Greg Oden Entering the NBA Draft
It's official now - Greg Oden will enter the NBA draft. Part of me was hoping this man child would be staying another year in the NCAA, and I thought that maybe the loss to Florida would give Oden and his friend and point guard Mike Conley, Jr. the determination to remain amateurs for another year. But the NBA calls and when the NBA calls, players harken.
Mike Conley, Jr.'s father will be the agent for both Greg Oden and his son.
After a talent-rich NCAA tournament, most of the premier players are bolting for the pros, which is the opposite of what happened at the end of the previous season. Florida's experienced core are all entering the draft, as are Kevin Durant, Oden, and Conley. Ditto UCLA's Arron Afflalo, Georgetown's Jeff Green and Roy Hibbert and UNC's Brandan Wright. The mock draft at NBADraft.net has Oden and Durant going 1 and 2, followed by Brandan Wright at number 3. Al Horford is the first Florida player to crack the list at #4.
This is shaping up to be a very deep draft year, perhaps comparable to 2003 when LeBron, Carmello, D-Wade, Chris Bosh, and Boris Diaw all entered the league. I doubt it will live up to the 1984 NBA draft, however, when players like Michael Jordan, Akeem Olajuwon, Charles Barkley, and John Stockton started their NBA careers.