Thomas Sorber Scouting Deepdive
Thomas Sorber's freshman campaign has been cut short by a foot injury, but his NBA potential is undeniable. Will he stay another year or hit the draft? Let's dive into his NBA potential.
The once great Georgetown Hoyas fell into hard times over the last decade, but they’ve made a resurgence this season. They hadn’t finished with more than nine wins in their last three seasons and had just four conference wins during that span. Now, the Hoyas are 16-12 on the season and 7-10 in the Big East. A large reason for their success this season comes from the incredible talent of freshman Thomas Sorber. The 6’10 forward had been nothing short of phenomenal in his first collegiate year and he shot up the draft boards. Unfortunately, Sorber suffered a foot injury on February 15th that required season ending surgery. Regardless, let’s dive into what makes him such a fun prospect.
The Physical Profile
Thomas Sorber is listed at 6’10 and 255 pounds. He hasn’t had his wingspan or vertical measured yet, but he’s long. Plus, he’s already 255 pounds as a freshman, so he’s only going to get stronger as he continues to improve and work towards a true “prime”. Let’s look at a comparison to a current NBA player.
One player that comes to mind is Wendell Carter Jr of the Orlando Magic. Carter Jr is also 6’10 and weighs 270 pounds. I see Sorber filling out to a similar frame once he enters a professional development level. Overall, the similarities go past their physical profiles. I believe that Carter Jr. was a bit more polished in year one for the Bulls that Sorber will be if he were to enter the draft this year, but the two’s games are very similar. Defensive minded big men that clean up the boards at impressive rates, while also proving to be capable on the offensive and play making ends.
From an athletic perspective, Sorber gets by fine. He’ll improve whether he plays in college or at the professional level next season. However, he’s not going to blow your mind with electric dunks, alley oops, etc. If he can improve his feet work and directional pivoting, he’s going to become even better on the offensive and defensive ends.
What’s the Vision?
Sorber’s offensive abilities really stand out and shows how he is just scratching the surface of his potential. Obviously, he spent his freshman year playing as a traditional big man down in the paint. Most of his scoring came close to the basket and he’s a strong finisher. On the season, he finished at a 53.2% rate. If you take out his three-point attempts, that brings his percentage up to nearly 60 at 59.6%. Before we talk about his three-point shooting, yes, his outside game skews his overall numbers by 5%. Inside the paint, he’s incredibly efficient. He’s also shown streaks of being able to knock down a jumper here and there from mid-range. However, from beyond the arc, it’s been a struggle for the big man. Considering he’s proven that he can take a mid-range shot, it seems like the three-point shooting might be a confidence issue. He’s still a freshman, so there is plenty of time to figure it out, but as of right now, he’s a liability from the outside which is fine since his role for the Hoyas has been primarily a traditional big man down low.
I do want to call out his free throw shooting briefly. For a 6’10, 255-pound freshman, he has been incredibly efficient from the line. Sorber shot 72.4% from the line, knocking down 76-105 this season. This is important for more reasons than coaches being able to trust him. When you are a huge threat down low, if you are a poor free throw shooter then your opponents will just hack you and send you to the line. However, for Sorber, he’s such a threat from the line that it forces opponents to have to defend him in the paint where he's already incredible difficult to guard.
Sorber is already an elite defender. As a freshman, he averaged two blocks and 1.5 steals per game. He is incredibly lengthy and nimble, which allows him to rack up a ton of blocked shots and cause problems in the passing lanes. Sorber was 13th in the Big East in steal percentage as a 6’10 big man! 13th! That’s unheard of for players of his size. He has some work to do on quickness, but he’s just a freshman so that’ll come with more development.
One skill that is very underrated for Sorber is his playmaking. He has an above average court vision for players of his size. When watching a traditional big man, you’ll notice that sometimes they get trapped down low and force shots, dribble into trouble, etc. Sorber on the other hand has the ability to use his body to his advantage and find open teammates. As a freshman forward/center he is averaging over two assists per game. He has wicked speed on his passes, allowing him to be a threat anywhere on the court. If he gets the ball in the paint and he doesn’t like the shot? Boom, back outside. If he cleans up the glass? Quick pass back to the guard. As he continues to grow and develop, this skill is going to get more efficient, and he’ll be a real threat at the next level. Prior to his injury, he ranked 62nd in the nation in block percentage and 4th in the Big East.
How Can It Break Down?
It’s probably obvious by now that his three-point shooting is by far his weakest skill. As a freshman he shot just 16.2% on 37 attempts. Sorber doesn’t have to be a three-point specialist given his other skills and duties of playing down low. However, not having any threat of an outside game is a large downside in the modern NBA. If this were 10-15 years ago, we wouldn’t be having this conversation, however, in today’s game you must be able to shoot threes. Fortunately, his other skills make up for this, but he can only go up from here and develop into an at least adequate shooter. He doesn’t have to take 200 a season, but being able to shoot 30% from outside on let’s say 100 shots a year, makes him a viable threat in which opens his ability to score in other outlets that he is more proficient in.
What’s the Pathway?
Before we talk too much here, lets address the elephant in the room. Suffering a season-ending foot injury that requires surgery forced Sorber to miss the last month or so of the season. As a result, it makes the future a little muddy for Sorber. He could still enter the draft, but he could also return to college full healthy and ready to take another step forward to increase his stock. Let’s review his pathway to the NBA first.
There is so much upside to Sorber. He was a prolific collegiate player as a freshman in one of the top conferences in the sport. He can defend, he can finish in the paint, he’s athletic, there’s just so much to like about his potential. As a freshman though, there’s always room for improvement. What are a couple of things that I want Sorber to focus on over the next year or so?
Shooting – I highlighted this in the “how can it break down section”, but it expands beyond just the three pointers. Sorber plays primarily as a “old-school” post player, which is fine. However, being able to develop as a shooter will help elevate him to the next level of prospects. He’s shown signs of being able to knock down a mid-range shot, and his form looks solid.
Consistency – There is no doubt that Sorber dominated teams in the non-conference, however, Georgetown did not play a tough schedule. Four of their non-conference opponents were against sub-300 KenPom teams and in total nine were sub-200. He’s struggled a bit in a few games in conference play against tougher talent like UConn and St. John’s. Against top 50 KenPom teams, he averaged: nine points, 8.6 rebounds, and 2.6 blocks. The rebounding and defensive work is there, but he has been stifled offensively. If he decides to come back next season, I would love to see him show case his talents and skills by dominating top tier talent as well, while continuing to perform at a higher level again the lesser talented team.
In summary, if Sorber enters the 2025 NBA Draft, he’ll still hear his name called even with the injury. One thing to keep an eye on is whether he decides to come back next year. With NIL, Sorber can return and make a large sum of money while improving his game even more. Why not stay one more year in college, make some money, and continue to improve so you can shoot up the draft boards even further in the next season and be able to immediately contribute on a team? Plus, with the injury he can return fully health, bigger, more experienced, and improved.
Personally, I would recommend Sorber to stay one more year in college. He has a tremendous freshman campaign, but it was cut short. He has an opportunity to get back to 100%, work on his shooting, and really take flight in year two as a sophomore. I believe it’d be hard for him to crack meaningful minutes in the NBA as a rookie if he were to enter and stay in the draft. There’s a ton of value in entering the draft and dipping your toes in the water, so it should be encouraged that he does so. Regardless of his decision, there’s a lot of love and the big man has a high ceiling.