C Greg Oden (Portland Trailblazers)

[wadc45]

you're lucky I don't ding you back to the Stone Age for that...

[gsnuts]

44820 you think think Conleys recruitment ends sooner rather than later. Do you think our chances have improved over your 55% ? Would be incredible to land conley. If Conley verbals then I love the odd's of the big Fella playing college ball @ w/ his boys!! Even if he played just a year @ can you imagine what type of "schott in the arm" it would be for Matta & recruiting! This would put us in a position to eat @ the big table w/ the big boys!!! Great, great job w/ the hopps info 44820. I check it every day !!

[Yertle]

Originally Posted by bucknuts44820

sources say its down to Wake Forest, Indiana and possibly OSU for him.

That doesn't sound too encouraging. It's great to be on his list, but we're kind of listed as a side-note to the other two schools. It almost makes me wonder if Wake has the inside track to Oden and Conley.

Originally Posted by bucknuts44820

Apparently, he is getting a lot of pressure to leave the state and not play for Mike Davis.

From who? What's wrong with Mike Davis?

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

44820 you think think Conleys recruitment ends sooner rather than later. Do you think our chances have improved over your 55% ? Would be incredible to land conley. If Conley verbals then I love the odd's of the big Fella playing college ball @ w/ his boys!! Even if he played just a year @ can you imagine what type of "schott in the arm" it would be for Matta & recruiting! This would put us in a position to eat @ the big table w/ the big boys!!! Great, great job w/ the hopps info 44820. I check it every day !!

gsnuts....I am hearing that his recruitment will wrap up either way in the next few weeks. I like our chances right now, we have the last visit with Oden and Conley and I think this is key. Distance is a factor here boys.

If Matta and Co were able to land both of these guys, the impact to the program would be huge. It would put OSU back in the national picture in basketball in a hurry.

That doesn't sound too encouraging. It's great to be on his list, but we're kind of listed as a side-note to the other two schools. It almost makes me wonder if Wake has the inside track to Oden and Conley.

Yertle....the scoop is that Oden really wants to play with Conley at the next level and I think we have the inside track on Conley in my opinion. I think that is the key to landing Oden. Everyone is assuming that Wake and Indiana are his top two, but I think we are sitting pretty good with Oden and Matta has made an impression on him in a very short period of time. Don't forget about Cook and the impact he can have on this situation.

We will find out a lot about this situation in the next month or so.

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

rivals.com$

4/14/05

Forty of the top AAU teams across the country will make the pilgrimage to Fayetteville, Ark. for the first ever Real Deal on the Hill. Including Spice Indy Heat Team that includes Oden, Conley and Cook.

[Bestbuck36]

How do the recent defections from the NCAA affect Odens decision? Bogut leaving has to give him the number one pick doesn't it? Most of UNC's team is leaving or really considering it. Paul left from Wake. Bracey Wright left form IU. All that and graduation too; where would Oden go in the draft now? I think we may definitely see him in college for a year.

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

He has been considered the #1 pick for the NBA for 2006 for awhile. Recently he has stated he wanted to go to college, but the money will be tempting. We will have to see how this plays out. It wouldn't suprise me to see him go to college for a year. The wildcard is the proposed NBA age limitation in the new CBA that is coming up.

scouthoops.com

<TABLE cellSpacing=1 cellPadding=0 width="98%" align=center border=0><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=top>Real Deal Is Real Strong!
By Dave Telep National Recruiting Director
Date: Apr 14, 2005

The Real Deal on the Hill, in its first year as a major national tournament, is really loaded. From Wayne Ellington to Thaddeus Young, this weekend in Fayetteville should be a special one.
</TD></TR><TR><TD colSpan=3>
A quick look at the pools for The Real Deal on the Hill reveals some monster matchups. How about a Saturday afternoon tussle between Greg Oden’s Spiece Indy Heat and Mike Beasley’s D.C. Assault? Folks, that’s in pool play!

Scout.com will be in Fayetteville on the campus of the University of Arkansas for the event. We’ll cover some of the marquee matchups and delve into the top players and surprise performers from what is sure to be one of the finest AAU weekends of the calendar year.

