It’s been a long wait for Nerlens Noel. Five hundred and ninety-two days to be exact… That’s the last time the 6’11” big man played a game of basketball that had real implications – a night that ended with Noel in a Gainesville, Florida hospital after suffering a knee injury that would cost the University of Kentucky their starting center and Noel nearly 20 months of basketball.

Now, just 32 days stand between the 20-year-old and his first NBA game, an October 29 meeting with the Pacers in Indiana. With training camp just three days away, we decided to take a look back at Noel’s freshman season at Kentucky and project ahead to what fans might see in his rookie season in Philadelphia.

Inside the Numbers: 2012-13

In 2011-12, heralded big man, and eventual first-overall pick, Anthony Davis led the Wildcats to a National Championship with his imposing presence of the defensive end of the floor.

Arriving in Lexington with big shoes to fill, Nerlens Noel didn’t disappoint. Taking a cursory look at his common stats, it’s easy see why many analysts believed Noel, like Davis, would be selected first-overall, even after his season-ending knee injury. In 24 games, he averaged 10.5 points (59.0 FG%), 9.5 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 4.4 blocks, and 2.1 steals in 31.9 minutes per game. In doing so, he joined Hakeem Olajuwon and David Robinson as the only players in NCAA history to average 2+ steals and 5+ blocks per 40 minutes.

But perhaps the most impressive numbers associated with Noel last season were the ones he didn’t post.

In the above chart, dated March 3 and courtesy of Yahoo.com (LINK), it is evident just how much the Wildcats missed Noel at the tail end of the 2012-13 season. Kentucky suffered significant losses in almost every pertinent defensive category as a result of the freshman’s absence, and over the Wildcats’ final four games (not accounted for in the chart), Kentucky went 1-3, dropping two games to unranked opponents and failing to escape from the first round of the NIT, their worst postseason finish in over 20 years.

Three months later, Noel was selected sixth overall by the New Orleans Pelicans before having his rights dealt to Philadelphia along with a protected 2014 first-round pick (via NOP) in return for point guard Jrue Holiday and the rights to Pierre Jackson.

Snapshot Strengths

Rim Protection

Straight-line Drives

Athleticism

Sweet Moves

Looking Ahead

According to Sixers head coach Brett Brown, he expects to utilize Nerlens Noel at both center and power forward this season in order to prepare him for the eventual return of injured center Joel Embiid. While the 20-year-old Noel primarily logged minutes at the center position in college, his ability to defend out to the perimeter and his surprisingly deft skills as a ballhandler and passer make him a natural fit at the position.

Noel figures to debut immediately as one of the league’s top shot-blockers, and after notching 13.4 points (50.0 FG%, 65.5 FT%), 5.6 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 2.6 blocks, and 1.8 steals in summer league play this July, there is hope that he can fill out the rest of the statsheet like he did at Kentucky.

He currently sits atop NBA.com’s Rookie Ladder (LINK) and is tied with Julius Randle of the Lakers for the third-best odds of taking Rookie of the Year honors according to Las Vegas oddsmakers.

Training camp begins on Tuesday, and Sixers.com will be at Stockton College in Galloway, New Jersey covering every practice.

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