Draft Notes (both by Matthew Mauer):
LeBron James
Strengths: Smooth player who makes things look effortless no matter how difficult ... Shows unbelievable ability when it comes to passing the ball. Simply has that uncanny court vision and knack for seeing plays develop before they occur ... Possesses very good motion on his long range jumper as he does an excellent job of keeping his body square and his shooting with his elbow tucked in ... Owns a quick first step and solid ball handling ability to get past most defenders ... When penetrating to the basket, he shows tremendous body control as he can adjust his shot according to the defense ... Shows remarkable shot selection as he doesn't force too many shots ... Solid rebounder who understands how to position himself well under the boards to gain easy rebounding opportunities ... Shows great poise and leadership on the court ... Has a very good body, although not NBA ready. James definitely can put on 10-15 more pounds quite comfortably ... Excellent finisher when running the break where he can take opponents off the dribble and rise up for the quick dunk ... Defensively he shows solid anticipation skills when playing the passing lanes ... Plays the baseline very well where he is often the recipient of a quick pass for the alley-oop dunk ...
Weakness: At this point in his career his defense isn't the best but he does have the physical tools to be an outstanding defender ... Has a bad habit of overplaying his man for the quick steal which can leave his player open for the easy shot ... Struggles on the free throw line, however getting a free throw routine and experience would be of great benefit to him, plus establishing a sharper mental focus ... His ball handling ability is very good at the high school level, however he still needs work on maintaining better ball protection and has a tendency to get careless ... Perimeter shooting from mid-range isn't as developed as his long-range shooting ... Doesn't exploit his body size enough as his post-up game offensively remains unutilized ... Sometimes he can be a little too flashy at times as he gets caught up in the moment ... His shooting off the dribble leaves a little to be desired from 18 feet out ... Some have questioned if he has bought into all the hype about himself but to his credit it takes a certain level of brashness to handle it all ... Not a blindingly quick player so lateral quickness on defense should be worked on ...
Greg Oden:
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 doesn’t 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 isn’t 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 doesn’t 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 … Doesn’t always finish after contact … Can get into foul trouble when faced with physically aggressive players …
We're talking almost Tim Duncan-esque by his 3rd year. 
But in his first season he averaged 10.2 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 3.6 bpg, 49%FG and 59%FT.
