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Davenport and Oden Recognized for Accomplishments
Downtown Columbus Banner to be unveiled Wednesday
COLUMBUS, Ohio - As part of its on-going community relations commitment to communicate with its many fans and the Columbus community, the Ohio State Athletics Department is promoting two of the most recognizable names in men's and women's collegiate basketball in Jessica Davenport and Greg Oden with giant murals on a downtown building located at 145 S. High St. The murals are expected to be completed Wednesday.
Davenport is a two-time All-American and a two-time Big Ten Player of the Year. The 6-5 center, who has won two gold medals with USA Basketball, averaged 18.7 points and 8.9 rebounds a game last year for Jim Foster's 29-3 Buckeyes.
Foster, Ohio State's head women's basketball coach, said the recognition for Davenport is well deserved.
"I cannot think of a better role model than Jessica," Foster said. "She is a lifelong Columbus resident and is highly visible in this community. Her academic and athletic accomplishments can serve as an example to a whole generation of youth in this city."
Oden is expected to be one of the premier players in college basketball this year for Thad Matta's defending Big Ten champion Buckeyes. The 7-foot freshman center was a two-time selection as the National Player of the Year and was considered the No. 1 high school prospect in the nation last season.
Matta, Ohio State's men's coach, said Oden, though he has not yet played for the Buckeyes, has made significant contributions to the game of basketball already in his young career.
"We are certainly proud of what Greg has accomplished to date in the game of basketball and wanted to recognize the honors he's earned," Matta said. "The downtown banner is unique and well-deserved."
David Brown, associate athletics director for marketing and promotions, said the banner is a small piece of Ohio State's effort to bring extraordinary efforts by Buckeye coaches and student-athletes to the public's attention.
"This is part of our continuing effort to recognize our athletes and teams and to allow our fans and the community to share in their accomplishments," Brown said. "We have a lot of good things to share with the community."
Davenport and Oden Recognized for Accomplishments
Downtown Columbus Banner to be unveiled Wednesday
COLUMBUS, Ohio - As part of its on-going community relations commitment to communicate with its many fans and the Columbus community, the Ohio State Athletics Department is promoting two of the most recognizable names in men's and women's collegiate basketball in Jessica Davenport and Greg Oden with giant murals on a downtown building located at 145 S. High St. The murals are expected to be completed Wednesday.
Davenport is a two-time All-American and a two-time Big Ten Player of the Year. The 6-5 center, who has won two gold medals with USA Basketball, averaged 18.7 points and 8.9 rebounds a game last year for Jim Foster's 29-3 Buckeyes.
Foster, Ohio State's head women's basketball coach, said the recognition for Davenport is well deserved.
"I cannot think of a better role model than Jessica," Foster said. "She is a lifelong Columbus resident and is highly visible in this community. Her academic and athletic accomplishments can serve as an example to a whole generation of youth in this city."
Oden is expected to be one of the premier players in college basketball this year for Thad Matta's defending Big Ten champion Buckeyes. The 7-foot freshman center was a two-time selection as the National Player of the Year and was considered the No. 1 high school prospect in the nation last season.
Matta, Ohio State's men's coach, said Oden, though he has not yet played for the Buckeyes, has made significant contributions to the game of basketball already in his young career.
"We are certainly proud of what Greg has accomplished to date in the game of basketball and wanted to recognize the honors he's earned," Matta said. "The downtown banner is unique and well-deserved."
David Brown, associate athletics director for marketing and promotions, said the banner is a small piece of Ohio State's effort to bring extraordinary efforts by Buckeye coaches and student-athletes to the public's attention.
"This is part of our continuing effort to recognize our athletes and teams and to allow our fans and the community to share in their accomplishments," Brown said. "We have a lot of good things to share with the community."
