Oden Not Turning Pro Yet

Contrary to a published report, Greg Oden has not yet decided his basketball future. This according to Mike Conley Sr., one day after Greg Oden Sr. said his son was leaving Ohio State for the NBA. Conley Sr., who is expected to be Oden’s agent whenever his professional career begins, said Oden has not committed to turning pro just yet.

"No. Definitely not. Not to say he's not going to decide that -- but, 100 percent, as of this moment, he hasn't decided," Conley, father of Oden's high school and college teammate, Mike Conley Jr., told The Associated Press.
"I talk to his mother every day, and I talk to [Ohio State coach] Thad Matta every day, and if Thad Matta and his mother and I don't know, then how can anyone else know?"

The news that Oden may not leave Columbus after just one year will surprise a lot of people, but I’ve figured all along that Oden would return to Ohio State for his sophomore season. Oden just seems like a different kind of cat; he’s unbelievably humble and said earlier this season that he feels he still needs to work on his game at the college level. He even told ESPN’s Andy Katz that after he found out he needed surgery on his right wrist, he asked Ohio State coach Thad Matta if he could redshirt. If anyone else of Oden’s stature said that it would be assumed they were joking, but I’m not sure if Greg Oden knows how to be funny. He will almost certainly be the #1 pick whenever he comes out, so Oden may not feel the pressure most college ballers do to make their millions right away.

And if Oden doesn’t come out, that would beg the question, just how good is this incoming draft class? For a year people have been saying how this is one of the most stacked classes in NBA history with two guaranteed blue chippers at the top (Oden and Durant), and a slew of other freshman (not to mention Florida’s trio of juniors) who were barred from entering the NBA out of high school because of a new rule passed by David Stern. If Oden goes back to school, Durant is the for-sure number one pick, but who would go after him? Guys like Al Horford, Brendan Wright, and Corey Brewer are all considered possible top 5 picks, but now one of those guys has to go #2 to an NBA team pissed off they didn’t land Oden or Durant.

For my money, I think Oden would be dumb not to go pro. Another year in college won’t fix any of his flaws because he dominates college ball already. He won’t need to work on his footwork and post moves because in college he can get by on his pure size and strength, something that won’t work for him in the NBA. But I’d love to see Oden go back to Ohio State just see the looks on the faces of all the NBA GM’s that instructed their teams to tank during the last two months of the NBA season. All that losing for nothing. Take that Milwaukee.