Among the highly celebrated players in attendance:

Greg Oden, Spiece Indy Heat (Scout.com No. 1)
Darrell Arthur, Team Texas (No. 4)
Wayne Ellington, Playaz (No. 6)
Thaddeus Young, Memphis Pump ‘n Run (No. 7)
Daequan Cook, Spiece Indy Heat (No. 8)
Derrick Caracter, NY Panthers (No. 10)
Gerald Henderson, Playaz (No. 12)
Lance Thomas, New Heights (No. 13)
Mike Conley, Spiece Indy Heat (No. 19)
Brook Lopez, EBO (No. 23)
<LI>Jon Scheyer, Illinois Warriors (No. 24)

That’s nearly half of Scout.com’s Top 25 congregated together for one event! Did we mention the young kids?

2007 standouts like Michael Beasley (Scout.com No. 2), Eric Gordon (No. 6), Nolan Smith (No. 7) plus Michigan Hurricanes teammates Darquavis Tucker (No. 20) and Alex Legion (No. 19) will be on the premises. This is one of those weekends where the stars will need to play like big timers each time out or someone is going to bump them from their spot. Games tip-off at 8 p.m. on Friday. The event has an official site but ScoutHoops.com will be there to bring you all the action. Plus, Scout.com West Coast analysts Tracy Pierson and Greg Hicks will be out in Las Vegas where the action should be just as hot!


</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

[hoopsfan]

I know Greg personally, and have since he was in 4th grade. My family is very close to him still. Alot of info is put out in the media - some is true and some isn't. Here is what I know of Greg's situation:

1. He really does want to go to college, but has admitted to those close to him that the money would be nearly impossible to pass up were he to be a top 3 pick. This is not a Lebron situation where his family has been given whatever thay want - they are good, honest, hard-working people who make do with what they have now.

2. If he goes to college, Indiana is not high on his list right now. From talking to him right after the state finals, I can tell you that Wake is very high on his list (and most likely where Conley will go), but another school that hasn't been mentioned on here is either #1 or 2 right now - Michigan State. I also don't think he feels the need to go wherever Conley goes, but it wouldn't surprise me to see them both commit to the same school.

3. Look for Greg to make a verbal commitment before next season, with the understanding there is a decent chance he goes to the NBA.

4. Finally, Greg Oden the person is everything you read and more. He has to be the most humble kid I have ever seen - he HONESTLY doesn't think he is that good. He is a once-in-a-lifetime kid from that standpoint - consensus National Player of the Year, but as humble as when he was in 4th grade and could not play a lick.

Speaking of 4th grade - Greg had never played bball before then and was 6'0". His first AAU tourney then, the first time he caught a pass he ran with it - forgot you were supposed to dribble. He did not make a layup that whole year, and really started to become a decent player in just 7th grade. he has come so far bball-wise from the kid I met in 4th grade, but has not changed personality one bit.

[aurorabuckeye13]

Originally Posted by hoopsfan

I know Greg personally, and have since he was in 4th grade. My family is very close to him still. Alot of info is put out in the media - some is true and some isn't. Here is what I know of Greg's situation:

1. He really does want to go to college, but has admitted to those close to him that the money would be nearly impossible to pass up were he to be a top 3 pick. This is not a Lebron situation where his family has been given whatever thay want - they are good, honest, hard-working people who make do with what they have now.

2. If he goes to college, Indiana is not high on his list right now. From talking to him right after the state finals, I can tell you that Wake is very high on his list (and most likely where Conley will go), but another school that hasn't been mentioned on here is either #1 or 2 right now - Michigan State. I also don't think he feels the need to go wherever Conley goes, but it wouldn't surprise me to see them both commit to the same school.

3. Look for Greg to make a verbal commitment before next season, with the understanding there is a decent chance he goes to the NBA.

4. Finally, Greg Oden the person is everything you read and more. He has to be the most humble kid I have ever seen - he HONESTLY doesn't think he is that good. He is a once-in-a-lifetime kid from that standpoint - consensus National Player of the Year, but as humble as when he was in 4th grade and could not play a lick.

Speaking of 4th grade - Greg had never played bball before then and was 6'0". His first AAU tourney then, the first time he caught a pass he ran with it - forgot you were supposed to dribble. He did not make a layup that whole year, and really started to become a decent player in just 7th grade. he has come so far bball-wise from the kid I met in 4th grade, but has not changed personality one bit.

any news on where osu is with this guy? And by the way i personally beleive we have a good shot at conley

[Xevious]

Originally Posted by hoopsfan

he HONESTLY doesn't think he is that good.

