Oden-Durant debate on tap at draft camp

Most NBA executives think the Ohio State center should go No. 1.

THE ORLANDO SENTINEL

ORLANDO, Fla. — On one hand, there’s Ohio State’s Greg Oden, the best big man to block and dunk his way through a college basketball season in 15 years.

“He’s a monster,” ex-Florida guard Taurean Green said Tuesday.

On the other, there’s Texas’ Kevin Durant, a versatile superstar whose 2006-07 statistics trumped those of any other major-college basketball player.

“He’s amazing,” Purdue Coach Matt Painter said.

Basketball’s Ginger and Mary Ann don’t arrive here until today when they’ll be measured, take a physical and spend an hour bantering with the media. But their absence at this year’s NBA Predraft Camp hasn’t squelched talk of which player will be drafted first June 28 in New York City.

Last week, the Portland Trail Blazers and general manager Kevin Pritchard received the right lottery combination — a real-life Wonka ticket — that carried the precious first pick. He and his staff now have 29 days to decide which player to take and which to leave for the SuperSonics, who draft No. 2.

Orlando Magic senior vice president Pat Williams knows just what Pritchard is feeling. In 1992 and 1993, he led the Magic’s draft team when it held the No. 1 selection. The team chose Shaquille O’Neal over Alonzo Mourning the first year and grabbed Chris Webber the next before dealing him for Penny Hardaway.

Good choice

“It’s like: Do I want a Maine lobster for dinner or the heart of the fillet?” Williams said. “Kevin will have a very pleasant spring and a pleasant month.”

An informal poll at the predraft camp, which began Tuesday evening in the Milk House at Disney’s Wide World of Sports, showed that Kevin probably shouldn’t pick Kevin. By about a 2-to-1 margin, players and team executives not from Portland said they would opt for Oden.

Each player, though, has shown the talent and charisma to rejuvenate a franchise in every way. Durant’s offensive skills made him the darling of college basketball for much of the spring and carried Texas back near the penthouse of the sport. Oden, who missed the Buckeyes’ first seven games with a right wrist injury, used his size to change games just by taking the court.

“They’re both incredible players,” Williams said.

And last college basketball season they did incredible things. Oden’s team captured the regular season and Big Ten Tournament championships, blew through the NCAA Tournament’s South Region and reached the national title game before falling to Florida. Durant reaped the major individual honors, snagging the Naismith and Wooden Awards as America’s top collegiate player.