by Sweetbob

Created on: March 15, 2007   Last Updated: October 31, 2008

The freshman class of 2007 has played a significant role in college basketball. College teams have benefited from the NBA rule that doesn't allow 18 year olds into the draft. NBA took a lot of heat with passes this rule, but college coaches drooled at the chance to get an elite athlete, if only for one season.

Greg Oden and Kevin Durant are the two players that could have made the leap to the NBA, if this rule was not in effect. They are considered the best freshman of this class and possibly the best freshman in 30 years. Greg Oden is being compared to Bill Russell. Oden's pick of Ohio State raised some eyebrows, but he admits that he was going to go to college anyways. He admits that he needs to be polished on his offensive skills, but Oden is a force in the paint on the defensive end. Oden has his Ohio State Buckeyes in the NCAA tournament with a #1 seed. The Buckeyes would not have been a #1 seed without Oden. He injured his hand in the offseason and missed some time at the beginning of the season. Oden will have his Ohio State Buckeyes playing up to their potential.

Durant has been compared to Michael Jordan and Larry Bird. He's a long, tall kid that has a 3-point shot. Durant has carried his Texas team on his back. Texas has another fantastic freshman, D.J. Augustin, who is playing point. Durant is a smart player and doesn't make bad passes. Durant is more skilled offensively than Oden is with the Buckeyes. Durant and take games over and dominate teams with his inside/outside game. In the finals of the Big 12 tournament against Kansas, he scored 15 straight points to open the game. Texas ended up losing the game by a few points, but Durant will have Texas going deep into this tournament.

Texas and Ohio State will go deep into the NCAA tournament. Their Achilles' heel would be teams that have a lot of juniors or seniors on the team. If they meet a team like Georgetown or Florida, these young freshmen will have a hard time with their teams. Florida won the tournament last year and their starting five are very polished. Georgetown have a superior inside attack with Roy Hibbert and Jeff Green, it's hard to match up with them.

Greg Oden and Kevin Durant will have a large impact on this year's NCAA tournament. Powerful freshmen could become a new trend in college basketball due to the NBA's age restriction. These two young men have a chance to go down in history like Carmelo Anthony if they lead their teams to a championship.

Learn more about this author, Sweetbob.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.