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The retirement of Jeff Foster has the Indiana Pacers eyeing front court players to add depth at the center position. Currently, the Pacers have Tyler Hansbrough, Lou Amundson and Jeff Pendergraph to bring off the bench but all are undersized for playing minutes at center.
According to Mike Wells, recently released reserve center Ryan Hollins is under consideration assuming he clears waivers. While Hollins has the size of a center he is certainly the anti-Foster with more of an offensive finesse game. I've been told that any long-term additions to the Pacers will require toughness as a key trait. When I think Ryan Hollilns I don't think toughness, but then again, any player signed at this point is a stop-gap measure to get through the season as opposed to a long-term addition.
Regardless, Hollins will add depth but don't expect a huge impact. Hollins is in his sixth season and the Pacers would be his fifth team. He has never averaged more than 17 minutes per game in any season so far, nor more than three rebounds.
He can put the ball in the basket with a career 55% field goal percentage, so he could add some versatility off the bench. Need some banshee defense and rebounding? Then go with Amundson and Pendergraph. Need some buckets off the bench? Go with Hollins to take advantage of a second unit matchup.
Hollins was a teammate with Darren Collison on the 2006 UCLA team that lost to Florida in the NCAA Championship game at the RCA Dome. Hollins was a senior center on that team while DC was the first player off the bench as a freshman.
What would really help the Pacers is to see Roy Hibbert continue trending in a positive direction and get back to consistently delivering 16 points and nine rebounds a night in the post.
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