Darryn Peterson

[BCSooners]

He's very close. Coming out of HS I would have put him on the list. Same for Wiggins. But after their freshman seasons, I just wasn't quite there on them. As Boulder said, I actually felt Durant was better. And to be truly generational, I don't think there should be any question who is the #1 pick. Much like Lebron, Wemby, and Flagg. They had the top pick locked up a year in advance and it never wavered.

I might be remembering wrong but I’m pretty sure analysts were saying every team would’ve drafted Oden #1. He was dominant as a freshman & was pretty dominant in the NBA the few weeks of his career he was healthy. I thought the consensus was Oden #1, Durant #2, then the actual draft begins.

 

[BoulderSooner]

I might be remembering wrong but I’m pretty sure analysts were saying every team would’ve drafted Oden #1. He was dominant as a freshman & was pretty dominant in the NBA the few weeks of his career he was healthy. I thought the consensus was Oden #1, Durant #2, then the actual draft begins.

it was the consensus .. but it was not unanimous

 

[Sooner04]

I've been a Sonics fan since I was a little kid. When the Blazers drafted Oden I danced across the room. That dude looked to be 45 in driver's ed.
Of course I didn't realize just how nefarious the dealings had become behind closed doors. A little part of me dies every time my wife goes to Starbucks.

 

[Eielson]

I might be remembering wrong but I’m pretty sure analysts were saying every team would’ve drafted Oden #1. He was dominant as a freshman & was pretty dominant in the NBA the few weeks of his career he was healthy. I thought the consensus was Oden #1, Durant #2, then the actual draft begins.

In that era, they were still obsessed with 7 footers, so it would have been hard to pick anybody else. I was definitely in the minority. Nowadays I don't think there would have been anybody who would have passed on Durant.

 

[BCSooners]

In that era, they were still obsessed with 7 footers, so it would have been hard to pick anybody else. I was definitely in the minority. Nowadays I don't think there would have been anybody who would have passed on Durant.

Oh definitely not now. Oden might’ve fell out of the lottery in today’s game.

 

[stormspencer]

I readily admit that I don't know the intricacies of scouting for NBA talent. There are red flags galore surrounding Peterson if you care to look. I feel like there are 2-3 guards like him coming out every year. It's what's the between the ears that separates the dudes at that level.

On the other hand, I was inside the Maravich Center when the top-ranked Sooners traveled to Baton Rouge in 2016. Ben Simmons was a man among boys. I thought I was watching a transcendent player. We were the #1 team in the country, had been solidly in the top 5 for months, and he was light years ahead of every player we had, including the eventual Wooden Award winner who was wearing crimson and cream (no anthracite in sight). The dude drove baseline right in front of me, continued under the basket, and then threw down a dunk from underneath while never bothering to turn his body toward the hoop. Just a single fluid motion right back over his head. Words do not do it justice. Again.....the space between the ears told the tale.

That was a great game and Simmons was a beast. The only other thing I remember about that LSU team was the Bruce Hornsby's (and the Range) son was a guard on that team.

 

[BoulderSooner]

Oh definitely not now. Oden might’ve fell out of the lottery in today’s game.

no he would not have he was great

 

[BCSooners]

no he would not have he was great

Demarcus Cousins became useless over night. The low post center stock has plummeted. I was also being a little sarcastic, but he definitely would have fallen quite a few picks.

 

[BCSooners]

it was the consensus .. but it was not unanimous

What GM at the time said he would pick Durant?

 

[BCSooners]

at least a 3rd of the league would have taken KD 1st .. in that draft

Not true at all.

 

[WaymanFan]

I first started following the NBA in the early 1970s. At that time, there was never an NBA Championship team winner who did not have a dominant center. Through my childhood years and into adulthood, pretty much EVERY NBA Champion had a "distinguished" if not Hall-of-Fame center. Oddly enough, the only exception was the 1975 Golden State Warriors who started former Sooner Clifford Ray. Now Ray was a dominant defensive player with an incredibly high basketball IQ. He was just limited offensively (Rick Barry made up for the scoring part). No other team until the 1991 Chicago Bulls had a starting center who wasn't an above-average scorer. That's a LOT OF YEARS. As such, no team was passing on a potential franchise center. Portland chose a center (Sam Bowie) who missed TWO college seasons because of injuries as opposed to some guy named Michael Jordan. As for Oden, there were some rumblings that KD was the safer pick...but there was no suspense who was going to be picked #1.

I'm not so sure it's really any different today. The difference is, there just aren't many dominant centers. Jokic is one, and he's arguably the best player in the League. Embiid is one, when healthy is also one of the best players in the League. I have no doubt that if a great center prospect enters the League, he'll go #1 overall. Oden and Bowie were simply "damaged goods".