"Tiny" Gallon Will Be Big for Milwaukee
When you hear the name Keith “Tiny” Gallon, don’t expect him to come in a small package. Tiny is not tiny at all. Standing at 6’9” and weighing 290 lbs., this second-round pick of the Milwaukee Bucks has been arguably compared to Shaquille O’Neal, even when he was only playing college basketball in Oklahoma. It might be a tough call for a freshman to be compared to one of the all-time greats, but Gallon holds the potential to join him in the future in the NBA.
A highlight of Gallon's career so far was the game on New Year’s Eve against Gonzaga where Gallon broke the glass in an attempted alley-oop play. Though he’s not expected to break glass in his professional career, he can definitely provide energy to his team, even if he comes off the bench. Gallon, who averaged 10.3 points and 7.9 rebounds in his 30 games in college, will be one of Milwaukee’s big players this coming season. Looking at him play, he is an agile man with a lot of moves in the block.
He has the ability to play face-up in the post and quickly attack the basket. He also has that solid footwork that allows him to spin, make a drop step or up-and-under moves in the post. Drifting away to the perimeter is also part of his arsenal. He can extend to the 17-feet area and make some pretty good jump shots. He has a good stroke and quick first step that can help him to easily score points for his team. His best asset is his eagerness to grab a rebound. Expect him to gobble up rebounds for Milwaukee; his determination to go after the ball will give extra possessions for his team.
The downside of his game is that he is prone to make turnovers often. There would be times that he will drive the ball to the basket and force a tough pass to his team mates when defenders block his way. His indecisiveness caused him to turn over 24% of the possession when he handles the ball.
Gallon is also a poor defender. He usually doesn’t use his size to his advantage and his opponents often get chances to beat him off the block. Fighting for the position is definitely something he needs to develop in order to be an effective big man. He needs to improve on this because power forwards like him are expected to dominate inside the paint. He doesn’t have long arms that can extend to the defender when trying to defend a shooter from long range.
His weight will also be an issue, because his size affects his lateral movement. Not only his movement, but his weight can also affect his stamina. Lifting such a big load can be tiring and the only way to ger relief from this is by losing it. He had these issues before in his school days but in the pro, he must be agile to defend other faster big men.
During the events that took the Bucks to the Play-offs, John Salmons lifted the team, along with the healthy Andrew Bogut. At first nobody believed in the team’s capability especially when Bogut was injured for the rest of the season. However, they fought a pleasant fight against Atlanta, though undermanned, and the Bucks were able to force a seventh game in the first round of the Play-offs. If there’s an area that they need to develop, that would be their shooting and bench scoring. They really need another key player off the bench to make numbers and Gallon could be that guy.
Though experts believe that Gallon will spend time in the D-League, at the young age of 19 he still has all the time he needs to be the best that he can be with the Milwaukee Bucks in the future.
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