Mr. Oden is not ready for the NBA

Aw, Boots I'm just breaking balls. Of course Oden isn't dominating the way he did in high school. He's playing against bigger people. That said he's still pretty damn good. Good enough to be a first-team All-Amercia choice. This guy is going to be an animal on the next level. Think Amare, but more defense.

 

Oden can play. I was more impressed with him in the prep ranks.

 

I assure you, Greg Oden has some - but not nearly all - to do with Ohio State's place in the Final Four. The Bucks are built around their shooting, and it's served them quite well. They've hit as many 3s as Oden has attempted shots.

 

What I see in Oden is a guy afforded a tremendous amount of respect by opposing teams, to the detriment of their winning the game. It's hard to tell, on offense, just how good he is.

On defense, though - he already understands the concept of help-side defense very well, of owning the lane, and not just his man. He could be one of the greats on defense. I'm not sure he'll ever need to average more than 15 a game on offense.

 

Totally agree ... Oden is a stud. Period. This drivel about him not being ready makes me start to think the "sports writers as jealous" line of thinking may have some merit.

 

Jealous of what? Looking like Wise LeBron at the age of 19?

 

Of course you would be. He was playing against guys smaller and slower than he was.

 

Most young athletes = young, black.
Most sports writers = older, white

Success (seemingly) comes so easily to the athletes, as do money and fame. I'm sure there is an undercurrent of jealously in those who convince themselves these players aren't "ready for the NBA." It's never been about being ready, as I've said before.

 

I would say, in most cases, it's not an issue of age/race when someone comes down on a guy like Oden. It's more of an issue of one wanting to be a contrarian, to have a different view than the pack. That's certainly a good trait to have. In this case, I'll go with the pack and say Oden should come out this year and he'll be a double-double guy, 3 blocks a game, in the pros. If he stays another year to enjoy the academic excellence that is the Ohio State University, good for him. That being said, I would've loved to stay five years at college. But sometimes you gotta get a job.

 

Being contrarian for the sake of being contrarian is far from a good trait.

 

Give Oden three season's to get acclimated to intensity of the NBA paint, and he's going to be damn good. Oden has a lot of talent. But much of it untapped, raw. From a defensive standpoint, he understands spacial awareness as it relates to moving in the paint. Offensively, all he has to learn is one or two moves a year for the next few years and he'll be a perennial all star.

 

How old is this guy?



30? 33? 40?