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Pittsburgh Panthers‘ Steven Adams had a lot of upside to him, which is why he went No. 12 overall in the most recent NBA Draft. However, he will not be that tough to replace in the 2013-14 college basketball season.
Don’t get me wrong, Adams was a great player and he definitely would have been missed if he stayed longer than just a season. However, he was a freshman this past year and he only played 23.4 minutes per game. His 7.2 points per game was a nice addition to the team and sure, his 6.3 rebounds per game were pretty important.
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However, he was not the best player on the team and he did not have the biggest impact. That would have to go to Tray Woodall, who will also be leaving the team.
Replacing a 7-footer is never easy in college hoops, but it will be a lot easier for Pittsburgh since Adams decided to go pro so early into his college basketball career. The team did not rely on him as much as they would have if he would have stayed at least one more year.
Hopefully someone can fill in for the big man right away, but I do not see that being a problem.
Adams was clearly a great player, though, but he had more potential than anything in college basketball. However, he decided to put that potential to the test by going pro, instead of developing more while playing for the Panthers. As a result, Pittsburgh did not have the chance to rely on the big man and it should be able to replace him.
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