Durant >>>>>>>>> Oden
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Durant >>>>>>>>> Oden
1. Oden will be better than Durant in the NBA, imoQuote:
Originally Posted by Kori Ellis
2. Durant is good, and deserving of the 2nd pick, but i think people overrate him some...he disappears too much in big games
Oden = Duncan with more strength
Durant = Dirk with more athleticism
Either way, I'll take it.
Blessing And a Curse
Greg Oden Calls Himself a 'Brainiac,' but No One Else Can Get Past His Body
By Adam Kilgore
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, March 22, 2007; E01
INDIANAPOLIS -- Zoe Oden unfolded the crinkled paper, as she had countless times. Her son's birth certificate was tattered from years of being unfolded and refolded on the AAU basketball circuit, its quadrants clinging together by a center strand, like a four-leaf clover.
"I had to pull this out so many times," Zoe said, gently laying the paper out. "I had to make so many copies of this thing and take it with us, especially in sixth grade. Nobody believed he was the right age."
But the truth is there, in black and white and strange, reddish discoloration: Gregory Wayne Oden Jr. was born in Buffalo at 4:53 a.m. on Jan. 21, 1988, an honest-to-God 19 years ago. Twenty-four inches long, 8 pounds and 10 ounces.
"I'm going to order another one," Zoe says, shaking her head and laughing.
At 2, Oden wore a size-6 shoe. He was 6 feet tall by middle school and kept sprouting so fast that Zoe started wearing his outgrown sweat pants to exercise. His hardened facial features made some high school classmates believe he was 30 on his first day at Lawrence North High.
But Oden, now 7 feet tall, has grown up fast in other ways, forced to carry so much on his mountainous shoulders. He is key to the national championship hopes of the top-seeded Ohio State basketball team, which plays fifth-seeded Tennessee on Thursday at 9:57 p.m. in the South Region semifinals. A significant portion of his free time is spent granting interviews, avoiding death threats and weighing the legitimacy of autograph requests. And whenever his season is over, he must decide between staying for another year of college or leaving to take the NBA millions earmarked for him since his first high school basketball game.
All of it can be a bit much, even for a 19-year-old who is (almost) as mature as he looks. Sometimes, Zoe said, he wishes himself a normal student, rather than the biggest basketball star remaining in the biggest sporting event in the country.
"I think he always wishes that," Zoe said. "He doesn't like a lot of attention. I think he could have enjoyed it more if he hadn't have been playing basketball. He would have been more relaxed and would have a major."
Oden said he wouldn't change anything about his freshman season, but that came right after he said that if he were 5-9, he probably wouldn't play basketball. "I would be a brainiac," he said. "I'm not really that athletic."
Oden disliked basketball as a kid; he preferred riding bikes with his cousins. He didn't play in an organized league until he turned 9, when he and Zoe moved from Buffalo to Terre Haute, Ind. He started playing at the Boys & Girls Club, but his body couldn't catch up with his gangly limbs. Zoe could see his disappointment after a game, and he would cheer up only after she took him to Wendy's for a Frosty. His high school coach, Jack Keefer, threatened to bench him if he didn't shoot more.
But he loved school. He would come home from kindergarten and brag to Zoe about what he had learned. At Lawrence North, he took calculus as a senior and other college-level math courses for two years and earned a 3.8 grade-point average.
"I was excited to get him in class, because I had heard he was such a good student," said Donna McCord, Oden's high school math teacher. "Boy, I was really going to get him. I was like, 'I'll show you.' And he showed me."
He would finish homework assignments in class before McCord finished the lesson. Oden asked questions constantly, usually a step ahead of McCord; her answers, typically, were, "We'll get to that." On one exam, Oden earned a 49 out of 50, then argued with McCord about the point he missed.
Oden still keeps in contact with McCord. When Oden called her two weeks ago, he talked about how much he liked his History of Rock & Roll class and told her a funny story about one of his friends. They never mentioned basketball.
"If you take basketball away from him, I don't think he's going to lay down and die on us," Keefer said. "He wants to be an accountant."
( 7 foot tall bean counter! :lol )
He tries to be a 19-year-old enjoying college. Someone sent Keefer, in an e-mail, a video of Oden dancing with a girl. ("He didn't look bashful there," Keefer said.) His mother has to plead with him not to stay out until 3 or 4 a.m. when he comes home.
"I enjoy the freedom," Oden said. "That's the main thing. Just being away from my mom, stay up all night. Eat what I want. I'm enjoying the freedom."
