INDIANAPOLIS -- We caught a glimpse of the future Monday night and to paraphrase, "The future is happening now." Six-foot-11 Greg Oden, Jr. (Indianapolis Lawrence North/Indianapolis) is the best center in the nation. Right now. And he is in the 2006 class. Will Oden become the first kid to leave high school before graduating? We're kidding, but only half kidding. This kid is going to be good enough to do it if he wants to. Talented big men generally receive top ranking in a class, but in truth, are usually far from being close to the best player as they take more time to develop. Oden, however, is an exception. He has a great vertical for a big man, but more importantly, is a quick leaper. Oden has great hands, passes the ball out of the post well, and finishes strong, in addition to having a quick first step.He is not only a surefire lotto pick, but he will receive serious consideration for the top pick by the time he comes out. What does all of this really mean? Well, we are sorry to say that if you are an Indiana University fan, Oden will never play one minute of college basketball.

Also killing is 6-7 Rudy Gay (Baltimore Archbishop Spaulding). Gay might wind up being the best wing forward in the class. He shoots it and can put it on the floor. Gay is also strong when he posts up, and of course, he is a live body.

Six-foot-5 Josh Shipp (Los Angeles Fairfax) has probably benefited from the experience of having his older brother Joe around. Joe just finished a great career at Cal and Josh is a more athletic version of his brother. Shipp can swing and play the two or the three, although it looks like the two will be his best position. Shipp has been magnificent thus far, playing the passing lanes for steals, killing open jumpers, flushing a couple of dunks and playing hard at both ends of the floor. Washington which just snagged top 100 player Joel Smith (Wolfeboro Brewster Academy, N.H.), a 6-5 small forward with major bounce, has long been rumored to be the leader for Shipp.

Making a move
Players from Delaware aren't supposed to be that good -- although everybody in college basketball knows that Delaware has produced plenty of talent proportionate to their population. Six-foot-5 Marc Egerson from Wilmington Glasgow has moved himself into our top 20 small forwards and is looking very top 100. The well-built Egerson handles the ball well, goes to the basket with authority and lets the play come to him. Very efficient offensive player.

Steven Hill from Branson, Mo. has already committed to Arkansas but that doesn't make it any less exciting to see this big guy who plays with a quiet passion. The 6-11 Hill went to the rack strong making a tough catch in traffic while running the floor, gathered the bal and dunked on two players. He missed but was fouled on the play. Hill has quick feet for a big guy and is going to wind up being one of the better players in this class down the road.

Six-foot-8 Christian Marshall (Jackson Wingfield, Miss.) is a quick leaping lanky athlete, the best kind for basketball. He's raw, but he has a clue and will only get better with time.

Combo guard Trent Meacham (Champaign Centennial, Ill.) is a live-legged guard who can score. The 6-2 prospect can penetrate and shoot it. Meacham should go high major.

Paul Delaney (Decatur Chamblee, Ga.) is a strong 6-2 guard who can get in the paint and can score. Somebody in his family must have worked for UPS because he has some ups.

Wesley Jones from Shields in Beatrice, Ala. is another of those long-armed kids who plays taller than his 6-7 height. He is very active on both ends of the floor and can score from the wing or the block. Nice upside.

Magnum Rolle is from the Bahamas, although rumor has it that he will be attending high school in the Atlanta area. Very fluid, the 6-9 Rolle just lacks experience but his is a name to know.

Flatlining
We have been waiting for 6-7 Dayshawn Wright (Fowler HS/Syracuse, N.Y.) to get going, but he may only be a four-cylinder player trying to compete against 6's and 8's. Wright is not very explosive and is slow at both the beginning and end of the play.

Matt Terwillinger (Troy, Ohio), has some powerful vert and is active, but really struggled. Listed at 6-9, Terwillinger is definitely closer to 6-7 and had a lot of trouble getting boards and finishing plays. He should have a good career as a Buckeye, but it's not happening for him here.

Six-foot-1 combo guard Russell Robinson (Rice HS/Bronx, NY) looks like neither fish nor fowl. Robinson did not look comfortable at the point, and for a player known for his ability to score, really struggled to get anything going.

Nike news
Apparently 6-3 Gabriel Pruitt from Los Angeles Westchester and his club ball teammate 7-0 Robert Swift from Bakersfield Highland (Calif.) are at adidas/ABCD. Their club ball team is sponsored by Nike and so is perennial city power, Westchester.

After having a good showing on Sunday, 6-3 Marquie Cooke (Nansemond River/Suffolk, Va.) was MIA. No reason was given, just that he had left the camp.

Six-foot-9 Josh McRoberts (Carmel, Ind.) will apparently switch club teams and will be playing with Greg Oden and point guard Mike Conley, Jr. (Lawrence North/Indianapolis, Ind.). McRoberts is in the Class of 2005 and that team will be tough to beat this year -- and if they have shooters, almost impossible to beat in summer 2004.

Marquee matchup
Handsdown the heavyweight encounter of the evening was watching 6-8 Al Jefferson (Prentiss, Miss.) go up against 6-8 Brian Johnson from Bishop O'Connell in Virginia. Regarded as the premier power forward in the class of 2004, Jefferson showed his ability, but he could only produce a tie at best. Johnson was much more active and involved than Jefferson was.

Jefferson, who does not pass the ball out much once he gets it in the low post, played true to form on the first possession. He tried to dribble the ball to the middle, but could not get an angle and wound up putting up an off balance, desperation fadeaway from around 12 feet after starting with it on the block. It was all air. Johnson was called for an imaginary foul on the play, since he "whiffed" in trying for the shot block. Not an impressive start for such a physical specimen as Jefferson. Jefferson's team tried to go to him on the next two possessions but Johnson stole it the first time and knocked it away the next time down the floor as Jefferson didn't do a good job of sealing off.

Johnson's first touch was from an inbounds play. He power dribbled into the paint from the right wing near the elbow and under tough pressure from Jefferson went up and drained a 12-foot jumper over him. Johnson also drew a couple of fouls but as the game wore on Jefferson started to play better, rebounding the ball a little bit and also stepping out and hitting a nice looking shot.

Benezra-Mayemura Scorecard
On performance, a wash. But Jefferson is the better player right now. Johnson plays harder, but is less polished and developed physically.

David Benezra and Mark Mayemura of Recruiting USA cover the national college basketball recruiting scene. E-mail at: hoopsusa@mindspring.com or call 818-363-1978.