• Featured |
  • Burton DeWitt
  • Vin Diec
  • Trevor Freeman
  • Diane M. Grassi
  • Gabe Kahn
  • Ryan McGowan
  • Kris Pollina
  • Matt Waters
  • Ray Yocke
  • -----------
  • Write for SC
  • Get Featured
  • Nominate
• blog |
• Journals

• NFL
• NBA
• MLB
• NHL
• College
• Other

• forums + |
  • Chat Room
  • Message Boards
  • Philly Message Boards
  • Photo Pool
• Submit |
• Help

Overrated Oden

By Scotty15, Section NBA
Posted on Wed Sep 19 2007 at 1:47 PM EST
More on: (all tags)

What is it about Greg Oden that makes people salivate? His size? Strength? Potential? What is it? Because I don't see it.

My mouth is dry.

He averaged a mediocre 15 points and nine rebounds per game, not Hall of Fame material by any stretch of the imagination, and not worthy of the No. 1 overall pick.

Oden faced a weak Big Ten, highlighted by a down Michigan State and a Wisconsin team that also slaughtered an easy schedule. He ranked sixth in the league in scoring, first in boards (nobody else neared double digits), first in blocks (as the league's only decent post defender) and first in field goal percentage. He no-showed in free throw percentage, steals and minutes played.

Well, people say, those low stats resulted from his infamous hand injury.

But Oden said his hand felt good going into the NCAA championship tournament, where he played a bit better, 16.2 points and 9.2 rebounds.

To quote Will Farrell's Mugatu character in "Zoolander": "I feel like I'm taking crazy pills!"

Why the uberhype? He's a shot blocker, playing an extinct position, with a magnetic attraction to fouls.

Experts call him the best college center prospect since Patrick Ewing. A once-in-a-decade talent. CBS basketball color man Billy Packer voted him Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four in a losing effort.

It's bizarre. Everyone buys into Oden despite a decent -- at best -- season. He shows potential, no doubt, but doesn't seem destined to save the true center position in the NBA. At this stage, he doesn't show signs of becoming the next Dwight Howard, never mind Ewing.

How can he become a dominant force when he can't stay on the floor?

It seems like Oden has two fouls when he gets off the bus. He'll swat at shots like the tallest kid in grade school. The 7-foot 19-year-old, with the face of a grandpa, fouled out of his first NBA preseason game. Remember, those games have a 10-foul limit. Ten fouls! In college he would've fouled out twice.

Experts say officials dislike the big guy, jealous of his gigantic stature and talent. They supposedly whistle him for fouls on purpose.

HA!

That's what you get with Oden. Excuse after excuse. He doesn't live up to his billing, so to cover it up, people blame other things. His hand hurt. He was tired. The refs don't like him. His knee doesn't work. Whatever. It's as if those experts have an excuse catalog, ready no matter what the circumstance.

Eventually people will run out of excuses and see that Oden doesn't deserve the worship.

Now he's hurt, done for the season, a non-factor when he was supposed to spearhead the NBA future. Finally, we should get a break from the Oden Hype Machine to give props to the young man who should have received more praise in the first place:

Kevin Durant. National Player of the Year. Durant scored 25.8 points per game, fourth-best average in the land (Oden didn't crack the top 100). He grabbed 11.1 boards per game.

At 6-foot-9, Durant better fits the NBA mold. He's a forward that plays like a guard. Experts compare Oden to Ewing, but have trouble comparing Durant to anyone. They say Kevin Garnett only because the media feels the need to compare. But Durant isn't like anyone before him. Five Odens will come along before another Durant.

He could blossom into a hybrid: half Kevin Garnett, half Kobe Bryant.

Durant embarrassed a Big 12 conference with two top-10 teams and two others cracking the top 25.

The swift-but-slender former Longhorn led the Big 12 in points, rebounds, blocks and finished third in free throw percentage and fourth in steals. In the postseason, the Big 12 and NCAA tournaments -- when it really counts -- Durant scored 29.8 per game. The comparison is no contest.

Help me out. Maybe I need my eyes checked or live in another dimension. But I just don't see why basketball fanatics love Greg Oden, Maybe they're the ones taking crazy pills.