But freedom can be difficult to find for a public figure. He changed his phone number after someone claiming to be an Indiana fan called and said, "I hope you die." Once, someone put a flier on his car with an unflattering photo taken off the Internet of him and a girl.
He attended an autograph signing for football players at Ohio State, but fans flocked to him instead. So he left. Oden signs only for kids now, tired of seeing his signature pop up on eBay. He scrunches down in movie theaters so people notice him less, just like he used to duck in the hallways of Lawrence North to hide his height.
Even on the court, pressure mounts. He hates to disappoint, and he feared he would while he was recovering from early-season wrist surgery. The Buckeyes jelled slowly when he did come back, which was tough for Oden to deal with. In high school, he and Mike Conley Jr., Ohio State's freshman point guard and Oden's best friend, won three straight state championships using unrivaled chemistry.
"High school, it was better," Zoe said. "Right now, it's dealing with different personalities. It hasn't quite clicked yet with Ohio State. They're an awesome team when you need to pull together, but I think it could be less stressful if it wasn't so divided. I think it's divided because Greg is not a selfish player. I don't think that the ball goes around enough before the shot is thrown off. If they threw it inside, he'll throw it back out, and then somebody is throwing up a three."
All the pressure builds to the question Oden has been hearing all season: Will it lead him to decide to make his money in the NBA? Or will he enjoy his "freedom" at OSU again next season?
"He gives me mixed emotions," Zoe said. "Half of him will say: 'Mom, I'm really enjoying this. Right now, I don't feel like I'm ready to go on.' But the other half of him says, 'If I have to get beat down like this, I might as well get paid for it.' I really don't know."
When Oden returned to Lawrence North to watch a playoff game this season, he made sure to shake hands with the team's bus driver and ask him how he was; he had built a relationship with him in high school, something none of Keefer's other players had done. McCord once asked him to attend one of her 10-year-old son's basketball games. He showed up and talked with him afterward.
So is Oden a teenager trapped in an adult's body? A center blessed with Hall of Fame potential? An accountant cursed with a seven-foot frame?
"He's one of us," said Q Owens, one his high school teammates. "He don't act different because he's got the name Greg Oden or he's seven foot. He acts like one of us. He's a normal 19-year-old."
Oden is a class act in the DRob mode.
What big games are you talking about? The USC game where he had 30 but his team didnt do shit? The New Mexico game where he had 27 and 12?Quote:
Originally Posted by johngateswhiteley
The Kansas game in the tourney where he had 38, 10 and 6 blocks? You obviously dont know what your talking about AT ALL. The only bad games he had all year where against LSU (which they still won and he still had 11 boards and 4 blocks), and the Villanova game which they lost. I watched every game he played in this year and he did nothing but get better. He averaged 26 points, 11 rebounds, 2 blocks, 2 steals, shot 81 percent from the ft line and 40 from the 3. And talk about dissapearing in big games, did you see the last Ohio St. game, they played better after Oden fouled out and he looked lost when he was in there. Why dont you look at the Florida game where he completely dissapeared. I know his wrist was jacked, and we still havent seen him at full strength, but I have seen a bunch of college centers as good as him, probably better. Hopefully he will stay in school one more year cause he needs to, which he even admitted. Dont just throw out shit with out anything to back it up.
Whoo! either of these guys will make me happy.
knowing our luck, we'll end up picking 3rd.....
I'm thinking of the SAME thing.Quote:
Originally Posted by ShoogarBear
& both are 7-footers and love mathematics.
thanks boutons for the article. :reading
Great article. I've read other such articles and seen TV segments discussing his persona, and he seems like a good kid. I hope if it's true, he can keep his character strong - the NBA life can be a corrupting influence, although many have stayed above it.Quote:
Originally Posted by boutons_
Oden has good d but his offense is still raw IMO. He just over powers other NCAA players. Power and size doesn't always equal unstoppable in the NBA. Sure you have Shaq, but you also have Dampier (sorry Mavs fans). Durant IMO has easily been the BEST NCAA player this decade so far. He is a lot better than Carmelo was during his freshman year. With that said, I think they should both stay one more season. Durant needs to work on scoring against smaller pesky type defenders and his D (sucks like Carmelo's). And Oden looks like Rasho w/ muscle in the post sometimes. I also question how MUCH better will Oden actually get. I don't have that same question for Durant. Looking back on the previous drafts, he may be the best all-around player to come out of the NCAA since the "Quiet Storm" (my nickname for Tim). I did say NCAA not Europe (Dirk) or high school (Lebron).Quote:
Originally Posted by Kori Ellis
interesting article I found which suggests these two young men are now ready for the NBA.Quote:
Originally Posted by RC's Boss
http://www.sportsline.com/spin/story/10080734
As Ohio State works its way through the NC2A tournament, breaking the hearts of Xavier Musketeers in the process, its players must cope with a variety of responsibilities, not the least of which is keeping up on their studies. For Greg Oden, that means grueling hours with his iPod, in the hopes of completing work for his History of Rock 'n' Roll class, one of the two (he's also taking Sociology 101) courses he is taking this term in Columbus.
