Tom Keegan: Joel Embiid back on his feet and looking elite

By Tom Keegan     Oct 17, 2016

In photo at left, the Houston Rockets’ Hakeem Olajuwon shoots over Utah’s Greg Ostertag (00) on May 29, 1997, in Houston. In right photo, Kansas big man Joel Embiid puts up a similar shot over Kansas State’s Thomas Gipson on Jan. 1 at Allen Fieldhouse.

Watching Joel Embiid finding his way in the NBA is not recommended viewing for those with weak hearts.

Embiid’s amazing footwork will send the viewer’s heart racing one minute, and a minute later his frightening foot history will make you hold your breath, anticipate the worst and hope for the best.

Highlights from Embiid’s exhibition performance for the Philadelphia 76ers against the Detroit Pistons put the emotions on a high-speed rinse cycle. Even after two years away from the game and two serious foot surgeries later, Embiid is proving too quick, too smooth, too completely under control for opposing centers to keep in front of them.

The 7-foot-2 center from Cameroon whose lone season playing for Kansas was to say the least a memorable one, played an exhibition-season high 20 minutes Saturday against the Pistons and scored 15 points. He also took breaths away for all the wrong reasons. Again displaying remarkable quickness, Embiid blocked a shot and on his way down, landed on the basket stanchion and fell to the ground. Sitting, he grabbed his right foot and began moving it in every direction. Uh-oh. Thankfully, it was a false alarm, but also a reminder that trying to keep anxiety at bay watching the artful giant play basketball has its challenges.

A back injury prematurely ended Embiid’s lone college season and he suffered a stress fracture of the right foot before the 2014 draft. Otherwise, he would have been chosen first in the draft, instead of third, two picks after college teammate Andrew Wiggins.

“He’s comical how good he is, or how good he was, and hopefully if he stays healthy this year, you’ll see it in the NBA,” Kansas coach Bill Self said recently of Embiid.

If he can stay healthy and withstand starter’s minutes, he could beat Wiggins to becoming the first Kansas player coached by Self to become an NBA All-Star, despite Wiggins having a two-year head start.

In some ways a blend of Hakeem Olajuwon and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Sam Bowie and Bill Walton, the odds are against Embiid approaching the accomplishments of sturdy, gifted centers Hakeem and Kareem, but at times Embiid looks like the best basketball prospect to come along since LeBron James.

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