Overview

The son of 1988 NBA Draft second-round selection, Tito Horford, Al Horford hopes to have a more distinguished professional career. Tito Horford played just 63 games, suiting up for 60 contests for the Milwaukee Bucks after they drafted him (1988-90) and then came back three years later to suit up for three games for the Washington Bullets (1993-94).

Much like his father, Al Horford is an excellent rebounder, teaming on the Gators' frontcourt with Joakim Noah and combining for 24.8 points, 22.2 rebounds and 4.0 blocks per game in 2007 NCAA Tournament play. Horford registered 15 double-doubles during his final season and reached double figures in scoring in 12 of his final 15 contests.

Horford was named Class A Player of the Year for the state of Michigan as a senior at Grand Ledge High School, where he averaged 21.1 points, 13.0 rebounds, 4.9 blocks and 2.6 assists. He finished fifth in the voting for Michigan's Mr. Basketball that year, as he posted 18 double-doubles in 23 games, helping Grand Ledge get as high as No. 7 in the state rankings. As a junior, he averaged 18.1 points, 11.7 rebounds, 3.3 blocked shots and 2.7 assists while earning Class A All-State honors.

Horford had 112 blocks and never fouled out as a senior. He rose to the occasion in the biggest games for Grand Ledge, scoring 29 against Flint Beecher with highly touted Michigan State recruit Marquise Gray, while pouring in 34 points, 17 rebounds and seven blocks against rival Everett, the Schoolthat once produced Magic Johnson. Horford closed out his career as Grand Ledge's all-time leading scorer with 1,239 points, one of seven career records he owns at the school.

As a freshman at Florida in 2004-05, Horford performed at a higher level than anyone could have anticipated, impressing in preseason workouts to ultimately work his way into the starting lineup. He stayed there over the final 25 games of the season and quickly developed into one of the top shot-blockers in the Southeastern Conference, totaling 51 on the year, the highest total by a Gator since Andrew DeClerq had the same number in 1993-94. That total was the fourth highest in Schoolhistory at the time. He was also second on the team with 6.5 rebounds per game, the highest total by a Gator freshman since Donnell Harvey in 1999-2000.

Horford earned second-team All-SEC honors in 2005-06, starting all 39 games on the national championship team. He led the Gators with 7.6 rebounds per game, while averaging 11.3 points per game. He stepped it up at the most crucial times, averaging a double-double during NCAA Tournament play with 11.8 points and 10.0 rebounds, including 14 points in the national title game and 15 rebounds in the Gators' Elite Eight victory over No. 1 seed Villanova.

He ranked third on the Gators in field-goal percentage at 60.8 percent and came up with a team-high 10 double-doubles while leading UF in rebounding a team-high 18 times. He also scored in double figures 26 times. Horford teamed with Joakim Noah (95) to block a total of 168 shots, setting a Schoolsingle-season record (old mark was 131 combined by Dwayne Davis and Dwayne Schintzius in 1987-88).

In 2006-07, Horford missed two December games with an ankle sprain, but earned All-SEC first-team honors. He led the team in scoring in 12 contests and in rebounds in 26 of 38 games. He averaged 13.2 points per game and 9.5 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.8 blocked shots per contest. He has the team's top three rebounding performances, including pulling down a record 17 boards vs. UCLA. He also teamed with Joakim Noah to block 142 shots, the second-best season total by a tandem in Schoolannals.

In 109 games at Florida, Horford connected on 426 of 724 field-goal attempts (58.8 percent) and 275 of 444 free throws (61.9 percent). He registered 254 offensive and 610 defensive rebounds for an average of 7.9 per game. He had 189 blocked shots and 94 steals, along with 270 Personal fouls while averaging 10.3 points, 1.7 assists and 1.7 turnovers per game.

Horford's 190 blocked shots are topped only by Dwayne Schintzius (272, 1987-90) on the school's all-time list. His 28 double-doubles rank seventh in Gators history and his field-goal percentage of 58.8 ranks fourth.

Talking about Horford after the 2007 NCAA Championship, head coach Billy Donovan stated: "He's got a really, really good feel and understanding (of the game). The thing that I've tried to get across to the rest of the freshmen is that Al is like a sponge. He absorbs everything you say. It's maybe helped him where he lacks in certain experiences that he has not had a chance to be part of."

