Men's Basketball
Oden Impresses Off the Court
By John Porentas

We have good news for you. You are not just going to like Greg Oden on the court. Off the court, Oden is just dynamite.

Oden had his first meeting with the local media after his debut on the court yesterday and what shone through immediately was that Oden is a level-headed, well-spoken, funny and likable young man.

Greg Oden brings his pizza to the postgame.
Photo by Jim Davidson

Oden entered the media room following the game carrying, of all things, a pizza box. It's not the norm, but apparently Oden was hungry after his first outing as a Buckeye, so he brought his post-game meal with him.

It's the kind of thing a kid would do, and despite possessing the body of superman, Oden is a kid who is comfortable with who he is and what he's doing. He was a bit disappointed when an OSU official took it from him before he sat down, but smiled as he kept an eye on where the pizza was placed after it left his possession. It's just what you would expect from a normal 18-year old, because for all his notoriety, Oden appears to enjoy being a normal 18-year old, a college student, when he's not on the basketball court. What is not normal is the way he handles it all.

Oden took questions and answered them directly, honestly, and with humor, sometimes humor at his own expense, like when he described his experience of finally checking into a game, but having a little problem at the scoring table as he did so.

"I was kind of hyped so when I took off my shirt and it got stuck. I felt retarded then, but I enjoyed it, it felt good (to get into the game)," said Oden with a big grin.

Oden had no problem admitting to being nervous, very nervous, coming back into competition, but never hid behind those nerves as an excuse for less-than stellar play in the first half. As a matter of fact, he was quick to point out his mistakes, not his achievements.

" I traveled like eight times," said Oden.

Actually, his turnover number was three, but Oden was making it clear that he knew he had work to do.

Greg Oden
Photo by Jim Davidson

Oden's candor and delivery were refreshing. When asked if he felt as if he had to play differently in order to protect his injured wrist, Oden replied in his rather soft-spoken voice "My doctor told me specifically don't dive for a loose ball, and if I do fall just put my hand up and just fall and bust my head," drawing a laugh from reporters.

Oden is a polished kid in the post-game, but don't yet come to any conclusions about his game on the court. He was certainly effective against Valparaiso, but he is nowhere near fully recovered. He basically has not regained the use of his right wrist yet and played one-handed on Saturday making it difficult for him to do almost anything except play defense. Despite that impediment he recorded a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds.

"I can shoot a hook shot and shot put it, whatever I was doing today, but that's about it," said Oden of his offensive limitations at this point.

He was also nervous about his ability to rebound when he came into the game, but that worked out pretty well for him.

"I was pretty nervous that I was going to be able to grab the ball with my one hand, but I did a pretty good job," Oden said.

"I think Greg would tell you that he's not back to where he's going to be," said OSU Head Coach Thad Matta.

Oden was did not toot his own horn on Saturday, preferring to talk about his teammates and the job that they did in integrating him into the offense, but Valparaiso Head Coach Homer Drew, who saw Oden play in high school, was positively effusive in his praise of Oden.

"I think you people in the state of Ohio have a real treat coming up as you watch Greg get back into shape a little bit and get out on the floor," said Drew.

"He has a double-double and he only plays 23 minutes of the basketball game. We had a chance to watch him in high school and he's fun to watch. As he gets back into game-playing shape you're going to see some exciting things from him."

"When we heard (that Oden was going to play) we were going call Ohio State and cancel the contract because we were under the assumption that when we played he would not be in the lineup," quipped a smiling Drew.

"To play against number one and a talent like Greg and there's other people that are going to be in the NBA on this team as well. We were happy to go against the best," said Drew.

Sitting out with the injury has definitely been disappointing for Oden He has missed the game and missed being on the floor with his teammates, but perhaps the way he has dealt with that disappointment is perhaps the most telling thing about his personality. He has found a silver lining, embraced it, and has accepted things for what they are.

"I dreaded going to practice," said Oden of his early days of rehab.

"I stayed on the other side of the gym where coach Rich was because I knew he was going to tell me to get on the line because we're going to run. I hated it at first, but coach just kept walking on by me saying 'Look at the big picture.'"

Oden did just that.

"Somebody might think that, but you have to look at it as a blessing in disguise, because I had a long time to work on my left hand. I can hit a free throw with my left hand. I couldn't even hit a layup with my left hand before, so it's a blessing in disguise," he said.

"Yesterday in practice I hit a left-handed jump shot. I'm shooting with my left right now. All I need to do is play defense and block shots," Oden said.

Oden is happy to be back and has a very mature attitude about how his return to action might go.

"I've got to work into it," he said. "That was only one game. We've got a lot more games. I have to study a lot and just play with my teammates. It's a team thing. We all have to come together," he said.

Oden has a level-headed approach to his on-court progress. Off the court, he wants to be just another college kid and says that so far, he's been able to be just that on campus at Ohio State...for the most part.

"People treat me regular like they did in Indianapolis. I enjoy that," said Oden.

"I go to class. Sometimes a guy might stop me with a basketball they pulled out of nowhere," he said.

"I have two classes with Mike (Conley) and one with David (Lighty) , so I'm around them all the time and we don't really notice anything out of normal."

Just another college kid.

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