C Greg Oden (Portland Trailblazers)

[Steve19]

Greg has not lived up to the hype. I know the reasons why, but he is earning a lot of money for what he has contributed so far. The unbelievably high expectations make his modest contribution so far look like a bust to more people than this columnist. He needs to have a great season next season. This columnist needs to take his head out of...nevermind.

[Buckskin86]

Greg is in Columbus...

Summer submitted by gregoden

This week ive arrived in Columbus. This is the place where i will spend my whole entire summer. Im going to try to stay in one spot this summer. Last year i went to alot of different places but this year i want to not travel so much and keep myself working out and not on other stuff. I will be taking classes this summer too. When i got back here and i was going to move in i didnt have anything in my room. I got myself a bed and put together a tv stand and a night stand. Im really proud of that because i did it, it made me feel good that i put it together all by myself. I also had my first workout yesterday my body is super sore i squatted for the first time in like two years. My legs was sore after four of them. At the end of the work out i couldnt even feel my legs but i know it will get better next week and i will keep on working hard and harder than the next day preparing for next season.

Summer

[BayBuck]

Originally Posted by Buckskin86

Bill Simmons: Breaking down the NBA playoffs, mailbag-style - ESPN

Oden averaged 8.9 ppg and 7.0 rpg in basically his rookie year, including 16 double-doubles, for a solid playoff team. Maybe Durant would be putting up bigger numbers and not get hit so hard by injuries, but he's not Carmelo to Oden's Darko--and he sure isn't helping his own team win many games.

[dragurd]

I really have to wonder what is up with Portland's trainers though. I know he had knee injuries but you think they would have him doing squats at somepoint in his rehab. No wonder he looked like he had no explosion.

['BusNative]

Originally Posted by dragurd

I really have to wonder what is up with Portland's trainers though. I know he had knee injuries but you think they would have him doing squats at somepoint in his rehab. No wonder he looked like he had no explosion.

[ScriptOhio]

Greg Oden is going to get plenty of coaching attention this summer.
That?s according to Trail Blazer General Manager Kevin Pritchard, who says assistant coach Bill Bayno will be specially assigned to work with the 7-foot center.
?We feel good about Bayno working with Greg,? Pritchard says. ?It?s the first summer (Bayno) will have worked with (Oden), and that will be important. But we?re not opposed to bringing in an expert on bigs to work with him. We haven?t arranged for it yet, but we?re starting to get into that.?
Oden is spending the summer in Columbus, Ohio, where he has been joined the past week in workout sessions by teammate Jerryd Bayless. Next week, Pritchard says, the pair will move on to Phoenix to work out together under the direction of Portland strength and conditioning coach Bobby Medina and assistant coach Kaleb Canales.

Entire article: BLAZERS: Oden will get special attention

[Buckskin86]

Summer workouts are no vacation for Greg Oden
Ex-Blazer Brian Grant bangs with Portland center
By kerry eggers
The Portland Tribune, Jul 2, 2009

For the past two weeks, the Trail Blazers have thrown everything but the kitchen sink at Greg Oden in an effort to prepare the 7-foot center for the 2009-10 NBA season. And that?s only for starters.

Last week, assistant coaches Bill Bayno and Kaleb Canales, scout Larry Greer and strength/conditioning coach Bobby Medina were in Columbus, Ohio, working out Oden.

This week, Bayno and Greer were joined by former Blazer Brian Grant in Columbus for daily personal workouts with the No. 1 pick in the 2007 draft.

?I give Greg an A-plus,? Bayno says. ?His effort has been fantastic. I?ve been pushing him hard. He has accepted it. He has worked with very little rest, but he doesn?t ask for a lot of rest.

?A lot of times, once he gets into a move, Greg?s feet are too close together,? Bayno says. ?It?s easy to push him off-balance. We want to make sure he has a wide base, and on his step-through stuff, we want him to be on balance.

?With footwork, it?s mostly balance. Big guys get in trouble when they get their feet too close together. It?s about being able to take hits and finish and make shots. Having Brian?s 260-pound body on Greg has really helped with that.?

The goal is not for the 21-year-old Oden, who weighed about 280 at the end of last season, to lose weight.

?He?s in good shape,? Bayno says. ?It?s really about not adding a whole lot of weight. He is taking a nutrition class this summer at Ohio State, which will be good for him. To have a big guy like Greg at his age focusing on nutrition is important for longevity in the league.?

?We?re working Monday through Thursday weekly, and Greg is also scrimmaging at night (at Ohio State),? Bayno says. ?He also lifts weights. Bobby got with the Ohio State strength coach and gave him a program. Greg?s weight looks good, and his body looks good. He is so respectful, such a good kid, does anything we ask ? he has been a joy to work with.?

Bayno?s pet project until October training camp is Oden.

?I think I?m pretty much going to be with him the whole summer,? he says. ?This will a big year for Greg. It?s going to be the year he steps out of his shadow and really produces for us.?

Summer workouts are no vacation for Greg Oden

[Buckskin86]

Obviously, our eyes will be on Oden. We've been hearing such great things about his off-season program, and progress, and this should be a good test. The challenge will probably be not to read too much into this, either way. But, we all do that, so I'm sure I'll do the same thing.

Oden is very excited to not only show how far he's come, but likely is wanting to test himself, to see what else he needs to do. Not only is he in better shape physically, but from everything we're hearing, is also in a very good place mentally. It's just part of the process. Of course, when you're the number-one pick in the draft, you normally don't get any slack in the learning-curve process, and Oden certainly didn't give himself any. Now, almost two years removed from microfracture surgery, when most players start to get back to full strength, he appears to be making leaps and bounds in his progress.

