2017 Orlando Magic Draft Preview: Who is D.J. Wilson?

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Mar 10, 2017; Washington, DC, USA; Michigan Wolverines forward D.J. Wilson (5) shoots the ball in front of Purdue Boilermakers forward Caleb Swanigan (50) in the second half during the Big Ten Tournament at Verizon Center. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports /

D.J. Wilson is a bundle of athleticism and physical attributes. That is the exact kind of thing the NBA looks for in the Draft. Will Wilson put it together?

The NBA is a league of athletic and genetic marvels.

People at 6-foot-10 and gangly arms that seem to droop below their knees are not supposed to be able to glide gracefully through a sea of other similarly large men and deftly lay a basketball on the rim and in. Much less stop seemingly on a dime and rise up for the most coordinated of motions — a jump shot.

The players who have that length and athleticism to match with coordination and skill are exceedingly rare. But that length in its purest form is as valuable as anything. Many NBA teams have gone down the rabbit hole trying to find that uber athletic and long raw talent they can turn into the next star. Or at least the next usable player.

Basketball skills can be tough to pin down. Athleticism and physiology are sometimes difficult to reconcile into a particular skill needed to play this game at such a high level. But teams will mine. Inevitably they will take a player with incredible physical gifts, hoping to strike gold.

And that is what could make D.J. Wilson’s case so unique in this long pantheon of athletic bigs and wings teams try to groom into something.

Wilson burst onto the scene this year after two nondescript seasons (one ended up a redshirt year) with the Michigan Wolverines . Finally, it seemed Wilson put together his immense physical tools into something productive on the floor.

He averaged 11.0 points and 5.3 rebounds per game for the Wolverines last year, seeing his minutes increase from 6.1 minutes per game to 30.4 minutes per game. The playing time increase is eye-popping enough. Wilson earned that time with his energetic play. He finally put all those physical tools together.

Typically when the NBA gets their hands on a raw athlete, it is after their freshman year. They have just tapped the surface of their potential. Here Wilson has had a few years to learn how to put everything together.

And when he finally did, it looked like Wilson could be something intriguing for a NBA team.