Yeah in a perfect world he would have stayed a few more years. But I guess he has achieved the goals he needs to and that is to be the best player in college and be almost guaranteed the #1 pick.

He will be like Dwight Howard I think in that he will have a bit of a quiet first NBA season with about 10 ppg and 12 rpg but after a few years he will be a beast whom will dominate the NBA for years and years.

He wasn´t the best player in college kingjames, Kevin Durant scooped the awards this year, and while Oden made the championship game he did´nt win it (despite a massive game personally) so I´d say there are still things for him to achieve in college.

On stats alone Oden wasn´t exceptional (still extremely good, don´t get me wrong), but his presence on the court was incredible, team mates lifted, gambled more defensively knowing he´d be there to pick up the pieces. Will follow his NBA career with interest.

To be honest I don't think Oden was the best player on his team this year, especially during the March Madness. I'll tip my hat towards Conley Jr as he kept the Buckeyes in the majority of games.

Oden just screams sooooo much potential, a franchise centre. I think he'll go for 10ppg, 10 rpg and 3 bpg in his first season.

I see him one day getting around 19-22 ppg, 11-12 rpg and hovering around the 2.5 - 3 bpg.

I wanted to see him stay in college for 4 years and then come out and average like 25 and 15 and 5bpg. Wouldn't that be something. like what shaq, wilt etc all did.

How many years did Shaq spend in college?

I would like to see these kids stay in College and get their degree! A backup in case it all goes pearshape in the NBA. Unfortunately the lure of the big money is too much. Only in a crazy mixed up world like USA would you see money win over knowledge. I wonder what degrees these basketballer players do anyway, advanced basketball theory? Oden will do well straight away, he has good size and build and will be a presence in the key.
Is the standard of play getting better at the college level, there seems to be heaps of guys getting hyped up and leaving to join the NBA in a hurry.

I believe that Oden was doing a Communications degree. Seems a lot of these kids do that one, so that they can always be commentators afterwards, if it doesn't go well in the Show.

Shaq played for 2 years

I think you`ll find that they don`t do communications degrees beacause they are thinking aboul life after basketball - see an interview with a guy like Timmy Hardaway, Karl Malone, Ron Harper (I`ll never forget an inteview with him where he was struggling to explain (in any widely spoken dialect) how difficult it was to read Hardaway`s cross-over WEARING A MICKEY MOUSE CAP - "And was just bam, bam, bam - OPURRHJBKJHTEREXXXXX!!!")... I do think that nowadays these guys get PR/PS training cause trainwrecks like those guys just don`t seem to be around anymore...

David, not sure I agree with this comment "Only in a crazy mixed up world like USA would you see money win over knowledge".

What world are you living in? Not the real one presumably.

I think you'd struggle to find a country where people would choose to finish college if the alternative is being paid $3m to play the sport they love professionally.