I still believe that if OSU's Greg Oden does declare for the draft, he will be picked #1, but after the Buckeyes eked out a win over Wisconsin, I'm not sure it's the best idea for him to declare.
1) He looked tired for a lot of the game, moving into a jog up and down the court for most of it. I know centers do this a lot -- but it looks like he didn't have a lot of hustle in him and got tired late in the second half, despite his blocking skills on display.
2) He had five turnovers in that game, and got three traveling calls (one problematic, and got Thad Matta real hot off the bench). Wisconsin went for him from the get-go, and watching Oden, it doesn't look like he's used to having guys try to smack him around and get him out of his comfort zone. His moves only seem to go so far -- two dribbles and he has to do something else, and there were points where he was way too far out of the post.
3) He's obviously still not playing at full capacity. The wrist brace has been on all season, and it's hard to judge how well he will play when he has both hands available to him.
The game was a defensive slugfest, and there were times when Buckeye guards had no clue how to get the ball to Oden inside. I'm definitely with Marco now on selling OSU getting far in the tournament, but I don't think Wisconsin's going that far either, by the looks of their last two games.
Oden has a lot more to gain by staying with OSU for another year or two than Kevin Durant would by staying at Texas.
Sunday, February 25, 2007
stay in school, young man.
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5 comments:
Thanks for defending me....I've been getting emails like "What do you think of OSU now". Well when you are #1 and at home, you SHOULD win. I will say that least they now have a quality win and finally showed some toughness at the end of a game, but I still think OSU is ripe for the picking in March
A one-point win in a game that didn't crack 100 points isn't any reason to be thinking OSU is not on notice to be out of March Madness quickly.
While Oden would obviously benefit by staying another year (who wouldn't?), I'm honestly not sure he would benefit that much. Obviously the offensive game needs finetuning, but he still can't use the right hand that much which limits his moves in the post.
But more importantly, his defense is already awesome. IMO he's the best defensive big man in college basketball already, and will be one of the top 3-5 centers in the NBA as soon as he gets drafted. The positioning, the timing, everything is good for Oden defensively. It's beautiful to watch him block a shot and tip it to a teammate.
Anyway, as I wrote, I tend to disagree with you and Marco about OSU being the one to go out early. I'd lean towards Wisconsin being the more vulnerable team, especially with Brian Butch looking like he'll be out. If Tucker's not having a great day, the offense really tends to stagnate a lot for the Badgers. I'm not sure the Buckeyes are a final 4 team either because they rely so heavily on the jumpshot, but I like them more than the Badgers.
i think staying an extra year would definitely benefit him more mainly so he could get used to playing a full season without the wrist brace and who knows, maybe then he would just totally dominate. we'll just have to wait and see..
twins - I really like his defense, but I think the NBA is not the place for someone like him to hone offensive skills. Do it for another full year at OSU without the brace.
micah - I suspect he will dominate next year if he stays. He owns the defensive paint right now.
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