What was Oden's ceiling coming out of college?

[Demitri98]

Was he really hyped to be the next David Robinson?
Were his comparison to a young Shaq legit?
If he were to stay healthy, would he be a top 3 player today?
How many DPOYs?
Would the Blazers still be contenders?

Reason I ask so many questions is because I never got to see him in college (didnt pay attention to basketball at that age) and it seems he was over-hyped, almost to the level of LeBron. How good was this guy, and what was his potential ceiling?

[Crystallas]

The hype surrounding Oden would have placed him as the best Center in the NBA today. More like Shaq if you need a comparison.

[Smook A.]

He was considered the next Shaquille O'Neal. Some even said David Robinson and a Bill Russell hybrid. Either way that is helllaaaa crazy. Just imagine what he could've been if he stayed healthy. Damn... what coulda been. Same thing could be said for Brandon Roy

Injuries really suck. Portland with a healthy Oden, Roy along with Aldridge would've been extremely scary.

[Demitri98]

From what I've found on Youtube, he looked like a defensive juggernaut and was fairly raw on offense. Is this just a poor sample or is it accurate? Watching him play in his limited minutes on the Heat, he looks like an All-D 1st team level defender if he can stay healthy.

[FireDavidKahn]

From what I've found on Youtube, he looked like a defensive juggernaut and was fairly raw on offense. Is this just a poor sample or is it accurate? Watching him play in his limited minutes on the Heat, he looks like an All-D 1st team level defender if he can stay healthy.
His last year in Portland he was incredible on defense. He would have been an all time great defensive center, not even gonna talk offense, if he wasn't so injury prone.

[Boarder Patrol]

They were completely justified in taking him over Durant, even with the injury risk. Should tell you all you need to know.

[cos88]

Matthew Maurer – 1/21/2007

Strengths: One of those dominant centers that surfaces in the high school ranks every 10 or so years Has the size and NBA ready body that few his age possess Great athlete who runs the court with ease and excellent leaping ability Gets great position in the post and most importantly gets his body wide to give guards a good target to pass into Wherever the ball goes, Oden works the lane constantly working to get open Does a great job of keeping the ball high away from opposing guards Finishes well around the lane with authority via dunk, lay-up or put back Defensively he is a top notch shot blocker Possesses the lateral quickness to be an excellent help defender Owns pro timing as he doesnt bite on pump fakes easily Plays the game with a calm and mature demeanor Hands have a rare quality in that they are both soft and strong Rarely do passes get bobbled nor do balls get stripped from his hands Excellent rebounder who is not only a good rebounder in his area but is also terrific out of position Post game has already shown good improvement since high school Potentially Oden has few peers and has yet to scratch the surface of his potential Underrated passer who has shown decent court vision Does a great job of recognizing double teams and reacting to them Great character guy. Despite all the publicity Oden has received from an early age, he has remained humble and hungry to improve as a player






pre draft combine he was faster than durant.


durant: lane agility 12.33
3/4 court speed: 3.45

oden:
lane agility: 11.67
3/4 court speed: 3.27


figure for yourself

[Demitri98]

pre draft combine he was faster than durant.


durant: lane agility 12.33
3/4 court speed: 3.453.27

oden:
lane agility: 11.67
3/4 court speed: 3.27


figure for yourself
:eek: :eek: :eek:

[Qwyjibo]

At his best, I thought he was going to be a taller and better rebounding Alonzo Mourning. A defensive beast with multiple DPOY awards and good on offense as well. So a Hall of Famer.

[CelticBaller]

a monster that the bball gods saved us from

[imdaman99]

They were saying he is a once in a generation big man... I'm thinking something like Bill Russell.

[Lamar Odumbb]

He moved like Dikembe Motumbo. So I gues that was his ceiling.

[Joyner82reload]

pre draft combine he was faster than durant.


durant: lane agility 12.33
3/4 court speed: 3.45

oden:
lane agility: 11.67
3/4 court speed: 3.27


figure for yourself

Durant was considered a very poor athlete for his size, based upon agility tests. In actual basketball, he was considered one of, if not the greatest athletes for his size in history.

Oden would be the DPOY every year, yes better than Dwight, if he were healthy. He would be a very good rebounder, but pretty bad offensively. He had a decent jump hook and he could dunk, that was it. He was even more raw than Dwight Howard in his first few years. He was basically a shorter, more athletic Dikembe Mutombo.

18/12/3 blocks 58 FG% was his ceiling, which is still a very good dominant center, but not in the mold of the Shaq's, Hakeem's, and D-Rob's he was compared to. He was never going to be a 25+ ppg volume post up center.

[Burgz V2]

From what I've found on Youtube, he looked like a defensive juggernaut and was fairly raw on offense. Is this just a poor sample or is it accurate? Watching him play in his limited minutes on the Heat, he looks like an All-D 1st team level defender if he can stay healthy.

he broke his shooting hand his freshman season, so we can never really fully judge his offensive production in college. Oden was essentially an automatic two points in the paint because of his ability to finish with both hands and in different ways. He also had the strength to back guys down under the rim and finish over top of defenders. He never really got consistent touches at ohio st. due to his injury, playing with Conley, Cook, and Lewis (even though he was a scrub and shot the ball way too much) and definitely not in Portland because he struggled to stay on the court and establish himself offensively. I always thought he could have become as great an offensive player with the right coaching staff but he never got the chance to develop.

[waseem780]

Rich mans Andre Drummond is the best comparison. Offensively his body was so big and strong he could just shove you out of the way ala Shaq that's why he was compared to Shaq but he really isn't the same player Shaq was. Defensively he is ELITE , probably better than Dwight yep.

