June 5th, 2006 by Phil Frangos
Who is worthy of #1?
For the first time in franchise history, the Toronto Raptors are preparing for the NBA draft with the option of taking the best player available. Or are they?
We have all heard by now of the talent coming out of college with the likes of, (F) Adam Morrison from Gonzaga, (F) LaMarcus Aldridge from Texas, (G) J.J. Redick from Duke, and oh yeah that guy from Italy as there calling him, (F) Andrea Bargnani. Its been reported that the Raptors are pretty high on Bargnani but are not totally sold.
The option of trading the pick for a proven player along with a late pick may be the best option. Had it not been for the change in the new NBA draft rules, where teams are unavailable to draft high school players starting this year, the Raptors would have no doubt gone to the High School ranks with this pick. Unfortunately for Raptor fans, they miss out on Big Oden. That’s right, Greg Oden from Lawrence North High School
in Indiana. Believe me when I say Greg is the next big star. Born in Buffalo, Greg moved to Indiana in ‘96 and that’s where he started ripping it up. He averaged 14 points, 10 rebounds and was a menacing force on the defensive end of the floor, guiding his team to a 29-2 record last year. His resume is loaded with achievements to this point.
Instead of being picked later this month in the draft, Oden will be dawning the Scarlett and Grey of The Ohio State Buckeyes this fall.
Too bad for The Toronto Raptors as they miss out on what could be the next Big Ticket, the next Kevin Garnett.
RELATED POSTS
2 Comments
June 11th, 2006 at 10:50 am
Nice article. I’m really looking forward to seeing Greg Oden in the NBA. I’m kind of glad he didn’t get picked up by the Raptors. Nothing against their team or anything but they’re kinda crap. I hope to see him go to a quality team when he turns pro. Who do Raptors go for with #1 though?
They need either a Centre so they can play Bosh at 4, and Villy at 3. But they also kind of need a good pg with rumours that Mike James will be released.
Going to be interesting to see who they take or if they trade away the pick like you mentioned.
July 6th, 2006 at 1:23 am
Me too pal. Can’t wait to see Oden in NBA. I found some video of him, hopefully it will satisfy his fans for now until we can watch him play for real.
Check it out, it has some highlight reels, they look pretty sweet…
http://www.121s.com/viewtopic.php?t=9439
Leave a Reply