// SCOUT_HOMEPAGE
IBELIEVEDINKIRALEWISJR
PROFILES
02
BOARD_SPOTS
57
YEAR
2026
// SAVED_BOARD
2026_OVERALL_BOARD
TOP_30
// PROSPECT_GUIDE
HANNES STEINBACH
HANNES STEINBACH
Fundamentally sound big man who does the dirty work inside. If he didn't play for UWash, we might look at him differently...
// PROS
Imposing doesn’t even describe it. Steinbach is roughly 6’11 with shoes and 250 pounds. He uses this super large build to play a super physical brand of basketball. He dives for loose balls, boxes out aggressively, and approaches rebounding with zeal. Super solid weight and frame that makes him super hard to shove around in the paint. Again, a very rugged rebounder. He wins battles consistently in the paint against very good Big Ten big men. He embraces contact, a trait that will lead him to success in the league. He averaged around twelve rebounds per game and 4.2 o-rebounds per game. Surprisingly bouncy. Logged a 36-inch vertical leap, which doesn’t do his ability to rise up to the rim and dunk through contact justice. Smart passer and sneakily good ballhandler. This fuels his offensive upside as an advantage creator who can create mismatches by leading lead-footed bigs to the perimeter. He won’t run the offense, but he can match the flow of the game and make good connecting passes. Evolving jumper that seems set to improve. He has a clean shooting motion and has found success in the closer midrange area. He’s comfortable putting the ball on the floor, a real asset compared to some of the other bigs (Mara, Quaintance) in the class.
Percentiles are positional, measured against NBA players' last season in college.
// CONS
His jumper is more theoretical than grounded. Even if his form is fine, it’s unclear how well his jumper can improve going into the league. He shot 20% from three and 60% from the line with Wurzburg, and his three-point star drills weren’t very encouraging (9/25) He could do more to expand his offensive bag. He relies heavily on touches inside the restricted area, and he has a very limited array of post moves. If he gets some more finesse with the ball in his hands in a post-up situation, he could be really dangerous there. Not a great rim protector, and, in fact, a bit too timid as a shot blocker. He could do much better than his 4% BLK% as the dominant big man that he is. At Washington, Steinbach was regularly paired with a floating shot blocker to mask his blocking woes. This is exacerbated by a lack of vertical athleticism. To be a good center in the league, he has to work on his interior decision-making to mask those deficiencies. May be a little too laterally slow to guard some of the league’s premier stretch forwards, which is a concern. Steinbach is a liability if teams can consistently pull him out to the perimeter and fry him.
// BIGGEST_QUESTIONS
How will Steinbach look like with an adequate offense? Washington was one of the worse teams in the Big Ten this year, lacking adequate spacing and three-point shooting. Because of this, teams were able to sag off scorers like Zoom Diallo and Desmond Claude and clog the paint. With good spacing, maybe we could see Steinbach display his passing and awareness at the perimeter or display a more advanced post game in one-on-one scenarios. Is Steinbach a shooting big man, or is he a big man that can shoot? Steinbach was mediocre from three this year, and his past years in Germany have been defined by really poor shooting nights. Even at Washington, he has struggled with confidence to pull from three What is his fit in the league? Steinbach is the biggest tweener of the draft: too small and not enough of a rim protector to be a 5, but too clunky and lacking the grace to guard stretch forwards at the next level. His value hinges on him either becoming a better rim protector or developing a better shot. Without those two things, Steinbach will not be the playoff-level big that his ceiling projects.
// PROJECTION
Ceiling: Firm Kevin Love with a little less perimeter game. Steinbach will never be a great shooter like Love was, but, with an encouraging free throw rate (.759) and three-point rate (.340), he can definitely be the floor spacer GMs envision him as. Adding that long-range game would make him truly offensively potent, especially on screens. He keeps his physicality, rebounding, and grittiness as a difference-maker on a playoff team. Floor: Drew Gooden. If Steinbach fails to add more variety to his offensive bag rather than leaning on his physical profile, then he will struggle offensively. He is massive, but Steinbach will quickly learn that NBA defenses are several times better than the defenses he played as a Husky. Steinbach’s tweener profile; too small to go up against the Wembanyamas, ADs, and Adebayos of the league, but too slow to face against stretch forwards. Realistic: Hartenstein Premium. A physically imposing big man who can defend the league’s best and suck in rebounds. He has the potential to expand on his exciting new perimeter game, making him a greater asset than iHart is currently.
