Nerlens Noel already has the Defensive Player of the Year candidate goods.
Now he’s looking for some additional offensive chops.
After what can only be described as a successful rookie campaign, during which he anchored a surprisingly scrappy and consistent and energetic and effective Philadelphia 76ers defense, Noel is looking to expand his offensive armory. The Sixers drafted him for his defense, but if he’s to coexist with Jahlil Okafor and/or Joel Embiid (once he’s healthy), he’ll need to have some semblance of a perimeter game.
And he doesn’t have that right now. The Sixers slotted him at power forward for lengthy stretches last season, likely anticipating him spending extensive time at the 4 this season. But the returns were, to put it kindly, iffy. Noel was markedly better at the center position, and he shot just 30.8 percent on mid-range jumpers, according to NBA.com.
That, of course, isn’t the end of the world. Not for a 21-year-old who is still younger than some incoming rookies. And most certainly not for someone who wasn’t attempting those shots while at Kentucky.
Still, there’s much work to be done as the Sixers attempt to sort through this frontcourt logjam they may or may not have, depending on Embiid’s long-term outlook. And Noel is trying to make the situation easier—by adapting to it.
From Philly.com’s Keith Pompey:
And that has brought Noel to Newport, R.I., a picturesque seaside city with a population of 24,027 on Aquidneck Island in Newport County. Located 70 miles south of Boston, Newport is known as a New England summer resort and for the Newport Mansions. But this summer, it’s also the location of “Camp Noel.”
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.
Of course, Noel could be doing this at the Sixers’ practice facility at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine.
“Yeah, I could,” Noel said Wednesday night over dinner. “But I felt individualizing this for myself, putting all the attention on myself, working on something up here . . . I thought this is a little more dedication to be in Newport,R.I., where there isn’t too much going on.”
Noel, per Pompey, has also gained some noticeable muscle, which should make it easier for him to bang down low with more traditional, bruising bigs, whether he’s slotted at power forward or center. But it’s his commitment to honing an outside shot that matters most. He’s already a good, maybe great, defender. If he can develop into any kind of an offensive force, specifically outside eight feet of the basket, he’ll instantly be one of the most valuable towers in the league.
And the Sixers, for their part, will have hope that at least two of their three premier big-man prospects will be able to play together.