http://images.sportsline.com/u/photos/img10080754.jpg
Future millionaire No. 1: Ohio State's Greg Oden.
While it's easy (and fun!) to make sport of Oden's spring academic roster and OSU's rather laissez-faire approach to educating athletes (10 percent graduation rate for those entering between '96-99), no one should care a bit about whether he's taking History of Rock 'n' Roll or Statistical Thermodynamics of Complex Liquids. Greg Oden didn't go to Ohio State to become an astrophysicist or a bond trader -- not that there's anything wrong with that. He went because his future employer, the National Basketball Association, mandated that he spend at least one year in the collegiate ranks before turning professional, not because he was looking to get a degree.
By all accounts, Oden is a thoughtful young man who plays team-first ball but isn't afraid to deliver a WWE-caliber forearm shiver when the situation calls for it. Not that anyone could consider such a move a flagrant foul. Never. Were he 6-1 and unable to make grown basketball executives drool like Ted Washington at a donut convention, he would likely spend four years in college, emerge with a degree and find a job.
That's how it goes for a lot of people. They need the sheepskin to find quality work. Oden doesn't. Neither does Texas forward Kevin Durant. Both will find high-paying gigs without so much as a passing grade in History of Rock 'n' Roll, Electromagnetic Theory or Advanced Fire Watching. And anybody who is trying to say that they should remain in school one hour longer than the NBA says they must is pushing an agenda that has nothing to do with the welfare of the two young men.
Would it be nice if every professional basketball prospect spent four years in school, graduated and then moved on fame and riches? Of course it would. Being an educated person is a goal to which everybody should aspire. This country could certainly use some more critical thinkers out on the streets and (especially) in Hollywood, where more finely tuned analytical skills might prevent disasters like Norbit. As Emil Faber said, "Knowledge is good." There is no disputing that.
But in the world of professional sports, timing is more important than knowledge. Oden's and Durant's stocks will be at their apexes come June. Is it possible to go higher in the draft than No. 1? Didn't think so. And though this year's second pick could well improve his position one place by returning next season, he could also fall back. (See Noah, Joakim.)
There are rumors out there that shoe companies have offers ranging from $30 million-$50 million waiting for Durant. Oden's deal will be in that neighborhood, too, and just think of all the endorsement opportunities for him, from anti-aging creams to facial-hair trimmers. The cash register is ringing, and these two would be foolish not to answer the bell.
Have they taken anything from college? Damn right they have. Each has improved his earning potential exponentially by spending a season in the NBA minor leagues. These days, that's what college is all about. Tweedy professors would like to believe their students are sitting through their tedious lectures in order to train their young minds, but many colleges are marketing themselves as sites for professional development. "Come to State U. and get the skills you need in the business world."
[IMG]http://images.sportsline.com/u/photos/img10080755.jpg
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Future millionaire No.2 : Texas' Kevin Durant.
Why else would schools trumpet the average salaries of graduates? They want kids to know that going there helps them get good jobs. Well, Durant and Oden can serve as advertisements for Texas and Ohio State. "Kevin Durant spent one year at Texas and signed a $50 million shoe deal. Imagine what you can do in four years!"
These days, both players are saying all the Right Things about their professional futures. "Right now, all I'm thinking about is Ohio State/Texas," they say. Good work. Why anger teammates, coaches and fans, especially at a time when college basketball has taken center stage? Once the tournament is over, and baseball and the NFL Draft have stepped forward, they'll be able to think about themselves.
There shouldn't be a lot of thought required. Go. Get out. It's time to make a living. And what a living! Oden and Durant need to be in the NBA next year, because it's time to get there. And shame on anybody who tries to stop them. It's bad enough they were denied a chance to go to work in their field of choice after high school. Don't keep them away now :smokin .
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so, are they ready?