C Greg Oden (Portland Trailblazers)

[BuckeyeTillIDie]

not like a serious cry, just saying because he's gone

[Flocka]

Originally Posted by BuckeyeTillIDie

not like a serious cry, just saying because he's gone

I'm going to be honest I read what I wrote this morning, and don't really get what I meant. lol

[hoopsfan]

Originally Posted by BuckeyeTillIDie

not like a serious cry, just saying because he's gone

Well I had a very serious cry -- that is the first time Greg has opened up publicly about the impact my nephew's death had on him -- very tough for us to watch, but I can tell you it is all from his heart.

[BuckeyeMike80]

Dear Greg: Don't change who you are

By LZ Granderson
Page 2

I thought Greg Oden was pulling my leg.

Sure, "Switch" was hot for a minute but who actually knows every song by Will Smith? Least of all the guy who is supposed to be the NBA's next great big man? But Oden didn't blink when I asked him to give me a couple of bars of "Summertime," a classic, but Oden was what, 2 years old when it came out?

• "Here it is, the groove slightly transformed
  Just a bit of a break from the norm ..."

"I don't want to go no further, you know, make him mad, copyright his stuff ..." Oden says with a smile.


Photo courtesy of Travis Smith family
Travis Smith, Oden's best friend, was killed in automobile accident in January.


His admiration of Smith doesn't end there. Not only does Oden own every CD but he also has all of Will Smith's movies and has seen every episode of "The Fresh Prince of Bel Air."
He also watches way too much CBS for a 19-year-old.

To look at Greg Oden -- his towering frame, dark skin, grizzly face -- he fits the stereotypical image of one not to mess with.

But to know Greg Oden, how could you not?

The future lottery pick has this refreshing affinity for some of the corniest things middle America has to offer. There's nothing edgy or hardcore about Will Smith and there isn't anything edgy or hardcore about his biggest fan -- pun intended.

"I wanted to be a dentist when I was younger," Oden says, ironic, considering he recently had 11 cavities filled because of his sweet tooth. "But then I started to get big and realized that my hands were so big, I'd kind of scare the little kids away.

"I just realized that basketball and going to the NBA was a possibility and that's something that I want to use to better my family and possibly help the world if I can."

You want to help the world, Greg?
Don't change.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2...t&lid=tab1pos2

[OSU_Buckguy]

articles like this make his departure all that much more bittersweet.

[OmahaBeef]

Originally Posted by OSU_Buckguy

articles like this make his departure all that much more bittersweet.

Better bittersweet than just bitter . At first I was pretty frustrated that Greg left, but I enjoy reading stories like this that deal with what athletes are like people. Articles like this about Greg help me remember that he is just a 19 year old kid, who has his own future to think of. I really hope he has a great career in the NBA (and then maybe I'll have a reason to watch the NBA before the month of May).

[buckeyefool]

The interview was great. And the last line in the interview he said he plans on coming back to get his degree that way he can truely be a buckeye. Gotta love something like that.

[BuckeyeTillIDie]

I need to find that interview somewhere, I missed it this morning

Maybe they'll have it on espn.com or something.

I did read that article, and I agree, don't change Greg!

[tibor75]

Originally Posted by buckeyefool

The interview was great. And the last line in the interview he said he plans on coming back to get his degree that way he can truely be a buckeye. Gotta love something like that.

Yes, it was nice, but we hear athletes all the time say that. Call me cynical, but I'll "love it" when I see it.

[hutch]

$

INDIANAPOLIS -- Greg Oden's been called many things: the next Tim Duncan, a future Hall of Famer, a dead ringer for Grandpa LeBron.
But "exciting" and "explosive" aren't usually the first words that come to mind. When we're talking about this year's draft, those adjectives are more commonly applied to Oden's primary competition for the No. 1 pick in the draft -- Texas forward Kevin Durant.


http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/draft...raftWatch-Oden


EDIT: This is my first attempt at pasting a 'pay' story, if I did anything wrong, just change it or let me know...

[osugrad21]

Link

BULLS HOPE KNICK PICK A LUCKY ODEN


By MARC BERMAN



May 22, 2007 -- The Knicks will hope to avert disaster tonight when another Chicago festival takes place in Secaucus.
The last remnant of the blockbuster trade that brought Eddy Curry to New York will take shape at 8:30 p.m. (ESPN) when the Bulls attempt to hit the jackpot in the NBA Draft lottery, with 7-foot-1 Ohio State center Greg Oden the grand prize.

Cont...

[osugrad21]

Link


Oden brings Bucks needed toughness
He's a 19-year-old who has the grizzled-look of a 38-year-old. But there's no question that if somehow the basketball gods look down favorably on the Milwaukee Bucks and they come away with the No. 1 overall pick in June's NBA Draft, that Ohio State's Greg Oden should be the pick.

Cont...

[osugrad21]

Link

Oden Could Have A Team Living Large

May 22, 2007

For those who are going back and forth on what they would do in next month's NBA draft, keep in mind that you would have to go back to the 1997-98 season to find an NBA champion that didn't have a dominant center. Winning championships is what it's all about, right?

If that's what you believe, then the choice for No.1 isn't difficult - Ohio State 7-footer Greg Oden.

Cont...

[hutch]

According to this article in the Indy Star, Greg has withdrawn from classes.

Anybody know how this will impact our APR? I know we were supposedly close to losing a scholarship. Does this mean that one of our 4 or 5 stars from 08 has to go bye bye?


http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dl...87/1247/SPORTS

[Napoleonbuck]

Well we just had two seniors graduate, and next year we'll have three, and Conley and Cook are staying in classes and appear to be leaving in good academic standing, so I think we should be fine. Last year we had four seniors graduate as well. I don't know the specific formula, but logic suggests our APR should at least be passable.