Arizona Basketball: Lauri Markkanen set to be Wildcats' most impactful freshman?
Arizona basketball will rely heavily on Lauri Markkanen in the front court in 2016-17.
Five-star ESPN top 100 talents Rawle Alkins and Kobi Simmons are well known recruits who are expected to be major contributors in 2016-17 for the Arizona Wildcats.
Alkins’ physicality and strength will be dangerous on both ends of the floor, while Simmons speed, passing ability and scoring mentality will provide head coach Sean Miller with a capable floor general.
But the freshman who could have the most impact in 2016-17 and may be the most valuable player on the entire roster is five-star power forward Lauri Markkanen.
Because Markkanen has played at the Helsinki Basketball Academy in Finland instead of high school basketball in the United States, most casual NCAA fans haven’t seen him play and don’t know much about his game.
But be forewarned, Markkanen can flat out ball, has more experience than most recruits (he played with the Finland national team) and he has the perfect skill set for the way basketball has trended.
As one of the more skilled and highly intelligent players in the class of 2016, Markkanen uses his combination of size, strength and shooting touch to beat defenders inside and out. He’s solid at finishing around the rim, using his soft touch with either hand, and will be a dynamic pick-and-roll player because of his big hands and plus shooting ability.
Markkanen showed off all his tools in the FIBA U-20 European Championships, where he averaged 24.9 points and 8.6 rebounds per game. His per 40 minute game average was 35.7 points, 12.3 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game.
Those are absurd totals, but the truth of the matter was Markkanen was virtually unstoppable.
While those numbers will definitely not translate to the college level, the 6’11”, 220 pound big man is versatile enough to be one of the top scorers on Arizona. It will take him some time to get used to the speed of the college game (especially after coming from the international ranks) and will likely get pushed around some in the paint, but Markkanen will play both the four and five to help make up for the loss of Ryan Anderson and Kaleb Tarczewski.
Dusan Ristic, Ray Smith, Keanu Pinder and Chance Comanche are the only other bigs that Arizona has in their rotation, so Markkanen will receive a plethora of minutes.
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In fact, Arizona’s best lineup could come with Markkanen at the five and Smith (or others) at the four.
And that’s mainly because of the Finland native’s mobility, footwork and flexibility. Markkanen can not only play multiple positions on offense, but he has the coordination to switch in pick-and-roll situations.
He lacks great athleticism and length down low though, so the Wildcats could be giving up a bit of rim protection with him at the five. However, with Markkanen in the lineup, Miller has another potent offensive player.
If the Wildcats are going to get back to the Elite Eight and potentially make the Final Four for the first time in the Miller era, Markkanen is going to have to have to average close to nine points and five to six rebounds a game (he sometimes struggles to consistently make plays on the glass). He’ll have to anchor the front court, along with Ristic, and show off his maturity.
And as a mostly underrated player at this point, there is no doubt that he will have a profound impact for the Wildcats in 2016-17.