INDIANAPOLIS -- Ohio State star Greg Oden will enter the NBA draft, his father told The Indianapolis Star in a story on its Web site Friday night.
2007 NBA draft
NBA draft
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The 7-foot center is widely considered a possible No. 1 draft pick, and Greg Oden Sr. said he was comfortable with his son's decision.
"He's the kind of kid that, even though he'll have a lot of money, he needs to do more than just basketball," Greg Oden Sr. said. "They had an exciting season, but why take the chance on him getting hurt?"
Oden and Buckeyes point guard Mike Conley Jr. led Lawrence North of Indianapolis to three straight Indiana high school basketball titles. As freshmen, they led Ohio State to a No. 1 ranking and the NCAA championship game.
Oden's mother, Zoe, told the Star, "Greg told me he wasn't ready to talk about it just yet."
The elder Oden said Conley and fellow Ohio State freshman Daequan Cook also were expected to put their names in the draft.
The players have until midnight on April 29 to declare whether they intend to make themselves available for the NBA draft.
Mike Conley Sr., the former director of elite athlete services for USA Track and Field, has been certified as an NBA agent and is opening a representation firm. The elder Oden said Conley Sr. would represent his son.
Oden, Durant, Hibbert and Green, the Florida guys...who else?
Edit: The UnOfficial Early Entry List, updated, thanks GoBB, may you get unbanned soon and there be at least a week until you get banned again:
IN THE DRAFT
Players who have officially declared for the 2007 NBA draft:
Arron Afflalo, SG, UCLA
Corey Brewer, SG, Florida
Roy Bright, G, Delaware State*
Wilson Chandler, F, DePaul
Chris Daniels, C, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi*
Glen Davis, F, LSU
Kevin Durant, F, Texas
Taurean Green, PG, Florida
DeVon Hardin, C, California*
Spencer Hawes, C, Washington*
Al Horford, PF, Florida
Petteri Koponen, PG, Finland
Dominic McGuire, F, Fresno State*
Josh McRoberts, F, Duke
Joakim Noah, F/C, Florida
Jason Smith, PF, Colorado State*
Marcus Williams, SF, Arizona
Julian Wright, F, Kansas
Jeff Green, SF, Georgetown*
Roy Hibbert, C, Georgetown*
* To preserve college eligibility, player has not hired an agent
ONE FOOT IN THE DOOR
Players who are leaning toward declaring for the draft but haven't officially announced their intentions:
Josh Heytvelt, PF, Gonzaga
Dominic James, PG, Marquette
Marcelus Kemp, SG, Nevada
Greg Oden, C, Ohio State
Gabriel Pruitt, PG, USC
Brandon Rush, SG, Kansas
Rodney Stuckey, SG, Eastern Washington
Sean Williams, C, Boston College
Brandan Wright, PF, North Carolina
Nick Young, SG, USC
Thaddeus Young, SF, Georgia Tech
50-50
Players who are still deciding about whether to declare for the draft:
Ryan Anderson, PF, California
Darrell Arthur, PF, Kansas
Chase Budinger, SG, Arizona
Earl Clark, SG, Louisville
Sherron Collins, PG, Kansas
Darren Collison, PG, UCLA
Mike Conley, PG, Ohio State
Daequan Cook, SG, Ohio State
Javaris Crittenton, PG, Georgia Tech
JamesOn Curry, SG, Oklahoma State
Stephen Curry, SG, Davidson
Malik Hairston, SG, Oregon
Paul Harris, SG, Syracuse
Gerald Henderson, SG, Duke
Richard Hendrix, PF, Alabama
Chris Lofton, SG, Tennessee
Eric Maynor, PG, Virginia Commonwealth
Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, F, UCLA
Jawann McClellan, SG, Arizona
Tasmin Mitchell, SF, LSU
Tyrese Rice, PG, Boston College
Richard Roby, SG, Colorado
Sean Singletary, PG, Virginia
Tyler Smith, SF, Iowa
Bryce Taylor, SG, Oregon
Hasheem Thabeet, C, UConn
D.J. White, PF, Indiana
INTERNATIONAL
International players under 22 years old who have declared or who are likely to declare:
Alexis Ajinca, PF, France
Stanko Barac, C, Bosnia
Nicolas Batum, SF, France
Marco Belinelli, SG, Italy
Vladimir Dasic, PF, Serbia
Goran Dragic, PG, Slovenia
Kyrylo Fesenko, C, Ukraine
Danilo Gallinari, SF, Italy
Vladimir Golubovic, C, Serbia
Yi Jianlian, F, China
Anton Ponkrashov, PG, Russia
Ante Tomic, C, Croatia
Artem Zabelin, C, Russia
OUT
Players who have officially announced they will return to college next year:
D. J. Augustin, PG, Texas
Mario Chalmers, PG, Kansas
Wayne Ellington, SG, North Carolina
Tyler Hansbrough, PF, North Carolina
Ty Lawson, PG, North Carolina
Brook Lopez, C, Stanford
Robin Lopez, C, Stanford
Ronald Steele, PG, Alabama
Last edited by Real Men Wear Green : 04-14-2007 at 01:19 PM.
