FanPost

Wings at #16


Xavier Henry and James Anderson are rated 15th and 18th, respectively, by Chad Ford for the upcoming draft. As most Canis readers know, the Wolves pick 16th. Canis readers also know that the Wolves lack firepower at the wing positions. Should these players be targeted at 16? Does it depend on who is selected with our lottery pick?

Henry was ranked by rivals.com as the 8th-best recruit in the 2009 class, and had a productive freshman season at KU, before declaring his intent to go pro. On a team that featured multiple All-Americans (Henry was not one of them) he had to share the ball and fit into a well-oiled Kansas machine that was many people's favorite to win it all. Obviously, they came up short. Henry scored many of his 13.4 PPG from downtown, where he shot over 41%. He is listed at 6'7" 220 lbs, and is more Ray Allen than Kobe Bryant, in terms of his style of play. He is a pure shooter. Of note, Henry turned 19 years old in March, presumably making him one of the youngest prospects in this draft.

Anderson played three seasons at Oklahoma State, and recently turned 21 years old. He played big minutes at OSU from the day he arrived, but improved dramatically in production in each of his three seasons. He put up 22.3 PPG in his junior season, earning him 2nd Team All-American honors. His relatively low 3PT percentage has been attributed by some to his role on the team, often having to shoot contested jumpers with the shot clock dwindling. The scouting reports state that he has NBA 3-point range on his jump shot. Anderson is 6'6" 195 lbs.