thedoctor

i've seen two players comparable to oden: kevin garnett and lebron james. i saw garnett his senior year, and james during his sophomore, junior and senior seasons. i've seen o.j. mayo and he is also comparable, but it's harder to notice since he's a point guard and does so many little things that can go unnoticed.

QUOTE(whitesoxfan101 @ Feb 13, 2006 -> 07:13 PM) Most people don't say Oden is the best HS center prospect since Shaq.....they say he's the best HS center prospect since Lew Alcindor. If there was ever a can't miss prospect, he is it. He's 7'/260, in great shape, has every post move in the book, strong like an ox, great defender, great rebounder, very good athlete.....I was in awe Saturday night watching him. alcinder is unquestionably a better comparison when you are comparing their skill sets. o'neal's a little better when you are comparing the eras. either way, dude is a beast and a half.

QUOTE(Heads22 @ Feb 13, 2006 -> 06:18 PM) Well, since as an ISU fan, I'm looking ahead to next year, I know the Bucks get Oden and his teammate, but do they lose the likes of Foster and Dials? IMO, Ja'kel Foster is still quite underrated. Hopefully Oden hasn't gelled yet when the Clones come to Columbus. ohio state will graduate foster, dials, matt sylvester and j.j. sullinger. key returners will be jamar butler, ivan harris and ron lewis imo, their starting line-up looks like this next year: C: greg oden PF: harris or othella hunter (?) (juco kid) SF: daequan cook (freshman) SG: lewis PG: butler

QUOTE(Jimbo's Drinker @ Feb 13, 2006 -> 05:42 PM) Can you explain why?? no high school player has a better all-around game at this stage that i've seen. defensively, he is a huge presence. a lot of high school kids just rely on their athleticism or size, but oden is fundamentally sound. he doesn't leave his feet on shot fakes and he moves his feet very well when he's guarding guys outside. imo, he would be the best defensive big man in college basketball right now. offensively, he has very good post moves and is again, sound fundamentally. works well with both had and has a nice touch around the basket. i think he could struggle a little bit at the beginning of his college career dealing with zone defenses featuring bigger body players, but what he will have working in his favor next year is working with the best point guard in the big ten (jamar butler). i've seen oden play three times (twice on television and once over the summer) and hasn't seen him take his game outside that offense (17-foot jumper). not saying he doesn't have that in his repertoire, but i personally haven't seen it.

oden is close to neither traylor or okafor. better all-around player than both. imo, he's the best american big man prospect since shaq.

QUOTE(spiderman @ Jan 21, 2006 -> 05:49 PM) I could be wrong, but hasn't Cowley moved on to the SunTimes ? I could have sworn I saw an article or two later this winter by him. Anyways, either way, Cowley is the best. actually, you ended up being right. cowley has moved over to take over for doug padilla at the sun-times. congrats to joe on the promotion. good to see a more wider audience is going to get a shot to read his stuff. cheers, joe.

QUOTE(RockRaines @ Feb 10, 2006 -> 08:53 PM) Just so the kiddies know, even if there isnt bone IN it, it can be broken.

i did it last year and it was about two weeks.

QUOTE(Texsox @ Feb 10, 2006 -> 07:46 PM) That must have been scary for you, ankle twisted in bed sheets and you all alone nicely done.

QUOTE(bmags @ Feb 10, 2006 -> 07:37 PM) i'm trying to imagine that...and i just can't...twisting your ankle on bed sheets... well, i could explain it but i'm not going to.

i'm not talking about sexually transmitted diseases, just things that can happen to you in the course of a good old roll in the hay. i ask because i am currently nursing a sprained ankle i got when my foot got tangled up in the bedsheets and twisted during a particularly active encounter recently. hurts like hell, but i kinda smile a bit every time i wince.

QUOTE(ZoomSlowik @ Feb 10, 2006 -> 05:53 PM) Although that would be a huge addition, I wouldn't exactly count on it. That article made it sound like Illinois was kind of an after-thought, much like it appears that Jefferson is with Illinois. Plus he definitely has some grade issues and could enter the NBA draft. Although you can't turn down a guy with his talent level if he wants to sign with your school, they need more guard help than anything. not counting on it, just sharing information.

add another name. 6-7 wing davon jefferson out of new jersey. here is some info: draft express article, mentions illinois davon jefferson profile jefferson is a five-star recruit who decommitted to unlv whne one of their assistant coaches left for louisville.