Re: Oden's in the draft, making the draft officially stacked.
I was wrong again in stating that Oden would declare, I sincerely thought he wouldn't. This is going to be the best draft since the LeBron, Bosh, Wade draft. This year is going to be fun!
Re: Oden's in the draft, making the draft officially stacked.
^Yeah Daquan Cook as well.
UNC looks like the only team that is staying intact really in College Basketball. The 4 Final Four teams are getting cleaned out big names wise. Kansas is losing Julian Wright, A&M is losing Acie Law. I can really see UNC winning this year if Wright comes back for next season.
Yeah not to many teams are gonna walk away unhappy after this draft, it's gonna be crazy.
Re: Oden's in the draft, making the draft officially stacked.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Da KO King
This will be the most interesting draft since 2003 but too early to say its the best. All these hyped guys could turn out to be busts.
And was 2003 considered to be that deep? All you kept hearing was Bron, Melo and ugh Darko. Were people that high on Wade, Bosh, Howard, Hinrich, Barbosa etc. etc. Many of those picks must have exceeded expectations, even if they were high to begin with.
Re: Oden's in the draft, making the draft officially stacked.
Conley is "expected" and his father is registering as an agent, so he seems likely but I haven't heard any announcement from Conley's like this one yet. Anyhow, Conley was impressive and should be a first round pick, maybe even drafted in the lottery. Atlanta should take him, especially if they draft in the teens. Daequan Cook is a guy I'd like to see stay in school. He's talented but I don't think it's the best idea for a guy that has done almost nothing to go pro early. I could see him getting drafted in the second round or signing as a free agent and then just doing nothing on an NBA bench or in and out of the NBDL until he's 21 or 22 and then his career finally gets serious. However, economic pressures being what they can be, no one should ever tell a young man (or woman) that can step up and provide for their family not to. I'm just not sure that he's an NBA guaranteed money type right now, though some stacked team like Dallas may be willing to draft him late in the first round and just wait for him to learn the game knowing they don't need any immediate help. Makes me wish college players got more money. It'd be better for the game of basketball if guys like Cook and even Conley and Oden stayed in school and built themselves up to star status...well, Oden was already a star, but he could have left an Alcindor/Walton-sized legend at OSU, and will now instead by struggling to help some bad NBA team go .500.
Last edited by Real Men Wear Green : 04-14-2007 at 10:46 AM.
Re: Oden's in the draft, making the draft officially stacked.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ZHAKIDD532
UNC looks like the only team that is staying intact really in College Basketball. The 4 Final Four teams are getting cleaned out big names wise. Kansas is losing Julian Wright.
Kansas losing Julian Wright and Brandon Rush hurts, but not that much. They're stacked from top to bottom, probably the most talented team...but they have a coach who's been out coached in nearly every big game in the tourney. SO I never really consider them title contenders.
UNC on the other hand, is great, even when they lose Wright. Roy Williams is a fabulous coach.
Re: Oden's in the draft, making the draft officially stacked.