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A tale of two centers
First published: Wednesday, November 8, 2006 NEW YORK -- He fills the No. 1 criteria for success at his position: He's big. He also can run the floor, find his way around the basket without seeking directions, is capable of big nights and still hasn't touched his potential.We've just summed up Eddy Curry, the center the New York Knicks are still getting to know. But that also describes Greg Oden, the center the Knicks will never know.
Here's what everyone in basketball knows: The Knicks blew any chance of getting The Next Great Big Man, should the 7-foot consensus high school player of the year leave Ohio State after his freshman year.
Among other goodies, the Knicks gave Chicago the right to swap first-round picks next June in what could be one of those special drafts where the top pick is a true lottery jackpot.
The legacy of Isiah Thomas with the Knicks will not live or die with Stephon Marbury, his pet player. Isiah's job status rests with the decision he made two years ago when he ignored red-alert warnings about Curry's heart and intensity level and hunger and not only gave him a big contract, but took the Knicks right out of the Oden sweepstakes. No other general manager in basketball thought Curry was worth all that, and pretty soon, we'll see if Isiah was smarter than all the rest or just a bigger fool.
When Knicks owner Jim Dolan turned to Isiah last summer and demanded "significant progress" or else, without defining "significant progress," let's assume he was referring in part to Curry this season.
The Knicks must and should see a better center, but given his history of disappearing in and out of games, nothing is certain.
Should Curry turn mean enough to land a role in "Saw IV," learn to attack more and foul less, the Knicks probably will win games, never worry about a center for 10 years and keep sending Isiah paychecks. If Curry averages more silly fouls and turnovers per game than tough rebounds and can't dominate the souped-up power forwards that most teams stick at center, and if the Knicks wind up with a lousy record and Oden with the Bulls, Isiah will be christened the worst executive in New York sports history.
There's another scenario, in which Curry finally figures it out next year, but by then Isiah will be long gone, living in shame with Larry Brown. That's why Curry's time is now. It has been almost six years since he made the jump from high school. That's long enough. So far, in this young and pessimistic Knicks season, Curry is giving mixed messages. Through three games, he was one of the few bright spots.
But Monday night, he was yanked, along with three other starters, and the Knicks played their best ball without him. They trailed by 19 with eight minutes left, and Curry was booed when he went to the bench. In four minutes they cut the Spurs' lead to one, helped by Malik Rose's smart defense on Tim Duncan.
Then Curry returned, heard boos and promptly had one shot blocked, then missed a hook, and the Knicks' rally ended. His mild numbers were 13 points, 11 rebounds and five painful turnovers, and they pale next to these numbers: three straight losses for the Knicks with six games coming up against playoff teams, four on the road."I didn't play well," he said. "That's going to happen. I know what's at stake and what I need to do. The better I play, the more chances my team has to win."
Usually, when a big man comes up big, his team wins. Except these are the Knicks, and this is Curry, still searching for himself.
Until he finds what he's looking for, the big man the Knicks need is suiting up for Ohio State now, and maybe Chicago later. Shaun Powell writes for Newsday.
A tale of two centers
First published: Wednesday, November 8, 2006 NEW YORK -- He fills the No. 1 criteria for success at his position: He's big. He also can run the floor, find his way around the basket without seeking directions, is capable of big nights and still hasn't touched his potential.We've just summed up Eddy Curry, the center the New York Knicks are still getting to know. But that also describes Greg Oden, the center the Knicks will never know.
Here's what everyone in basketball knows: The Knicks blew any chance of getting The Next Great Big Man, should the 7-foot consensus high school player of the year leave Ohio State after his freshman year.
Among other goodies, the Knicks gave Chicago the right to swap first-round picks next June in what could be one of those special drafts where the top pick is a true lottery jackpot.
The legacy of Isiah Thomas with the Knicks will not live or die with Stephon Marbury, his pet player. Isiah's job status rests with the decision he made two years ago when he ignored red-alert warnings about Curry's heart and intensity level and hunger and not only gave him a big contract, but took the Knicks right out of the Oden sweepstakes. No other general manager in basketball thought Curry was worth all that, and pretty soon, we'll see if Isiah was smarter than all the rest or just a bigger fool.
