Nerlens Noel: The next Anthony Davis

  (Photos via Icon Sports Media) Nerlens Noel and his high-top fade have caused quite a stir in the college basketball recruiting world after his announced reclassification to 2012 on February 1. By most everyone’s account he is poised to join a team next season and immediately become a star, and likely contend for high national honors. ESPN wasted no time in bumping Noel up to the top of its class, ahead of another UK target, Shabazz Muhammad. The center from Tilton, New Hampshire is considered by most to be the best defender to come out of high school in a long while. And Noel has been compared countless times to Kentucky’s current star Anthony Davis. Some may argue he’s just as good — if not better. So just how well does Noel stack up to The Brow? For starters, Nerlens Noel plays on a much better team; he’s on a Tilton squad playing some pretty stiff competition and sitting at 24-3 on the season, and while he’s certainly the best player on the team, the competition around him is much greater. That wasn’t so with Anthony Davis who was on a consistently struggling team. In his senior season his team won five games. So when comparing straight up statistics between Noel and Davis the numbers will be skewed, but both are impressive in their own right. Noel has had his offensive game criticized for not putting up numbers and generally being slow to score around the rim — think missing shots he probably should have made for his size. But where he makes up for his lack of scoring ability (get ready for a sports cliché) is in his length. Noel is long and quick and can make plays happen that not many others can, just like Anthony Davis. His body very similar too: Davis is 6-10, 220, with a wingspan of 7-4; Noel is 6-11, 215 with a wingspan of 7-3. Noel is averaging 13 points per game for Tilton High School, with most of his points (obviously) coming in the paint. A very respectable number when you consider offense is the “weaker” part of his game. Davis averaged close to 30 points per game, but you have to consider — no disrespect to his teammates, who Davis says are some of his best friends — he was pretty much the only play-maker on the team. When you compare their offensive games, all Calipari has to do to convince Nerlens Noel to come to Kentucky is say, “That’s you.” Defense is where Noel makes his presence felt. He is an absolute blocking machine and plays teams off the ball with his sheer presence. Teams are literally afraid to go inside on him, much like some teams are afraid to do against Anthony Davis. Noel is averaging almost four blocks per game for his high school team, compared to where Davis was in his senior year of just over four. No surprise: both are very good shot blockers, and there’s no doubt Noel would fill the void left by Anthony Davis’ departure immediately if he were to commit to the Cats. Some of these highlight videos can be overdone, and yes, he is dunking and swatting over high school kids. But you can’t deny his athleticism and ability to run the floor. The guy is special, and Calipari really really wants him. (Check out Noel rejecting the posterization at the 2:08 mark) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qggE9Xaw6n8 Nerlens Noel will be a special player wherever he goes, but he’d be downright crazy to commit anywhere but Kentucky, where he has a chance to join in the company of an elite group. Not to mention be a lock for the overall No. 1 draft pick in June of 2013. Calipari has to feel confident in landing the five-star recruit, and when that happens, Lob City shall live on... you can count on that. I do wonder if and when Noel commits how the high-top will play out. Patrick Patterson shaved his afro, and Brandon Knight cut the cornrows. Maybe the high top won’t make it to Lexington? I have to say the nicknames won't be hard if it does. The Brow gives way to The Fade. What's your nickname for Nerlens?