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Whitlock- Oden Better Prospect than Durant

Discussion in 'Sports and News' started by Deeper_Background, Mar 13, 2007.

  1. shotglass

    shotglass Guest

    Anywhere, FB. We have an NBA full of physical defensive centers without nuance in their offensive game.
     
  2. spnited

    spnited Active Member

    Whitlock's column simnply takes one side of a debate that will go on until the two prove their worth in the NBNA.
    Geez, I need the great JW to tell me a 7-footer with an offensive game and great defensive ability is a better prospect than an incrfedibky talented and athletic 6-9 small forward.

    He easily could have made the argument the other was and had just as much chance of being right. After all, we've had a thread on this debate floating around here for, what, two months?
     
  3. Cousin Jeffrey

    Cousin Jeffrey Active Member

    Purdue coach Matt Painter said this weekend that Big Dog was the best college player he had played/coached, with/against until Oden came along. Think what kind of numbers Oden would have if he touched the ball every possession. He gets the ball in position to score, not counting tips and rebounds, about 10 times a game. And that's if he plays 30 minutes. I think it's win-win to take either player. If I'm the Celts, sorry Simmons, I take Oden, keep Pierce and ride them to the playoffs next year.
     
  4. spnited

    spnited Active Member

    The real problem with Glenn Robinson was that the second part of his nickname was the most appropriate.
     
  5. IGotQuestions

    IGotQuestions Member

    I've believed all along that Mike Conley Jr. is the best pro prospect of the three once he fine tunes jump shooting. He has all-around game. Without him, Ohio State isn't No. 1.

    Durant is a ball-hog and Oden has no offense outside of that baby hook and his shoulder-and-elbow-wielding Shaquille-esque bull moves to the basket. Conley's gonna be a helluva point in the NBA.
     
  6. Mmac

    Mmac Guest

    Shotglass, this point is so obvious it hardly seems worthy of debate, but I've now got time so what the hell: When Oden's selected ahead of Durant, the difference-maker most certainly is NOT gonna be his offensive skills--Durant UNDISPUTABLY is a much more skilled scorer and offensive player, its gonna be because of Oden's rare once-in-a-generation ability to control the lane and dominate games defensively in the post.

    And I'm not sure where you're seeing this supposed "nuance" and "depth" in Oden's offensive game anyways. Oden's averaging about 15 ppg--most of which come on dunks, put-backs, lay-ups, or alley oops that are largely due to him being such a freakishly superior physical specimem against college competition. Beyond that, he's got that odd-looking but effective jump hook from either side (and either hand) but very limited face-up shooting range (and currently a very low release point on his face up jumper that many NBA centers will be able to block). By comparison, Durant's averaging about 26 ppg with an array of offensive moves and anywhere on the floor shooting range that has pro scouts wetting themselves. Oden dominates games defensively, Durant does offensively.

    And, to answer your question, there're inumerable current NBA big men with a far more polished and developed offensive skill-set than Oden currently possesses(Yao Ming, Duncan, Shaq, Miller, Howard, Bosh, Okur, Brand, Gasol etc.-hell even guys like Illgauskas, Bogut, and Eddy Curry.). And you can't even begin to compare Oden's current offensive game to past greats like David Robinson, Hakeem, Kareem, Ewing etc. But the difference, and the reason scouts got so excited about this guy, is that he's ALREADY shown DEFENSIVE potential and post skills and the ability to control the lane that equals or exceeds nearly anybody currently playing. And THAT'S why he'll be selected over Durant this June.
     
  7. SouthPaw

    SouthPaw New Member

    Well that's just silly. Sure, you can say without Conley OSU isn't No. 1. His progression has coincided with Oden becoming more comfortable on the floor and becoming the force you saw in the Big Ten Tournament. But a better pro prospect than the most coveted 1-2 in at least a decade? Come on. Even if you think Mike Conley could step onto an NBA court and become Jason Kidd tomorrow, Durant and Oden are better prospects.

    Those are both blanket, misinformed statements, but I'll play along. First of all, these are 18-year-old kids. Other than LeBron and Magic Johnson, name me a guy as young and tall as Durant that was a skilled passer. Second, Rick Barnes hasn't a clue how to involve Durant in the offense the way he should. As you would have seen had you watched the Oklahoma State game in the Big 12 Tournament, the plan was to get him the ball and let him score early and often. And guess what? He did. They don't post him up nearly enough, and that's the situation where he's going to be able to find his teammates, after he's double- and triple-teamed. He's not a good enough ballhandler at a lanky 6'10" to penetrate and kick. As for Oden, he obviously needs to improve his post moves and footwork, but he's already come a long way since his first game in mid-December. And if he needs to resort to "shoulder-and-elbow wielding Shaquille-esque bull moves to the basket," well, Shaq was named one of the 50 greatest players to play in the NBA, gosh, let's see...10 years ago.

    Look, Conley's a nice prospect and, as I said, it's no coincidence OSU has won 17 straight as he's matured. But Durant and Oden are light years above Conley, Julian Wright, Brandon Wright and whomever else you'd like to throw out there.
     
  8. Chuck~Taylor

    Chuck~Taylor Active Member

    Well, there's Dwight Howard, Amare Stoudemire, Tim Duncan, Chris Bosh, and Yao Ming.
     
  9. IGotQuestions

    IGotQuestions Member

    "name me a guy as young and tall as Durant that was a skilled passer"

    What does that have to do with being a ball-hog?

    Julian Wright's gonna be an NBA stud, too.
     
  10. SouthPaw

    SouthPaw New Member

    If you've watched Texas play, you'd know he can certainly pass the ball. However, his role on that team is to score basically everytime he touches the ball. Part of that is by design because he's clearly their best player, and part of that is the fact that they sometime ignore him in the offense for four or five possessions at a time. I think sometimes, late in games, when this happens, he feels he has to create something because who knows when Lord Rick will call a play that gets him the ball in position to score.

    If he plays for a coach who has a clue about how to run an offense in the NBA, he'll average four or five assists per game. As a rookie.

    And yes, Julian Wright is gonna be a stud. There's a guy who has a defined role as a jack-of-all-trades in KU's offense to take advantage of his skills as a passer.
     
  11. trounced

    trounced Active Member

    Matta's done a terrible job designing an offense to get the ball into Oden's hands on the low block more often. He needs to get a lot more touches. He's either going to score or get fouled when he gets the ball that deep.
     
  12. Mmac

    Mmac Guest

    Well, they're 30-3 and Ranked No. 1, so they appear to have done quite well despite Matta's "terrible" coaching job.
     
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