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C Greg Oden (All B1G, All-American, Defensive Player of the Year, Butler Assistant Coach)

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6/26/05




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June 26, 2005


Oden, Conley set to announce college choice
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By Jeff Rabjohns
<SCRIPT language=JavaScript><!--document.write(''+'jeff.rabjohns'+'@'+'indystar.com'+'');//--></SCRIPT>[email protected]


Lawrence North teammates Greg Oden and Mike Conley plan to announce their college choice at a joint news conference at 1 p.m. Wednesday at their high school.

The Star has reported the choice will be Ohio State, but Conley said Friday the players will not make any public statements until the formal announcement.

Oden, at the Indiana-Kentucky All-Star Game at Conseco Fieldhouse on Saturday night, said he had no comment.

Oden this past year joined NBA star LeBron James as the only players to be named National High School Player of the Year as juniors.

Conley is one of the top-ranked point guards in the nation.

The duo led Lawrence North to a second consecutive Class 4A state title this past season.

Oden, a 7-foot, 245-pound center, averaged 20 points, 9.6 rebounds and 3.7 blocked shots. Conley, a 6-1 point guard, averaged 10.7 points and five assists.

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6/26/05

Buckeyes land the big one






Ohio State has apparently landed its most highly-rated high school basketball prospect since Jerry Lucas left Middletown in 1958.

The Indianapolis Star reported Friday that Greg Oden, a 7-foot, 245-pound center with the reputation of a defensive enforcer, will be a Buckeye when he graduates from Indianapolis Lawrence North High School next spring.

Huge is no longer just an adjective for Oden. In the long history of Buckeye basketball there has never been bigger recruiting news.

Make no mistake, Ohio State has landed a number of highly-regarded players over the years. Jim Jackson was behind only New York City point guard Kenny Anderson when he became a Buckeye in 1989. Clark Kellogg trailed only Ralph Sampson, Sam Bowie and Isiah Thomas in 1979.

Oden, like Lucas 47 years ago, takes a backseat to no one. The Sporting News branded Oden the nation's most important high school recruit since Sampson signed with Virginia 26 years ago.

Barring injury or unforeseen circumstance, Oden was a lock to be the No. 1 pick in the 2006 NBA draft. Most figure he would be the No. 1 pick in the 2005 draft were the Milwaukee Bucks allowed to take him next week.

He's been a dominant force on the summer basketball circuit for years. This past season he joined LeBron James as the only other junior to be selected the National High School Player of the Year.

Oden said all along he would attend college, but this report comes just two days after the NBA adopted a 19-year-old age limit.

Coincidence?

Who cares?

It's hard to gauge the impact such a splash can create for the Buckeyes.

The age limit has made recruiting elite players a reality again in college basketball, and Ohio State coach Thad Matta was obviously right on top of it.

Landing Oden qualifies Matta as the closest thing to a miracle worker since Annie Sullivan met Helen Keller.

He inherited a sinking program with NCAA investigators circling and probation looming. When the school self-imposed a one-year ban on postseason play, in an effort to mitigate future penalties, it could have torpedoed his first team.

It didn't. The Buckeyes won 20 games and were the only squad to beat Illinois before the national championship game.

Matta then hit the recruiting trail -- hard. He got a verbal commitment from Dayton wing player Daquean Cook, also a top-10 national talent. Cleveland's David Lighty, a top 20 national prospect, followed shortly thereafter. Most expect Oden to be joined by his high school teammate, point guard Mike Conley Jr., son of the former Olympic long jump medalist, and the third-rated point guard in the nation.

As a group, those four figure to comprise one of the greatest recruiting classes in college basketball history.

The Thad Four will be expected to deliver immediately, too, because no one sees Oden on campus for more than a year.

The pressure on Matta and these youngsters would be intense. Still, what coach wouldn't welcome that situation? It's a scenario few college coaches have encountered over the past 15 years.

Obviously, running the gauntlet in the 2006-07 season would be incredibly difficult.

Bill Russell, whom some have compared Oden to as a defensive presence, didn't do it in his first year of eligibility at San Francisco. Sampson never did it with the Cavaliers, neither did Wilt Chamberlain at Kansas, Tim Duncan at Wake Forest, or Shaquille O'Neal at LSU. Then again, Lucas did, albeit as a sophomore in 1960. It remains Ohio State's lone national championship in hoops.
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As a group, those four figure to comprise one of the greatest recruiting classes in college basketball history.

The Thad Four will be expected to deliver immediately, too, because no one sees Oden on campus for more than a year.
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Andy Geiger deserves a lot of credit for bringing in the coach that is going to take OSU basketball back to the top of the big 10 and elevate the program to top 10 status.

A year ago, the thought of bringing in 4 players ranked in the top 30 in the nation would have been crazy. How things have changed with just a coaching change.
 
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Some of you on here may know that I know Greg Oden personally. I can tell you for certain, a 100% lock, he and Conley will commit to Ohio State Wednesday. They like the campus, the location, and they LOVE Matta. How long Greg stays is unknown, but he will be in Columbus for at least a year.


Congrats to Matta on this exceptional class. Also -- this class will make a strong impression on Eric Gordon when decision time comes for him as well.
 
