Greg Oden Out for the Season

According to a report from Yahoo! Sports, Greg Oden will miss the 2007-2008 season after knee surgery today.

Oden, the 7-footer out of Ohio State, underwent exploratory surgery on his right knee on Thursday in Vancouver. The extent of the damage was not immediately clear, but Oden, one of the most celebrated young players in years, will be lost for the season.

This is tough news for a great young player, not to mention the whole league. I'm sure Commissioner David Stern was counting on the excitement of Oden's debut as a pro to help folks forget the Donaghy imbroglio.

Guess it's up to a less charismatic Kevin Durant to be the designated bright, shiny object.

The NBA Draft is Tonight

For those of us here that are NBA fans, tonight is a big night. It's the NBA Draft, and it's probably one of the deepest drafts that the NBA has had in a while. Everybody knows about Greg Oden and Kevin Durant, but even after those two, there's a ton of talented players left out there.

All of which is very good news for any team crappy lucky enough to find itself in the lottery.

One of those teams, of course, are our very own Chicago Bulls. Tonight we receive our final gift from Isiah Thomas, as the Bulls hold the 9th overall pick. I've been looking around at some of the players that most experts think the Bulls will take, and I'd like to share each of them with you, along with my thoughts on each guy.

• Spencer Hawes 7-0 230lb Center Washington-Hawes is a big white guy from Washington. He's had injury problems in his short college career - he's 19 -and I don't have any reason to believe he won't have them in the NBA. The plus side, he actually has an offensive game down in the paint which is something the Bulls desperately need.


• Yi Jianlin 7-0 246lb Power Forward China-Jianlin could be the most intriguing player in the draft, but only because he's from China, so nobody knows what they're going to get from him. The only comparisons between Yi and Yao Ming are that they're both very tall and from China. After that, Yi is far more athletic than Yao, a better shooter and ballhandler. He also runs the floor well. A negative is he'll need to add some bulk in his upper body.


• Joakim Noah 6-11 230lb Power Forward Florida-Anybody who's followed college basketball knows who Joakim Noah is. He's the most noticeable member of the Florida Gators team that's won the NCAA title the last two seasons. My doubts about Noah are on the offensive side of the ball. He's a good defender and rebounder, but the Bulls don't need a big man down low to defend and rebound. I think that's what they pay Ben Wallace all that money for. Oh, and then there's also this little tidbit from Joakim himself. I also feel I should mention the fact that I'm probably the only non-Gator fan in the country who doesn't hate Joakim.


• Julian Wright 6-9 220lb Small Forward Kansas-It would be a nice story seeing as how Julian hails from Chicago, but it wouldn't make much sense. He's a lot like Luol Deng, and as I've said with the other three players, he doesn't fill a need. That said, if the other three guys I've listed here are gone, the Bulls may take him.


• Brandan Wright 6-10 210lb Power Forward North Carolina-Much like the other Wright, the Bulls don't really need Brandan. What Julian is to Luol Deng, Brandan is to Tyrus Thomas. This could happen, but I wouldn't put any money on it.

So who do I want?

I honestly don't know. Unlike last year when I had my heart set on Tyrus Thomas or LaMarcus Aldridge, I don't really feel a desire for any of these players. I like things I hear about Yi Jianlin, but at the same time I have absolutely no idea what the Bulls would actually get from him. Sure, he was pretty dominant in China, but he was playing in China. He wasn't playing against NBA talent. Hawes seems most ready to help the Bulls now, but his injury history scares me.

We can eliminate the Wright boys because we basically have then on the team already.

So that leaves us with Joakim Noah. Like I said, I like Joakim, his energy and the passion he brings with him to the court. I just don't know if he'll ever develop into the type of offensive player the Bulls need.

So I guess it comes down to either Jianlin or Noah. I'm not 100% on either, but guess I'm just going to have to live with it.

Well, unless the Bulls pull out some miracle trade with their pick and end up getting KG or something, but that won't happen.