A more updated list
IN THE DRAFT Players who have officially declared for the 2007 NBA draft:
Arron Afflalo, SG, UCLA
Corey Brewer, SG, Florida
Roy Bright, G, Delaware State*
Wilson Chandler, F, DePaul
Chris Daniels, C, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi*
Glen Davis, F, LSU
Kevin Durant, F, Texas
Taurean Green, PG, Florida
DeVon Hardin, C, California*
Spencer Hawes, C, Washington*
Al Horford, PF, Florida
Petteri Koponen, PG, Finland
Dominic McGuire, F, Fresno State*
Josh McRoberts, F, Duke
Joakim Noah, F/C, Florida
Jason Smith, PF, Colorado State*
Marcus Williams, SF, Arizona
Julian Wright, F, Kansas
Jeff Green, SF, Georgetown*
Roy Hibbert, C, Georgetown*
* To preserve college eligibility, player has not hired an agent
ONE FOOT IN THE DOOR Players who are leaning toward declaring for the draft but haven't officially announced their intentions:
Josh Heytvelt, PF, Gonzaga
Dominic James, PG, Marquette
Marcelus Kemp, SG, Nevada
Greg Oden, C, Ohio State
Gabriel Pruitt, PG, USC
Brandon Rush, SG, Kansas
Rodney Stuckey, SG, Eastern Washington
Sean Williams, C, Boston College
Brandan Wright, PF, North Carolina
Nick Young, SG, USC
Thaddeus Young, SF, Georgia Tech
50-50 Players who are still deciding about whether to declare for the draft:
Ryan Anderson, PF, California
Darrell Arthur, PF, Kansas
Chase Budinger, SG, Arizona
Earl Clark, SG, Louisville
Sherron Collins, PG, Kansas
Darren Collison, PG, UCLA
Mike Conley, PG, Ohio State
Daequan Cook, SG, Ohio State
Javaris Crittenton, PG, Georgia Tech
JamesOn Curry, SG, Oklahoma State
Stephen Curry, SG, Davidson
Malik Hairston, SG, Oregon
Paul Harris, SG, Syracuse
Gerald Henderson, SG, Duke
Richard Hendrix, PF, Alabama
Chris Lofton, SG, Tennessee
Eric Maynor, PG, Virginia Commonwealth
Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, F, UCLA
Jawann McClellan, SG, Arizona
Tasmin Mitchell, SF, LSU
Tyrese Rice, PG, Boston College
Richard Roby, SG, Colorado
Sean Singletary, PG, Virginia
Tyler Smith, SF, Iowa
Bryce Taylor, SG, Oregon
Hasheem Thabeet, C, UConn
D.J. White, PF, Indiana
INTERNATIONAL International players under 22 years old who have declared or who are likely to declare:
Alexis Ajinca, PF, France
Stanko Barac, C, Bosnia
Nicolas Batum, SF, France
Marco Belinelli, SG, Italy
Vladimir Dasic, PF, Serbia
Goran Dragic, PG, Slovenia
Kyrylo Fesenko, C, Ukraine
Danilo Gallinari, SF, Italy
Vladimir Golubovic, C, Serbia
Yi Jianlian, F, China
Anton Ponkrashov, PG, Russia
Ante Tomic, C, Croatia
Artem Zabelin, C, Russia
OUT Players who have officially announced they will return to college next year:
D. J. Augustin, PG, Texas
Mario Chalmers, PG, Kansas
Wayne Ellington, SG, North Carolina
Tyler Hansbrough, PF, North Carolina
Ty Lawson, PG, North Carolina
Brook Lopez, C, Stanford
Robin Lopez, C, Stanford
Ronald Steele, PG, Alabama
Re: Oden's in the draft, making the draft officially stacked.
Thanks for the list, GoBB.
Quote:
Originally Posted by wang4three
Kansas losing Julian Wright and Brandon Rush hurts, but not that much. They're stacked from top to bottom, probably the most talented team...but they have a coach who's been out coached in nearly every big game in the tourney. SO I never really consider them title contenders.
UNC on the other hand, is great, even when they lose Wright. Roy Williams is a fabulous coach.
UNC pretty much has no excuse not to go undefeated...well, that would be a bit much to expect, but they are now both the most talented team as well as the most experienced team (of the Contender class teams...please don't bring up the 9 seniors on Boiled Rutabega State University) in the country.
Oden's in the draft, making the draft officially stacked.