When Knicks owner Jim Dolan turned to Isiah last summer and demanded "significant progress" or else, without defining "significant progress," let's assume he was referring in part to Curry this season.
The Knicks must and should see a better center, but given his history of disappearing in and out of games, nothing is certain.
Should Curry turn mean enough to land a role in "Saw IV," learn to attack more and foul less, the Knicks probably will win games, never worry about a center for 10 years and keep sending Isiah paychecks. If Curry averages more silly fouls and turnovers per game than tough rebounds and can't dominate the souped-up power forwards that most teams stick at center, and if the Knicks wind up with a lousy record and Oden with the Bulls, Isiah will be christened the worst executive in New York sports history.
There's another scenario, in which Curry finally figures it out next year, but by then Isiah will be long gone, living in shame with Larry Brown. That's why Curry's time is now. It has been almost six years since he made the jump from high school. That's long enough. So far, in this young and pessimistic Knicks season, Curry is giving mixed messages. Through three games, he was one of the few bright spots.
But Monday night, he was yanked, along with three other starters, and the Knicks played their best ball without him. They trailed by 19 with eight minutes left, and Curry was booed when he went to the bench. In four minutes they cut the Spurs' lead to one, helped by Malik Rose's smart defense on Tim Duncan.
Then Curry returned, heard boos and promptly had one shot blocked, then missed a hook, and the Knicks' rally ended. His mild numbers were 13 points, 11 rebounds and five painful turnovers, and they pale next to these numbers: three straight losses for the Knicks with six games coming up against playoff teams, four on the road."I didn't play well," he said. "That's going to happen. I know what's at stake and what I need to do. The better I play, the more chances my team has to win."
Usually, when a big man comes up big, his team wins. Except these are the Knicks, and this is Curry, still searching for himself.
Until he finds what he's looking for, the big man the Knicks need is suiting up for Ohio State now, and maybe Chicago later. Shaun Powell writes for Newsday.
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College Basketball | Oden, Gators make it a young man's game
By Bud Withers
Seattle Times staff reporter
Freshman Greg Oden could have Ohio State opponents running for cover. The 7-footer likely would have been the top pick in the NBA draft had rules not changed.
If college basketball were tilting on an old, familiar axis, Greg Oden would be playing tonight in a glitzy but somnolent NBA arena. And somebody on the other team might be named Joakim Noah or Corey Brewer.
No, no and no. As the college season tips off tonight, new rules and novel thinking are in place, each element destined to dramatically impact schoolboy hoops.
Oden is the Indianapolis 7-footer and poster child for the first year of an NBA rule forcing high-school graduates to wait a year before they can be drafted. Instead of occupying the roster of the Toronto Raptors, who had the first pick in the pro draft, he's with the Ohio State Buckeyes, who suddenly will become a factor in the national-title race when Oden debuts in January after a wrist injury.
"I'm not sure there's been a better big man coming out, in terms of all aspects of the game ? passing, scoring and shot-blocking," Arizona coach Lute Olson said last week at the Pac-10's media day. "He pretty much eliminates everything from 12 feet in. He has a chance to be another [Bill] Walton or [Kareem Abdul-] Jabbar."
If the fates, or CBS, have their way, Oden will run into Florida. It was the Gators who marched convincingly to the 2006 national championship, after which leading lights like Noah, Brewer and Al Horford were expected to bid goodbye to Gainesville and hello to a rookie contract.
They announced shortly after returning from the Final Four that they would take a pass on the pros for now. Refreshingly ? stunningly ? they then kept their word through the spring dance of posturing and agents and draft camps.
What's left for Florida is a rarity on the order of the hook shot ? five starters returning to an NCAA championship team, trying to become the first to repeat since Duke in 1992.
Of course, the downside is that anything less than trophies and snipped nets is liable to be viewed as failure. Billy Donovan, the coach, is already bracing for that eventuality.
