Greg Oden

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Greg Oden
College	Ohio State
Conference	Big Ten
Sport	Basketball
Position	Center
Class	Freshman
Career	2006 – present
Height	7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)
Weight	280 lb (127 kg)
Nationality	United States
Born	January 22, 1988 (age 19) Buffalo, New York
High School	Lawrence North High School, Indianapolis
Career Highlights
Awards
2005 PARADE HS Player of the Year 2005 Gatorade Natl. Player of the Year 2006 PARADE HS Player of the Year 2006 Gatorade Natl. Player of the Year 2006 McDonald's All-American 2006 Naismith Prep Player of the Year 2007 AP All-American 1^st Team
Tournaments
2007 NCAA Tournament

Greg Oden (born January 22, 1988 in Buffalo, New York) is an American college basketball player who began playing for the Ohio State Buckeyes in the 2006-07 NCAA season. He attended Lawrence North High School in Indianapolis, where he led them to three straight state titles and 45 consecutive wins under coach Jack Keefer. Oden was named PARADE's High School Co-Player of the Year 2005 (along with Monta Ellis) and 2005 Gatorade National Boys Basketball Player of the Year, becoming the first junior since LeBron James to be named such. Also, Oden was named PARADE's High School Player of the Year and Gatorade National Boys Basketball Player of the Year in 2006, winning the award in back-to-back years. He is often compared to NBA star Tim Duncan in body size and mechanics.^[1] Oden is known for his quiet and humble demeanor.^[1]

On June 29, 2005, Oden and Lawrence North High School teammate as well as best friend Mike Conley announced that they would be attending Ohio State University starting with the 2006-07 season. Many thought that Oden would have declared himself eligible for the 2006 NBA Draft, and probably would have been the first player selected, but the NBA instituted rules starting with the 2006 draft that make U.S. players ineligible for the draft until at least one year after high school graduation. However, Oden repeatedly stated that he would not forgo college for the NBA.

In the 2005-06 season, Oden, a 7-foot-0-inch 280 lb (2.14 m, 126 kg) senior, led Lawrence North to an undefeated record, a third straight Class 4A Indiana state championship and the first ever top finish for an Indiana school in USA Today's Super 25 rankings. For the season, the center scored 22.0 points and 10.5 rebounds per game while shooting 74 percent from the field. Oden dominated in the state championship game against Muncie Central, scoring a game-high 26 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. Lawrence North won its last three state championship games by a combined 56 points and its average margin of victory during the regular season was 21 points. Oden was also on the McDonald's All-America Team and played in the All-America game.

Oden has been invited to participate on the 2008 USA Olympic Basketball team. He has been widely compared to retired NBA star centers David Robinson, Bill Russell, Patrick Ewing and Spurs star Tim Duncan. Yahoo! NBA analyst Steve Kerr has described Oden as a "once-in-a-decade player."^[2]

In 2006, he was added to the current roster for the USA Men's National Basketball Team.

Oden had surgery on his right wrist on June 16, 2006, in Indianapolis to repair a ligament injury late in his senior high school season. As a result, he sat out the beginning of the 2006-07 season with Ohio State, during which his team was ranked as high as first before losing to North Carolina. He made his college debut on December 2, 2006, against Valparaiso, coming off the bench. He finished the game with 14 points, 10 rebounds and 5 blocks. As of March 14, 2007, Oden has averaged 15.5 points, 9.7 rebounds, and 3.5 blocks per game.^[3]

The Big Ten honored Oden with Player of the Week, along with Wisconsin's Alando Tucker, on January 29, 2007. In the previous week he had averaged 18 points and 11.5 rebounds.^[4] On March 6, 2007, Oden was named First Team All-Big Ten as well being voted the conference's Defensive Player of the Year.^[5] Oden fouled out for the first time in his college career against Xavier in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, and has been bothered by foul trouble throughout the tournament. In the Sweet Sixteen, Oden blocked a potential game-winning shot in the final seconds against Tennessee to preserve a 85-84 victory and went on to lead Ohio State to a 92-76 win over Memphis to advance to the 2007 Final Four in Atlanta, Georgia.

On March 26, 2007, Oden, along with Kevin Durant, Arron Afflalo, Alando Tucker, and Acie Law IV were named to the Associated Press All-American Team. Oden and Durant are the first freshman voted to the All-American First Team since 1990 and the third and fourth overall.