So what kind of player is Utah Jazz draft choice Greg Ostertag? Here's what Chris Monter wrote in his Monter Draft News:
"Greg Ostertag is not the most athletic big man in the draft, but scouts like his defensive presence and shotblocking ability. He has a good inside touch but needs to improve his stamina . . . He has a soft touch from 12 feet and in, but needs to be more consistent . . . Ostertag will likely be a career backup who can give a team quality minutes coming off the bench.""He can block shots and he's going to get better in the pros," Donnie Walsh, Indiana Pacers general manager, said of Ostertag. "That's one thing with centers - they get better."
Michael Bradley of Sport Magazine, in correctly predicting that the Jazz would pick Ostertag, wrote: "He's big, slow and wider than a barn. But at 7-0, Ostertag has a future in the NBA. That's just the way it goes."
An honorable mention All-American, Ostertag split time in the pivot at Kansas with Scott Pollard, averaging about 20 minutes a game. He played more than 20 minutes in only 11 of 31 games last season, and only scored better than 20 points once, against Div. II Fort Hays State.
As a senior he shot better from the field - 59.6 percent - than from the free-throw line - 55.3, while averaging 9.6 points and 7.6 rebounds. He is the top shot-blocker in Kansas and Big Eight Conference history, with 258 over four seasons.
When announcing Ostertag's selection Wednesday at the Delta Center, Scott Layden, Jazz director of basketball operations, referred to him as being 7-foot-2. But at the postseason Desert Classic in Phoenix, Ostertag was measured as 7-foot, and later, at the Chicago camp, he measured 7-foot, one-half inch. Of 40 players at the Classic, Ostertag had the highest vertical reach (highest point a player can reach without jumping), tied Anthony Pelle with the widest wingspan, and had the fourth-highest vertical jump.
Though it's been awhile (maybe never) since a great NBA center was drafted as low as 28th, there have been some decent big men acquired that low in recent years. Georghe Muresan of Washington and Sean Rooks of Minnesota (drafted by Dallas) were both 30th picks, while Pete Chilcutt of Houston (drafted by Sacramento) and Elden Campbell of the Lakers were both 27th picks.