QUOTE(ZoomSlowik @ Feb 10, 2006 -> 02:47 AM) I don't mean just very good defense, I mean phenomenal. If they hold OSU to 65 or less, that's pretty darned good. I think to have a chance, they've got to hold OSU under 60 (or shoot very well, as I said earlier). I expect McBride and Augustine to have a rough game, meaning Dee and/or Randle is going to have to play very well (or I suppose Smith, but he usually doesn't get enough time to make a really big impact). dee will have to have a huge game. huge. very happy he's had a week to rest because his performance after a long period of rest is markedly better than when he is playing games grouped together. that does not however bode well for the postseason.

QUOTE(ZoomSlowik @ Feb 10, 2006 -> 02:38 AM) The winner takes a big step up in the conference race. I've seen both teams a few teams, and I definitely think OSU is a better team. They're deeper, more athletic, have more diverse scoring, and have more quality shooters. Their one major weakness is the lack of depth inside, but Illinois doesn't really have the personel to take advantage of that. I think Illinois is going to need a big shooting night to win at OSU, or play some phenomenal defense. as of now, i would have to give osu a marked edge for many of the reasons you've mentioned. to add to that, over the course of the past few seasons illinois has not played particularly well at the schott. we know what happened last year and two years ago illinois needed a osu to miss a late shot to win a game against an osu team that was not very talented. frankly, though, i have to hope osu falls in love with the 3 as they do sometimes. if there is any area where i have a lot of confidence in illinois it is in their perimeter defense. that's what they are going to have to hang their hat on if they are going to have a chance sunday.

excellent win for osu. that said, i would take their offensive approach tonight (lots of 3s, not a lot of a foul-prone dials) sunday against illinois. also, i've said it before and will say it again - jamar butler is the most underrated player in the big ten.

QUOTE(AddisonStSox @ Feb 9, 2006 -> 12:26 AM) Can someone just give me a real quick list of 06' recruits for the Illini (BB). You don't have to go in-depth if you don't want to. as of now the two recruits are 6-9/6-10 (heard varying reports) forward richard semrau out of ohio and 6-11 center brian carlwell out of proviso east. i saw carlwell a year ago at a holiday shootout. he is very raw, but the skills are there. he's lean but not skinny, runs extremely well and is very agile. unfortunately he plays on a team of shoot-happy guards who aren't all that interested in feeding the post. thus, his numbers are not as great as maybe you'd expect. still, he has great potential and what he has you can not teach. i have not seen semrau play, so i can't really speak to his specific skill set. i am hopeful to see him in the ohio high school playoffs in the next few weeks. i know bruce has described him as a more athletic jack ingram - a big guy who can mix it up occasionally and knock down the 17-footer. he has great numbers, but he plays in a really weak league in the second smallest division in ohio (we have four divisions). there is one scholarship left for the class of 2006. at this point weber seems to be targeting four players, all of whom are high-scoring and very talented combo guards with grade issues. those would be ramar smith and leon freeman out of michigan, derwin kitchen (see few posts up) out of florida and deonte vaughn out of ohio. any of those kids would probably bump this from a mediocre class to at least an acceptable one. my guess is that the first one to get his grades in order gets an offer. of the three, freeman has told people he wants to go to illinois. not sure of the other suitors for the other three.

michigan super flat since harris went down.

for anyone not quite certain of the meaning of "hanover shocker."

the big ten has just been a bloodbath for road teams this year. (outside of psu at illinois :banghead )

hilarious. and those folks will flock there in droves to get bent over.

paulus is going to be a great player i think, but i see him as one of duke's big achilles heels right now.

we need more shots of hansbrough's mom.

illinois is apparently interested in combo guard derwin kitchen out of florida for its final 2006 scholarship. much like ramar smith and leon freeman, kitchen is a very talented player with some academic issues. kitchen initially signed with florida but has spent this year at a prep school. he was a four-star recruit last year for the gators. here is a link with a mention of this (second brief down): gainesville sun

QUOTE(watchtower41 @ Feb 7, 2006 -> 05:29 PM) considering Doherty brought in all those players... lol. that's the first time i've heard that. classic.