Greg Oden
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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| Position | Center |
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| Height | 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) |
| Weight | 257 lb (117 kg) |
| League | NBA |
| Team | Portland Trail Blazers |
| Jersey | #52 |
| Born | January 22, 1988 Buffalo, New York |
| Nationality | USA |
| High school | Lawrence North, Indianapolis, Indiana |
| College | Ohio State |
| Draft | 1st overall, 2007 Portland Trail Blazers |
| Pro career | 2007–present |
| Awards | 2005 and 2006 PARADE High School Player of the Year 2005 and 2006 Gatorade Nat'l. Player of the Year 2006 McDonald's All-American 2006 Naismith Prep Player of the Year 2007 AP All-American 1st Team |
| Official profile | Info Page |
Gregory Wayne Oden, Jr. (born January 22, 1988, in Buffalo, New York) is an American basketball player, currently signed to the Portland Trail Blazers of the NBA.
Oden played basketball for Ohio State University for only one season, during which the team was the Big Ten Champion and the tournament runner-up in the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship.
On June 28, 2007, Oden was selected first overall in the NBA Draft by the Trail Blazers.
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[edit] Early years
Oden lived in Buffalo, NY until he was nine years old and then moved to Terre Haute, Indiana, attending Fuqua Elementary School and playing basketball in the seventh grade at Sarah Scott Junior High School. He wanted to be a dentist. He then moved to Indianapolis in the eighth grade, and in the ninth grade began playing at Lawrence North for head coach Jack Keefer. For the season, the center scored 22.0 points and 10.5 rebounds per game while shooting 74 percent from the field.
Oden was named the 2006 Indiana Mr. Basketball. He was also on the McDonald's All-American Team and played in the All-American game. 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.
While in high school, Oden was named the PARADE's High School Player of the Year and the Gatorade National Boys Basketball Player of the Year two years in a row, in 2005 and 2006.
[edit] College
On June 29, 2005, Oden and Lawrence North teammate as well as good friend Mike Conley, Jr. announced that they would be attending The Ohio State University starting with the 2006-07 season.
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 on the bench during 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. In December of that year, Phoenix Suns General Manager Steve Kerr described him as a "once-in-a-decade player."[1] As of March 14, 2007, Oden averaged 15.5 points, 9.7 rebounds, and 3.5 blocks per game.[2]
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.[3] On March 6, 2007, Oden was named First Team All-Big Ten as well being voted the conference's Defensive Player of the Year.[4] Oden fouled out for the first time in his college career against Xavier in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, and was 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 an 85-84 victory, and went on to lead Ohio State past Memphis and Georgetown to advance to the 2007 National Championship. In the title game, Oden scored 25 points, and had 12 rebounds and 4 blocked shots in a losing effort against the Florida Gators.
On March 26, 2007, Oden, along with Kevin Durant, Arron Afflalo, Alando Tucker, and Acie Law IV, was named to the Associated Press All-American Team. Oden and Durant are the first freshmen voted to the All-American First Team since 1990 and the third and fourth overall.
[edit] NBA career
[edit] Draft
On April 20, Oden announced that he would be entering the 2007 NBA Draft. On June 28, 2007, he was selected by the Portland Trail Blazers with the #1 overall pick. Two of his Ohio State teammates were also chosen in the first round: Mike Conley, Jr. at #4, and Daequan Cook at #21.
To begin his Trail Blazers career, Oden chose the uniform number 52. On July 1, before his first NBA practice, Oden was signed to a contract which provided for two guaranteed seasons and team options for third and fourth seasons.
[edit] 2007-08 season
On September 14, 2007, Oden had microfracture surgery on his ailing right knee. He missed the entire season. [5]
Oden's progress has been recorded on the Trail Blazers' website and his blog. So far reports have shown he has progressed within, or faster than, the scheduled healing time. Just before the All-Star game Oden began to run workouts with the team, passing and running plays. A full recovery was expected by the 2008-09 season.
On March 27, 2008, Greg was involved in a pickup basketball game at a 24 Hour Fitness facility in Tualatin. The Trail Blazers found out through an internet rumor. Naturally, they were not happy. "We heard about that, and I talked to him today," coach Nate McMillan said. "I let him know he can't do that. I know he is excited to be moving again, but as I talked to him about it, he said 'Coach, I promise I wasn't running hard ...'. And I was like - 'I really don't care', McMillan said. "The thing is, we were surprised. So we let him know that he doesn't need to be there. We have plenty of workout equipment and gym space at our facility."[6]
Rick Kamla listed Oden in his blog of 50 current players most likely to enter the Basketball Hall of Fame.
[edit] References
- ^ Kerr, Steve. "Questions and The Answer", Yahoo! Sports, 2006-12-15. Retrieved on 2007-01-29.
- ^ Greg Oden's ESPN profile
- ^ "Oden Earns First Big Ten Weekly Award", Ohio State University Department of Athletics, 2007-01-29. Retrieved on 2007-01-29.
- ^ "Oden to named First Team All-Big Ten, Defensive Player of the Year".
- ^ "Oden's recovery from surgery likely in range of 6-12 months", ESPN.com, 2007-09-14. Retrieved on 2007-11-19.
- ^ Blazers admonish Oden after hearing he played in pickup games, ESPN.com
[edit] External links
- Oden's knee still center of attention
- Greg Oden Official Blog
- Greg Oden Info Page at NBA.com
- Official Ohio State Buckeyes Bio
- USA Basketball Bio: Greg Oden
- ESPN Profile - Greg Oden
- Greg Oden profile @ nbadraft.net
- Endorsement Information for Greg Oden
- Greg Oden NBA Draft profile
- Interview with Greg Oden
- Pre Draft Measurements
- Greg Oden highlight films in his professional career @ blazersclips.com
| Preceded by Luke Zeller |
Indiana Mr. Basketball 2006 |
Succeeded by Eric Gordon |
| Preceded by Andrea Bargnani |
NBA first overall draft pick 2007 NBA Draft |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
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| Persondata | |
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| NAME | Oden, Greg |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | American basketball player |
| DATE OF BIRTH | January 22, 1988 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Buffalo, New York |
| DATE OF DEATH | |
| PLACE OF DEATH | |
