Centers as Freshman in College

Good Stats

They're sort of meaningless overall, but still a good job finding them and puting them together.

by blazerprophet on May 25, 2007 1:08 PM PDT reply actions

I guess what I was looking at is people are saying Oden is the next big time center and his stats compare nicely to other big time centers at the same age...naturally stats don't paint the whole picture but coupled with the Oden's general scouting report...I'm sold completely. Oden all the way. Unless we draft Durant...then I'm a Durant guy...

by nlj on May 25, 2007 1:23 PM PDT up reply actions

My Apologies

I was too harsh. What I meant was that stats are often misleading and no indication of how a player will do in the pros. Nonetheless, they are interesting stats and have value in that he did very well as a freshman.

by blazerprophet on May 25, 2007 2:40 PM PDT up reply actions

Keep in mind...

Keep in mind that he was playing with a broken wrist while getting those stats. Impressive!

by SloppyJoe on May 25, 2007 2:07 PM PDT reply actions

nice but...

I agree with what BP said. All of it.

Thanks for doing the foot work.

As a side note, it would have been cool to see how the other centers did in future games and then the NBA for the first few years. Also to see how long they stayed in school before going pro. how much development will oden be missing?

Also would be cool to see how other not so great centers did... did they compare to that or were they worse?

Luke ripped it up in college and I think he's currently a free agent? He couldn't cut it in the nba.

That said, you're not a reporter and THANKS for the info!

by ratbastird on May 25, 2007 3:31 PM PDT reply actions

not a reporter

I meant it wasn't you job to go digging and grab up all that information that i was asking and i appreciated what you did grab.

I can see how that would come out wrong. Sorry about that.

by ratbastird on May 25, 2007 11:15 PM PDT up reply actions

oden

is going to be a stud and anyone who thinks differently should get their head checked.

ROY for R.O.Y.

by junit3123 @ Blazer's Edge on May 25, 2007 3:43 PM PDT reply actions

Yeah, I definitely

think that there is more to Oden than his stats. Dude had position on his man EVERY TIME DOWN THE COURT in the games I saw of The OSU. He didn't get the ball half the time he had great position to do so. Oh, and he is a defensive juggernaut.

I want my front court aLaMode!!

by shenanigans on May 25, 2007 3:47 PM PDT up reply actions

Clearly

he has potential be be very good. He needs work at both ends of the court, but I have no doubt he'll be good.

by blazerprophet on May 25, 2007 4:13 PM PDT up reply actions

yeah!

Exactly!

by nlj on May 25, 2007 4:55 PM PDT reply actions

Uhm

Please do not post full articles (ESPECIALLY INSIDER ARTICLES). Just use a few select quotes. This could get the blog into trouble.

ROTUNDITYDOTNET

by damir on May 25, 2007 5:14 PM PDT reply actions

Scotty

Damir had the right call on this one. I had to delete your comment because we can't post more than a couple sentences from any article. The acceptable format is a short quote or two and then a link. Otherwise lawyers get itchy.

--Dave

by Dave on May 26, 2007 2:28 AM PDT up reply actions

ummm

I was in no way ripping him.

I was thinking him for pulling stats and saying it would be nice to see how other centers faired.

My reaction would have been exactly the same with durant.

Stats ARE meaningless because there are variables, but they're NOT meaningless because they can give you some approximation and comparison.

There seems to be a lot of hostility out there. Not just you but everyone about the whole Oden and durant thing.

Chill a little man! The debates make it interesting, no need to take it all personally!

by ratbastird on May 25, 2007 10:51 PM PDT reply actions

oh....

and thanks for posting the full article even though that's a no no. I never signed up with espn.

There are STRONG arguments for Oden, and i'm more convinced than i was. I don't care if i'm right or wrong about oden and durant. i only care that the blazers pick the best person, no matter WHO that is.

I could EASILY argue for oden over durant. Lots of great arguments there too!

I have concerns with oden, i have concerns with durant. We'll see how it unfolds.

Oh... and i'd love to see durants stats and all the other things i asked for on durant.

The reason i would have loved to have seen them is that you can compare and go "oh, this player and this player did that and compared to our potential pick this is where he's at"

I'm legitimately curious and would love to hear and learn more.

My main concern with Oden is the change of the game. I feel that Elton Brand didn't do so well this year due to the rule changes. He was fantastic the year before and i felt he vanished a bit this year.

If oden has the ability to play and play well with the rule changes, then i absolutely favor him.

I loved durant because he was well rounded and versatile. If Oden can show that flexibility and skill I can definitely switch camps.

The only other last piece of hesitation would be my gut. My gut tells me durant. I don't know why, because the cases made for Oden have been outstanding. Yet the idea of durant roy and aldridge just have me salivating.