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scout.com$

6/27/05

By Steve Helwagen Bucknuts.com Managing Editor
Date: Jun 27, 2005

The Indianapolis Star reported on Friday that the choice is Ohio State, but Conley and Oden's camp has denied the report and will be announcing their choice on Wednesday. The night before that report, the two were playing in the state's junior/senior all star game, and after the game, each took time out to speak with reporters. Check out video footage of those interviews as well as footage of WSYX-TV ABC 6's report on the Star article, featuring Bucknuts managing editor Steve Helwagen.
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Video of Oden in action and also an interview from this past Thursday.
 
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I would take the fab 4 over the fab 5 in a second

#1 C Ogden
#1 sg cook
#2 pg conley
#4 sg lighty

A true center and point guard, scum didn't have that and if the bucks could get a top power forward that would be sick

I'm already looking for a second house in florida but, columbus sounds like the place now that SIR MATTA is in town.

THANKs TO GEIGER

Jimmy Jackson was rated like Lighty is #3 or 4, so wheres the talk about Cook being a step above jackson at?
 
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akronbuck said:
I would take the fab 4 over the fab 5 in a second

#1 C Ogden
#1 sg cook
#2 pg conley
#4 sg lighty

A true center and point guard, scum didn't have that and if the bucks could get a top power forward that would be sick

I'm already looking for a second house in florida but, columbus sounds like the place now that SIR MATTA is in town.

THANKs TO GEIGER

Jimmy Jackson was rated like Lighty is #3 or 4, so wheres the talk about Cook being a step above jackson at?
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If Cook ends up anything like Jackson we will all be very happy. To say he is a step above Jackson is a bit unfounded.

Daequan will carve his own niche and end up a wonderful addition to the Ohio State family.
 
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Rivals has the following rankings for each...

Oden.....#1 player overall....#1 center
Cook.....#8 player overall.....#2 shooting guard
Conley...#40 player overall...#7 point guard
Lighty....#20 player overall...#4 shooting guard

Not to bad of a recruiting class.....:biggrin:
 
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Conley's talent level skyrockets when you surround him with future NBA lottery picks like Oden/Cook and maybe even Lighty. His ability to put the ball in the right location at all times (not just on the court but the right spot on the recepient's body so they can score quicker)...

Another thing to consider, not sure if this has been done before but we have a very good shot at having the #1 pick in football and basketball. I hope neither one of them leaves after 06, but Ted Ginn and Greg Oden would have excellent shots at being #1 picks in the draft.
 
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Another thing to consider, not sure if this has been done before but we have a very good shot at having the #1 pick in football and basketball. I hope neither one of them leaves after 06, but Ted Ginn and Greg Oden would have excellent shots at being #1 picks in the draft.
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winslow...good point, I hadn't thought about that possible scenario.

Conley is a great point guard and he can hit the three, he gets the ball to the right people in the right spots.

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6/28/05


RECRUITING: Oden’s decision could affect local pair<!--ENDHEADLINE--> [font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]
June 28, 2005​
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<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=380 border=0><TBODY><TR bgColor=#003399><TD>[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]By Justin Breen / Post-Tribune staff writer[/font]</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><!--COPY-->

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Luke Harangody and Jamil Tucker could be part of a basketball power at Ohio State, and Tucker said the decision of other star players to join that school could impact his selection.

The Indianapolis Star reported Lawrence North teammates Greg Oden — the USA Today National Player of the Year — and Mike Conley were planning to verbally commit to Ohio State.

The pair of players, who have won two straight Class 4A state championships, will make an official announcement on Wednesday.

Tucker said Oden’s and Conley’s decision has put Ohio State at the top of his list.

“It helps, knowing they’ll be there. It makes it easier going there. And I still do want to go there,” said Tucker, who plays with Oden and Conley on their Spiece Indy Heat AAU team and was offered a scholarship by the Buckeyes.

Harangody didn’t feel as strongly about Oden’s and Conley’s choice, but said Ohio State could become a national power.

“That really has no effect on my decision, but I wouldn’t mind playing with those guys,” Harangody said. “We talked about going to Ohio State together and about coach (Thad) Matta’s vision, but I don’t think it will have any effect on my decision.”

Harangody, the Post-Tribune Player of the Year after averaging 23.2 points, 12.3 rebounds and 1.0 blocks per game as a junior, said he did not know when he would make a final decision. Ohio State, Purdue, Indiana, Notre Dame and Northwestern have offered scholarships to the 6-foot-7 center.

West Side coach John Boyd said he hopes Tucker will choose a school by the end of July. Indiana, Arizona, San Jose State, USC and Miami are among the several schools that have offered a scholarship to Tucker, a 6-9 guard/forward who averaged 18.6 ppg, 8.7 rpg and 4.7 apg for the regional-champion Cougars. Tucker said Purdue is not on his list of schools.

“(Regarding Ohio State), there were some things on the table a while ago, but he’s got a number of schools looking at him now,” Boyd said. “He and his family are going to come to a decision.” Oden, a center, is the only other junior besides LeBron James to win the National Player of the Year award, while Conley is considered one of the nation’s top point guards. Oden had been considered a possible No. 1 pick in the NBA draft until the implementation a league rule change last week requiring players to be at least one year out of high school to be drafted.

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