<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Cleveland State coach Gary Waters recruited Los Angeles Lakers big man Andrew Bynum when he was at Rutgers. "Greg Oden is light years ahead of Andrew Bynum,? said Waters, whose team came up short against Oden and the Ohio State Buckeyes on Saturday. "He?s tougher, stronger and his ability to jump and block shots is better.? "He?s such a presence,? added Valparaiso coach Homer Drew, who had the distinction of being the first coach to try and stop the 7-foot, 270-pound freshman. ?You just don?t get any shots in the lane.? Waters even went as far to compare him to one of the greatest defensive big men in college basketball history. "He?s the best presence since Patrick Ewing,? Waters said. ?But he?s different than Patrick because he?ll dunk everything.? Oden, the sure-fire No. 1 pick in next June?s NBA Draft, returned about a month ahead of schedule from major surgery on his right wrist back in June. His addition to an already talented Ohio State club has made the Buckeyes one of a handful of teams who have the inside track to the national title this year. "They win that game if he plays,? Waters said of the Buckeyes loss to North Carolina in Chapel Hill. "He?s just that good,? added Drew. The scary part is that Oden still isn?t able to use his right hand offensively. He can rebound with two hands and block shots, but he is still shooting free throws lefty and can?t really utilize any low-post moves due to the injury. The facet of Oden?s game that impressed both Waters and Drew the most was how hard the big man plays on both ends of the court. "That?s why they have to give him a rest,? Waters said. ?Not to protect him, but because he plays both ends of the floor with the same intensity. That?s rare, especially with big guys. Most of them tend to stand and wait.? "He?s as strong as Ewing was,? added Waters. ?He wedges his post before it happens. I don?t know who taught him, but it?s unbelievable. He has psychologically prepared himself for the next play even when it?s two plays away. I didn?t expect that.? Oden is so strong and powerful that once he gets the ball in the post, no one ? not even Tyler Hansbrough ? is going to stop him. "It?s over,? Waters said. ?And his hands are so good. If you try and foul him, it?s a three-point play because he?s so strong. The Big Ten doesn?t realize what they are getting into having to face him.?</div> Source This may stir up some trouble, but I want to hear some opinions as I'm not too familiar on Greg Oden's game. P.S. Someone send this to Bynum today so he can abuse Yao.
I'm not sure how this will stir some trouble. In my opinion, Greg Oden is already better than Bynum. He's more athletic, better shot blocker, more conditioned, and he has a better offensive game.
Greg Oden does not have a better offensive game than Andrew Bynum. I'm not surprised by this coaches remarks. Andrew Bynum barely played any highschool basketball because of injuries, and he had lousy coaching. Greg Oden had a huge advantage in experience comparing their high school careers. I agree, Oden is the better player, but Andrew Bynum is closing the gap. Two years of NBA experience and strength training has Bynum on the fast track to becoming an impact post player. Both of them are so young and have tremendous upside. They could become the next Big-Man rivalry for the NBA.
well to be honest, i'm not much of a Bynum fan, but i honestly do think that Greg Oden is the better offensve player. He's more athletic so i assumed that his post game is a little better.
Oden is better defensively, but like Shape said, Bynum has the edge offensively. This could honestly be one of the best rivalries in the NBA down the road if they both pan out. I like Bynum more as I don't see Oden as an offensive threat.
I don't see why this is really even a story. Obviously Oden is more polished than Bynum. Oden played in a big-time high school system against top shelf opponents, and he's got a defensive game and IQ that has been compared to Bill Russell. Bynum was hurt for half of high school and has never had a day of college coaching, probably the best preperation any young big man can get. You could argue that Bynum actually has more upside than Oden, but right now, I'm sure that he's not even close to Oden fundamentally. I haven't seen Bynum play a whole lot, but what I've seen from him is still pretty rudimentary. But you can see that he's learning, and with his talent, he's going to be one hell of a big man. This is a comparasin of two completely different guys, rigiht now. Oden is a polished, well-coached college player, while Bynum is a fresh-faced high schooler who's getting pointers from Kareem. Neither path to the top is the right or wrong one, because both of them are going to dominate sooner than later, but saying that Oden is more advanced than Bynum is not a big deal. It's the truth, and it doesn't take anything away from Bynum. They've just taken different routes to the same place.
I think each of them are going to be teriffic bigs in this league. Oden does have the better defensive game, and his offensive game isn't horrible. He's only a freshman in college and doesn't have a right hand at the moment, once he gets some more experience and his shooting hand back, he's going to be a force. I think he's got a world of potential in this league on both ends of the court, and the same goes for Bynum. Each have potential to be great on both ends of the court, it's just that right now, Oden has the edge defensively and Bynum has the edge offensively. Each are going to be great though, and probably will be dominant forces on each side of the ball once they've been in the league for a few years.