So, here's what we do. We get both and the blazers can come together as one happy family again.

by ratbastird on May 25, 2007 11:13 PM PDT reply actions

That's another reason

I know I said today on my lengthy diary that if worst case scenario Oden is Zo than that will work out well. If he's better than the blazers can't not take him. I still think what I said is true about Durant too. He will be better I think if only because his game has more polish to it now. Who knows though. Pritchard would be foolish to leave Oden on the table with the other players he already has on this roster.

by pookeyguru on May 26, 2007 12:28 AM PDT reply actions

Zo

Was a pretty darn good player. I don't understand how he can be a worse case! He fell of the map because of his kidneys otherwise basketball history could have been VERY different.

by ratbastird on May 26, 2007 10:28 AM PDT up reply actions

Zo limited Offensively

Well, if Oden IS a Zo, that'd be the clincher to take Durant. Zo was great, big heart, but very limited offensively and I don't THINK he took his teams that far...

But of course, even if he is Zo part 2, I think we got the management to put together the RIGHT team around our key pieces.

Even if he as good as Ewing, I say Durant. If he DOES have an offensive game, it might be a no brainer. Oden's stats look AMAZING compared to those other comparable championship centers; he played with his offhand, a hand he hardly worked with before. I'm disappointed with his rebounding numbers, but maybe there is a reason I'm missing (could be the hand also).

I'm surprised Shaq scored so little his freshman year... how could he not get in dunking position on college centers with his natural size?

Maybe Oden just knows how to get in position and how to use his body there naturally. Maybe Oden could average 25 and 12.

If it's "only" 15 and 12 and 3 blocks, I want Durant. Zo or Mutumbo isn't good enough when Durant is on the table. Any other year it's an easy choice. Hell, if he's "only" Dwight Howard I vote for Durant. Howard doesn't have an offensive game aside from dunking (which he does very well) and kinda looks like he might not ever develop a real post repertoire. But I might be the only one who thinks so... I think he's awesome but overrated.

Important point: If Oden loses a kidney like Zo did, it won't help his game. Not at ALL. If he's as good as we hope he is, I'll donate mine in advance just in case! If he's this good with TWO kidneys, imagine how dominant he'd be with THREE!

Mortimer

by Mortimer on May 27, 2007 3:36 AM PDT up reply actions

shaquille

was playing next to stanley roberts at lsu, who was 7'0" and 300 lbs, had nimble feet, so there wasnt that much room in the lane.

roberts showed some promise in the nba, but my (somewhat dim) memory is that he had a lot of minor injuries and bounced from team to team and to some extent ate himself out of the league.

but i can remember seeing him play and play well.

ignacio

by ignacio on May 27, 2007 8:04 PM PDT up reply actions

Happens with all the chubsters

Ya know, I don't know why people think it'd ever be different, but fat basketball players will always be fat and have weight problems and leave the league early.

The Stanley Roberts story is also the Tractor Traylor story, the Oliver Miller story, and soon to be the Big Baby Davis story. Basketball players have NO excuse to be obviously overweight; out of shape sure, but not FAT. They work out too hard, even for one with glandular problems. The ones who have weight issues always also have dedication and work ethic issues.

Shaq has gotten fat before because of a bad work ethic, and a tendency to rely on his natural size and athletic ability. He wasn't chubby as a young player, and that's the real warning sign.

If anyone can point out a player who struggled with his weight and turned everything around and had a successful career, I'd love to see it. I might be wrong, and I want to believe the fat guys can change their habits... but usually they is fat for a reason.

Chuck Barkley doesn't count cause he wasn't ever fat as a player... he was just thick as hell.

Eddy Curry, Michael Sweetney, Sean May, all won't reach their potential due to weight issues that lead to injuries either directly or indirectly. Curry has done well recently, but he has just gotten bigger and bigger and as he gets older it will REALLY affect him. If you think he doesn't get enough rebounds now, wait till he's 30 and exhausted from carrying 350 lbs of pudding around...

So all of you Blazer fans demanding we draft a fat player... STOP IT! It's not a wise decision! We all love Fatty, but on our personals ad we need a "NO FATTIES" underlined and highlighted.

Mortimer

by Mortimer on May 29, 2007 4:09 AM PDT up reply actions

by the way

i agree with you on dwight howard.

ignacio

by ignacio on May 27, 2007 8:05 PM PDT up reply actions

the point

... is simply that if you look at great NBA of the modern era, their measurable performance was in the ballpark with Oden's. If Duncan had averaged 25-15 his freshman year at Wake, that might have put Oden's stats in a different light. But in fact, his stats are consistent with those of other great recent NBA centers. That by itself isn't predictive, but it suggests that if you're looking for some "disqualifier" in Oden's freshman year stats, you're not going to find it in the comparison with excellent NBA centers. That's all.

Who would you compare to Durant? Anthony? Odom? Anthony: 22.2-10-2.2-.453. Odom (soph stats, didn't play as freshman): roughly 18-9-4-.482.

I'm afraid we can't get away from the fact that both of these guys are REALLY good.

by barryj on May 26, 2007 10:50 AM PDT reply actions