The Debut of Greg Oden

The top ranked freshman in the country, Greg Oden, made an earlier than expected debut for the Ohio State Buckeyes yesterday. What happens when a team who was ranked #1 in the country sans the #1 freshman in the country squares off against a mid-major with the help of its aforementioned Diaper Dandy? Well, in Ohio State's case, it meant a 20 point victory over Valparaiso.

The 7 foot, 250 pound Oden did not start, though he played (and dominated) for 23 minutes, just a bit over half of the game. In that time, the righty managed to score 14 points, even though he shot all 15 of his foul shots lefty (he made 8). Oden also grabbed 10 boards and reversed the trajectory of five of the opposing team's shots, while altering many more.

When Oden is on the court, he has a presence rivaled only by Florida's Joakim Noah. Wouldn't you know that there is a great chance that they will be the first and second picks, respectively, in the upcoming NBA draft.

Unfortunately I have not had the opportunity to watch much Buckeye basketball this season, though I would suspect that they are Final four contenders. You will hear Ohio State mentioned among the nation's elite for the next few years. "The Ohio State University" expects Kosta Koufos, the #3 power forward in the class of 2007, to enroll next fall. B.J. Mullens, William Buford, and Anthony Crater, the #2 center, #3 shooting guard, and #3 point guard in the class of 2008, respectively (according to scout.com), have all verballed. It should be smooth sailing here on out for Thad Matta.

Other Notes: Valpo head coach Homer Drew was caught off guard when he was told by one of his players - a high school teammate of Oden's - that the hyped big man would play. Drew said, "We were going to call Ohio State and cancel the contract." They didn't, and history was made.
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