Cleveland State coach Gary Waters recruited Los Angeles Lakers big man Andrew Bynum when he was at Rutgers.

"Greg Oden is light years ahead of Andrew Bynum," said Waters, whose team came up short against Oden and the Ohio State Buckeyes on Saturday. "He's tougher, stronger and his ability to jump and block shots is better."

"He's such a presence," added Valparaiso coach Homer Drew, who had the distinction of being the first coach to try and stop the 7-foot, 270-pound freshman. "You just don't get any shots in the lane."

Waters even went as far to compare him to one of the greatest defensive big men in college basketball history.

"He's the best presence since Patrick Ewing," Waters said. "But he's different than Patrick because he'll dunk everything."

Oden, the sure-fire No. 1 pick in next June's NBA Draft, returned about a month ahead of schedule from major surgery on his right wrist back in June. His addition to an already talented Ohio State club has made the Buckeyes one of a handful of teams who have the inside track to the national title this year.

"They win that game if he plays," Waters said of the Buckeyes loss to North Carolina in Chapel Hill.

"He's just that good," added Drew.

The scary part is that Oden still isn't able to use his right hand offensively. He can rebound with two hands and block shots, but he is still shooting free throws lefty and can't really utilize any low-post moves due to the injury.

The facet of Oden's game that impressed both Waters and Drew the most was how hard the big man plays on both ends of the court.

"That's why they have to give him a rest," Waters said. "Not to protect him, but because he plays both ends of the floor with the same intensity. That's rare, especially with big guys. Most of them tend to stand and wait."

"He's as strong as Ewing was," added Waters. "He wedges his post before it happens. I don't know who taught him, but it's unbelievable. He has psychologically prepared himself for the next play even when it's two plays away. I didn't expect that."

Oden is so strong and powerful that once he gets the ball in the post, no one - not even Tyler Hansbrough - is going to stop him.

"It's over," Waters said. "And his hands are so good. If you try and foul him, it's a three-point play because he's so strong. The Big Ten doesn't realize what they are getting into having to face him."

Man of Steele

Ron Steele isn't getting any better.

The Alabama junior point guard looked like a shell of himself in the the Crimson Tide's loss to Notre Dame earlier in the week. He was 4-of-13 from the field, committed an uncharacteristic four turnovers and had major difficulty stopping.

It's all the result of a bruise under his kneecap suffered in an exhibition against South Alabama about six weeks ago.

"Ron couldn't take the game over against Notre Dame," Gottfried said. "We're hoping he's good to go and is 100 percent by the first of the year."

Steele has had a pair of MRI's and Dr. James Andrews, the renowned knee specialist who happens to reside around the corner from the university, said that the best thing is to let Steele play through the injury.

Steele has sat out three of the team's last five games.

"Dr. Andrews said that sitting him out would be counter-productive," Gottfried said. "It would tighten it up. I'm listening to Jim Andrews. He's the top dog. It's not like I'm listening to some country bumpkin."