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C Greg Oden (All B1G, All-American, Defensive Player of the Year, Butler Assistant Coach)

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Oden might delay signing
Prep star still plans to attend Ohio State but may wait until NCAA penalties are announced.

dated: October 2, 2005

By Jeff Rabjohns
[email protected]

Greg Oden said Saturday he is considering waiting to sign with Ohio State until the spring signing period when the full scope of NCAA sanctions against the school are known.
Lawrence North's 7-foot senior center, the reigning national high school basketball Player of Year, said he still intends to play for the Buckeyes, to whom he made an oral commitment in June.
However, he may sign during the spring period that runs April 12-May 17 instead of during the early period of Nov. 9-16.
"I have no idea at this point," Oden said of when he would sign. "We haven't talked about it. We will have to talk about it first."
But the news will send ripples through college basketball if Oden doesn't sign.
Sanctions against Ohio State will be announced after an NCAA infractions committee hearing scheduled for Dec. 9-10. Ohio State issued a self-imposed postseason ban last year, and if NCAA precedent is any indication, the Buckeyes won't be banned for the postseason in the future for violations that occurred under former coach Jim O'Brien.
It would take NCAA penalties that give Ohio State the equivalent of a three-year postseason ban to affect Oden and his class, who will be freshmen in 2006-07.
The class, considered the best in the country, includes Lawrence North point guard Mike Conley, Dayton, Ohio, guard Daequan Cook and Cleveland guard David Lighty, all ranked in the top 30 in the nation.
Mike Conley Sr., who has coached Oden and his son for years in summer basketball, said he, his wife and Oden's mother, Zoe, plan to spend part of October studying cases similar to Ohio State's to see what potential penalties might be. He said he didn't see any way the players would not eventually sign with Ohio State.
"They're planning on signing," Conley Sr. said. "If they don't sign (in November), it's only because the parents intervened, and they can hold off on signing.
"Regardless, the boys have every intention of signing, whether it be in November or April. We just haven't had that conversation yet."
The NCAA does not discuss ongoing investigations, but on May 16, Ohio State said the NCAA notified it of nine rules violations, seven involving men's basketball.
Oden said potential penalties haven't changed his mind about Ohio State and doesn't have him concerned about other schools trying to jump back in the recruiting process. Students are considered recruitable athletes until they sign, but the unwritten rule is other schools leave players alone once oral commitments are made.
"I know that's where I want to go," Oden said. "I'm not really worried about other schools or things like that. As far as signing, I just haven't talked it over with Mike or Mom yet."
Even if additional penalties are imposed, it's unlikely they would affect Oden and Conley.
Baylor, which was found guilty of multiple serious violations following the murder of one player by another in 2003, wasn't banned from postseason play for multiple years. The Bears missed only one postseason because of a self-imposed ban, and the NCAA didn't add any postseason ban. The NCAA took away nonconference games this season and reduced paid official visits by players and the number of coaches who can recruit off campus in addition to other technical matters.
"The only thing that could even spark a conversation is if they were denied postseason play in 2007," the elder Conley said. "That would require a three-year postseason ban, which I haven't heard of for what they're investigated for. Even if there are sanctions in 2007, it wouldn't affect them if it's lost scholarships or they had to pay back money."
Ohio State is facing potential sanctions from violations that occurred under O'Brien, who was fired in June 2004.
The infractions go back to the 1999-2000 season. They came to light in April 2004, when O'Brien was a potential witness in a lawsuit by a booster who claimed she paid thousands of dollars for living expenses to a former Buckeyes player. O'Brien was subsequently fired, and Thad Matta was hired. Ohio State announced Dec. 9, 2004, that it would not play in the 2005 NCAA or National Invitation tournaments as self-imposed sanctions for the violations when O'Brien was coach.
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10/11/05

No. 1: Wildcats reach new heights

The reputation of Lawrence North High School seniors Greg Oden and Mike Conley is so high that the Wildcats were listed No. 1 in national boys basketball rankings released Thursday by SchoolSports Magazine.
The two-time defending Class 4A champion Wildcats are rated ahead of traditional national power Oak Hill Academy of Mouth of Wilson, Va., last season's final No. 1 team in USA Today's Super 25.

