Though I am a huge college basketball fan, I didn't really see most of the guys projected to be available to us enough times to comment on them at length.

Fortunately, one of the beautiful things about this here Internet is there are many blogs out there that follow these guys all year long and can give insight into what kinds of players they are and what they are capable of becoming.

When you draft at #19, it can be tough to gauge which players will still be available. Therefore, we'll be previewing some players that could be intriguing to the team, even if in the end they end up going much higher or much lower than where the Hawks make their selection.

We continue the series with another big man (one of the biggest) Pittsburgh sophomore DeJuan Blair.

Our guest expert today is Chas Rich, who blogs about the Panthers at the site PittBlather and can be read over at AOL Fanhouse as well.

DeJuan Blair:
Draft Express profile

How he got here: DeJuan Blair made his presence known nationally with the now legendary flip of UConn's Hasheem Thabeet after outworking Thabeet once again for a rebound. Blair is in the draft as a sophomore on his ability to rebound the ball like no one has in years. He averaged a double-double this past year.

Strengths: Rebounding. Rebounding. Rebounding. John Gasasway at Basketball Prospectus broke down the absurdity of Blair's rebounding numbers in 2008-09.

No one wants the ball off the glass more than Blair. He will just go after the ball, but not recklessly. He plays the ball right. He puts himself in the best position for the rebound.

Weaknesses: Only being a sophomore, and being so dominant inside means Blair has really limited offensive options. He scored consistently, but not pretty. There was not much of a jumper or hook or anything other than bulling to the basket and cleaning up on the offensive boards.

He does have a propensity for dumb fouls. Not from what goes on inside, but out on the perimeter if he gets dragged out of the paint. He does not have great footwork to keep a player in front of him, so he will commit the lazy foul.

His weight and conditioning has been a major topic, but that has been overblown. He obviously slimmed down with the draft approaching. He had improved his conditioning from his freshman to sophomore season.
It just was not as drastic as the appearance since declaring for the draft.

Why Hawks fans should want him: Again. Blair vs. Thabeet. He loves the challenge of going against the bigger players. It never gets old for me.

Blair actually has a personality and is a naturally gregarious person. As much a force on the court as he can be, he has a magnetic personality and smile that the fans will love.

What might give Hawks fans pause: I may be in the minority of Pitt fans that does think the issue with his knees is something of a concern. It's part of why I had no problem with him turning pro. Get paid while you can. He had major surgery on both knees in high school.

While you never know with any player and their ligaments, but when there has been surgery that early for a player it is something of a concern if you are drafting a player in the top-20.

What (if any) current player he reminds you of: I grew up on the 76ers, so I do think a little of Charles Barkley in his first couple of seasons. When Barkley was mainly sticking to playing inside and using his body to force people out of the optimism to force that comparison.

Realistically, he is somewhere in that group that could be as good as Paul Millsap to Jason Maxiell or Leon Powe. Undersized big men that provide energy and go after the ball inside. They don't pretend they have range on offense, so they almost never shoot a three.