We talked many times during the TV broadcasts of the summer league games about this, but the development of Oden is by far the most important part of this off-season for the Blazers. There was a lot of attention paid to the draft, and to this free-agent period, but Oden's situation is so crucial.

Ths is a quote from Oden, taken from last weekend's Rashad Floyd Show on The Game in Portland- "I want to be ready. I want to be dominant. I want to be everything that everybody thought I was going to be when they drafted me. I didn't have the best of years, but it was my rookie year. I was coming off injury, but I am not going to use that as an excuse 'cause I should have been better. So that's what I'm working for for this coming year."

Portland Trail Blazers: Mike Barrett's Blog

[valentine]

Originally Posted by Steve19

Greg has not lived up to the hype. I know the reasons why, but he is earning a lot of money for what he has contributed so far. The unbelievably high expectations make his modest contribution so far look like a bust to more people than this columnist. He needs to have a great season next season. This columnist needs to take his head out of...nevermind.

Unbelievably high? He was drafted #1.

The expectations are correct. He has to earn it. Let's stop pretending that Oden averaging 9 and 9 constitutes a good season.

[MaxBuck]

Originally Posted by valentine

Unbelievably high? He was drafted #1.

The expectations are correct. He has to earn it. Let's stop pretending that Oden averaging 9 and 9 constitutes a good season.

I've looked over Steve's post and can't find anything that suggests he believes 9-and-9 constitutes a "good season."

There's a big difference between disappointing and a "bust." It's way too early to use the term "bust" in connection with Oden. Hell, some people still think Darko may have a future in the League.

[jwinslow]

Originally Posted by valentine

Unbelievably high? He was drafted #1.

The expectations are correct.

Could you point out how this refutes the term 'unbelievably high'?

Your game continues to slide, tibs.

[valentine]

Originally Posted by jwinslow

Could you point out how this refutes the term 'unbelievably high'?
.

How are expectations for Oden too high? Is it "unbelievable" that he average 10 points per game and less than 4 fouls per 20 mintues? He was drafted #1 and has trouble staying out of foul trouble. Unbelievable expectations would be saying he should be a 20/20 player. Heck, he isn't even 10/10/<4 yet.

If Oden graduated from Florida I have a feeling there would be a different reaction to his stats.

[valentine]

Originally Posted by MaxBuck

I've looked over Steve's post and can't find anything that suggests he believes 9-and-9 constitutes a "good season."

There's a big difference between disappointing and a "bust." It's way too early to use the term "bust" in connection with Oden. Hell, some people still think Darko may have a future in the League.

Bust? no

Disappointing? you would have to say, yes.

Oden should not have to be fighting that stiff from UMinnesota whose name I can't spell for minutes.

[jwinslow]

How are expectations for Oden too high?

Are you having fun arguing with yourself tonight? The only one talking about them being too high is you.

Expectations were correct for Lebron, Tebow, Pryor. That doesn't change the fact that they were unbelievably high.

Bust? no

Disappointing? you would have to say, yes.

Boy, that sounds familiar

Greg has not lived up to the hype. I know the reasons why, but he is earning a lot of money for what he has contributed so far. The unbelievably high expectations make his modest contribution so far look like a bust to more people than this columnist. He needs to have a great season next season. This columnist needs to take his head out of...nevermind.

[Buckskin86]

Blazers want to see improvement in Greg Oden during USA Basketball minicamp
Posted by Geoffrey C. Arnold, The Oregonian July 22, 2009


Bruce Ely/The Oregonian
Blazers center Greg Oden is in Las Vegas this week for a USA Basketball minicamp.

LAS VEGAS -- Kevin Pritchard has one more evaluation to conduct this week. Greg Oden. The Trail Blazers' general manager will watch as Oden competes in USA Basketball's three-day minicamp beginning today. Oden's participation will allow Pritchard to watch the Blazers' center and gauge his improvement. "We want to see progress, that's what we want to see," Pritchard said. "We'd like for him to play well so he can get some confidence and feel good about the work he has put in."

Oden is coming off an inconsistent rookie season and just about anyone interested in the Blazers is wondering if -- and how quickly -- Oden's work this summer will translate to a noticeable development of his game.

"We know he has been working hard this summer," Pritchard said. "He's put in some work -- really good work -- with Coach (Bill) Bayno this summer. We want to see some improvement."

The 7-foot, 285-pound Oden averaged 8.9 points, seven rebounds and 1.13 blocked shots in 61 games last season. He proved he could be a force on the court, particularly on defense, during some games.

"We want to see him run the floor and do the things he does best. Playing defense, being an effective rebounder -- offensive boards and putbacks," Pritchard said. "We're looking to see him be able to guard a couple of different positions and be the physical presence down low like we know he is."

Oden's presence was limited last season; he averaged 21.5 minutes and nearly four fouls.

"We know that when he plays and plays more than 22 minutes, our success rate goes up," Pritchard said.

The minicamp will provide Oden an opportunity to compete against other NBA frontline players -- including 7-foot Brook Lopez of New Jersey, 6-foot-10 Kevin Love of Minnesota and 6-foot-8 Paul Millsap of Utah -- in a more relaxed setting.

"Number one, he's gotta get into great shape. He's been working on that this summer," Pritchard said. "He's hitting it pretty hard on the conditioning."

Blazers want to see improvement in Greg Oden during USA Basketball minicamp - Behind The Blazers Beat