What's Next for Greg Oden and Ohio State?
ATLANTA _ Ohio State still might be feeling the teeth marks of Monday night's 84-75 loss to the Florida Gators.
But falling in the national title game in the Georgia Dome might help persuade 7-foot freshman center Greg Oden to spend another year in Columbus.
"He wanted to put this on his resume, to win the national championship, and we fell short," said Mike Conley Jr., Oden's teammate since the sixth grade. "This may be a key factor in making him come back."
Oden, the likely No. 1 overall pick in the NBA Draft on June 28, has until April 29 to announce whether he's making himself available. He then would have until June 18 to withdraw his name, provided he hasn't signed with an agent. The first pick in the NBA Draft is guaranteed $10 million for two years.
Against Florida, Oden turned in his best performance of the season with 25 points, 12 rebounds and four blocked shots in 38 minutes. After the game, he declined to answer any questions that included "next year" in them, usually responding, "Next question."
Florida's powerhouse trio of juniors Al Horford, Corey Brewer and Joakim Noah are headed to the pros. Oden could look at the five-man recruiting class headed to OSU and dream big again. The class includes major front-line help in 7-foot-1 Kosta Koufos of GlenOak. The state's all-time career scoring leader, 6-foot-7 Jon Diebler of Upper Sandusky, could help make up for the loss of 3-point shooters Ivan Harris and Ron Lewis.
In the NCAA Tournament, Oden showed he has miles to go as a dominant offensive force. He played much of the season one-handed after undergoing right wrist surgery in June. OSU coach Thad Matta admitted the Buckeyes tried to hide just how limited Oden was when he began playing Dec. 2.
In a February interview on ESPN, Oden said of the NBA: "I want to make it there and I want to be an impact player when I get there."
On Sunday, Oden said he believes he's still maturing physically.
"I saw a picture of Shaq when he was in high school and when he was a freshman (at LSU) and he wasn't built as he is now," Oden said. "I would love to mature and be as big as him. With my wrist, I haven't had a chance to lift (weights) all year as much as I should. I hope my body will get bigger."
Oden could also want another year with Conley, the 6-1 freshman guard who emerged as the Buckeyes' leader during the NCAA Tournament. On Monday, Conley said, "I'm 100 percent sure I'll be back," and junior guard Jamar Butler said, "I'm not going to let him go."
"The big guy, I'll try to work on that. That will be tough," Butler said. "Greg's going to do what's best for him and his family. We showed we could play without Greg this year."
Daequan Cook, a 6-foot-5 freshman guard, had talked of going for the draft, but his stock has fallen. His last game of 20-plus points came against Coppin State, the prelude to the Big Ten opener, and he scored in double figures only seven times in the last 26 games of the season. In the Final Four, he played 16 minutes and totaled four points.
Daequan Cook said he wanted to discuss the future with Oden and Conley.
"It depends on how we feel after we end the season. We'll all sit down and talk about it like we always do," Daequan Cook said. "We usually all make the same decision. It would be very tough for some of us to come back.
"It's really not about the family or friends. It's more about the decision we want to make. Some of us are going to be here next year."
Florida's Horford, Joakim Noah and Brewer decided together they would return because they wanted to win back-to-back national titles. That could influence the Buckeyes, Daequan Cook said.
"That would be the main reason we would come back. We'd feel we had something to prove," he said. "We would like to see the outcome, the progression of us playing together two years."
During the Final Four, Oden said his favorite player was the Orlando Magic's Dwight Howard, who jumped to the NBA from high school. Asked whether college would have benefited Howard, Oden said, "Does it matter? He's an NBA All-Star in three years. That's one of the greatest individual accomplishments you can get."
Lewis commended the Florida players for deciding to return and offered some advice to his teammates.
"You never get this kind of feeling back," he said. "When you step out of college, you have to start your life and finances and all type of other stuff you have to worry about. In college, you just have to be a student and have fun with it."
Oden said he appreciated what Joakim Noah, Brewer and Horford did.
"Yeah, just knowing you have guys who are willing to stay for the goodness of the school and for their education rather than just going and getting the quick bucks they know they can make," he said.
Joakim Noah said if he could offer any advice to Oden it would be: "Just follow your heart."
"Whatever makes you happy," Joakim Noah said. "(It) might be taking care of your family financially. It might be buying a big watch, if that's what rocks your boat. People are going to have their opinion. It's not about those people; it's about what's the best decision for you."
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