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NBADraft.net

Another writeup about the Roundball Classic...

The 2006 version of Sonny Vaccaro's 42-year old classic all-star game featured a "Classic Center " - Greg Oden. The 7-foot center didn't disappoint at all. He shot 10 for 12 from the floor, scored 21 and grabbed 11 rebounds (both game highs) and led his team of Buckeyes to a 118-102 victory.

No, it wasn't a typo. The West all-star team we witnessed today is really what Ohio State fans will be enjoying next season. Four OSU recruits -- David Lighty, Michael Conley, Daequan Cook and Greg Oden started for the West and combined for 60 points (26-41) and two MVP trophies (Cook and Oden).

"We were really having fun out there. Hopefully we can do the same thing at Ohio State," Oden said after the game.

Oden scored the first basket for his team with a jump hook over the 6-10 Alex Stepheson (East co-MVP). Then the Cook-Conley-Lighty trio took over, causing consecutive turnovers by the East squad and finishing fast breaks with all sorts of dunks. The score was 20-12 half way into the first quarter and the West never looked back after. The OSU guys played like a TEAM instead of an all-star team (the other starter Lance Thomas played well also). Conley set the table for everybody (13 assists). Lightly ran the floor and harassed the opponent guard in Bruce-Bowen style. Cook (18 pts) was clearly the most talented offensively, not only attacking the rim relentlessly, but also knocking down two threes in the second half to showcase his versatility.

The highly anticipated Oden-Caracter match up turned out to be a no-show. The East threw various defenders on Oden --- Stepheson, Caracter, Carlwell and Arthur. Among them Caracter probably did the worst job. He didn't use his 280lb body to push Oden out of the position and could do nothing to stop Oden when the HS Player of Year caught the ball in the paint. Alex Stephenson didn't back down from the bigger and more talented Oden. He used his body and long arms well in the paint and displayed a blue-collar attitude. 15 points and 6 rebounds against the nation's best big man isn't too shabby. There were two consecutive possessions in the second half that Stepheson went right at Oden and scored 4 straight points.

The score at half time was 62-50 West. Oden got 10 points and 7 rebounds in ten minutes of play and shot 5 for 5....

Greg Oden played more minutes today than he did in the McDonald game and was a much more dominant player. He is so much bigger and stronger than the opponents. And he works hard to get good position down low. Once he received the ball close to the paint, it's virtually over. He knows how to use his upper body to tower over and seal the defender on the ground. His jump hook looked good today. Defensively he's a horror movie, even though you could tell he wasn't trying very hard (It's an all-star game, and nobody's going to pull a JR Smith anyway.)

The only knock on him was his habit of holding the ball too low. He was stripped a couple of times and didn't seem to make any adjustment. Well, let himself tell you what he needs to improve: "I don't feel I'm ready for the NBA. I'm looking forward to college. Sometimes I get pushed around by 6-3 kids. I need to get quicker and stronger and gain more weight. I relate to Dwight Howard's game. He is a great rebounder, but he does things I cant to do. My game is early in development, and he is young, too, but he is way more advanced than me."

It's gonna be like a horror movie for the rest of the Big 10