DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Tailgate Forum Oden officially entering Draft

Ohio State freshmen Greg Oden, Mike Conley Jr., and Daequan Cook will all declare for the NBA draft Friday, a source close to the situation told ESPN.com Thursday night.

A formal news release is going to come out Friday on all three, detailing their decision, according to a source.

Oden is expected to announce that he will stay in the draft where he will likely be tabbed as the No. 1 pick on June 28.

Conley, who could be the top point guard taken, will stay in the draft if he is in the top 10 or at the very least the lottery (1-14). Conley doesn't have to sign with an agent since his father, Mike Conley Sr., will represent him after he was certified as an agent recently and opened up his own company. Conley Sr. is also expected to represent Oden, whom he mentored and coached as a youth in Indiana.

Meanwhile, Cook isn't expected to sign with an agent, at least early in the process. That could change in the coming weeks if he receives a positive vibe about where he would land in the draft.

Ohio State is a quarter-system school and since NBA workouts with teams cannot begin until June 6 after the Orlando pre-draft camp the three are expected to remain in school. A final decision on their academic future will be made next week. Ohio State, like many other schools in a similar situation, is expected to push for the threesome to remain in school. Under a new NCAA directive, students who don't leave in good academic standing and who aren't eligible for the next season could end up hurting a school's academic performance report and could subsequently end up in scholarship reduction for the school.

Oden and Conley led the Buckeyes to the national title game, losing to Florida 84-75 on April 2 in Atlanta.

Oden led the Buckeyes in scoring with 15.7 points a game, 9.6 rebounds after playing in 32 of the team's 39 games because of offseason right wrist surgery. He started the season shooting free throws left-handed with a brace on his right wrist. He eventually shot them with his right hand. Oden ended the season on a high, scoring 25 points, grabbing 12 boards and blocking four shots in the loss to the Gators.

Conley was arguably the team's MVP with his stellar play at the point, including hitting a game-winner over Wisconsin to win the Big Ten regular-season title, scoring 11 points in overtime to beat Xavier in the second round of the NCAA Tournament and scoring 15 points, dishing out six assists and having only one turnover in the national semifinal win over Georgetown. Conley (11.3 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 6.1 apg) is widely considered by NBA personnel to be the top point guard in a weak draft for the position this year.

Cook, who played in all 39 games as well as Conley, averaged only 19.7 minutes, scored 9.8 points and 4.3 rebounds a game. His minutes fluctuated during the season with his only single-digit minute games coming in the NCAA Tournament, playing eight against Tennessee, seven against Georgetown and nine against Florida.

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Oh well that sucks cant say im suprised. Wish them the best.

Cook must've smoked his good stuff tonight before committing to this. Best of luck to Oden and Conley, albeit I was hoping we'd have Conley another year.

so much for the thad 5. this is the downside of recruiting top tier players all at once. 1 and done. oden needed to leave, but I'm kinda surprised conley and cook decided to leave. cook didn't even start, there's no way he's ready. conley needs to be more consistent with his jumper, and he will find out taking it to the hole against nba frontlines is a whole different game compared to frontlines in college.

Oden needed to go. He knew from the first time he stepped on campus that he was going pro. Conley doesn't surprise me either. I think everyone should have known that Conley was going to do whatever Oden did. Cook surprises me. He won't even be drafted.

Wow... that really sucks. Not surprised about Oden, but the others...

conley is probably going since it's a weak class for point guards. it's not like you have derrin williams and chris paul in this draft. he had a good year especially the tourney, but in no way shape or form do I think he will have an impact for a nba team next year. him and acie law should be taken off the board rather quickly. the hawks would be salivating over conley. that's if they don't get the #1 or #2 pick.

I don't think Conley going has anything to do with the weak draft class. I think it's more that he wanted to follow Oden. Plus, he knows his draft stock couldn't get any higher than it is right now. The only way his draft stock would have gone up is if he could have won a title without Oden.. which wouldn't have happened.

Cook and Conley are not getting agents. That means Cook will be back and Conley could also if his stock for some reason drops.

Conley is gone. There's not a doubt in my mind.

Cook will be back. He'll go to some workouts and figure out that he won't get drafted, then he'll come back.

agreed that conley would be just what the hawks need. unfortunately, unless they have picks 1-3, their pick goes to phoenix. they get indiana's pick unless it's top 10. unless conley goes 1-3 or after 10, the hawks won't have a chance at him. oh well, at least they have a better shot at him than the cavs, who also could use a point guard, but don't have any picks in the entire draft!

Who's your source that Oden knew he was going from the first day he was on campus? Is this the same source that told you that Donovan was going to UK because it's just as accurate.