Get Out Your Lucky Rabbit's Foot

Tonight on ESPN at 6:30 Central, before Game 2 of the Jazz and Spurs, will be the NBA Draft Lottery. The event in which basketball organizations and their fans pin all their hopes on the chance that maybe their ping pong ball will be selected for the first overall pick in the draft.

With a rookie class that includes Greg Oden and Kevin Durant, landing in the top two can turn around an entire franchise. If the Celtics end up getting Oden, they instantly go from laughing stock of the NBA, to a legitimate contender in the Eastern Conference.

As it stands, they have a 19.9% chance of landing the first pick. The Memphis Grizzlies have the best shot at the #1 pick, with a 25% chance. You can see the full odds here.

The Bulls also have a shot thanks to Isiah Thomas and the New York Knicks. Granted, it's not much of one at only 1.9%, but it's a shot.

In all likelihood the Bulls will end up with the ninth pick in the draft, and with one of the deeper draft classes in recent history, that's not a bad thing.

But should the Bulls keep the pick?

Personally, I get the feeling that unless the Bulls jump into the top three, they'll be trading their pick. John Paxson has already said his main goal this offseason is to find a power forward who can score, and that draft pick could be a large part of any package he puts together in a trade for one. Like say, Indiana's Jermaine O'Neal.

That's because by the time the Bulls get around to picking, those low-post scorer types like Oden, Al Horford, or Roy Hibbert aren't likely to be available. Instead the players left will be a lot like the ones the Bulls already have on their roster.

All of which means that Bulls fans should have a strong interest in watching the Lottery tonight, because it could have a huge effect on the team we see next season.

Greg Oden Has Made A Decision

Ah college. One of the best times of a persons life. You're finally on your own and you're learning what it's like to be an adult.

You're also going out drinking every night and taking advantage of drunk freshmen girls.

I'm sure a lot of us wish we could stay in college forever. I know I do. You know who doesn't?

Greg Oden.

Greg Oden will enter the 2007 NBA draft, his father said Friday.

Oden, the 7-foot, 280-pound freshman center who led Ohio State to the NCAA title game, is widely projected as the top pick.

Greg Oden Sr. said he was comfortable with his son's decision.

"Why not, as long as he finishes school in the offseason?" the elder Oden said. "He's the kind of kid that, even though he'll have a lot of money, he needs to do more than just basketball.

"They had an exciting season, but why take the chance on him getting hurt?"

So much for all those rumors about how much Oden enjoyed life at Ohio State and was likely to return.

And as if this news wasn't bad enough for Ohio State, Oden isn't the only one who's going to test the NBA waters.

Yep, he'll be joined by Mike Conley Jr, and Daequan Cook. It's not known whether or not Conley or Cook are going to sign an agent, so they might return to school.

Oden has an agent, and it will be Conley's dad.

Oden will likely be the first pick in the draft unless someone goes with Kevin Durant, and it's projected that Conley Jr would go somewhere around the 8th pick.

Cinderella Wears A Size 3

The Elite 8 starts in a few hours, and it's without a doubt the best Elite 8 ever, seed wise anyway. The lowest seed remaining is Oregon, and they check in at #3.

It's pretty likely that we could end up having all four #1 seeds make the Final Four, and I think I would enjoy that. All season I've been watching college basketball, and I've wondered which team was the best team.

Now I'm actually getting a chance to find out.

It's not just the top four teams I speak of either. I've held UCLA in that upper echelon all season, and Georgetown was added to it as I saw them run through the Big East.

I'm not going to lie. I still have my doubts about Memphis. They're run up the court and chuck the ball from anywhere offense will never win me over. It's like a broke ass version of what the Suns do in the NBA, but at least Phoenix has a plan. To me it seems the Tigers aren't even sure what they're doing as they do it, and until now have gotten by just based on their talent.

Of course, their mouths may have just written a check that their ass can't cash.

We didn't really get to see Greg Oden on Thursday because the Vols presented a very odd matchup for him. He's not used to hanging out at the perimeter like the Tennessee frontcourt made him do, and against Memphis he won't have to. With the shove against Xavier, the fact he's actually healthy now, and finally with Dorsey calling him overrated, I get a feeling we're going to see a Greg Oden we have yet to see today.