"We're very flattered, but we've got to go find out if we can play," said Lawrence North coach Jack Keefer, whose team is also ranked first nationally by Street & Smith's Basketball Preview. "We've got some fine young men, but we'll see if we can put it together.
"We're hoping we can live up to the objective people are putting in front of us. Our schedule will give us every opportunity to prove ourselves."
-- Pat McKee
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Find a different conference to pick on

sportingnews.com

Those who watched only the end of last season are going to wonder what this column is about. The Big Ten had three teams among the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight and two in the Final Four, and that made it easier for the league to draw a nice little smiley face on 2004-05.

The end result was not an accurate reflection of the Big Ten's season. This is the only conference to gain seven NCAA bids three times, but last season its members compiled a 23-29 record against the five other top leagues.

Even coaches inside the conference admit last season was difficult for the Big Ten. But they will tell you this season will be much better.

The Sporting News College Basketball Preview hit the newsstand this week with three Big Ten teams ranked in the top 25: No. 1 Michigan State, No. 21 Illinois and No. 23 Iowa. That's not much different from last year, but Indiana, Wisconsin and Ohio State are not far removed from the rankings and all six are projected to reach the NCAA Tournament. There were five Big Ten teams in the tournament last year; there were three the year before.

The league will be better this time around for a variety of reasons:
Player retention. The Big Ten had only one underclassman selected in the first round of the 2005 NBA draft, Illinois guard Deron Williams. It did not lose regulars to the sort of foolishness that seduced SEC players Anthony Roberson, Matt Walsh, Kennedy Winston and Olu Famutimi, all of whom went unselected.

Of the 33 players who averaged at least 10 points for Big Ten teams last season, 21 return. Michigan State's Shannon Brown, Maurice Ager and Paul Davis could be rewarded for their patience and become first-round picks. Sporting News Player of the Year Dee Brown planned to leave Illinois, but a broken foot during the predraft camp sent him back to school. Don't be surprised if that misfortune makes him a fortune.

Scheduling. Outside the masochism of the Maui Invitational, Michigan State will play just two nonleague games against big-name opponents. A year after its six-game murderer's row destroyed a team with potential, Indiana is playing only two preconference games against top-ranked teams, plus NCAA Tournament regular Charlotte. Wisconsin, which made high-risk/low-reward visits last season to Pepperdine and Rutgers, will visit Wake Forest and Pittsburgh on high-risk/high-reward road trips.

There's no need to overextend in November and December. A team facing three solid tests in nonleague games challenges itself sufficiently.

Buzz. The promise of a great future can enhance the excitement of the present. Next season, Ohio State center recruit Greg Oden will be the best player to enter the league since Magic Johnson became a Spartan in 1977. Big Ten programs have eight commitments from top 50 recruits in the Class of 2006. That's seven more than in this year's recruiting class.
Three conference teams have faced NCAA postseason restrictions since 2000, but those problems appear to be in the past. Michigan State will face greater competition on the way to the 2006 Final Four. That's as it should be.
Senior writer Mike DeCourcy covers college basketball for Sporting News. E-mail him at [email protected].
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indystar

10/20/05

National high school Player of the Year Greg Oden and Lawrence North headline the inaugural KeyBank Tipoff Classic that will feature six Indiana teams in a tripleheader Nov. 23 at Conseco Fieldhouse.

The event, announced Tuesday, features the two-time defending Class 4A champion Wildcats against Lawrence Central at 8:45 p.m.

Also, Hamilton Southeastern plays Anderson at 5:30 p.m., and defending Class A champion Lapel plays Wapahani at 7:15.

Tickets cost $10 and are available at participating schools. They will go on sale at the Fieldhouse box office and Ticketmaster on Oct. 28.
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10/22/05

A rising son, so far away

With a quiet bond, Greg Oden Sr. and Jr. remain tight amid the strains of separation

By Jeff Rabjohns
[email protected]

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Greg Oden Sr. pokes at his food in a blue-collar restaurant just outside the city limits, struggling to describe what a divorce and a 500-mile gap can do to the relationship between a father and son. Lament is as clear in his eyes as in his words.

