The Charlotte Hornets possessed two first round picks in the NBA Draft that took place Tuesday night.
I believe both picks improved their roster as they added to their frontcourt and backcourt. WIth the 14th pick in the draft, the Hornets grabbed Washington Huskies forward Hannes Steinbach. As a freshman, the 6-10 German averaged 18.5 points and a nation-leading 11.8 rebounds per game. Rebounding is his primary strength (something this teams needs). He had a 24-rebound game against USC and five other games with at least 15 boards. Steinback converted on 62 percent of his 2-point field goals, and also averaged 1.2 blocks with his reported 7-2 wingspan.
Steinbach joins a young Charlotte frontcourt led by Moussa Diabate, who won the NBA Hustle Award, plus Ryan Kalkbrenner, who contributed significant minutes as a rookie last year.
Four picks later, the Hornets selected another player with a German background taking Christian Anderson out of Texas Tech. The 6-3 guard averaged 18.5 points, 3.6 rebounds, 7.4 assists and 1.5 steals, en route to being named first-team All-Big 12, third-team All-American and the Big 12 Most Improved Player.
Anderson is a true three point threat. His 108 made from beyond the arc were second in Texas tech history. He can be instant offense as his best shooting effort last year was a 26 point effort at Baylor, making 8 of 10 from beyond the three point line. And he is a winner. During Anderson’s two-year tenure, the Red Raiders went 51-20, winning four NCAA Tournament games.
Charlotte is coming off a somewhat surprising season as they made the Play-In part of the playoffs before being eliminated.
