Foot surgery knocks out Thomas Sorber for the year after he averaged 14.5 points, 8.5 boards, 2.4 assists, 2.0 blocks, 1.5 steals. That’s serious production for a freshman center. He’s done enough to warrant easy first-round consideration just based on the effectiveness of his back-to-the-basket polish (footwork, touch, counters), finishing and defensive activity. They all seem translatable and create a high floor.
Although I actually think his passing is the most interesting part of Sorber’s game—Georgetown often used him as a playmaking big who uses his height and vision/IQ to finding teammates from top of the key or the post.
Some will be turned off by the fact he’s a 6’10” center who plays mostly in the post and isn’t a vertical athlete. What’s the best-case outcome for someone like that? Okongwu? I’ve heard Day’Ron Sharpe.
It feels like Sorber’s shooting is the key to unlocking upside (of course you can say this with a lot of bigs). He took 37 threes in 24 games, which was encouraging. Combined with mid-range attempts he shot just 9-50 on total jumpers. Similarly in high school, he had the confidence to shoot but just didn’t connect often.
There is going to be some guesswork when it comes to projecting how reliable/useful he’ll actually be launching jumpers as he creeps up into his 20s.
I think the safest way to look at Sorber is to view an Okongwu type who’ll give you easy baskets, offensive boards and an option to feed for self-creation offense around the block. The passing gives him an extra bonus skill that could help differentiate him. I’m not so sure he’s going to shut down the paint defensively but he should be serviceable in rim protection, it’s reasonable to expect a lead-average type defensive center at worst. There figures to be a lot of interest in his measurements in May, most scouts weren’t too familiar with Sorber prior to Georgetown.
This all spells rotational big/role player, I think it’s worth adding one with a pick in the mid-to-high teens or 20s, depending how much you need frontcourt depth.
The potential for Sorber to become a shooting threat should be seen as bonus and maybe an extra tie-breaking kicker for teams that can’t decide between him and other mid-first-round options.
We’ll also see if Sorber opts for NIL money as a sophomore and tries to make a stronger lottery case in 2026.
jwscouting.com 