Philadelphia Sixers center Nerlens Noel is looking to make a big jump in 2015-16—the big fella says he’s worked hard on his limited offensive game, and gained quite bit of muscle.
Noel’s ultimate goal for next season is to be named an NBA All-Star.
The 21-year-old defensive stud averaged 9.9 points, 8.1 rebounds and swatted 1.9 shots in 75 games last season.
Per the Philly Inquirer:
With the supervision of his manager, Chris Driscoll, and former Boston Celtics coach John Carroll, the 6-foot-11 post player is working on his shooting and strength at Salve Regina University and the Boys & Girls Club of Newport County. He spends upward of two hours on form shooting, followed by weight training and individual post-move development, five days a week. […] Noel spent the month of June here before joining the Sixers at the Utah Jazz and NBA summer leagues in July. Then he returned in August.
If he improves his shooting, Noel’s ability to get to the rim will improve as well. […] “I think it’s really going to help me as a basketball player overall, especially at [power forward],” Noel said of the daily workouts. “[It will] help space the floor with my ability and start hitting the jumper consistently and complement our whole offense. And, you know, just changing my whole game and how effective I am.”
Noel sat out what would have been his rookie season during the 2013-14 campaign and struggled at the start of last season. However, he turned things around, finishing third in rookie of the year voting behind Minnesota Timberwolves swingman Andrew Wiggins and Chicago Bulls forward Nikola Mirotic. […] “We worked hard this summer. I think I’m in a good position to help this team move in the right direction,” said Noel, whose goal is to represent the Eastern Conference in February’s All-Star Game in Toronto. “Individually, I think I’ve worked on the things I’ve needed to work on. I just need to continue to show potential and continue to start producing at a high level.”
