the ball. He’s even stepping out and shooting 3s. I hope I can get there, too. He’s a winner and won championships. I can do that, too.”

Gasol is a rosy best-case scenario for Poeltl, but you imagine teams like hearing that the Austrian center aspires to reach that level.

So while Poeltl doesn’t have one of the highest ceilings in the draft, he’s the rare seven-footer who projects to be a solid player on both ends. That’s still incredibly valuable to teams given how much harder it’s gotten to hide one-note players in the ever-shifting modern game, and makes Poeltl an exciting prospect going forward.