C Greg Oden (Portland Trailblazers)

[SanAntonioBuck]

[Mr. Clutch]

Originally Posted by SanAntonioBuck

Man, he looks like he could be those girls' father, when in relality they're probably around the same age.

[OHSportsFan9]

Originally Posted by Mr. Clutch

Man, he looks like he could be those girls' father, when in relality they're probably around the same age.

I would love for those girls to call me "daddy"

[Buckskin86]

Bulkier Oden puts in the work
On the NBA
By kerry eggers

The Portland Tribune, Dec 18, 2007

This and that about the NBA?s hottest team this side of Boston:

? Remember Greg Oden? The guy?s not just sitting around during his redshirt season. More than three months out from his Sept. 13 microfracture knee surgery, the 7-foot center says his weight is up to 290 ? about 40 pounds more than he carried when he arrived in Portland last summer.

But don?t despair. It?s all good, says Bobby Medina, the Trail Blazers? savvy strength and conditioning coach, who has overseen Oden?s rehabilitation work. Medina, in his 11th year in Portland after five years with Seattle, says Oden reminds him of a young Shawn Kemp or Jermaine O?Neal in terms of work ethic.

?Greg?s a monster in the weight room,? Medina says. ?I?m not at all worried about his (weight). Once he gets into his cardio, running up and down, he?ll be fine ? he?s an active guy.

?Right now is a tough time, because all he can do is ride a bike and do a little work in the water. But when he gets to the point where he can run, he?ll lose some weight and keep all the muscle and his tone.

?We don?t want him to be a football player. We want him to keep his athleticism, but he needs to be strong at that position.?

Oden gets that sheepish grin when asked how he?s doing.

?Right now, I?m just enjoying being big,? he says. (Don?t you just love this guy?)

?I?m the strongest I?ve ever been,? he adds. ?I hope I can stay that way, but that I?ll be able to get my weight down after I?m able to start running again. Jay (Jensen, the Blazer trainer) says I can do that at four months, so I?m a few weeks away.?

Bulkier Oden puts in the work

[ShakerBuck]

from article above ".....says Oden reminds him of a young Shawn Kemp"

maybe he could have thought of a better example for comparison.

[mross34]

ESPN Page 2 - Simmons: True value

From Bill Simmons' 07-08 NBA players with the most trade value.

Oden can be found in Group F: "Pretty Much Untouchable"

24. Greg Oden
His ceiling: Patrick Ewing, only if Ewing had major wrist surgery and microfracture knee surgery before even playing an NBA game.

Simmons and his buddy House had much more flattering things to say about Oden in the accompanying podcast.

[Buckskin86]

Posted on Sun, Dec. 23, 2007


THE BUZZ Blazers won't rush rehabbing Oden back

Asked about Greg Oden's rehab, Blazers general manager Kevin Pritchard wanted to make things clear.
"He's so far ahead of what we expected it's not even funny," Pritchard said by phone Thursday. "Having said that, he will not. Come. Back. This. Year."

Oden's absence after off-season microfracture surgery is the only down note so far for Portland, which extended its winning streak to 10 games Friday night, looking for all the world like the league's next great young team.

After the Blazers announced in September that Oden would miss the entire season, the expectations that came with getting Oden with the first pick overall in last summer's draft subsided. And things looked even bleaker after second-year forward LaMarcus Aldridge missed several games early in the season with plantar fascitis.

THE BUZZ Blazers won't rush rehabbing Oden back | Philadelphia Inquirer | 12/23/2007

[BuckeyeMike80]

It's interesting that this is a story at all.....

Notebook | Oden has "gotten big," Durant says of top pick

PORTLAND ? While Greg Oden playfully admonished Kevin Durant for not calling him on Christmas Eve when he arrived to town, the Sonics rookie couldn't help but to marvel at how much the Portland Trail Blazers' top pick had grown since their last meeting.

"Man, you've gotten big," Durant said when the two met in the Rose Garden hallways Tuesday.

Dressed in a ruby red blazer, dress shirt and blue jeans, it was easy to see how the 7-foot, 250-pound center has added weight during his seasonlong recovery from microfracture surgery on his right knee. The Blazers brass were concerned when Oden ballooned from 252 pounds to 282 several weeks ago and told him he doesn't need to add any more weight.

Oden declined to say specifically how much he weighs, but many around the team believe he's about 290 pounds.

"I won't get any bigger, that's for sure," Oden said. "I'm good right now."

Sonics | Notebook | Oden has "gotten big," Durant says of top pick | Seattle Times Newspaper


Here is a story from before Thanksgiving. It appears to be mostly muscle he gained.

