To know list: 7 items to ponder while the Red Sox teach us how to 'cowboy down'.(Know It All)

(1) REMEMBER THE NAME

The buzz is starting: Greg Oden has all the right stuff

The most gifted basketball player who won't be paid to play next season will not suit up for Duke, Kentucky, Michigan State or Connecticut. He won't be preparing for his high school graduation. He won't enter the NBA draft. Greg Oden still is two months from starting his junior year at Lawrence North High School in Indiana.

Oden, 16, is 7-0, 240 pounds. This is what I wrote about him last summer: "Oden is the most polished prep 7-footer since--no kidding--Lew Alcindor." Since then, he has improved.

The NCAA's summer evaluation period sent coaches and scouts from college and NBA teams on the road earlier this week to elite talent camps sponsored by Nike, Adidas and Reebok. Wherever Oden plays, he'll be the best player in the gym, and the buzz about him is about to get very loud.

He was the MVP of the Indiana state tournament, where Lawrence North won the Class 4A tide. He was MVP of the Bob Gibbons Tournament of Champions during Memorial Day weekend, when his Spiece Indy Heat team claimed the title. He was named the most outstanding prospect at the NBA Players Association Camp in June. Oden's acclaim has been earned, not manufactured.

Recruiting analyst Dave Telep says Oden is "a go-to move away from being completely dominant." Oden still wonders whether he's any good. He is humble and committed to improving.