Smaller foes are thorn in Oden’s side
OSU recruit takes beating from swarms of defenders
Friday, March 24, 2006
Rob Oller
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
MATT KRYGER | THE INDIANAPOLIS STAR Greg Oden usually towers above opponents, but his head fake here has three Bloomington South players sky-high over him in a game last weekend.
ROB GOEBEL | INDIANAPOLIS STAR Greg Oden looks to pass in a regional final against a Pike triple team, a common configuration the 7-footer faces.
INDIANAPOLIS — The top half of Greg Oden towers above the turbulence. It’s his lower body that gets caught in the storm of multiple lightning strikes.
A crack in the back. A jab to the thigh. A shot to the stomach. Such is the norm for the 7-footer who finds himself constantly surrounded by opponents who are puny by comparison.
No wonder Oden can’t wait to come to Ohio State and compete against players more his size.
"I’m looking forward to that wider variety of basketball," the senior said after his team, Indianapolis Lawrence North, advanced to the Indiana state championship game, where it will be favored for a third consecutive big-school title Saturday.
Oden’s lower back might as well be a bass drum as much as it gets beaten on during games.
"It’s been hurting for a while," he said, adding that his forearms also ache. "The refs don’t see (opponents) pulling on my arms. They just see my arms fouling their face."
Oden does not say this with a whine, but more matter-of-factly, like someone resigned to coming home from work with a headache. He is bigger. His elbows swing above their heads. Their elbows swing into his sides. Just the way it works.
In some ways, the senior’s size works against him. High-school officials tend to let opposing players push him rather than call a foul every time Lawrence North has the ball. Bloomington South defenders consistently placed outstretched arms and open hands on Oden’s back, like men moving a refrigerator, during the state semifinal game.
"Those little guys, their center of gravity is much lower than mine and they can push me around all they want," he said.
On the other hand, Oden often gets in foul trouble against smaller teams like Bloomington South. The sight of a 7-footer leaning into a 6-1 forward tends to attract the officials’ attention.
Oden scored eight points, his lowest total since his freshman season, in the Wildcats’ 54-36 win Saturday in 7,000-seat Southport High School Fieldhouse. He also had seven rebounds and two blocked shots. Despite being doubleteamed, Oden touched the ball enough to score 30 points but took only five shots. He chose to pass to open teammates rather than go aggressively to the basket and risk fouling out. He picked up four fouls as it was.
"Greg is 255 pounds and the guy who was guarding him is 190 probably and seemed to fall down a lot, so Greg gave up some of his more aggressive moves just to move the ball. You’ve got to compliment him for it," Lawrence North coach John Keefer said.
Still, Oden, who averages 23 points and 12 rebounds, was frustrated to score only eight points.
"Very strange," said teammate and fellow OSU recruit Mike Conley Jr., who scored 18. "But he knew he had to stay in the game, so the other guys stepped up."
Oden shrugs when asked about possible concern of Ohio State fans who expect him to dominate on the offensive end next season. At least four times, he pointed out that the Wildcats still won by 18 points.
"How many I score doesn’t really matter, because it’s going to say, ‘Greg Oden, third state championship,’ " he said.
No question Oden is a team-first player, not to mention a defense-first guy.
"He’s not a scorer," Keefer said. "We’re trying to make a scorer out of him because we need his points, but he’s a defensive player and a team man. I thought Greg adjusted about 15 shots today."
Keefer said Buckeyes fans shouldn’t judge Oden by his high-school statistics, because it’s hard for any player to score points when swarmed by multiple defenders.
"Everyone wants him to get 35 points and 15 rebounds, but he will if it’s one-on-one," Keefer said.
"He’ll be unbelievable in college. There will only be one guy guarding him there. Here, he’s got two and three guys on him, and they’re all little guys running all over the place."
Including into Oden.
Yet the big man keeps him composure in the midst of the muggings, knowing he needs to stay in the game if the Wildcats expect to win.
If anything, Oden needs to become less of a gentleman.
"I don’t think I’m at that animal status yet," he said. "That’s one thing I gotta develop." But first, one more prep game, against Muncie Central in Conseco Fieldhouse, to complete his career. Bring on the Bearcats. And the bruises.
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