Friday, March 30, 2007
Sports Will Greg Oden jump to the NBA?
Posted by Scott Freeman on Fri, Mar 30, 2007 at 9:03 PM
That's the question on ESPN.com's Gene Wojciechowski's mind today with the Final Four teams in Atlanta to play for the NCAA championship. Yesterday, I passed the UCLA team bus (with police escort) rolling down Northside Drive to the Georgia Dome.
Wojciechowski talks about how Tim Duncan changed his mind at the last minute, decided to return to Wake Forest for his senior year and feels richer for the experience. He also notes that Greg Oden himself says he's not ready for the NBA. Of course, that's a lot of money to turn down. And what if he injures a knee or tears an Achilles?
I worked with one of Oden's high school coaches on a book that chronicled his career with the Wildcats of Lawrence North, Ind. And coach J.R. Shelt told me that no one was more relieved than Oden when the NBA instituted its rule that players had to have at least one year of college before they could be drafted.
He says Oden, who maintained a high-B GPA in high school, genuinely wants the college experience. He also says Oden doesn't want to go to the NBA until he's ready; he wants to be able to earn his keep. And he can learn more playing on the court in college than he can warming the bench in the NBA.
My gut feeling is that Oden is going to stick around at Ohio State for another year, maybe even two. I think he's mature enough to be able to take the long view. I think that's especially true if Ohio State falls short of winning the Final Four; he'll want to come back and get that championship.
Latest in Fresh Loaf
-
First Slice: 2/20/12 R.I.P. Michael Davis, Occupy AT&T, and Paul beats Gingrich in GA straw poll
Some Monday morning headlines to get your day started
-
5 things today: Jewish Films, Estelle
The AJFF continues, soul tunes at Center Stage, and more
-
5 things today: Kinky Friedman, Jim Norton 3
A Texas songwriter, a New Jersey comic, and a conductor walk into Atlanta...
- More »
Comments (0)