"There are no great big men anymore because the games too fast for them"

[Malta]

Wilt/Malta:


What kind of player do you think Greg Oden would have become if not for the injuries?

I think he would have been the best center in the league by a huge margin, he was an excellent athlete prior to his first knee injury -



And most importantly, he played with his back to the basket almost exclusively, was learning how to use the jump hook with either hand and was a bull/physical in the paint. What makes it even sadder is that he was just starting to turn the corner when his knee exploded on him, his per 36 numbers were 17/13/3blks and only 54% of his offense was assisted, he had all the markings of a true back to the basket center and had the prototypical size (6"11 without shoes).

I think it's a shame what happened to him because he wanted to be an old school center and looked like the next great. I mean what he did to that frontcourt of Noah and Horford in the NCAA Final was filthy, he straight up man handled both of them despite them both being upperclassmen and both are productive pros. The sky was the limit for him, no idea what numbers, but he would have been much better than Howard who is the best by default simply because Yao and Oden couldn't stay healthy.

 

[Heelmatic]

Coach

If Coach K could talk him into staying for two years . With the Noel injury, it's doubtful.

Duke is the WORST at developing PF/C's. God help him if this kid goes to duke.

 

[#1 pick]

Coach

Duke is the WORST at developing PF/C's. God help him if this kid goes to duke.

Boozer, Plumlee's, Laetter, and Brand.

 

[#1 pick]

I think he would have been the best center in the league by a huge margin, he was an excellent athlete prior to his first knee injury -

Greg Oden highlights against Dallas NBA Summer League 2007 - YouTube

And most importantly, he played with his back to the basket almost exclusively, was learning how to use the jump hook with either hand and was a bull/physical in the paint. What makes it even sadder is that he was just starting to turn the corner when his knee exploded on him, his per 36 numbers were 17/13/3blks and only 54% of his offense was assisted, he had all the markings of a true back to the basket center and had the prototypical size (6"11 without shoes).

I think it's a shame what happened to him because he wanted to be an old school center and looked like the next great. I mean what he did to that frontcourt of Noah and Horford in the NCAA Final was filthy, he straight up man handled both of them despite them both being upperclassmen and both are productive pros. The sky was the limit for him, no idea what numbers, but he would have been much better than Howard who is the best by default simply because Yao and Oden couldn't stay healthy.

Like Wilt, Oden was a NBA player by his Junior year in HS. The only true big to come close to that is Okafor at Whitney Young. I would really say he might be the best player in the nation over even Parker and Wiggins. His game is that far advanced.

 

[#1 pick]

@Malta @dantheman9758

Imagine Duke having
Tyren Jones
Solomon
Parker
random big
Okafor in 2015.

Easily NCAA champs. Best team ever. Jones to me has CP3 like skills. He's better as a Jr than CP3 was.

Top junior center Okafor on his Duke visit, going undefeated - USA TODAY High School Sports

 

[T-K-G]

i haven't watched alot of basketball this year so take this post with a grain of salt but damn... I've seen kobe use post moves to make more plays in the paint against taller defenders than most big men this season


these nikkas just dont wanna man up and dominate the paint

 

[Da King]

isn't Marcellus Wiley an ex football player? the fukk we even talking about this for?

 

[Carlos Huerta]

Boozer, Plumlee's, Laetter, and Brand.

Plumlee's ??

 

[#1 pick]

Plumlee's ??

Mason and the one that got drafted last year. Neither one of those dudes were legit NBA talents out of HS.

 

[Easy-E]

One of the best basketball discussions I've ever read on the-coli

 

[Heelmatic]

Boozer, Plumlee's, Laetter, and Brand.

I take it you don't watch much duke basketball? They don't get players like Boozer and Brand anymore. Since Boozer left in '02 they've produced nobody. They use their big men to set screens for all their shooters. Plumlee's? Miles Plumlee got drafted because he's a great athlete. Definitely wasn't anything he did at duke. His best season he might of avg. like 8 pts and 7 rebs. Mason Plumlee was a 5* recruit who literally didn't start to do shyt until his Junior year. He is also a great athlete.

Their big man coach is Wojo for gods sake, WOJO!

 

[Malta]

@Malta @dantheman9758

Imagine Duke having
Tyren Jones
Solomon
Parker
random big
Okafor in 2015.

Easily NCAA champs. Best team ever. Jones to me has CP3 like skills. He's better as a Jr than CP3 was.

Top junior center Okafor on his Duke visit, going undefeated - USA TODAY High School Sports

I hope Okafor stays far away from Duke, Coach K seems to hold his big men back now and keep their roles limited so they don't leave early.

Plumlee is a lot more talented than he's shown.

 

[#1 pick]

I take it you don't watch much duke basketball? They don't get players like Boozer and Brand anymore. Since Boozer left in '02 they've produced nobody. They use their big men to set screens for all their shooters. Plumlee's? Miles Plumlee got drafted because he's a great athlete. Definitely wasn't anything he did at duke. His best season he might of avg. like 8 pts and 7 rebs. Mason Plumlee was a 5* recruit who literally didn't start to do shyt until his Junior year. He is also a great athlete.

Their big man coach is Wojo for gods sake, WOJO!

Breh, what schools have had great big men of late? It's not anyone in the ACC or Big Ten.


That's a crazy notion considering that their bigs really aren't that good in the post. Lance Thomas breh The Miles was a 1st rounder and Mason will be a lotto pick. Come on breh.

 

[#1 pick]

I hope Okafor stays far away from Duke, Coach K seems to hold his big men back now and keep their roles limited so they don't leave early.

Plumlee is a lot more talented than he's shown.

Okafor is going to Duke with Parker and Jones.

 

[G-Zeus]

So, Jabbar is a stationary center? Revisionist history...

1969-70 Milwaukee Bucks - The Big Green Line - YouTube
1970-71 Milwaukee Bucks - Countdown to a Dream - YouTube

And with comments like that, one of these days I'm gonna have to drop a Bill Russell mix on this board, - a way misunderstood athlete in terms his abilities and how imposing, dominant, and athletic he was. The centers of that day were not 1 trick ponies. Sorry, they were much better taught at how to initiate fast breaks and play in the key and I'm not just talking about offensively. They were much better integrated into their teams than the current crop of centers today and that was because they were better players. I'm not going to kid myself and say "Past > Present" as a generalization of basketball then vs now - but if we break down this 1 specific facet of the game I can without hesitation say that it looks like there has been just as much regression in big man play as there has been progress in things like ball handling skill and league-wide athleticism of modern forwards

you mean with me saying russel would dominate in this era too?


btw your Lew Alcindor mix showed a dominating Left hook and a few lay up... with defenders damn near just observing... he just had a clear advantage on everyone... heights and hook..

Wilt and Russ... those dude.... any era... would dominate.