Strengths: One of those dominant centers that surfaces in the high school ranks every 10 or so years Has the size and NBA ready body that few his age possess Great athlete who runs the court with ease and excellent leaping ability Gets great position in the post and most importantly gets his body wide to give guards a good target to pass into Wherever the ball goes, Oden works the lane constantly working to get open Does a great job of keeping the ball high away from opposing guards Finishes well around the lane with authority via dunk, lay-up or put back Defensively he is a top notch shot blocker Possesses the lateral quickness to be an excellent help defender Owns pro timing as he doesnt bite on pump fakes easily Plays the game with a calm and mature demeanor Hands have a rare quality in that they are both soft and strong Rarely do passes get bobbled nor do balls get stripped from his hands Excellent rebounder who is not only a good rebounder in his area but is also terrific out of position Post game has already shown good improvement since high school Potentially Oden has few peers and has yet to scratch the surface of his potential Underrated passer who has shown decent court vision Does a great job of recognizing double teams and reacting to them Great character guy. Despite all the publicity Oden has received from an early age, he has remained humble and hungry to improve as a player

Weaknesses: Offensively Oden isnt very polished with his back to the basket Nor does he possess a big assortment of moves Needs to expand his shooting range, as of right now Oden is very uncomfortable facing the basket Has struggled when playing against strong aggressive players Although this is to be expected when you consider his age Still learning what he's capable of, especially against big and strong opponents, he can go through periods when he doesnt dominate and often he will defer to his teammates Post footwork could stand to refinement From a fundamental stand point, he is still behind in development. As of right now he is often relying on pure athleticism and size Doesnt always finish after contact Can get into foul trouble when faced with physically aggressive players

Strenths: Incredibly fluid athlete for a 7 footer Tremendous speed in the open court A center with his agility and talent comes along roughly every 8-10 years Extremely quick and explosive Enormous potential His game has improved significantly from his sophomore to junior seasons Starting to understand how to use his body and how dominant he can be Big defensive presence, and a terrific shot blocker with great length, timing and instincts Excellent rebounder Soft touch around the basket Has developed a decent turnaround hook with his right hand Very good passer with nice court vision (averaged 3.7 assists per game as a junior) Quality kid with a great attitude Very coachable, listens and wants to improve Team player with a winners mentality Improving on a daily basis Decent free throw shooter at 64% but needs to and should improve upon it (improved considerably from 51% as a sophomore)

Weaknesses: Soft spoken. Very humble personality, which is a positive and a negative in that some would like to see him develop more of a swagger of confidence, but Tim Duncan and David Robinson were/are both silent (humble) assassins Needs to add more nastiness on the floor to dominate Still raw in terms of post moves, they are developing, but still have a ways to go He is so dominant on the high school level he hasn't needed to develop any range or post skills Doesn't have the ability to create offense for himself as he can overwhelm anyone he faces with his size and athleticism Still scores mostly on ally oops and put backs Has nice touch, but needs to develop a consistent mid range shot ( la David Robinson) Strength wont be an issue for him ultimately, but right now he needs to add muscle to his upper body and legs Almost too unselfish

Outlook: The top candidate for the number 1 pick in the 2007 draft, one year removed from high school A year of college should give him a great stepping stone for the NBA.