Overview
Ryan Kalkbrenner was a consensus four-star recruit out of high school, notably winning AAA Player of the Year and Class 3 All-State honors as a junior while getting the All-State honors again as a senior. After high school, the center played five years at Creighton. He came off the bench as a freshman. As a sophomore, he won Big East Defensive Player of the Year, proceeding to win it three more times. He also earned All-Big East Honorable Mention that season, averaging 13.1 points, 7.7 rebounds and 2.6 blocks in 29.4 minutes. As a junior, Kalkbrenner was named to the All-Big East First Team and was an AP All-American Honorable Mention. In 2023-24, as a senior, he was again All-American Honorable Mention and made All-Big East Second Team, plus was part of the Hall of Fame Classic All-Tournament Team. As a second-year senior, Kalkbrenner racked up numerous accolades. He won the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award, was named AP All-American Third Team and was voted the NABC Defensive Player of the Year. Kalkbrenner averaged 19.2 points, 8.7 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 2.7 blocks in 34.4 minutes.
Analysis
As a four-time Big East Defensive Player of the Year, Kalkbrenner is an excellent paint defender and shot-blocker. He has great awareness and doesn’t foul much. On offense, he’s a prototypical big man with great hands and a soft touch around the basket, though he can also rise and throw down powerful lob dunks. He knows where his teammates are when rolling to the basket and can make a pass when the defense collapses. There’s shooting upside, too, for Kalkbrenner, who shot 37-for-115 (32.2%) from distance during his final two seasons.
Projection
Depending on how Kalkbrenner’s 3-point shot translates to the NBA, his comparisons could range from Walker Kessler to Luke Kornet. NBA teams in need of a rim-defending big who can catch lobs and potentially evolve into something more offensively as a shooter could look at him.
— Profile by RotoWire.com