Of course, whether or not the Buckeyes feel the need to spot Memphis a 20 point lead so they can play within their comfort zone I don't know.

In tonight's other matchup between Kansas and UCLA, I'm just not sure what to expect. I'm starting to feel that the Jayhawks may just be too talented for Bill Self to mess it up. Besides, after facing that Salukis defense on Thursday, the Bruins should feel like a cakewalk.

The real question here could be whether or not the Salukis wore the Jayhawks out. You could see the fatigue all over the Kansas players' faces afterwards, and whether or not they'll have enough left in the tank to take down the Bruins will most likely be what decides this game.

If I were forced to make picks for these games, my gut says go with Kansas and Ohio State, but truth is I don't want to be forced to choose at this point. My brackets are all FUBAR'd anyway, so it's not like I have anything really riding on it.

No, I think I'm just going to sit back, crack open a Red Stripe, and relish the amazing basketball coming my way.

Wisconsin Holds on Against Ohio State

Now that the college football season has ended, you can expect to see a lot more college basketball coverage here. We haven't written much about it yet this season, but that doesn't mean we aren't paying attention.

One team we've been paying a lot of attention to is Ohio State. Their 72-69 loss to the Wisconsin Badgers last night in Madison was their third of the season. All three have all come on the road against North Carolina, Florida, and now Wisconsin.

If you look at the coaches poll, you'll see that those three teams are ranked #1,#2,#3.

Last night it was apparent that the Buckeyes couldn't overcome the Badgers and their home crowd. The Badgers outplayed Ohio State for the most part but let the Buckeyes get back within three at the end, thanks to some horrible foul shooting late and putting it on cruise control in the last minute.

Alando Tucker didn't have his best game of the season (17 points 6 rebounds), but he made the big shots for Wisconsin when he needed to. The Badgers were led by Kammron Taylor's 25 points, and Marcus Landry's 10 points and 4 blocks.

The thing we don't quite grasp is the way Ohio State plays. Maybe we're crazy, but if we had a manchild like the seven foot Greg Oden on our team, we'd feed him the ball constantly. Right now, that's not what the Buckeyes do at all. Their perimeter players just pass the ball back and forth outside the three-point arc, and fire up three-pointers one after the other.

Just throw the ball down low! Even when the Buckeyes drove the lane, their guards wouldn't dish off to Oden. Instead they'd go for the layup themselves, and as a result, Marcus Landry and the Badgers swatted 7 Buckeyes shots.

Ohio State didn't get Oden involved in the offense until late in the second half, when it was too little too late. Ohio State is a young team, with a lot of potential, but if they don't start utilizing their best players, they won't win the Big Ten and they won't get to the Final Four.

The Wait is Over!

Finally, after what seems like years, we get to see Ohio State and Florida go head to head for all the marbles. (CBS-4PM Est.)

Yeah, we know it's basketball and not football, but that's besides the point. This is still a pretty damn good matchup for this time of year. That, and when you think about it, a big bag of marbles really is a cool prize. You can have all kinds of fun with them.

Ohio State is ranked third in the country and has freshman Greg Oden. The seven-footer has been everything that was advertised so far, and is shooting a ri-damn-diculous .735 from the floor this season. And that's after going 8/15 earlier this week against Iowa State. Before Tuesday he was 17/19 in his first three college games.

There's good news for Florida too, as Al Horford could play even though on Thursday the team announced he was out. Horford practiced on Friday, and felt fine. It won't be decided until after the teams morning shootaround whether or not he'll suit up.

We're guessing he will. If the fourth ranked Gators are going to stop Greg Oden, they're going to need all the help they can get down in the post. He's expected to team up with Joakim Noah against Oden.

While the Ohio State/Florida matchup is the only marquee matchup of the day, Bob Knight is also looking to break Dean Smith's all time wins record when Texas Tech faces Bucknell. (ESPN2-4:30PM Est.)

We're going to go out on a limb and say that the General's probably gonna get that win today.