ESPN - Blazers concerned about Oden's weight gain from working out - NBA

[osugrad21]

CPD

Oden stays on toes while he still heals



Monday, January 14, 2008
Associated Press
Toronto- Greg Oden is glad the Portland Trail Blazers are winning - he just wishes he was part of the fun.
Oden, the No. 1 draft pick from Ohio State who had left knee surgery in September and is out for the season, has watched from the sideline as his Portland teammates have won 17 of their past 18 games.
"I would just like to be out there to be able to say, 'You know what, I'm out here, I'm working hard and I'm helping these guys win,' " Oden said before Sunday's game at Toronto. "I've got to keep in mind that I can't do anything but help myself and get myself ready for next year."




Cont...

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Dispatch

NBA | OSU basketball: Oden can only watch present, past teammates

Monday, January 14, 2008 2:53 AM



Associated Press

TORONTO -- Greg Oden is glad the Portland Trail Blazers are winning -- he just wishes he were part of the fun.
Oden, the No. 1 draft pick, had knee surgery in September and is out for the season. He has watched as his Portland teammates have won 17 of their past 19 games.
"I would just like to be out there to be able to say, 'You know what, I'm out here, I'm working hard and I'm helping these guys win,' " Oden said before yesterday's game in Toronto. "I've got to keep in mind that I can't do anything but help myself and get myself ready for next year."
His recovery is expected to take six to 12 months.
Oden had a magnetic resonance imaging after the knee became swollen during preseason workouts. Team physician Don Roberts performed the surgery. Other high-profile players who have undergone the procedure include Jason Kidd, Amare Stoudemire and former Blazer Zach Randolph.
Despite not playing a single game as a pro, Oden has been learning a lot about life in the NBA.

Continued....

[Buckskin86]

Blazers won't rush Oden
Posted on Sat, Jan. 19, 2008

Rookie Greg Oden is with the Trail Blazers on this trip, but coach Nate McMillan said that does not change the timetable for the injured center to make his NBA debut.

McMillan said Oden is beginning to work more with the team in a limited role.

''He can't move, but he can pass,'' McMillan said. ``We want him out on the floor and let him feed some players from the post position.''

The Trail Blazers also want him to get a closer look at some of the Eastern Conference's big men. McMillan said he wanted Oden to watch Shaquille O'Neal and Orlando's Dwight Howard on Saturday. A few nights ago, Oden saw the Celtics' Kevin Garnett.

Oden underwent microfracture surgery on his right knee during the summer.

Blazers won't rush Oden - 01/19/2008 - MiamiHerald.com

[Buckskin86]

ODEN ENJOYING 'VACATION': @ A familiar sight on the Blazers long seven-game road trip has been injured center Greg Oden, who continues his rehab from microfracture surgery.

The 7-footer has been watching from the bench, usually bespectacled and wearing a dapper suit.

In a Podcast posted on the team's official Web site, Oden says he's been having fun traveling with his teammates. "I'm in a great position, I hate to say it, but I've got a year's vacation," he joked. But he added more seriously: "It's good. It's a great learning experience for me to be here and see the things that I'm seeing, and just witnessing and learning without having to play."

Oden turned 20 this week. He was the top pick in last year's draft, after playing a season at Ohio State.

His rookie season ended before it even started, however, when he had surgery on his right knee.

AP Wire - Oregon | kgw.com | News for Oregon and SW Washington

[osugrad21]

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.''


Cont...

[osugrad21]

CPD

CAVALIERS INSIDER
Blazers stay patient with healing Oden


Thursday, January 31, 2008Mary Schmitt Boyer
Plain Dealer Reporter
Portland, Ore.- Greg Oden was back on the court Tuesday.
Oden, the former Ohio State star, stood at the edge of the free-throw lane with former Trail Blazers tough guy Maurice Lucas, now an assistant coach. While his teammates ran through a practice scrimmage on an adjacent court, Oden put up hook shots, flat-footed, first with his left hand and then with his right.
Such is life for the Portland rookie center. The No. 1 pick in the 2008 NBA draft is slowly making his way back from microfracture surgery on his right knee on Sept. 13. Trainer Jay Jensen says Oden will start jogging shortly but probably won't be playing full-court basketball until the summer league.




Cont...

[Buckskin86]

February 01, 2008
Oden lookin' good
By MARC BERMAN

PORTLAND - Let me be the first to predict Portland to advance to the Finals next season.

A few of the writers drove up to the Blazers' practice facility in the suburbs this morning and saw rookie center Greg Oden rehabbing. Wow.

Oden has become a monster, broad shoulders and chest, thicker legs. Oden, whose out for the season because of knee surgery, said he's put on 40 pounds since the Blazers made him the No. 1 pick in the draft.

The Blazers made sure to keep Oden around the team at all times this season to get him acclimated with the NBA lifestyle. "I'm like a scout,'' Oden said. "It's better than college.''

Oden's suits don't fit him anymore. "Kind of tight,'' said Oden, whose been hitting the weight room like a beast and downing lots of steaks. If only Eddy CurryEddy Curry had Oden's work ethic.

Oden's got a great, strong body now to go along with his wingspan. He's going to block a ton of shots and snatch a storm of rebounds in this league. He fills the role the resurgent Blazers lack this season.

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