Even Shaq has a bit of a jumper. Oden is no Shaq. Odem is not nearly as physical or dominant in strength. Shaq was and still is, with the possible exception of Wilt Chamberlain,the strongest/ quickest center (there may have been a simply strong guy) in all of NBA history. Odem does appear to have more defensive potential than Shaq, although a young Shaq was better defensively than Shaq is now. Oden will not be as good as Shaq.
If Oden comes out next year I think an aging Shaq will still outpower Odem. Odem is quick and relatively strong and will be a fine center. Odem said that Richards the backup Fla center should have been a football player. Richards is nothing compared to the brute strength of an aging Shaq. A younger Shaq would have crushed Odem if Odem tried to just outmuscle Shaq. The young Shaq was about as quick as Odem, too. Odemisobviously a much better free show shooter.
The Admiral was better suited to being a power forward and could probably outrun Hakeem in a foot race.
oden's "breakout" game was durant's average. please let me know if you know this. also please tell me what oden is better than durant at. I like oden a lot and I think he is going to be great to watch in the NBA but he isn't better than durant. well he is a better shot blocker so that is one thing.
Oden reminds me more of Ewing than Hakeem, DR, Shaq or Duncan. Not near the power and quickness of Shaq (even in Shaq's LSU days), not as athletic as Hakeem or DR, not as smooth and controlled as Duncan. Good, but not phenom, combinations of size, strength, quickness, & footwork. But Oden will be a quality center in the NBA at worst (at worst a good defensive center and average offensive one)--but no I don't think he is quite a Hakeem/Oneal/DR/Duncan type phenom big prospect--more like a Ewing, Zo, Okafur, Deke type prospect (though all of these but Ewing had a lot more impressive block figures, Zo had around 5 his fresh year and the other two hit about 5 before they were done, Oden's 3.3BPG isn't that impressive for a superior college center--less than Shaq as a fresh as well). Now Durant is the best college player I have seen in some time, as a freshman no less. His game, to me largely a mix of KGs and Dirks, would also seem well suited for the pros. But he is awfully weak for a pro. Bigger physical transition than for Oden. This would be a tough call. I'll say Durant for now, but I'd like to see the measureables--ht, wt, wingspan, experts take on development, etc. Oden to me does not look like 280, and doesn't look like he has any physical development left. To me the main way for him to get better is polish, footwork, moves, etc--not physical changes. But that would be for experts to decide.
The first OSU/FL matchup wasn't nearly as entertaining to watch from a superstar's standpoint. It was like the 4th/5th game of Oden's freshman season and he looked pretty lost out there. Florida covered him very well and got him into foul trouble. Noah and Horford didn't exactly light up the world that game either though.....
As I remember it, Horford shoved Oden around like a rag doll in that game despite it being his first game back after being injured. He definitely outplayed Oden but Oden only had one hand. OSU was clearly unprepared to face a top notch team that early in the season.
I agree almost totally with this. Durant will get naturally better just by physically maturing. The one thing they both have in common is that they both have the fire to compete and take the lead.
The reason that Durant is far greater than Oden is that Oden needs someone to get him the ball. Durant can do it on his own.......much more versatile. DD
I think you might be surprised that your predictions may very well be off. Durant is a much more well rounded/mature player than Oden is. Durant's versatility to play inside/out, the ability to take ppl on the dribble, make fts, clutch mentallity, and length to play defense makes a force to contend with. I don't think ppl need to be concerned with his lack of strength, because if I recall correctly, Garnett and Kobe both came in the league looking like chop sticks... look at them now.
I'm not saying durant sucks or something, I said earlier in the thread we have Shaq and KG coming out of this draft. durant is a stud, but I would want to build my team with a rock in the middle like Oden.
As someone alluded to, I think its one of those MJ vs Hakeem comparisons, although I doubt either player can reach those heights.
That's a great point, but it's also important to recognize that Oden can dominate a game on both ends of the court, and thus doesn't need to have the ball in his hands to be effective. His presence in and of itself is a factor.
From the mind of the great Chad Ford..... "1. Greg Oden 7-0 C Ohio State The best big-man prospect to enter the draft since Tim Duncan. He's the favorite to be the No. 1 pick as long as he stay healthy." Hmmmmm......better than Yao?
College statistics are often misleading. Durant had the ball in his hands almost every possession when he was on the court. Oden, by contrast, did not have the offense running through him the majority of the time, and therefore did not receive as many shot-attempts as Durant. Also, it has been pointed out by numerous NBA scouts that Durant's rebounding average is the result of his playing against less athletic competition, and so many believe that he won't approach those numbers once he reaches the NBA.
Actually, Yao was seen as a project when he came into the league. Few predicted that Yao would ever be the best center in the league. Remember all the people arguing to take Jay Williams? Heck, our own players at the time wanted us to trade the pick for Lamar Odom. I don't think the comparison to Duncan is appropriate. Duncan was much more developed offensively than Oden.
