PG Mike Conley (1st Team All BIG, NBA All-Star, Oscar Winner, Minnesota Timberwolves)

[Dryden]

This is the fourth time Conley has won the award, an NBA record.

 

[OregonBuckeye]

All-time great

 

[brodybuck21]

MIKE CONLEY, EVERYONE. An Ohio State fan-favorite in the mid-2000s, Mike Conley Jr. appeared on The Rich Eisen Show on Friday to discuss the Minnesota Timberwolves’ hot start to the 2023-24 season, the new NBA In-Season Tournament, San Antonio Spurs rookie sensation Victor Wembanyama and more.

Toward the end of Conley’s appearance, he and Eisen discussed his former Ohio State teammate Greg Oden and how he ended up in Columbus for his college basketball career. A video of the discussion and a transcription are below.

ON GREG ODEN​

“Man, I probably think about him more than anybody. It was such an opportunity to be around a guy like that and see somebody who had so much potential. In a league that has changed so much, I think he would have adapted really well throughout his career. I think he would still be playing at a very high level because of his athleticism, his ability to finish and his soft touch with both hands. He was a team guy. You don’t find too many of those bigs who can do all of those things. I wish he would have had that opportunity and stayed healthy enough. When he was healthy, he was a force. Who knows? The history books may have been rewritten a little bit, and he could have been a part of some great teams.”

ON HOW HE ENDED UP AT OHIO STATE​

“It was our last college visit. I had visited Wake Forest the week before, and I was like, ‘Yeah, I’m committing to Wake Forest. I’m gone. There’s no question.’ My dad was like, ‘Man, take one more visit – you and Greg. Dequan Cook is already there. You should visit Ohio State. You and Thad Matta have a great relationship.’ I said, ‘Alright. I’ll go.’ It was a Saturday night football game. They played Texas, and Vince Young was the quarterback at the time. It was a massive game. I saw those fans and people, and the city was shut down. I was like, ‘Man, this is a college. This is crazy.’ From that point on, I wanted to be a Buckeye, experience that every weekend and make this basketball program something special.”

If Conley’s goal was to make the Ohio State basketball program special, he accomplished that in short order.

A one-and-done star with Oden and Cook in 2006-07, Conley averaged 11.3 points, 6.1 assists, 3.4 rebounds and 2.2 steals per contest, helping lead Ohio State to 35-4 record with a Big Ten regular-season title, a Big Ten Tournament championship, and a national championship game appearance, where the Buckeyes fell to a stacked Florida team, 84-75, at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta.

While that season didn’t end with a national championship, boy, am I glad Mike Conley Sr. – that’s Olympic gold medalist Mike Conley Sr. – encouraged his son to travel to Columbus in the fall of 2005.

That decision undoubtedly changed the direction of Ohio State men’s basketball he departed for the NBA, where he’s had an impressive 17-year career with the Memphis Grizzlies, Utah Jazz and Minnesota Timberwolves.

Skull Session: Richard Larkins Wished to “Kill Off Football” Before Woody Hayes‘ Hire, Ohio State Hoops Must Avoid More “Lazy” Losses and The 1870 Society Starts a Fundraising Campaign

Richard Larkins wished to “kill off football” before hiring Woody Hayes, Ohio State hoops must bounce back from “lazy” loss and The 1870 Society starts a fundraising campaign.

www.elevenwarriors.com