Kentucky Sports Radio

The good folks at the SEC Digital Network took some time out this morning to post a write-up by Chris Dortch on the man, the myth, Kentucky Center Nerlens Noel. The article focuses on Nerlens’ inevitable comparisons to Anthony Davis, and uses EBP (Effective Block Percentage), which is a measure of blocks that are recovered by his own team divided by his total number of blocks. Surprisingly, as good as Anthony Davis was at turning blocked shots into outlet passes for a fastbreak, Noel isn’t that far behind. While Davis registered a staggering 53% EBP on his 186 blocks, Nerlens has posted an EBP of 47% on his 102 blocks so far this season.

The article also discusses where Noel initially began his focus on defense, and how Bill Russell has influenced Nerlens’ defensive mindset. Here are some great quotes from the article:

“It’s apparent Noel is in the process of perfecting the art of shot blocking, he’s staying on his feet more. His timing’s better. He’s adjusted to the fact that college post players try to get into a shot blocker’s body much more than he saw in high school.” — Fran Frischilla 

 “He’s the quickest off the floor of any big kid I’ve seen in 15 years as an analyst for ESPN,” – Jimmy Dykes

No word yet from Jimmy Dykes officially, but we can all assume he’s a fan of Nerlens’ ability to “Guard The Yard”