Oden or Durant? The choice is easy?neither

Column Like I See 'Em: MLB Preview 2007

Twenty-six. The same number of times that Al Pacino unleashes a particular expletive in "Scarface" plus 156; the same number of hours Jack Bauer has to save the United States from terrorists minus two; and the same number of times ex-pop star Britney Spears has checked into rehab this past week minus one. Yup, 26 is one ugly number. But more depressingly, it's also the same number of picks that I chose incorrectly in my Men's March Madness bracket this year; a record low.

Column Like I See 'Em: Closing Time: Respect baseball?s firemen

Oakland A's General Manager Billy Beane once said in the critically acclaimed book "Moneyball," by Michael Lewis, that relief pitchers are relief pitchers because they aren't good enough to be starters. And seeing how Beane, arguably baseball's brightest mind, has managed to compile the fifth-best record in the majors since 1998 (when he took over his current position with the club) despite having one of the lowest payrolls, my gut says he's right.

Column Like I See 'Em

Oden or Durant? The choice is easy?neither

This piece represents the opinion of the author:

April 6, 2007

As the final seconds expired away, the ball tossed up with ferocity in celebration, the active players were mobbed by a sea of white, blue, and orange in the Georgia Dome in Atlanta. The University of Florida Gators had just become the first team since the 1992 Duke University Blue Devils to repeat as NCAA Men's Basketball Champions, and they had done it convincingly, beating another one seed, the Ohio State University Buckeyes, 84-75. Before you could say "BCS Championship (too!)," it appeared that Gator center Joakim Noah was up to his old shenanigans again, sprinting into the stands primed to give his audience a five-minute showcase on the moonwalk.

But instead of flexing his dance muscles, Noah found his mom instead, who embraced her ecstatic son (yes, he screamed) with open arms and unabated tears, while Buckeye superstar Greg Oden, who had had arguably his best game of the tournament (25 points, 12 rebounds, 4 blocks), having fallen just short of what would have been the culminating moment to a miraculous run through March Madness, was left to stand alone at the crossroads of his college basketball career and ponder the age-old question?should I stay, or should I go?

If you have yet to meet Greg Oden, he's that enormous, 7-foot tall 280-pound giant whose withered countenance bears an uncanny resemblance to someone older than actor Peter O'Toole. But the alleged 19-year-old center is not just your average Joe. After finishing off his freshman year of college with an impressive 15.7 points per game average on top of 9.6 rebounds per game, Oden has NBA general managers' mouths watering at the mere thought of the exuberant big man donning their teams' uniform in the 2007-2008 season. With such a promising upside, countless experts have predicted that should Oden decide to enter the NBA Draft this June, he will be the unanimous choice to be selected No. 1 overall, no matter which team owns the pick.

The Memphis Grizzlies, who, going into Thursday, held the league's worst record at 19-53, currently have the best chance of gaining the rights to that pick, and the Boston Celtics (23-51) and Milwaukee Bucks (26-48) aren't far behind. And what a boost Oden would be to all three of those franchises...that is, if he opts to become pro.

There are quite literally an infinite number of advantages to entering the draft that the young center will have to consider before giving Regis his final answer. First and most obvious of all, there is the money factor. Should he enter the draft, Oden will most certainly be using his most expensive bills as Post-It notes by week's end, on top of major endorsement deals with Nike and Visa. Secondly, Oden is perhaps one of the few players that could turn around a sub-.500 team an make them an instant contender. And thirdly, he would have one of the rarest opportunities in being able to play a professional sport.

But of course, for every positive in what could be a basketball utopia for the 19-year-old, there is an equal, more frightening negative, like the immense amount of pressure that would come with being selected No. 1 (see Kwame Brown and Michael Olowokandi), unreachable expectations that would be placed before him, and even living on his own; not to mention the NBA success stories?or lack thereof in this case?that drafted freshman have had in recent history.

Since 1997, a total of 20 freshmen have been drafted in the first round: a list that includes no-namers Dion Glover, Kris Humphries, Donnell Harvey, DerMarr Johnson, and Rodney White; disappointments Eddie Griffin, Dajuan Wagner, Ricky Davis, Tim Thomas, and Larry Hughes; and the solid Lamar Odom, Luol Deng, Jamal Crawford, and Zach Randolph. Its two most prominent figures are Carmelo Anthony of the Denver Nuggets and Chris Bosh of the Toronto Raptors, who were both taken in the exceptional draft of 2003. However, both of them have yet to advance past the first round of the playoffs, and nobody from that twenty-man list has won an NBA Championship.

The impact players who have won titles in those drafts? Tim Duncan (senior), Chauncey Billups (sophomore), Dwyane Wade (junior), Tayshaun Prince (senior), and Richard Hamilton (junior)?none of whom were drafted after completing just one year of college. Also, consider this: never once in the 60-year history of the NBA Draft has a collegiate freshman been drafted No. 1 overall. If that's not enough to make Oden even a little hesitant to enter, I'm not sure what will. And hey, is college really that bad?

Considering the star treatment that Oden receives at Ohio State with his personally customized bed, fourth-grade academic schedule, and being idolized by everyone on campus?let alone the country?I'd say he's got himself a pretty good deal. The same goes for the National Player of the Year, Kevin Durant of the University of Texas, another freshman facing the same dilemma as Oden, who, should he also enter the draft in June, is projected by many to be taken second overall.

If you are a freshman reading this article, just imagine that these are your last two months in at Bowdoin, and that next year you will be starting life in the real world with, gulp, a job. Are you ready? Of course not; and neither are they. Both of these young men fell short of their dream this March, failing to capture a National Championship, but if the rumors circulating are true, that both Oden and Durant prefer to stay in college for another year, they will be giving fans the greatest gift of all?the privilege of witnessing what could potentially unfold as one of the best rivalries in the history of collegiate sports. And of course, both of them would be doing the right thing by staying in school...at least for one more year.

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