He recalls the good times. His boys racing on the sidewalk in front of the plumbing store where he once worked. Greg Jr. and his cousin playing the Super Mario Brothers video game.
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Oden update: 2 pick his team as preseason No. 1
• Aiming high: Greg Oden's high school, Lawrence North, has been picked by School Sports magazine and by studentsports .com as the preseason No. 1 high school boys basketball team in the nation. The most prestigious ranking, done by USA Today, comes out Nov. 15. No Indiana team has ever finished the season No. 1 in the USA Today poll, which debuted in 1982, the highest final rankings being No. 2 by Marion (1987) and Pike (2003). Past preseason rankings were not available.
• Magic talk: According to Mike DeCourcy in The Sporting News, "Next season, Ohio State center recruit Greg Oden will be the best player to enter the league since Magic Johnson became a (Michigan State) Spartan in 1977."
• Still coaching: Mike Conley Sr. said he plans to continue coaching the Spiece Indy Heat summer team, even though his son Mike Conley Jr. and Oden won't play next year as they prepare for the college season. "It helps me to stay competitive after I gave up sports, and I just enjoy making an impact on kids at that age," said Conley Sr., a former Olympic gold-medal winning triple jumper.
-- Star report

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Then Greg Sr. speaks of last March, and his voice drops. Hoping to see Greg Jr. lead Lawrence North High School to a second consecutive Indiana state basketball championship, the proud father set out on the eight-hour drive only to have his van break down in Cleveland. He called a tow truck, rode a bus back home and later watched his son's heroics, once again, on videotape.

"When they (Greg Jr. and his brother, Anthony) started basketball, I couldn't see them as much," Greg Sr. said softly. "I used to have them for summers and entire Christmas breaks because I never wanted them to think I forgot about them."
On its face, the Odens' story appears all too familiar. Many of this country's elite basketball players, as countless news stories have documented, grew up without their father around. But each family's story is complex and unique, and this one is at once brighter and more painful, or differently painful, than the common perception.

For one thing, Greg Jr. wasn't abandoned by his father, as was the case with many basketball stars. Greg Sr. and Zoe Oden remain amicable in their divorce, which came when Greg Jr., 17, and Anthony, 16, were in elementary school, and all say Greg Sr. stays as close as possible with his sons.

Yet such closeness while so far apart brings its own special hurt.

Greg Sr., a 42-year-old plumbing and heating contractor with little free time for trips to Indianapolis, has had to watch from afar as his son has become the most talked about high school basketball big man in a generation.

Greg Jr., a high school senior, has had to grow through all the traps and trappings of fame -- not to mention adolescence -- without the traditional guiding male hand.

"I hate it," Greg Sr. said. "Even the discipline. I hate to discipline over the phone. It's hard to chastise your kids over the phone.

"I didn't want (Zoe) to leave (Buffalo), but it's kind of worked out. The programs and stuff at school are a lot better in Indy."

Greg Jr. visits his father when time allows, but that's a lot less often than it used to be. The high school basketball season runs through the Christmas break, and for the past several years his summer team has played through the end of July, traveling all over the country.

He misses many things, even little ones, especially Saturday nights, when his dad would bring pizza home and the family would watch SNICK, Nickelodeon's Saturday night programming.

"It was two hours of that," Greg Jr. said. "Pizza and Nickelodeon."

After this past summer season ended, Greg Jr. spent a week with his father, during which time he got a tattoo on his left shoulder. It says, "Always There."

"It means always there for my brother," he said of Anthony. "He's always having problems with my mom.

"Because I really don't talk a lot when I'm at home, sometimes I think he doesn't think anybody's there for him because all he's got is my mom. I want him to know I'm always there for him. All he has to do is ask."

Greg Jr. said he understands Anthony's feelings. He said he used to have them.

"I was just angry at my mom," Greg Jr. said. "I don't know if it was because they broke up, but I used to argue with my mom a lot, just over little things."

Zoe Oden acknowledged that growing up without a father is difficult for a young man.

"I'm sure it is," she said Monday night after a 12-hour shift as a rehabilitation technician at a local hospital. "But I think it's mostly because of the male figure that's not present. You try and do it all. But I think Greg's the kind of kid, he tries not to be a problem."

