GREG ODEN

'Gregory Wayne Oden Jr.' (born January 22, 1988, in ) is an American NBA player for the Portland Trail Blazers and a member of the United States men's national basketball team.
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.
In 2006-07, Oden played basketball for the Ohio State Buckeyes for only one season, during which the team were the Big Ten Champions 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 2007 NBA Draft by the Portland Trail Blazers. NBA analyst Steve Kerr has described him as a "once-in-a-decade player."^[1]

Contents

Early years

College

NBA career

Pre-draft (2007)

Draft

Notes

External links

Early years

Oden lived in Buffalo, New York 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 then moved to Indianapolis in the eighth grade. Oden has stated that if he was not an NBA player he would be going to school to be a dentist.
In the 2005-06 season, Oden, a 7'0" 257 lb senior, led Lawrence North High School to an undefeated record, a third straight Class 4A Indiana state championship and the first ever player to 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 27 points and grabbing 26 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 41 points.
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 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.

College

On June 29, 2005, Oden and Lawrence North teammate as well as best 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 due to an injury 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. As of March 14, 2007, Oden has 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, 12 rebounds, and had 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.

NBA career

Pre-draft (2007)

On April 20, Oden announced that he would be entering the NBA Draft. Former UCLA center and NBA Hall of Famer Bill Walton said that the world hasn't seen more than flashes of what Oden can do on offense.^[5]
On May 23, Oden flew to Portland to meet with Nike executives to talk about a shoe contract.^[6]
On May 29, Oden signed with Topps Trading Card Company to a 3-year deal worth at least $3 million. His first deal is a card featuring Oden and Bill Russell. ^[7]
On June 19, Oden flew to Portland to meet with the Portland Trail Blazers and went through a workout and physical examination on June 20. Oden was measured having a 9'4 standing reach, which is the best in his class. He also had a better 3/4 court sprint, lane agility drill, standing vertical, and running vertical then the #2 pick in the NBA Draft, forward Kevin Durant.
On June 27 ESPN's Ric Bucher reported during a draft preview show that the Portland Trail Blazers had informed Oden's camp that he will be the first pick in the 2007 NBA Draft.^[8] Oden's agent, Mike Conley, Sr., and the Trail Blazers immediately denied the reports.^[9] However, the next day, an hour before the draft, the news was confirmed by Bill Duffy, who heads the agency that represents Oden, that he would be selected first by Portland.^[10]

Draft

On June 28, 2007, Oden was selected by the Portland Trail Blazers with the #1 overall pick in the 2007 NBA Draft. 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, explaining the choice as a combination of digits from his numbers in high school (50) and college (20).
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.
Josh McRoberts, a follow High School player from Carmel, Indiana, also was selected to play on the Portland Trail Blazers, though much later in the draft.

Notes

1. Questions and The Answer Steve Kerr
2. Greg Oden's ESPN profile
3. Oden Earns First Big Ten Weekly Award
4. Oden to named First Team All-Big Ten, Defensive Player of the Year
5. Inside Dish: Plenty of upside with Oden
6. Oden flies to Portland . . . to talk sneakers
7. Oden paired with Hall of Famer Russell in first deal
8. Blazers to take Ohio State center Oden at No. 1
9. Oden's agent: "We haven't been told..."
10. Blazers will pick Oden, agent says

External links

★ Greg Oden Official Blog

★

★ 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