College Basketball

Could Drew Timme develop into Draymond Green 2.0 in the NBA?

Updated Mar. 25, 2023 12:21 p.m. ET

Drew Timme and Draymond Green might have more in common than you think.

On Friday's "The Herd," FOX Sports college basketball analyst Casey Jacobsen joined Colin Cowherd to discuss the parallels between Timme and Green, noting their similar skills on the court and ability to be catalysts in big games.

"Drew Timme [and] Draymond Green — they're two different players, but they do play the same position, and they are successful at dribble handoff screens, rolling to the basket, catching on the run and being able to handle the ball," Jacobsen said. "We think about perimeter skills as just 3-point shooting — it's a lot more than that. I do think Drew Timme, on the right system — European-style basketball where you're asking your bigs to handle and pass the ball — could absolutely have a place in the NBA."

Multiple NBA Mock Drafts have Timme being selected in the middle of the second round, despite the fact he is a three-time All-American and a two-time West Coast Conference Player of the Year.

While it's hard to ignore Timme's long list of individual accolades, it is the overall impact he has had on the Gonzaga program that is perhaps his greatest strength. Since arriving at Gonzaga in 2019, the program is 121-12, which includes four straight WCC regular-season titles, four straight WCC Tournament titles and three straight Sweet 16s (the tournament was canceled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic).

[Elite bigs in the Elite Eight: Drew Timme, Adama Sanogo revved up for battle]

Timme is Gonzaga's all-time leading scorer and his 36 points in Thursday night's thrilling 79-76 victory over UCLA in the Sweet 16 made him the first player in NCAA Tournament history to rack up 10 20-plus-point games in the Big Dance.

The 6-foot-10 big man is averaging 21.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game this season — all career highs.

"He's a heck of a basketball player and one of the best back-to-the-basket, low-post players that I have seen in college in the last 10 years — at least," Jacobsen said of Timme. "But you know the evolution of the game. … Big guys who play back to the basket aren't as valuable now as they were 10, 15, 20 years ago. That's just the facts.

"You mentioned that Drew Timme doesn't have perimeter skills, and I would agree with you if we're defining perimeter skills as a 3-point jump shot. … He does have perimeter skills when it comes to ball handling and passing, though."

The same can be said for Green, who helped revolutionize the idea of playing "positionless basketball" in the NBA. Standing at 6-foot-6, Green will bring the ball up the court at times for the Golden State Warriors, as well as play the center position.

Like Timme, Green was an All-American during his college days, helping lead Michigan State to back-to-back Final Fours in 2009 and 2010.

The 22-year-old Timme will attempt to match Green's two Final Fours when he leads the third-seeded Zags against fourth-seeded UConn Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. While the thought of playing in the NBA is certainly something that has crossed Timme's mind, it will likely be a distant thought when the ball is tipped, with a spot to Houston on the line.

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