by B. B. James

Created on: February 26, 2007   Last Updated: October 31, 2008

Although it seems like Kevin Durant and Greg Oden will be linked in basketball fans' minds for many years, it's not a great comparison. They play different positions, and their styles are wholly different.

Durant has clearly had the better freshman year, but it doesn't say a lot about what Oden will be in the future. If I had an NBA team, I'd pick Oden.

Oden is a defensive monster, perhaps the most dominant defensive player in college basketball since Alonza Mourning (who I despise, by the way). Ohio State's defense is predicated on the idea that guards can force players into the lane, where Oden can swat away shots. Durant basically ignores defense and saves his energy for the offensive side of the court - and that's why Durant draws all the raves for his polish right now.

But while Durant can power over college guys, I just don't see him dominating physically in the NBA. He can be a great power forward with superior ball-handling skills. But will he be on the level of Duncan, Brand, Boozer, Nowitzski, Stoudemire, etc.? Maybe, but he certainly won't be better than any of them in their primes.

Meanwhile, Oden can potentially be the best center in the game. He doesn't have Shaq's strength nor Yao's height, but he's got skills on par with both of them. And he's going to be better defensively than either. And I wouldn't worry about his relatively weak offensive showing so far. First, he plays in the nation's most physical and low-scoring conference, where he's manhandled every game. Second,
he missed the first 10 games or so while recovering from a broken hand, and he's played the next 10-15 with the hand still recovering from injury. It's late-February, and he's still shooting foul shots with his left hand - and making a better percentage than Shaq ever has!

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