Even with the Indiana Pacers announcing on Wednesday that Ike Anigbogu had been assigned to the G-League Affiliate Fort Wayne Mad Ants, I still believe that he can provide solid minutes for the Pacers when needed.
Anigbogu is a classic example of a player being drafted purely on potential. The 19-year-old center never started a game as a freshman at UCLA and only averaged about 13 minutes of playing time, but yet was still looked at to be a first-round pick heading into last June’s draft.
While the statistics don’t jump off the page and scream “first-round pick potential,” which nearly everyone who covered the draft agreed Anigbogu should be leading up to the draft, his intangibles, size (6’10, 250, 7’5 wingspan) and potential were highly valued and led him to being drafted.