Perils of no father

Greg Sr. and Zoe Oden separated in 1996, after which Zoe moved with the boys to Terre Haute, Ind., where her father lived. During Greg Jr.'s eighth-grade year, Zoe moved the family again, to Indianapolis.

If, as so many expect, Greg Jr. goes on to NBA stardom, coming from a fatherless home would hardly be unusual.

No official studies have been done on the family backgrounds of NBA players, but research conducted by The Star found that eight of the 12-U.S. born members of last year's 15-player All-NBA team came from single-parent homes. In 1995, when there were far fewer foreign players in the league, the Toronto Star reported that 23 of the 30 NBA All-Stars grew up without a father.

Big-name examples abound. LeBron James, who three years ago received even more fanfare in high school than Oden receives now, grew up not knowing his father. The fathers of Kevin Garnett, Allen Iverson and Ben Wallace all left their families when the boys were very young. Some NBA stars speak of distant relationships; others don't like to talk about it. Last fall the Indiana Pacers' Jermaine O'Neal told The Star that he has no connection with his father, who abandoned the family before Jermaine was born.

Shaquille O'Neal went so far as to write a rap song called "Biological Didn't Bother" about his real father: "I want to dedicate this song to (stepfather) Phillip Arthur Harrison, 'cause he was the one who took me from a boy to a man. 'Cause as far as I'm concerned, he is my father, 'cause my biological didn't bother," the three-time Most Valuable Player of the NBA Finals wrote.

Part of this no doubt reflects a societal trend. Black players constitute nearly 80 percent of the NBA and, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, black children are almost three times as likely as white children to be raised by mothers only (50.4 percent of children under 18 for blacks, compared to 18.0 percent for whites, according to 2004 statistics).

But some sociologists and sports researchers wonder if there's more to it, if kids who grow up in a fatherless home are more likely to turn to sports to validate their masculinity, or to substitute for feelings of inadequacy.

Both ideas are espoused by Varda Burstyn, a Canadian author who wrote about the role of men in boys' lives in her acclaimed book "The Rites of Men."

"It's very important for boys to have men in their lives," Burstyn said in an interview with The Star. "What happens when men are absent, boys have to construct an idea of men based not on what men are really like. That's where fantasy heroes become more powerful."

The problem with turning to sports, she said, is so few athletes make it professionally.

"Quite a few young athletes go to university on scholarship and get a very poor education," Burstyn said. "Sport training is not a full training for life. That's the big issue."

Peter Roby, director of Northeastern University's Center for the Study of Sport in Society, notes that on the positive side, sports can play an affirming role fatherless kids so often need.

"When a young person grows up with a father not in his life because the father chose not be involved, that can be debilitating," Roby said. "You start to ask, 'Is it my fault?' If the child is not old enough, he can start to internalize: 'I'm not worthy of his affection, so I must not be much of anything.'

"When you start to have success in athletics and get the adulation and praise that follows, that becomes quite an addiction. It gets you feeling better about yourself -- 'Maybe I am worthy.' That's why it may fuel that passion and drive to be great."

Others point out graver concerns, beyond sports. Research has shown that about 70 percent of long-term prison inmates came from fatherless homes, and that such individuals are far more likely to have children out of wedlock, drop out of high school or be idle (out of school and out of work) than adults who were raised in two-parent homes.

Indianapolis Colts coach Tony Dungy, who has five children, is involved in All Pro Dad, a program that advises fathers on their role in parenting. He has seen first-hand the problems that come to young men who grow up without a father.

"You really don't know how to grow up. You don't know what your next step is," said Dungy, who often talks of the great influence his late father, Wilbur, had on his life. "You have to get that from somewhere. You have to follow someone, and, unfortunately, many times, guys in that situation will follow older kids in the street who are in the same boat, who don't have that guy either.

"So many times, it's someone who doesn't know where he's going leading other people who don't know where they're going."

'Relationship is real'

Greg Oden Jr. has been lucky in that regard. He and his father have a good relationship, one that extends far beyond basketball.

Greg Sr. said that when Greg Jr. comes to visit, he often wants to hang out on the couch, away from everything.
"Everybody wants to show him off, but I don't do that," Greg Sr. said. "If he wants to lay there, I make sure he has cable to watch and food to eat."

That seems a far cry from James' mother, Gloria, who was known for wearing a jersey with "LeBron's Mom" on it and shouting "We going to the bank," when James was in high school.

