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The next big thing: seven-footer Greg Oden isn't just bigger, he's better—his game and developing skills could place him among the all-time great centers

Sporting News, The, August 5, 2005 by Mike DeCourcy

He is 7 feet tall. If this were all you knew about Greg Oden, it might catch your attention. The 7-foot center is one of those magical sports entities, like the knockout puncher, the 1.000-yard rusher and the 100-mph pitcher.

Though being a 7-footer makes Oden special, it does not make him great. According to the NCAA, 79 Division I players measured 7-0 or taller last season, which is about average for a given year, and none became an All-American. Do the math and by the time Oden enrolls at Ohio State in the fall of 2006, roughly 1,000 7-footers will have passed through college basketball since 1992, the year Shaquille O'Neal--the last truly great player of that size--departed LSU.

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So this is about more than how close the top of Oden's head comes to the bottom of the goal. Oden, who soon will start his senior year at Lawrence North High in Indianapolis, is not thrilling basketball people simply because he is tall.

"From last July to this July, the aura about Greg Oden has transferred to the ability," says Sonny Vaccaro, senior director of grass-roots basketball for Reebok. "The kids understand it now--his greatness. He's so damn good, not only do they accept it, they're like in awe.

"He's one of those people that's going to win championships."

Those people? Bill Russell. Wilt Chamberlain. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Bill Walton. O'Neal. Those people. Those are the names mentioned when Oden is evaluated as a prospect. They have won a combined seven NCAA titles and 24 NBA championships.

"I just don't see myself being named with that type of guys--those legends," Oden says. "But anything is possible if you keep working at it."

There have been a lot of big centers in the past five decades of basketball but not so many great ones. As Oden went through July's summer recruiting period for Division I programs, it was easy to see he could be the next. It also was apparent he could learn a little from his predecessors.

One classy class.

When Thad Matta was hired at Ohio State in July 2004, he was in a position to take advantage of the personal relationships and reputation he had developed while in Indianapolis and Cincinnati as the head coach at Butler and then Xavier. Matta and his staff already had been recruiting some of the top players in Ohio for Xavier, and Matta had continued to nurture contacts developed across the border in Indiana.

That helped the Buckeyes land commitments from four elite players in the class of 2006. Though that class may not be complete--it eventually figures to include six players--it already has enough star quality to rank with Michigan's "Fab Five" in 1991 and Duke's class of '97 as one of the best collections of talent in the past 25 years.

Greg Oden, 7-0/240, C, Lawrence North, Indianapolis.

The Buckeyes gambled that the NBA would install an age minimum for draft entry. They were right.

Daequan Cook, 6-5/190, SG, Dunbar, Dayton, Ohio. He has the smooth, upright shooting style of Sonics star Ray Allen, but Cook probably is a touch more athletic and a touch less accurate from the perimeter. Matta had been recruiting Cook for Xavier and made him the Buckeyes' top recruiting priority after getting the Ohio State job.

David Lightly, 6-5/180, SF, Villa Angela-St. Joseph, Cleveland. He is an excellent athlete who plays above the rim but needs to improve his jump shot and perimeter skills. Lighty has been missing from the summer scene because he is recovering from knee surgery.

Mike Conley, 6-1/160, PG, Lawrence North, Indianapolis. He is considered a slight step below point guard classmates Tywon Lawson and Sherron Collins, mostly because of their bulk and strength. But Conley is an excellent athlete, has deep shooting range and plays a cerebral game.--M.D.

ODEN vs.

RUSSELL

Subject: defense

Oden's advantage over Russell is pure size. Russell stood 6-10 and weighed 220 pounds. Oden is 7-0, 240--with plenty more time to grow. Still, Oden's connection to Russell may be stronger than to any other elite center.

Russell was the most sophisticated defensive center in the game's history. He doesn't have the shot-blocking records to prove that because blocks weren't an official statistic during Russell's career. His proof: 11 NBA titles with the Celtics and two NCAA championships at San Francisco.

Oden has a feel for defense that goes beyond standing close to the basket and knocking away shots launched in his direction.

"He's in the mind of the opponent," says Van Coleman, a talent scout for Hoopmasters.com, "because he can come at the ball from 10 or 12 feet away and make a player change his shot."

Oden has an excellent sense of how to position himself so an opposing post player can't get the ball. He extends his long arms and legs in front of the opponent, dissuading entry passes or deflecting those that are attempted. Oden consumes an enormous amount of space in the lane.

When Oden faced Derrick Caracter, a 6-9,300-pounder from Elizabeth, N.J., in early July at the Reebok ABCD Camp, his swarming presence forced Caracter to abandon the post and set up on the perimeter. Given Caracter's strength and inside scoring ability, eliciting that surrender was a significant victory.

The next big thing: seven-footer Greg Oden isn't just bigger, he's better—his game and developing skills could place him among the all-time great centers

Sporting News, The, August 5, 2005 by Mike DeCourcy

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