"I'm not going to allow anybody to take away from the enjoyment we're going to try to have, taking on the challenge of this year," he told reporters recently. "If we don't get to the Final Four, I'm not going to sit there and say, 'What a disappointing season.' "
Rest assured, there will be people who will do it for him. And there will be no lack of hopefuls looking to bump Florida from the winners' stand ? among them, North Carolina, Kansas and possibly UCLA or Arizona.
College Basketball | Oden, Gators make it a young man's game
By Bud Withers
Seattle Times staff reporter
Freshman Greg Oden could have Ohio State opponents running for cover. The 7-footer likely would have been the top pick in the NBA draft had rules not changed.
If college basketball were tilting on an old, familiar axis, Greg Oden would be playing tonight in a glitzy but somnolent NBA arena. And somebody on the other team might be named Joakim Noah or Corey Brewer.
No, no and no. As the college season tips off tonight, new rules and novel thinking are in place, each element destined to dramatically impact schoolboy hoops.
Oden is the Indianapolis 7-footer and poster child for the first year of an NBA rule forcing high-school graduates to wait a year before they can be drafted. Instead of occupying the roster of the Toronto Raptors, who had the first pick in the pro draft, he's with the Ohio State Buckeyes, who suddenly will become a factor in the national-title race when Oden debuts in January after a wrist injury.
"I'm not sure there's been a better big man coming out, in terms of all aspects of the game ? passing, scoring and shot-blocking," Arizona coach Lute Olson said last week at the Pac-10's media day. "He pretty much eliminates everything from 12 feet in. He has a chance to be another [Bill] Walton or [Kareem Abdul-] Jabbar."
If the fates, or CBS, have their way, Oden will run into Florida. It was the Gators who marched convincingly to the 2006 national championship, after which leading lights like Noah, Brewer and Al Horford were expected to bid goodbye to Gainesville and hello to a rookie contract.
They announced shortly after returning from the Final Four that they would take a pass on the pros for now. Refreshingly ? stunningly ? they then kept their word through the spring dance of posturing and agents and draft camps.
What's left for Florida is a rarity on the order of the hook shot ? five starters returning to an NCAA championship team, trying to become the first to repeat since Duke in 1992.
Of course, the downside is that anything less than trophies and snipped nets is liable to be viewed as failure. Billy Donovan, the coach, is already bracing for that eventuality.
"I'm not going to allow anybody to take away from the enjoyment we're going to try to have, taking on the challenge of this year," he told reporters recently. "If we don't get to the Final Four, I'm not going to sit there and say, 'What a disappointing season.' "
Rest assured, there will be people who will do it for him. And there will be no lack of hopefuls looking to bump Florida from the winners' stand ? among them, North Carolina, Kansas and possibly UCLA or Arizona.
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BuckeyeTillIDie
The North Remembers
I was reading bucknuts, so all the credibility I read is probably poor, but a lot of them seemed to think Oden would be back nearly a month earlier than expected. Meaning he would be ready for the UNC game. Someone claimed to have a little inside info. Is this just optimistic fodder?
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OSUBasketballJunkie
Never Forget 31-0
If anyone claims to have inside info on his recovery, well its purely speculation.....Oden's recovery is a day to day thing.....one step at a time.
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Talented freshmen will have 1-year careers
Wednesday, November 15, 2006
McClatchy Newspapers
Copyright ? 2006 AP Wire
MIAMI -- Greg Oden -- the most dominant high school center since Shaquille O'Neal -- is a freshman at Ohio State. He takes classes, attends practice, eats dorm food and plans to suit up for the Buckeyes once his ailing wrist heals. Whether he unpacks his luggage remains to be seen.
He might be better off keeping his stuff in boxes.
Oden, a 7-1, 255-pound Indiana native, is a member of the first freshman class held back from the NBA Draft for a year under the league's new age rules. Players must be 19 and one year removed from high school to be eligible for the draft.
