[Buckskin86]

Published: August 09, 2008
Oden mingles at golf event
By David Hughes
The Tribune-Star

TERRE HAUTE ? A sporting event involving Greg Oden took place Friday in Terre Haute.

No, the former Terre Haute resident and 7-foot rookie center for the NBA?s Portland Trail Blazers wasn?t dunking a basketball against some overmatched foe.

Instead, Oden mingled, signed autographs and had his photo taken with competitors in the second annual ?Travis Smith Memorial Golf Classic Hosted by Greg Oden? at the Country Club of Terre Haute.

Jimmy Smith, Travis? father and executive director of the Terre Haute Boys & Girls Club, said 73 foursomes (six more than last year) participated in the private event that raised money for the Boys & Girls Club and the Travis Smith Memorial Fund.

Travis Smith, a former standout golfer at Terre Haute South High School and a Ball State University freshman at the time, was killed in an auto accident in Muncie on Jan. 27, 2007. He was 19 and a longtime friend of Oden.

Accompanied Friday by younger brother Anthony Oden and former Indiana University guard Eric Gordon (selected No. 7 overall by the Los Angeles Clippers in the 2008 NBA draft), Oden hung out the last two days with former teammates from the Rim Rattlers AAU basketball team that he and Travis Smith played on when they were youngsters.

?I think they all had a good time,? Jimmy Smith said.

Terre Haute News, Terre Haute, Indiana- TribStar.com - Oden mingles at golf event