INDIANAPOLIS - Ohio State men's basketball coach Thad Matta has hit the jackpot.
7-foot, 240-pound center Greg Oden of Lawrence North High School of Indianapolis and his teammate, 6-foot-1-inch point guard Mike Conley, Jr. have given their verbal commitment to play for Matta's Buckeyes in 2006.
The duo join the two highest-rated players in Ohio - guards Daequan Cook of Dayton and David Lighty of Cleveland - in committing, giving the Buckeyes what many recruiting experts say are four of the top 20 recruits in the nation.
This year, Oden was named player of the year by Gatorade and co-player of the year by Parade Magazine. He was widely projected to be the first pick in next year's NBA draft, but that changed with the league's new 19-year-old age limit.
"I feel that if a player is good enough, he should have a chance to go," Oden said. "But it didn't really affect my decision because I always knew I wanted to go to college."
Oden and Conley have known each other since they were in the sixth grade. They have led Lawrence North to a record of 74-7, including 28-0 at home, and have captured two state championships.
"We know how to get each other up and down," Conley said. "I'll be looking at him the whole time even when he's got three people on him. The one second he gets open, I get (the ball) down for him."
In just 3 years at Lawrence North, Oden and Conley already own numerous school records. Oden is the school's all-time leading scorer with 1152 points, and once had 18 blocked shots in one game. Conley is first in career steals with 198 and needs 4 more assists to break that record.
Lawrence North head coach Jack Keefer had nothing but praise for his seniors-to-be.
"They're nice young men," he said. "They like to win, they lead people well, and they take care of each other. That's why they're going together: because they're a good combination of inside-outside."
Keefer also said Oden may be the best player ever to come out of the state of Indiana.
Spring Break