In fact, the Odens don't talk basketball that much. For one thing, at 6-foot-3, Greg Sr. is not exactly the ideal teacher for a 7-footer some are calling the best center prospect since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Greg Sr. didn't even play high school sports, didn't have time. At age 12, he started working part-time at a skating rink. At 15, he worked every day after school at a plumbing store, which became his full-time job after graduation.

Like Greg Jr., he is quiet, not given to excesses. One of his favorite haunts is Alton's Family Restaurant, a non-descript place near the suburbs where the top sirloin is $11.

"You are who raised you. I've never been into entourages and stuff, and I know Zoe hasn't either," Greg Sr. said as he ate a Greek steak sandwich, still dressed in the denim shirt he wore to work that day. "That's why I understand when he comes here and doesn't want to be bothered."

Other male role models

Greg Jr. has had a number of male influences in his life, including his AAU coaches, first Jimmy Smith of the Terre Haute Boys and Girls Club and more recently Mike Conley in Indianapolis. Greg Jr. is best friends with Mike Conley Jr., Lawrence North's point guard. Both have made oral commitments to play at Ohio State in the fall of 2006.

Greg Jr. has become especially close with the Conleys. Beginning early in high school, he'd stop by their house simply to watch TV or take a nap.

"They were just there. They were always there, just being the kind of people they are," Greg Jr. said of Smith and Conley Sr. "They helped me see they were the kind of people I wanted to be, good family men, making a living, being happy."

Greg Sr. acknowledged those who have helped his son last summer during a banquet at Lawrence North.

"I thanked everybody because I can't be there all the time," said Greg Sr., who made it to Indianapolis for two games last season. "He has a lot of people that care about him, which makes a lot of difference."

One factor in the family dynamic will soon change, and in a big way. Regardless of when Greg Jr. opts for the NBA draft -- he'll become eligible after his freshman year in college -- he's likely to get a multimillion-dollar contract. Throw in a possible shoe deal worth even more, and it's a jump to riches hard to imagine for anyone, and one that could potentially be fraught with conflict for a family affected by divorce.

Yet none of the Odens expect the money to change anything fundamental.

"I know my family," Greg Jr. said. "I know who I know. If I make it, I know who I know. If I don't know somebody, there's no reason to help them.

"My mom and dad work hard. . . . I see that and I wish I could help."

Said Greg Sr.: "Our relationship is real. It's no fake. He's down to earth, and I'm down to earth. We'd never have a falling out over money."


Call Star reporter Jeff Rabjohns at (317) 444-6183.

Copyright 2005 IndyStar.com. All rights reserved
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SchoolSports.com

10/27/05

Class of '06: Top 100 Basketball Recruits

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No. 1 recruit Greg Oden of Lawrence North (Ind.)

By Ben Sylvan

Date: Oct 26, 2005

For the first time in three years, picking the No. 1 senior basketball player in the country was an easy call. Not since LeBron James in 2003 has the decision been this much of a no-brainer. For the Class of 2006, there’s Lawrence North (Indianapolis) 7-foot center Greg Oden and then there’s everyone else.

Greg Oden is simply dominant — dominant on offense, dominant on defense and dominant on the boards. No other prep baller has such a complete impact on every part of the game. That’s not a knock on guys like Montrose Christian (Rockville, Md.) forward Kevin Durant, Episcopal Academy (Merion, Pa.) guard Wayne Ellington, Brentwood (Tenn.) Academy forward Brandan Wright or Mitchell (Memphis, Tenn.) swingman Thaddeus Young, all of whom might normally be in serious contention for the top spot. But Oden is just so good that there’s no debate.

SchoolSports.com unveils its preseason ranking of the nation's Top 100 basketball recruits in the Class of 2006. To get even more information on the nation's top players, SchoolSports and the Sporting News have combined forces on the 2005 High School Hoops Yearbook. Currently on newsstands nationwide, this annual preview includes player rankings for the Class of 2006, 2007 and 2008, as well as national and regional team rankings and features on some of the top prep players in the country.

Class of 2006 Preseason Rankings

1. Greg Oden
Lawrence North (Indianapolis)
Center, 7-0, 245
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