Unlike 2004, when a record eight high schoolers were drafted in the first round, the Class of 2006 has to wait until summer 2007 to cash in.
Oden, Seattle prep star Spencer Hawes (University of Washington), and all-everything forward Kevin Durant (University of Texas) are among the NBA-bound youngsters biding their time in college this season because their only other choices are going to Europe, spending a year riding buses to NBDL games or getting rusty.
Other top freshmen who would likely be in the NBA under the old rules are Paul Harris (Syracuse), Thaddeus Young (Georgia Tech) and Ty Lawson (North Carolina). So, for five months anyway, college basketball can boast the most talented freshman class since 1995, when Kevin Garnett went directly to the Timberwolves and opened the floodgates.
Though fans might be excited to see the top prep players in college uniforms, albeit for just one season, many college basketball coaches are not convinced the rule is a good idea. If players are allowed to declare for the draft after their freshman year, why not just let them turn pro out of high school?
"It's like the kid has one foot in college and one foot out," University of Miami basketball coach Frank Haith said. "He's not really committed to the team or academics, he's just there counting days until the draft, so how seriously is he going to take his college experience?
"The NBA wanted to do the right thing, but I'm not really in favor of the rule as it is because I think if a kid's good enough to go out from high school, he should go. It's not fair to those kids to hold them back and force them to go to college if they don't want to."
That said, if a player such as Oden wanted to play for the Hurricanes for one season, Haith would take him.
"Heck, yes," Haith said. "Absolutely I would. I won't lie. Look what Carmelo Anthony did for Syracuse. But I don't think that will be an issue for us here at Miami, at least not yet. And it would take a very special kid."
Virginia Tech coach Seth Greenberg said he's not so sure he'd take a player for one season.
"If a kid comes in, plays amazing as a freshman and has a chance to go, he should go," Greenberg said by phone. "But to recruit a guy knowing he's going to go after one year? I'm not inclined to take a guy like that. For my program, I need to recruit to build continuity. It would take an extraordinary situation."
Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski and North Carolina coach Roy Williams also have expressed reservations about the new rule, even though both stand to gain one-year wonders.
Williams, who probably wouldn't have much-hyped freshmen Brandan Wright and Wayne Ellington were it not for the age rule, said he worries college basketball will become a "bus stop" for some NBA-bound freshmen. Krzyzewski would rather see players make the leap from high school, or make a college commitment of at least two years.
"Frankly, I'd rather have it the way it was, or have it a mandatory two years in college," Krzyzewski told reporters recently. "Nobody has to go through this thing of `I think I want to go to school' when they really don't.
"We have a 16-year-old girl golfer Michelle Wie winning money. Basketball players should be given the same opportunity. It's not going to hurt the college game. We're going to be OK no matter what."
Talented freshmen will have 1-year careers
Wednesday, November 15, 2006
McClatchy Newspapers
Copyright ? 2006 AP Wire
MIAMI -- Greg Oden -- the most dominant high school center since Shaquille O'Neal -- is a freshman at Ohio State. He takes classes, attends practice, eats dorm food and plans to suit up for the Buckeyes once his ailing wrist heals. Whether he unpacks his luggage remains to be seen.
He might be better off keeping his stuff in boxes.
Oden, a 7-1, 255-pound Indiana native, is a member of the first freshman class held back from the NBA Draft for a year under the league's new age rules. Players must be 19 and one year removed from high school to be eligible for the draft.
Unlike 2004, when a record eight high schoolers were drafted in the first round, the Class of 2006 has to wait until summer 2007 to cash in.
Oden, Seattle prep star Spencer Hawes (University of Washington), and all-everything forward Kevin Durant (University of Texas) are among the NBA-bound youngsters biding their time in college this season because their only other choices are going to Europe, spending a year riding buses to NBDL games or getting rusty.