Scouting Report

Positives: Has long limbs, an athletic frame with good muscle tone, broad shoulders and thick thighs and calves...Physical rebounder who plays with good aggression...Can play either power forward or center...Has good passing ability for a player of his size and shows good quickness going up and down the court...Runs with a normal stride and is best when isolated on the block...Active shot blocker who will not hesitate to get physical and gets excellent elevation to deflect the ball at its highest point...Has shown improvement firing the jump shot and is becoming a more effective post scorer...Excels defending down low and has the quickness to challenge even guards getting down the court...Knows how to maintain position and use his strong body in the post to prevent the opponent from taking an easy shot...Has the wingspan to create turnovers...Plays under the basket with the ability to overpower some centers...Has the ball-handling skills to keep the ball moving in order for teammates to take the best shot...Uses his body efficiently to draw fouls when playing in the low post...Gets out on the break quickly and shows good mobility and overall body flexibility in his running stride...Good court leader who rarely gets flustered in pressure situations...Has the court awareness and vision to know when to slow the pace...Good mid-range shooter, but is best when attacking the basket...Has the work ethic to spend extra hours after practice or in the film room preparing for his upcoming opponent...His presence on the weak side at the defensive end allows him to dominate as a shot blocker, and he loves to attack the glass...Very effective at boxing out bigger men working under the basket and has the long reach and wingspan to haul down rebounds away from the hoop...Has the mobility to block cutters coming through the lane...Uses his frame well to punish smaller forwards that come into the paint...Plays the post with his hands up and properly extended, generally keeping his body between the opponent and the basket.

Negatives: His play vs. Ohio State's Greg Oden in the 2007 NCAA Championship showed that bigger, taller and stronger post players will have success against Horford when lining up at center. He lacks the size to play there in the NBA...Plays with a good tempo, but will get overaggressive at times in attempts to secure the rebound, resulting in foul trouble...Has good speed, but lacks ideal change-of-direction skills, looking a bit stiff in his hips when having to slide laterally...Has good strength, but will need to increase it for the next level of competition in order to maintain his position down low...Marginal at the foul line and he is a liability shooting from the perimeter or beyond mid-range...Must also improve his footwork inside the post, as he tends to get his base too narrow...Creates opportunities for himself at the foul line, but has only connected at slightly more than 61 percent...Lacks a patented go-to move when working in the post...Has shown improvement as a passer, but his ball-handling skills are marginal...Has the long reach to get to rebounds off the hoop and out of his position, but needs to do it with better consistency.

Compares To: AL JEFFERSON, Boston. Like Jefferson, Horford is a physical presence as a rebounder. He needs improvement at the free-throw line and lacks perimeter shooting ability (missed on all five 3-point attempts during his career), but with his athleticism, wingspan and aggressiveness, he is best playing in the low post. While he is expected to be a lottery pick, he still needs to improve his offensive game. His performance vs. Greg Oden in the NCAA title game could keep him from being the third pick in the draft.

High School

Attended Grand Ledge (Mich.) High School, earning Class A Player of the Year honors as a senior...Averaged 21.1 points, 13 rebounds, 4.9 blocks and 2.6 assists and finished fifth in the voting for Michigan's Mr. Basketball that year, as he posted 18 double-doubles in 23 games, helping Grand Ledge get as high as No. 7 in the state rankings...As a junior, he averaged 18.1 points, 11.7 rebounds, 3.3 blocked shots and 2.7 assists while earning Class A All-State honors...Had 112 blocks his senior season and never fouled out...Rose to the occasion in the biggest games for Grand Ledge, scoring 29 against Flint Beecher with highly touted Michigan State recruit Marquise Gray, while pouring in 34 points, 17 rebounds and seven blocks against rival Everett (the same Schoolthat produced Magic Johnson)...Closed out his career as Grand Ledge's all-time leading scorer with 1,239 points, one of seven career records he owns at the school.

Personal

Social & Behavioral Sciences major...Son of former NBA player Tito Horford, a 7-1 center who spent time with the Atlanta Hawks, Milwaukee Bucks and Washington Bullets in the late 1980s to early 90s after being selected by the Bucks in the second round of the 1988 draft. Tito played against Florida head coach Billy Donovan in college, as Donovan scored a career-high 38 points to lead his Providence Friars to a win over Horford's Miami Hurricanes...Born 6/03/86...Resides in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic.

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