ABJ
Former Buckeye Oden is out, but not down Injured Blazers center says winning lifts spirits
By Brian Windhorst
Beacon Journal sportswriter
Published on Thursday, Jan 31, 2008
PORTLAND, ORE.: It's hard to recognize Greg Oden these days, other than that he is almost always the biggest man in the room.
He's growing out his hair, and he has added more than 40 pounds to his frame since he last was seen on a basketball court. But for now, he is a forgotten phenom both in Portland, where the Trail Blazers are thriving even without their No. 1 overall pick, and across the NBA landscape.
Left to work on short shots without jumping and free throws while his teammates practice, he even looks the part of being the odd man out. All due to the most serious of knee surgeries, the microfracture procedure he had performed on his right knee in September that knocked him out for the season.
''I want to be out there so bad. When they are winning they are all happy and I want to be a part of that happiness,'' Oden said. ''But them being that way lightens everything up, including me.''
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