To me, this means he isn't ready for the NBA. To compete at the highest levels in athletics, confidence in yourself is a must. If he doesn't really believe he's as good as or better than the other NBA players he would be better off playing a few years in college. This is not a knock against him, he may just need a few years to mature.

[Buckeye Dan]

FWIW: Some New News Re: Oden's Current #1...

There appears to be 2 seperate posters on 2 different networks reporting a recent tv news story stating Oden is now listing OSU as his #1.


Hoggy
Registered User
Posts: 394
(4/15/05 10:19:46 pm)
Oden's #1 is tOSU A TV station asked him before an AAU game down here if he likes Arkansas and he said we're #5 on his list of 5. They asked who his #1 choice is and he said Ohio State.

Next they talked to Conley Jr. who said he "loves" Arkansas but would not give a list of favorites.

Link 1


Reggie Swine-ton
user profile
Post #176
Re: conley and oden.......
They interviewed Greg Oden on KNWA and he said that Arkansas was #5 in his top 5. When pressed for who was #1, Oden said Ohio St.

Mike Conley Jr. said that he loved Arkansas but didn't mention any favorites.

Link 2

[Yertle]

Yeah!!! Greg Oden, come on down! You're the next contestant...aw forget it.

This is frigging sweet! I am having a lot of trouble curbing my enthusiasm. Cook, Conley, Oden, Lighty!

[SCBuck]

Whoa! Is it possible to land the entire Indy Spiece team. This could be HUGE for tOSU basketball. I haven't been this excited about tOSU b-ball since Gary Williams

Real Deal: Initial Feel
By Jeff Goodman National Recruiting Analyst
Date: Apr 16, 2005

Take a look at some ramblings from the first day of the Real Deal on the Hill. Eric Gordon and Javaris Crittenton looked good while a few others didn't play quite as well.

Greg Oden may be the premiere name on the team, but it’s all about balance for the Spiece Indy Heat.
Oden scored 14 points and showed flashes of his dominance in a rout against the Mid-State Ballerz, but it was rising junior Eric Gordon who was arguably the best player on the floor on Friday night.

The 6-foot-4, 200-pound Gordon (No. 6, Scout.com) connected on a few trifectas, put down a monster dunk and also handled the ball more than we’ve seen him in the past.

Gordon told Scout.com after the game that his top five schools are Ohio State, Illinois, North Carolina, Duke and Arizona.

``Ohio State is probably my leader,” Gordon said. “I love the coaches.”

Daequan Cook, who has already committed to Thad Matta’s Buckeyes, was also able to show some of what makes him one of the elite players in the Class of 2006. He only finished with 12 points, but it was an impressive dozen – he knocked down a mid-range shot off the glass, sank a double-pump 12-footer from the baseline and proved he can score from just about anywhere.

Then it was Mike Conley Jr., who did what he always does – gets everyone involved and picks his spots. Conley spent the early part of his life in Fayetteville, so this was a homecoming of sorts for him.

[Buckeye Nut]

I found an interesting tidbit from the Illinois Scout site. As most of us know there is a big AAU tournament being played in Fayetteville, Arkansas this weekend. A local TV station happened to get and interview yesterday with Greg Oden and Mike Conley. This is what an Arkansas fan reported about what was said on TV:

A TV station asked him(Oden) before an AAU game down here if he likes Arkansas and he said we're #5 on his list of 5. They asked who his #1 choice is and he said Ohio State.

Next they talked to Conley Jr. who said he "loves" Arkansas but would not give a list of favorites.

Take that for what it's worth. I believe Oden said Indiana was his favorite not long ago on Cold Pizza so you never know, but it's always nice to hear positives coming from these recruits.

[BGriffBuckeye]

I don't know if it was this board or not, but I watched the Cold Pizza interview with him and Jay Crawford, and for some odd reason Crawford kept talking up Indiana. I think Oden just said it to say it, to appease Crawford or whoever else.. maybe just caught up in the moment, I don't know. Anyways, unless this was an OSU reporter, I would have to take this one with more weight the the CP interview. Now, I may be biased... but this quote does seem to have a bit more validity.

As for Conley... very doubtful he ends up at Arkansas, though it was his dad's alma mater. He will most likely be a Deacon or a Buckeye... though stranger things have happened.