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THE AUDIBLE COMMENTARY
Buckeyes trio should have chosen school over NBA
> Comment: Should Greg Oden, Mike Conley and Daequan Cook have stayed at Ohio State?
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Already it seems so long ago. Ohio State's men's basketball team was at the top of the charts mainly because of center Greg Oden and guard Mike Conley of Indianapolis and Daequan Cook, a mutli-talented 6-foot-5 guard from Dunbar High School.
The Buckeyes sailed through the regular-season schedule and into the NCAA finals where they lost to Florida. Three more years of them and who knows to what heights Buckeye basketball might have risen.
But the super trio was on the one-year plan. The NCAA had recently ruled that incoming Division I freshmen had to stay in school for at least one season. So after filling that requirement, the three talents went straight to the pros, in style. Oden was the first pick of the 2007 draft, going to the Portland Trail Blazers. Conley went fourth to the Memphis Grizzlies and Cook 21st, to the Philadelphia 76ers who traded his rights to the Miami Heat.
However, as B.B. King might say, "Fellas, I think you made your moves too soon." All three are still in the NBA, Oden and Cook have struggled and Conley won't be making any All-Star teams soon. Oden has actually been an embarrassment after missing his rookie year to injury and this season looking unprepared to play in the pros. He is averaging 7.6 points per game and 7.9 rebounds.
Cook is doing OK financially, having just signed a $1.3 million contract for next season. But as a rookie first-round pick, the perimeter shooter had to do a brief stint in the Development League. Drafted as a scorer, he is averaging 8.1 points per game. Conley is averaging 7.9 points and 3.6 assists, which is OK as a second-year pro.
All should be much better and they would have been had they stayed at Ohio State for at least one more season, where they would have learned and matured both physically and mentally.
Comments
By Rich
December 26, 2008 9:31 PM | Link to this
I don’t watch pro BB because it’s all about M-O-N-E-Y. Which is ok if that’s what you want to look at it for…rather than the sport. Now, with the frosh college players just using the school as a spring board for the pros, it takes the sport out of it and actually cheats the true fans of the sport. You don’t see a frosh med student leave school after one year and start doing brain surgury. The pros are just prostitutes…they want to go where the M-O-N-E-Y is. Are they really worth it?
By Purvis R. Coley
December 22, 2008 11:52 AM | Link to this
None of them were ready and should have stayed. It is a very rare exception when a high school baller goes directly to the NBA. Moses Malone and of course Mr L. James made an impact immediately. Oden looks like he is injury prone, heck he was hurt all year when he played at Ohio State. Cook hadn’t matured yet and Conley’s Dad saw $$$$ signs. People can’t afford to go to games anymore…are we the tax payers going to have to bail the NBA out as well?
By Greg
December 17, 2008 10:28 AM | Link to this
You need to learn something about the NBA before you start calling Oden “an embarrassemnt” and declaring it a mistake that these three left school early…Oden is barely 20 yrs old playing against the best big men in the world. All big men need time to learn the NBA game and grow the necessary skills to dominate. If Oden stays healthy, he will be a force. And all three of these guys were 1st round picks, meaning that they are gauranteed 3 year deals worth MILLIONS of dollars.
By jerry
December 14, 2008 3:09 PM | Link to this
they jumped way too soon. Oden never came close to his potential in his one year at osu. they all three would have made much more money had the they matured into total pl;ayers before they left. They cheated themselves. Look at tyler hainesboro at north carolina;he is staying and will reap the benefits.
By LMAO
December 13, 2008 11:48 PM | Link to this
dude. while i agree in principle i must note that oden had six double doubles the last time i checked. he—in fact—is nearly averaging a double-double in limited playing time. they have the luxury of being able to take their time with him and are doing so. as for mike and daequan? they made more cash last year than i will make in my entire lifetime. ‘nuff said.
By coach byrd
December 13, 2008 9:24 PM | Link to this
allstar game either(no disrespect to the players)the put there time in,trained hard and took a flying leap of faith and landed in the nba.dont be mad because u didnt get drafted by sports ill.are some other big name nationwide,worldwide,publication maybe u are still working on ur craft mr.sims one day u might make the big time.im sure the trio makes more money on 1 game check then u make all year.stayed i think not!
By coach byrd
December 13, 2008 9:12 PM | Link to this
greg u dont know what u are talking about!why should they have stayed the won the big ten went to the final four,played in the championship game.before that the trio were all americans, g.o.was player of the year,state titles,only back to back champs at the las vegas aau shootout,jr.olympics champs man i could go on and on.all true sports fans know that the real talent dont rise to the top till march madness anyway.what u wanted them to stay like florida did last i heard none of them r going to
By Archie Griffin
December 13, 2008 8:16 PM | Link to this
I think many of you are missing the point. I believe that Simms feels OSU was “cheated” of a possible championship by having these three leave. Just think what might have been if the three stayed for two or three years.
By Todd
December 13, 2008 6:16 PM | Link to this
This article is completely absurd. Oden an embarrassment? Oden is already a top 3 rebounder in the NBA (rebounds per minute). And why would anyone believe that these 3 guys, who are all playing significant minutes for their respective NBA teams, would develop any better playing the same minutes against far inferior competition in the NCAA. At the end of the day, these guys made a career choice, a choice that nearly everyone else would have made if given the opportunity. Greg, this is amateur.
By Gary
December 13, 2008 6:03 PM | Link to this
I believe all three made the right choice individually. Isn’ it true that most parents send their kid to college so that they can better their lives financially? How long would it take Cook to make 1.3 million working a 9-5 job? If your son had a chance to make millions in a couple of years would you encourage him to go for it or turn it down? I’m pretty sure most parents would say GO FOR IT! I am a Buckeye fan and would have loved to see all three players stay for four years.
By Lee
December 13, 2008 5:26 PM | Link to this
Who are we to say whats to early or too late. They’re working paying their taxes and doing what they want. Could they have benefited staying in school longer, maybe but they made THEIR own decisions. You only live once go for it.
By Randy
December 13, 2008 4:16 PM | Link to this
I wasn’t surprised that Oden and Cook jumped at the dollars. I was surprised by Conley,Jr. I gave him more credit than he deserved. Cook seemed to be in Matta’s dog house from day one. I felt Matta really kept him down instead of turning him loose. Oden has other physical problems which will probably always hamper him. I mean how much can one kid sleep. Conley even admitted how difficult it is to get him up and moving. We’ll never know how awesome Oden, Koufos and Mullens & Lauderdale would be.