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Greg Oden
Every superlative and every amount of hype is legitimate. He'd be one of the five best shotblockers in the NBA right now, he's explosive, and while he's got the frame to easily get to 270-280, he's already not skinny by any means. There isn't much praise to heap on him that hasn't already been said a million times. It's all true.
Is he better than Dwight Howard was two years ago? I think he is, but not by much. He's a good deal taller, for one thing, and while I don't know if he gets off the ground as much as Howard does, he's a quicker leaper, which is actually more important than how high you get up.
And he compounds the problems he causes with that quick leaping ability by never going for a shot fake. Ever. You heard the announcers say it a million times if you watched the game tonight, and you saw it too: he NEVER EVER EVER leaves his feet early. His footwork on both ends of the floor is already highly advanced.
A couple of things I can say about him is that he could learn to use his size even more. He doesn't fully extend himself, but then again, he doesn't have to right now. I'd have to imagine he will. Also, he doesn't have the preternatural rebounding instincts that Howard has. But then again, who does? Howard's going to average 15 rebounds a game in the NBA for a long time. Oden tends to tap the ball around too much, but that may be another one of those things that he does just because he can. He could have some problems rebounding in the NBA if he does that, but I tend to think it's something he'll quit doing. So I wouldn't be overly worried about it; it's just that, in a comparison with Howard, I don't think he's going to dominate the glass quite as much as Howard will.
Eric Gordon
As far as swingmen go, we've had some tremendous ones in Illinois high school basketball over the last 10 years: Ronnie Fields, Quentin Richardson, Andre Iguodalia, Corey Maggette, and Shannon Brown come to mind. (Dwyane Wade, too, but he was a late bloomer and I never saw him in high school.) I can honestly say that, even as a junior, Gordon compares favorably with all of them.
His speed, quickness and leaping ability are tremendous, and match up very evenly to Shannon Brown, or even Dwyane Wade. I mean, I was fairly familiar with what he could do, but he still blew me away on the steal/dunk in the first half and that absurd block in the second half. Lots of elite high school kids can play defense, but many don't play it with intensity because they don't have to. Gordon does.
More impressive, though, is the all-around offensive game. He still has some work to do, as does every high school junior, but he's already very polished and can score from anywhere on the floor. The outside shot wasn't falling in the first half but started to in the second half. He has the midrange game, and even with God playing center for the other team, he wasn't afraid to take to the ball the basket. He ended up with 29 points, I think, but would've easily had 40 if it was just a normal good big man protecting the rim, and not an NBA-ready one.
He also showed some point guard ability, which could be key if Illinois doesn't land Derrick Rose. He's obviously a scorer first and foremost, but is a willing and capable passer.
Mike Conley
There's a lot of people who have called him overrated because he plays with Oden, and I've been one of them. But I think he's going to be a very good point guard at Ohio State (because, well, he's still going to be playing with Oden, plus Daquan Cook and David Lighty). He's got the athletic pedigree (his dad was an Olympic gold medalist triple jumper), and you could see his quickness on that end-to-end layup where he split the double team.
He makes good decisions, won't turn the ball over hardly ever, and has range on the jumper. Is he going to be another Dee Brown, Devin Harris, Deron Williams, etc. as a Big Ten point guard? Probably not. Is he going to run the show effectively, put up a bunch of assists, and defend his ass off? I believe so.
OSU and Illinois is in for a treat the next couple years
Carpet
Every superlative and every amount of hype is legitimate. He'd be one of the five best shotblockers in the NBA right now, he's explosive, and while he's got the frame to easily get to 270-280, he's already not skinny by any means. There isn't much praise to heap on him that hasn't already been said a million times. It's all true.
Is he better than Dwight Howard was two years ago? I think he is, but not by much. He's a good deal taller, for one thing, and while I don't know if he gets off the ground as much as Howard does, he's a quicker leaper, which is actually more important than how high you get up.
And he compounds the problems he causes with that quick leaping ability by never going for a shot fake. Ever. You heard the announcers say it a million times if you watched the game tonight, and you saw it too: he NEVER EVER EVER leaves his feet early. His footwork on both ends of the floor is already highly advanced.
A couple of things I can say about him is that he could learn to use his size even more. He doesn't fully extend himself, but then again, he doesn't have to right now. I'd have to imagine he will. Also, he doesn't have the preternatural rebounding instincts that Howard has. But then again, who does? Howard's going to average 15 rebounds a game in the NBA for a long time. Oden tends to tap the ball around too much, but that may be another one of those things that he does just because he can. He could have some problems rebounding in the NBA if he does that, but I tend to think it's something he'll quit doing. So I wouldn't be overly worried about it; it's just that, in a comparison with Howard, I don't think he's going to dominate the glass quite as much as Howard will.
Eric Gordon
As far as swingmen go, we've had some tremendous ones in Illinois high school basketball over the last 10 years: Ronnie Fields, Quentin Richardson, Andre Iguodalia, Corey Maggette, and Shannon Brown come to mind. (Dwyane Wade, too, but he was a late bloomer and I never saw him in high school.) I can honestly say that, even as a junior, Gordon compares favorably with all of them.
His speed, quickness and leaping ability are tremendous, and match up very evenly to Shannon Brown, or even Dwyane Wade. I mean, I was fairly familiar with what he could do, but he still blew me away on the steal/dunk in the first half and that absurd block in the second half. Lots of elite high school kids can play defense, but many don't play it with intensity because they don't have to. Gordon does.
More impressive, though, is the all-around offensive game. He still has some work to do, as does every high school junior, but he's already very polished and can score from anywhere on the floor. The outside shot wasn't falling in the first half but started to in the second half. He has the midrange game, and even with God playing center for the other team, he wasn't afraid to take to the ball the basket. He ended up with 29 points, I think, but would've easily had 40 if it was just a normal good big man protecting the rim, and not an NBA-ready one.
He also showed some point guard ability, which could be key if Illinois doesn't land Derrick Rose. He's obviously a scorer first and foremost, but is a willing and capable passer.
Mike Conley
There's a lot of people who have called him overrated because he plays with Oden, and I've been one of them. But I think he's going to be a very good point guard at Ohio State (because, well, he's still going to be playing with Oden, plus Daquan Cook and David Lighty). He's got the athletic pedigree (his dad was an Olympic gold medalist triple jumper), and you could see his quickness on that end-to-end layup where he split the double team.
He makes good decisions, won't turn the ball over hardly ever, and has range on the jumper. Is he going to be another Dee Brown, Devin Harris, Deron Williams, etc. as a Big Ten point guard? Probably not. Is he going to run the show effectively, put up a bunch of assists, and defend his ass off? I believe so.
OSU and Illinois is in for a treat the next couple years
Carpet