I would be fully happy taking this young man 7th. In fact if we were to wind up with the number 2 draft pick, I’d take him there.

Crespo says he took Biyombo to a specialist to conduct a bone age study immediately upon his arrival in Spain (Biyombo was reportedly 16). The study, as explained here involves taking x-rays of an adolescent’s wrist and hand to see if his growth plates are still open. Because the cartilage in Biyombo’s hand hadn’t fused at that point, the specialist came to the conclusion that he could be 16 or 17 at most, but not 18, when growth plates are expected to be closed.

losing… battle against… machine of hype… seriously considering saying “fuck it” and throwing all caution to the wind and agreeing that dude must be drafted 7th.

I’m erect. Oh my God. This is the dude we need.

How exactly is he different than Jason Maxiell, other than his wingspan? And at least Maxiell was a known product- we knew what he was capable of over a several seasons in college. Bismack has played a handful of games and looked good doing it, but Max has had many more games where he looked good. How is he different?

With that said, I still think he is probably our best option at #7.

A question for DBB scholars—

Our heartthrob’s ACB jersey reads “Bismack” on the back, above his uniform number. Is it typical for ACB teams to use given names (rather than family names) on player jerseys? Or is this a Congolese practice? Or do Congolese folks order their names differently, like many East Asians (where the family name comes first, followed by given names)? I’m curious!

Here’s a recent interview with Biyombo about the NBA draft. He has a deep voice, not quite Mutumbo deep, but deep. He gives his name as Biyombo Bismack, not the other way around. He shot looks wobbly in practice but he moves GREAT around the court. He says he’s working on his shot the most but his shot selection is pretty good now. He’s shooting 56% in the Spanish Pro League. Akeem Olajuwon shot 56% at the same age as a freshman at Houston.

But Biyombo makes me question whether Ben Wallace did steroids at any point. Just the sheer amount of muscle he has is nearly impossible to acquire naturally even with perfect genetics (ie Bismack). Add to it that Big Ben was a body builder before he was a basketball player, and I really don’t think it’s out of the realm of possibility that he juiced at some point.

Of course Biyombo is still incredibly young compared to Ben Wallace, even in his prime, but still… Can you honestly name any other basketball player that even came close in physique outside of LeBron (I don’t count Shaq because he was humongous in general – fat too – and had a bigger frame than Big Ben)? Maybe David Robinson came close, but he was no “Body”

Omid (East Lansing, Mich.): Chad Ford of ESPN.com has the Pistons nabbing Bismarck Biyombo in the draft unless the Pistons get a top-three pick. Does he really sound like that good of a match for the Pistons?

Langlois: NBA teams don’t have a lot to go on with Biyombo, Omid. The most recent and perhaps the most relevant chance to evaluate him came at this month’s Nike Hoop Summit in which Biyombo put up a triple-double (points, rebounds, blocks) against a talented Team USA that included 6-foot-10 Kentucky recruit Anthony Davis, who would be a strong candidate to be the No. 1 pick if he were in the 2011 draft. Biyombo did play a number of games this year after a January call-up for a team in Spain’s ACB league, considered Europe’s best, and put up decent numbers for a young player. Biyombo’s offense currently consists of put-backs and dunks and it’s tough to project just how much room he has for offensive growth, but he’s got an NBA-ready body and a 77-inch wing span that should translate well to becoming an active defender of the rim. The age question – some suspect Biyombo is older, perhaps significantly so, than his listed 18 – is one any team that weighs drafting him must answer to their satisfaction. But you can bet teams will be doing tons of leg work to thoroughly study Biyombo between now and June 23. But a Draftexpress.com story over the weekend suggested that a study of Biyombo’s skeletal features proves he’s the age he claims to be, or close to it.

Keith Langlois, meet Chad Ford. Chad is JD’s mouthpiece on the national level, you’re hie mouthpiece on the local one (unless it’s really important, then he goes to Drew Sharp). If Chad says it’s happening…it’s because JD wants Chad to say it’s happening.

With JD, you never know. Maybe it’s a clever play for one of the teams likely to draft higher than 7th to take a flyer on him, so JD can get the guy he’s really after.

But…the guy seems to be a Ben clone in a lot of ways, so you never know. Maybe JD sees that in him and really wants him, but your average GM doesn’t usually tip their hand like that. I mean. Does anyone ever know what Martin Mayhew is thinking? That’s by design, and it’s worked out pretty good for Mayhew and the Lions so far.