Official College Basketball Thread

[redandwhite]

Is it wrong to want to see what this kid can do before putting up on a pedestal as the greatest player in the world?

[southsider2k5]

Is it wrong to want to see what this kid can do before putting up on a pedestal as the greatest player in the world?

 

Who said he was the greatest player in the world?

[RockRaines]

Is it wrong to want to see what this kid can do before putting up on a pedestal as the greatest player in the world?

No, its not wrong. But its also wrong to hate on him before he plays as well. It sucks when a player gets tons of hype, especially when he plays for a really good team, and that team happens to be from a University that people are already hating from their football run this year. But, he is a great player, and a good guy, and im sure that will all come out come the end of Dec.

[redandwhite]

It was mentioned in this thread that he was the best player in college basketball if I'm not mistaken. Either way, I'm slightly bias, him being an Indiana kid and not coming to the University. Still, I think it's only fair to see what he can do before he's labeled as the best player in the sport, even if he would have been the consensus number one pick in the draft.

[ZoomSlowik]

Is it wrong to want to see what this kid can do before putting up on a pedestal as the greatest player in the world?

 

I don't thing it's too big a stretch to know/believe that he will be one of the top college players in the country once he can play, if not the best. There aren't exactly a whole lot of athletic 7-footers running the floor in college basketball. Players a lot less talented than him have come in and made an immediate impact in the past.

 

Think about it, he's the unanimous #1 rated player from a high school class that already has several instant-impact freshmen like Kevin Durant, Darrell Arthur, Chase Buddinger, Daquan Cook and Brandan Wright along with several other solid players. Either he's going to be very good or he's the biggest scouting miss in the history of the game.

[Soxbadger]

Some players just look good. They can sit on the bench and look like a monster. When I saw Lebron for the first time, you could just see that he was a man amongst boys. He did not even look young, he just looked like he had been born to play.

 

The same goes for Oden, when you look at him he does not look like a freshman. He looks like a beast, and it would just be very hard for me to believe that every single scout, basketball analyst, etc were completely wrong about the guy.

 

Now Im not going to say he is the best college player, but right now he is the top college prospect for the pros.

 

My problem was with comparing him to Scheyer, who is not even in the same stratosphere as Oden.

[Mplssoxfan]

Dan Monson presumably out at Minnesota. Thank goodness.

[Rex Hudler]

While Oden is a great player and will make a huge impact on OSU, I am not convinced he is going to come out the first game in January and dominate. I think Oden will struggle at first, acclimating himself to the college game and just playing in games in general. I also think OSU will struggle a bit integrating him into an already strong lineup.

 

It's entirely possible that we don't see the real Greg Oden until February and that OSU will not hit full stride until around conference tournament time. I'm not saying they are destined for the middle of the pack in the Big Ten, but I don't think his impact will be as immediate as everyone is expecting.

[danman31]

Mizzou manhandled Arkansas 86-64 to move to 8-0. It was Mizzou's first good win (Davidson and maybe a couple others are decent mid-majors, but mostly a cupcake schedule). Mizzou played very well and did it on national tv. The crowd was just short of 5,500 because of the storm, half the crowd was students or at least close, but it should mean more fans will come from now on. I want to get cocky and start trash talking U of I for the Braggin' Rights game, but it's Mizzou sports and the football team let me down so I'm going to stay cautiously optimistic. Anybody watch the game?

[Rex Hudler]

Mizzou manhandled Arkansas 86-64 to move to 8-0. It was Mizzou's first good win (Davidson and maybe a couple others are decent mid-majors, but mostly a cupcake schedule). Mizzou played very well and did it on national tv. The crowd was just short of 5,500 because of the storm, half the crowd was students or at least close, but it should mean more fans will come from now on. I want to get cocky and start trash talking U of I for the Braggin' Rights game, but it's Mizzou sports and the football team let me down so I'm going to stay cautiously optimistic. Anybody watch the game?

 

Now don't go overlookin' Evansville!!

[IlliniKrush]

Mizzou manhandled Arkansas 86-64 to move to 8-0. It was Mizzou's first good win (Davidson and maybe a couple others are decent mid-majors, but mostly a cupcake schedule). Mizzou played very well and did it on national tv. The crowd was just short of 5,500 because of the storm, half the crowd was students or at least close, but it should mean more fans will come from now on. I want to get cocky and start trash talking U of I for the Braggin' Rights game, but it's Mizzou sports and the football team let me down so I'm going to stay cautiously optimistic. Anybody watch the game?

I don't even know if we know where the trophy is for that anymore. Someone better go check storage closets just in case.

[Jordan4life_2007]

Well, I remember hating on Lebron when people were hyping him up well before he played in his first NBA game. I won't make the same mistake with Oden. Dude is just that good. Will see it soon enough.

[danman31]

Now don't go overlookin' Evansville!!