Other top freshmen who would likely be in the NBA under the old rules are Paul Harris (Syracuse), Thaddeus Young (Georgia Tech) and Ty Lawson (North Carolina). So, for five months anyway, college basketball can boast the most talented freshman class since 1995, when Kevin Garnett went directly to the Timberwolves and opened the floodgates.
Though fans might be excited to see the top prep players in college uniforms, albeit for just one season, many college basketball coaches are not convinced the rule is a good idea. If players are allowed to declare for the draft after their freshman year, why not just let them turn pro out of high school?
"It's like the kid has one foot in college and one foot out," University of Miami basketball coach Frank Haith said. "He's not really committed to the team or academics, he's just there counting days until the draft, so how seriously is he going to take his college experience?
"The NBA wanted to do the right thing, but I'm not really in favor of the rule as it is because I think if a kid's good enough to go out from high school, he should go. It's not fair to those kids to hold them back and force them to go to college if they don't want to."
That said, if a player such as Oden wanted to play for the Hurricanes for one season, Haith would take him.
"Heck, yes," Haith said. "Absolutely I would. I won't lie. Look what Carmelo Anthony did for Syracuse. But I don't think that will be an issue for us here at Miami, at least not yet. And it would take a very special kid."
Virginia Tech coach Seth Greenberg said he's not so sure he'd take a player for one season.
"If a kid comes in, plays amazing as a freshman and has a chance to go, he should go," Greenberg said by phone. "But to recruit a guy knowing he's going to go after one year? I'm not inclined to take a guy like that. For my program, I need to recruit to build continuity. It would take an extraordinary situation."
Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski and North Carolina coach Roy Williams also have expressed reservations about the new rule, even though both stand to gain one-year wonders.
Williams, who probably wouldn't have much-hyped freshmen Brandan Wright and Wayne Ellington were it not for the age rule, said he worries college basketball will become a "bus stop" for some NBA-bound freshmen. Krzyzewski would rather see players make the leap from high school, or make a college commitment of at least two years.
"Frankly, I'd rather have it the way it was, or have it a mandatory two years in college," Krzyzewski told reporters recently. "Nobody has to go through this thing of `I think I want to go to school' when they really don't.
"We have a 16-year-old girl golfer Michelle Wie winning money. Basketball players should be given the same opportunity. It's not going to hurt the college game. We're going to be OK no matter what."
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OSUBasketballJunkie
Never Forget 31-0
Dispatch
OSU BASKETBALL
Oden?s debut date still uncertain, but December isn?t out of question
Wednesday, November 15, 2006
Bob Baptist
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
NEAL C . LAURON DISPATCH Ohio State freshman Greg Oden will get the splint taken off his surgically repaired right wrist Thursday.
The scarlet and gray splint comes off Greg Oden?s right wrist Thursday.
When the wraps come off the next big thing in college basketball remains uncertain. But it could be sooner than the Jan. 1 date coach Thad Matta has been mentioning.
How much sooner?
Maybe an early Christmas present for Ohio State and its fans, who are anxious to see how much better the young Buckeyes become when the 7-foot freshman gives them an inside presence.
When Oden makes his debut "is a fluid date," the team?s orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Grant Jones, said this week. But Oden will begin stretching the wrist to increase its flexibility when the splint comes off, Jones said, and start strengthening exercises in about two weeks.
"That?s how we?re going to gauge if he can come back earlier" than January, said Jones, who did not perform the surgery but is overseeing Oden?s rehabilitation. "The goal is to get the (grip) strength (in the right wrist) to about 80 percent of that in the left, or above. That will show it?s safe for him to start competitive-type things, first in practice and then in games."
Oden, a two-time national player of the year in high school, had surgery June 16 to repair a torn ligament in the wrist. A screw was inserted then to hold bones in place while the ligament healed. The screw was removed Oct. 19, and the wrist has been immobilized since while the hole in the bone heals.
Oden will continue to wear a brace for protection when he is not exercising the wrist, Jones said, and will be fitted for a padded brace to wear in practice and games.
