Oden Increases his Stock

Seriously. Banter is going on back and forth about Greg Oden's debut on friday night against the Boston Celtics in the Las Vegas Summer League. Words have been used such as bust, to unconditioned, to fatigued to Sam Bowie. Yes. Sam Bowie.

I'm sure all of you have heard the phrase "You would rather look pretty and lose, rather than look ugly and win". Actually that came from one of my favorite comedy-dramas of all time "White Man Can't Jump". In Greg Oden's case in describing his friday night performance is "looking good yet performing badly". That's how I saw Greg Oden in his first game. Yes, he collected a total of 10 personal fouls. He only scored 6 points and pulled down a measley 2 rebs. But if you put his numbers to the side and look at the things he did do. You will see why he was the number one choice in this years draft.

First of all, Greg is a beast. For only being 19, the kid is huge. He is very strong and very tone. For a 7 footer he is one of the faster players running the entire length of the court. As a matter of fact on several plays he looked more like two guard running up down the court. Secondly, he by far was the most athletic player on the court. His vertical leap is off the charts. I already talked about his strength and speed. He can play two to three different positions on the court. To add to that, he has great hand and eye control. And if you watched him closely you could see plenty of reasons on why he is going to a be a dominant force for years to come in this league. Thirdly, his fundamentals for a man his size and his age are terrific. He posts down low in the low block about as good as any vet I have seen in the league. His defensive fundamentals as far as timing, man to man defense, his help defense are really, really good. You can tell once he is able to polish his game. He will be a great all around center in this game. And by the time he retires, will probably be one of the 10 best big men to play the game.

I was excited at the prospects of getting Greg Oden before the draft. But after what I seen last night. I had no choice but to salivate and really envision what we have been blessed with. This kid is nothing of the kind. He has the goods to be a scorer and one of the best defensive players to play this game. We as fans need to sit back watch and be patient while he grows. He is not a project. He is player that will make an immediate impact right away and will improve with each and everygame. This is one fan that can't wait to watch this Greg grow. He is special.