You're right, the U of I game is quite a ways away anyway. I'm actually afraid the team will have a letdown against Evansville, a team good enough that would certaintly beat Mizzou if they sleep on them. Tonight was by far the best the team has played all year and isn't as good as they played. That said the pumped up home crowd had to have something to do with it so maybe I can expect close to that at home from now on. They have played poorly enough at stretches so far this year where they could lose to a team like Evansville.

[thedoctor]

While Oden is a great player and will make a huge impact on OSU, I am not convinced he is going to come out the first game in January and dominate. I think Oden will struggle at first, acclimating himself to the college game and just playing in games in general. I also think OSU will struggle a bit integrating him into an already strong lineup.

 

It's entirely possible that we don't see the real Greg Oden until February and that OSU will not hit full stride until around conference tournament time. I'm not saying they are destined for the middle of the pack in the Big Ten, but I don't think his impact will be as immediate as everyone is expecting.

 

while i agree that oden may lag behind offensively, i expect him to be an immediate force defensively when he starts playing games for the buckeyes. the kid is just an incredibly talented defensive player. in addition to his physical skills he has really good anticipation which you don't see in a lot of kids that big. when i've seen him i've also been amazed at how quickly he can close out on shooters. he'll block some shots you don't think he has a chance to get.

 

overall, though, i do agree with your points. it's going to take some time for ohio state to readjust once they add oden into the mix. however, what will help is that he's played extensively with cook and conley in the past.

[Palehosefan]

Conley, Butler, Cook, Hunter, Oden is going to be one scary starting 5. I want no part of that.

[thedoctor]

Conley, Butler, Cook, Hunter, Oden is going to be one scary starting 5. I want no part of that.

 

that's not even including lewis. the buckeyes will be a very tough out for anyone come tournament time. if you want to get them, now is the time.

[RockRaines]

that's not even including lewis. the buckeyes will be a very tough out for anyone come tournament time. if you want to get them, now is the time.

Lewis is an absolute stud, alot of people are overlooking how good he really is.

[thedoctor]

Lewis is an absolute stud, alot of people are overlooking how good he really is.

 

lewis has always been very underrated. coming out of high school i was really big on him, but he played on a team with a bunch of d1 kids and just got lost in the shuffle. i was surprised he ended up at bowling green at first, but now at ohio state he's really getting to show how good he is.

[CWSGuy406]

Marquette vs. Northwestern State tonight. Pepsi Blue and Gold Classic. I'm hopin' for a good turnout. It's time to start packin' the place. The guys deserve it, with the wins over Texas Tech, Duke, and on the road at Valpo. I know I'll be there.

[ptatc]

Marquette vs. Northwestern State tonight. Pepsi Blue and Gold Classic. I'm hopin' for a good turnout. It's time to start packin' the place. The guys deserve it, with the wins over Texas Tech, Duke, and on the road at Valpo. I know I'll be there.

 

I will live vicariously through you. Go Warriors!!!!!!

[Rowand44]

Here goes...

 

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/bask...n.ap/index.html

[Rowand44]

So another big day for the valley: We play a pretty darn good SLU team, the Shocks have another huge game at 'Cuse, UNI is playing Bucknell right now and Dan I wouldn't overlook Evansville, they're a solid team.

 

Our game today basically is going to come down to who gets the other team to play to their style. SLU likes to run and obviously we're a halfcourt team. Hopefully our guys aren't too tired as this is our 5th game in like 2 days . GO DAWGS!!!!

Edited December 2, 2006 by Rowand44

[IlliniKrush]

Are you an SIU fan or just a MVC fan?

[Rowand44]

Are you an SIU fan or just a MVC fan?

Funny, any ooc wins by the Valley end up helping out the Dawgs a lot in the long run, hence why I root for all those teams before the conference sched starts. When you don't get a chance to play elite programs all the time cause no one will schedule you, any ooc wins that your conference can get will be big for your own program come March.

Edited December 2, 2006 by Rowand44

[CWSGuy406]

I will live vicariously through you. Go Warriors!!!!!!

 

Well, Marquette won last night by 16. Marquette started the game off on an 11-0 run. NWState came back, though, and eventually took a 23-22 lead. But we took a four point lead at halftime, went on a 14-0 run to start the 2nd half, and never looked back.

 

NWState was surprisingly athletic for a mid-major. I know a lot of you guys got to see them against Iowa last year, but I was quite surprised; they had some guys who could really leap out of the building.

 

After the 11-0 run, they used a 1-2-2 3/4 court trap, not designed to get steals, but rather to prevent Marquette from running. I think that's going to be used a lot against Marquette, as, IMO, I don't think there's a whole lot of teams who can run (literally run -- I'm not saying MU is top three team in America by any means) with this team for a full 40 minutes. The 14-0 run to start the second half was nuts. NWState turned the ball over at least three times, and the Marquette guards were just getting layup after layup.

 

I believe it's North Dakota State tonight, and next Saturday -- bring on those Badgers!

Edited December 2, 2006 by CWSGuy406