[Myth]

18/12/3 blocks 58 FG% was his ceiling

I'd say if he didn't get injured, that would be a minimum expectation, not his ceiling. His ceiling was more like 24/14/3.5. While raw and after 1 major injury, he averaged nearly 17 points per 36 mins with only 11 shots per 36 mins. Surely if he had developed more, he would have had the ball delivered to him more intentionally. He also average 13 rebounds and 3.4 blocks per 36 mins even before having time to develop.

[KyleKong]

pre draft combine he was faster than durant.


durant: lane agility 12.33
3/4 court speed: 3.45

oden:
lane agility: 11.67
3/4 court speed: 3.27


figure for yourself

http://static3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20140125154410/sistersgrimm/images/7/75/Jaw_drop.gif

[IncarceratedBob]

Shaqs power, Hakeems moves, Kareems durability, with Malones jumper and Wilts athletecism

[LeGOAT]

10/10 size, athleticism and defense. Offense was a little raw but he had good touch and plenty of room to improve. There's a reason he was picked number 1. People can look back now and laugh that he was picked before Durant but hindsight is 20/20. Oden was a lock to be a stud had he not suffered through injuries.

[TheGreatDeraj]

Oden would be battling for best center in the league vs Bynum if they both stayed healthy. Both should have been better than Dwight or whoever you have as the best C today, if not for injuries.

If Tyson Chandler and Marc Gasol could win DPOY, then I think Oden would have at least one and probably more.

The Blazers have made some nice moves to keep their team relevant even with Oden and Roy going down, so I see no reason why they wouldn't get the pieces to contend with a DPOY Center with nice offense too

[Marlo_Stanfield]

just look how he IMMEDIATLY impacts the game when he comes in for the HEAT in the few minutes he plays. teams that normally abuse Miami in the paint are suddenly shooting Jumpers all the time.
on offense when he gets it anywhere near the basket he usually makes it.
and hes maybe 20% of what he could have been:eek:

[oarabbus]

Oden would be battling for best center in the league vs Bynum if they both stayed healthy. Both should have been better than Dwight or whoever you have as the best C today, if not for injuries.

If Tyson Chandler and Marc Gasol could win DPOY, then I think Oden would have at least one and probably more.

The Blazers have made some nice moves to keep their team relevant even with Oden and Roy going down, so I see no reason why they wouldn't get the pieces to contend with a DPOY Center with nice offense too


:rolleyes:

Look at the way people are talking about Oden in this thread. Andrew Bynum is very, very good but this thread about Oden's ceiling. If he would be duking it out with Bynum, he would by definition not be an exceptional, era-defining player... Oden was supposed to be a once-a-generation type player.

[TheGreatDeraj]

:rolleyes:

Look at the way people are talking about Oden in this thread. Andrew Bynum is very, very good but this thread about Oden's ceiling. If he would be duking it out with Bynum, he would by definition not be an exceptional, era-defining player... Oden was supposed to be a once-a-generation type player.

Bynum was great pre-injury

watch as he destroys your Warriors preinjury (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whJ8AX5KlSE)

seriously watch that video and tell me how many centers have that skill and remember he was still young like 18/19

[jlip]

I figured he would be Mutombo with slightly better scoring prowess. I had envisioned him being a perennial DPOY candidate in his prime, peaking at maybe ~18ppg ~15rpg ~3.5bpg.

[MichaelCorleone]

He'll win a ring before Durant.

[EnoughSaid]

A future DPOY, athletic beast and overall monster. Let's assume Oden doesn't get injured and is able to grow and develop as a player. Right now he'd be arguably the 2nd or best player in the league probably putting up something like 25/15/3 on 60%.

Portland would have surely won the title already. Maybe even multiple times.

[Myth]

Bynum was great pre-injury

watch as he destroys your Warriors preinjury (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whJ8AX5KlSE)

seriously watch that video and tell me how many centers have that skill and remember he was still young like 18/19

Major mental and athleticism edge to Oden though.

[Demitri98]

Makes you loathe even more what might have been... :(

[IGOTGAME]

Major mental and athleticism edge to Oden though.
Edge to the alcoholic.

[allball]

I'm a big Oden fan but in terms of offensive skills he would never be David Robinson.

[iamgine]

Was he really hyped to be the next David Robinson?

-No he was hyped to be the next Bill Russell

Were his comparison to a young Shaq legit?

- Yes in some parts, no in others

If he were to stay healthy, would he be a top 3 player today?

- Defensively speaking, most likely.

How many DPOYs?

- To date a realistic number would be 2 or 3 depending on how quickly he fulfilled his potential.

Would the Blazers still be contenders?

- Only if they managed to put a good team around him. But it's likely since Aldridge and Batum was already there when he arrived.

[Myth]

Edge to the alcoholic.

That happened due to depression from his injuries though. This scenario has him never getting hurt. Besides, I'm talking about on court. Bynum cared more about shooting 3s than doing what was really needed of him. He also f*cks with team chemistry, potentially by screwing wives/girlfriends of others.

[Myth]

Would the Blazers still be contenders?

- Only if they managed to put a good team around him. But it's likely since Aldridge and Batum was already there when he arrived.

Aldridge was, but Batum came in the 2008 draft, which the Blazers likely would have had different draft position if Oden played the year he was drafted.

[JohnFreeman]

Oden would be the best big man in league (if he stayed healthy)

[iamgine]

Aldridge was, but Batum came in the 2008 draft, which the Blazers likely would have had different draft position if Oden played the year he was drafted.
Oh yeah that's true.

Then I think it's a 50-50 whether Blazers could put good enough players around them to be a true contender.

[Sharmer]

He was too ugly. Didn't think he would do any good.