Rehabilitation time originally was estimated at six months, Jones said, because "we know (that) is the time ligaments and tendons take to heal to about 80 percent strength." By that time, he said, they can "withstand more force."
Six months from the date of surgery is Dec. 16, when Ohio State plays Cincinnati in Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, where Oden won three state high school championships. A week later, the Buckeyes play at No. 1-ranked Florida, the defending NCAA champion.
The Jan. 1 date Matta has used is "to give (Oden) a couple weeks after the protection period to get ready to play again," Jones said.
That is where Oden?s return could be expedited. He might be ready to roll when the wrist is cleared for contact "sometime in December," Jones said.
Oden has been playing in "5-on-0" drills ? offense against no defense ? since October to polish his timing and become familiar with Matta?s system. He has been running alongside the court as his teammates practice to simulate game conditions. And he has been strengthening every part of his body except the wrist ? even his right shoulder, with resistance training from the elbow up.
Oden weighed 262 pounds when he enrolled at Ohio State in June and was 278 last week. His body fat is 5.2 percent, said Dave Richardson, the team?s strength and conditioning coach.
"He?s been able to do everything I?ve wanted him to do, and he?s really done it with ease," Richardson said.
"I don?t know what Thad has in mind. I?m sure his idea is probably to ease him in. But I don?t see that happening. I think his first game he?s going to play significant minutes. That?s how we?re approaching his conditioning."
Matta has been vague about when Oden will return and how much he will play. Matta has even said he won?t give advance notice of when Oden will play. Asked last week if it would be November ? as in Nov. 29 at North Carolina ? Matta said no, then qualified that by adding, "The chances of that happening would be a freak of nature."
Jones said a November return "would be very doubtful."
"Two or three weeks (from now), we?ll make some strength calculations," Jones said. "It?ll take him some time to get the strength back (in the wrist after) being immobilized for that period of time. Every couple of weeks, we?ll reassess his strength."
Jones would not speculate on when Oden might return.
Oden was not available for comment; Matta does not permit first-year players to speak to the media until they have played a game.
But in July, while attending the USA national team?s training camp before the world championships, Oden put the rest of college basketball on notice as to what to expect.
"This injury is hurting me," he told the Akron Beacon-Journal. "But when I come back, it is going to hurt other people, too, because I?m going to be ready."
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Waiting with baited breath
Last night, I watched a game that I had taped between Lawrence North (Oden's and Conley's HS,for those who have been living in a cave or who have been in a coma) and Eric Gordon's HS, "something" Central. Now to the moral, I cannot wait to see Oden suit up, his athleticism is astounding for a 7 footer. He jumps and runs the floor as well, or better, than any big man I've ever seen (I'm 40 so I've seen Abdul Jabbar in his late prime and Walton a little before foot problems robbed him of his athleticism, as well as all of the big men since)
The only thing that I thought was a little lacking in his play was in his setting up in the lane and demanding the ball, being double and triple teamed in HS made this difficult. As difficult as it is for him to miss these early games, this will give the staff more time to work on his fundamentals and footwork, which already seemed pretty good.
Sorry this is sooo long, I'm just psyched
Last night, I watched a game that I had taped between Lawrence North (Oden's and Conley's HS,for those who have been living in a cave or who have been in a coma) and Eric Gordon's HS, "something" Central. Now to the moral, I cannot wait to see Oden suit up, his athleticism is astounding for a 7 footer. He jumps and runs the floor as well, or better, than any big man I've ever seen (I'm 40 so I've seen Abdul Jabbar in his late prime and Walton a little before foot problems robbed him of his athleticism, as well as all of the big men since)
The only thing that I thought was a little lacking in his play was in his setting up in the lane and demanding the ball, being double and triple teamed in HS made this difficult. As difficult as it is for him to miss these early games, this will give the staff more time to work on his fundamentals and footwork, which already seemed pretty good.
Sorry this is sooo long, I'm just psyched
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