This is completely off topic. If you only like spending quality 'net time reading about the Jahawks stop reading.....NOW!
Despite having no association with Do-Rant or Oden or the Jailblazers (is it still sociallly acceptable to call them that without Rasheed Wallace?) or the soon-to-be Oklahoma City SuperSonics (does anyone actually know if they are going to move or not?), I feel the need to give my opinion on the whole NBA Draft shindig. I'm not an NBA Draft expert. Not even close. But I did watch Do-Rant and Oden play about 10 games each last season. So this is my opinion on who the Jailblazers should take, public opinion be damned.
Like I said, I have seen each player roughly the same amount. And each and every time I saw Oden play, I came away more and more unimpressed. Now, I want to say that I hate Ohio State with a major passion and he started out with little-to-no rope because of his decision to be a Buckeye. Add to the fact ESPN treated him like he was the next coming of Jesus and I was immediately left with a bad taste in my mouth. The words "Greg Oden" will never be good words for me to hear, they only remind me of the "stars only" mentality the Worldwide Leader chooses to use in regards to content. Still, that is for another day. For now we are talking about the overrated Oden. First off, he never dominated a game. Sure, he had fun against Penn State but the few guys that the Nittany Lions actually sent onto the court were more perimeter-minded players anyways. They didn't put a single "big" to battle down low with Oden, so yea I sure hope he dominated them. Still, even when he put up great numbers you never got the feeling that he was truly the deciding factor. At least I didn't.
On the other hand you have Kevin Do-Rant, the best basketball player in college last year. Hands down. You can look at size all you want, it was clear throughout all of last season that Do-Rant is the better basektball player. Pure and simple. I watched Do-Rant blow us up in Allen Fieldhouse in what might be the single greatest performance I have ever seen. Ever. He would walk down, hit 25 footers with Julian Wright's hand in his face. He would then do the little slide backwards, every time with a smile on his face. And as talented a kid as Do-Rant is, that smile tells you everything about him. Who else would smile after showing up a defense? I am jumping the gun, but the similarities are there. He can hit any shot anywhere on the court, inside, outside, in-between. Everything seemed to go down. Even as a Kansas fan, I continually found myself laughing out loud at his performance.
Back to the smile. Oden, even when he was having a great night, always seemed to take everything too seriously. Basketball is a game, and while it is never good for you to take things too light-heartedly, Oden takes it too seriously. I hate to say this, but he seems to almost be too mature. Do-Rant has tremendously amazing character, he is down-to-earth and all that jazz. Still, once he sets foot on the court he is a different person. I know I am repeating myself, this wasn't exactly one of my more well-constructed posts and I apologize, but Do-Rant's persona on the court is perfect for the NBA game. He isn't selfish by any means, but wants the ball when the game is on the line because of his belief in himself. Both of those things are vitally important in the NBA dog-eat-dog world of egos. You have to stick up for yourself if you ever want to get your hands on the rock, but if you are too in love with yourself scoring then you will see the ball even less.
You can go the safe pick and draft for size all day long. It will be hard for anyone to criticize you right away, the MSM are chock full of traditionalists who love size. No one was made at Portland (initially) when the passed on MJ for Sam Bowie. And while the Odenizer won't be a bust like Bowie, Do-Rant could be the next MJ. Portland already said no to a special player once in favor of size, can they see the light and pick the more talented basketball player this time around.
Again, sorry for the redundantly repititiveness of this post. It was just something I threw up here based on all of the stuff I have read across the internet and wanted to unleash my opinion.