Oden didn't decide until after meeting with Matta that he was going to go pro. He was literally torn and took a long time to make the decision. I have no problem even telling you my source....Jon Diebler who will be a freshman at OSU next year. He talked to Oden on many occasions as he was being recruited and become friends with him. Once again, you are passing your OPINION off as some fact that is, once again, dead wrong.

Since Oden himself didn't know he was going after this year, I guess he was "fooling" himself? Please.

Come on. Because he said he didn't know? What is he supposed to say? He's not going to come out and say he's leaving while he's still playing

Why would Cook even consider going pro? The only player on that team that I feel he was better than was Twig. I thought Hunter was outperforming him near the end of the year. How does a guy that averages 9 pts a game and shoots under 45% get the nerve to think he's an NBA quality talent? During the tourney he had 2,2,9,4,3,9. Way to take over Daequan.

I'm not shocked about Oden or Conley though. Oden will go first overall and could very well end up being the best center in the game within a few years. Conley is one of the best PGs in a PG starved draft. If he learns to shoot from the outside he could be a very solid player for many years.

OSU will be fine next year. We have a very strong recruiting class coming in and I figure that Cook will be back after he realizes that NBA scouts don't draft guys that score 9 pts a game and show no signs of life in clutch games. My concern is with the center position. Hunter can't man it and neither can Twig. Koufos is 7-2 but plays much smaller. He can't take much of a beating down low. I like our other recruits plus we have Butler coming back. Should be a top 25 team but not one that has any realistic chance of going back to the Final Four.

The guy got beat up in the high school game. Watch the game they played against St. Xavier and tell me this guy is ready to be a low post presence. He seems more content to stand outside all game. He's almost like a gigantic small forward. I think Twig is tougher than Koufos. It's something that will have to be developed, not something he currently possesses. Koufos as a center is a project not a replacement. As of right now, I have to agree that Koufos is soft.

After they lost in the state tourney, they asked the St. X kids what they did to shut him down. They said that they made sure to elbow or bump him every time down the floor. By the second half, he had no desire to play inside. I think he can still be good, but that game shook my confidence in him. He's a project imo, and a long one at that.

What he says to the media and what he said in private are the same thing. Again, you have no knowledge of the situation. Fine, just don't discount those that have actually discussed it with him. Oden didn't know for more than one reason. His injury, his enjoyment of being in college, and his goal to be the most dominant player in college before he left. All of those reasons were why he was unsure. I have stated why he was unsure from someone CLOSE TO THE MAN. You have pulled your OPINION out of your backside.

Here's hoping he ends up in the Wine & Gold

Since we don't have a draft pick, I doubt it.

hmmm... well, that might be a problem

i knew the Cavs didn't have a pick, but could someone explain for me...how?...when?...i'm pretty sure it was for some nobody, but i'm not sure...is Ferry responsible, or was it pre-Ferry?...

This isn't the Jiri Welsch pick is it? That might have been the worst, albeit funniest move by a GM in history.

thanks...

Jiri Welsh...i knew it was some guy noone will remember...

if we got Pavlovic for this recent 1st, that's acceptable to me, considering how extremely unpredictable NBA prospects are...and i thought the NFL was hit or miss!...anyhow, Sasha has really played well of late...let's hope he has elevated his game permanently...

what about this Raptors pick?...will that be in 07?...2nd round?...

That Raptors pick is what was shipped to Charlotte for Pavlovic (who was taken from Utah in the expansion draft). Charlotte took that pick last year (Sean May). The Cavs pick this year goes to Boston to complete the Jiri Welsch deal. Boston then shipped that pick to Phoenix. The Cavs second round pick this season goes to Orlando to complete the Battie/Gooden/Varejao deal. Next year's second round pick goes to Phoenix to complete the Milt Palacio deal in 2002.

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Next year's second round pick goes to Phoenix to complete the Milt Palacio deal in 2002.

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how F'ed up is the NBA?...a trade that involves a draft pick 6 years down the road?!...i guess if you're the GM on the seat, why not?...if it works out for you, great, if not, you'll be long gone by the time that trade screws the team over...

Coach just a ? Are you from around Upper.

nordawg

"Around" Upper would be accurate. My son played against Diebs and attended camps and such with him and have gotten to be somewhat of friends. I am lso on a friendly basis with his father, chatting before all the games, camps, ec. Diebs is a great kid and really has his head on straight for what all he has accomplished and the spotlight and all. He is a great example to kids.

I see you're from Norwalk. Did you catch the Truckers/Rams game? PM me with the details. IIRC, didn't Norwalk have a 7 footer?