KEY POINTS:
NEW YORK - Greg Oden, a 2.13m centre from Ohio State, was made the first overall pick of the 2007 National Basketball Association Draft today by the Portland Trail Blazers.
Oden, the Big 10 Defensive Player of the Year for the NCAA Tournament runner-up Buckeyes, led the team in scoring (15.7 points per game), rebounding (9.6 per game) and blocked shots.
"I think the next level is going to be really difficult, but I think as long as I improve and just keep working hard, I can play pretty well," Oden, who starred as a freshman despite being hampered by a broken right wrist, said.
Following Oden, as expected, was high-scoring forward Kevin Durant of Texas, who went to the Seattle SuperSonics with the second pick of the draft.
The 2.06m Durant earned national Player of the Year honours after setting Big 12 scoring records as a freshman but does not see himself as a saviour of the Seattle franchise.
"When you play since you were eight or nine years old, you know the game is not a one-man sport. I'm far from being a saviour. I'm just trying to contribute to the team as much as I can," he said.
The Atlanta Hawks made Al Horford, a forward for the twice national collegiate champions Florida, the third choice.
Michael Conley Jr., the point guard from Ohio State, was made the fourth pick of the draft by the Memphis Grizzlies.
Conley is Oden's boyhood friend and the son of the former world record holder in the triple jump, Michael Conley, Sr.
The Boston Celtics followed by taking Georgetown forward Jeff Green, who NBA insiders reported was being sent to the Seattle SuperSonics along with guard Delonte West and forward Wally Szczerbiak in exchange for shooting guard Ray Allen.
China's athletic power forward Yi Jianlian was taken with the sixth pick by the Milwaukee Bucks, who the lanky Yi had declined to work out for in hopes of discouraging them from selecting him.
"I think I'm ready," said Yi, who averaged 24.9 points in the Cuhina Basketball Association.
"I played in Olympics, I played in world championships. I think I can play in the NBA."
Two other members of the twice champion Florida Gators team joined Horford among the top 10 players selected.
Forward Corey Brewer went to the Minnesota Timberwolves with the seventh pick, and center/forward Joakim Noah, the son of former tennis star Yannick Noah, was taken by the Chicago Bulls with the ninth pick.
The NBA Draft is the primary way talent comes into the NBA with 30 players taken in each of the two rounds conducted at Madison Square Garden.
- REUTERS