// PROS
Imposing doesn’t even describe it. Steinbach is roughly 6’11 with shoes and 250 pounds. He uses this super large build to play a super physical brand of basketball. He dives for loose balls, boxes out aggressively, and approaches rebounding with zeal. Super solid weight and frame that makes him super hard to shove around in the paint. Again, a very rugged rebounder. He wins battles consistently in the paint against very good Big Ten big men. He embraces contact, a trait that will lead him to success in the league. He averaged around twelve rebounds per game and 4.2 o-rebounds per game. Surprisingly bouncy. Logged a 36-inch vertical leap, which doesn’t do his ability to rise up to the rim and dunk through contact justice. Smart passer and sneakily good ballhandler. This fuels his offensive upside as an advantage creator who can create mismatches by leading lead-footed bigs to the perimeter. He won’t run the offense, but he can match the flow of the game and make good connecting passes. Evolving jumper that seems set to improve. He has a clean shooting motion and has found success in the closer midrange area. He’s comfortable putting the ball on the floor, a real asset compared to some of the other bigs (Mara, Quaintance) in the class.
// CONS
His jumper is more theoretical than grounded. Even if his form is fine, it’s unclear how well his jumper can improve going into the league. He shot 20% from three and 60% from the line with Wurzburg, and his three-point star drills weren’t very encouraging (9/25) He could do more to expand his offensive bag. He relies heavily on touches inside the restricted area, and he has a very limited array of post moves. If he gets some more finesse with the ball in his hands in a post-up situation, he could be really dangerous there. Not a great rim protector, and, in fact, a bit too timid as a shot blocker. He could do much better than his 4% BLK% as the dominant big man that he is. At Washington, Steinbach was regularly paired with a floating shot blocker to mask his blocking woes. This is exacerbated by a lack of vertical athleticism. To be a good center in the league, he has to work on his interior decision-making to mask those deficiencies. May be a little too laterally slow to guard some of the league’s premier stretch forwards, which is a concern. Steinbach is a liability if teams can consistently pull him out to the perimeter and fry him.
// BIGGEST_QUESTIONS
How will Steinbach look like with an adequate offense? Washington was one of the worse teams in the Big Ten this year, lacking adequate spacing and three-point shooting. Because of this, teams were able to sag off scorers like Zoom Diallo and Desmond Claude and clog the paint. With good spacing, maybe we could see Steinbach display his passing and awareness at the perimeter or display a more advanced post game in one-on-one scenarios. Is Steinbach a shooting big man, or is he a big man that can shoot? Steinbach was mediocre from three this year, and his past years in Germany have been defined by really poor shooting nights. Even at Washington, he has struggled with confidence to pull from three What is his fit in the league? Steinbach is the biggest tweener of the draft: too small and not enough of a rim protector to be a 5, but too clunky and lacking the grace to guard stretch forwards at the next level. His value hinges on him either becoming a better rim protector or developing a better shot. Without those two things, Steinbach will not be the playoff-level big that his ceiling projects.
// PROJECTION
Ceiling: Firm Kevin Love with a little less perimeter game. Steinbach will never be a great shooter like Love was, but, with an encouraging free throw rate (.759) and three-point rate (.340), he can definitely be the floor spacer GMs envision him as. Adding that long-range game would make him truly offensively potent, especially on screens. He keeps his physicality, rebounding, and grittiness as a difference-maker on a playoff team. Floor: Drew Gooden. If Steinbach fails to add more variety to his offensive bag rather than leaning on his physical profile, then he will struggle offensively. He is massive, but Steinbach will quickly learn that NBA defenses are several times better than the defenses he played as a Husky. Steinbach’s tweener profile; too small to go up against the Wembanyamas, ADs, and Adebayos of the league, but too slow to face against stretch forwards. Realistic: Hartenstein Premium. A physically imposing big man who can defend the league’s best and suck in rebounds. He has the potential to expand on his exciting new perimeter game, making him a greater asset than iHart is currently.
Percentiles are positional, measured against NBA players' last season in college.