Mr Moohead Tires of the “How Great Greg Oden Is” Talk
by MooheadMarch 25, 2007 11:19 am
Look. I’m thrilled OSU is in the final four. They could win it all. They have been composed in their tourny games and have come back from adversity multiple times. But I’m sick of Greg Oden getting the credit. Really.
The guy plays 20 minutes a game and accumulates fouls like Leonardo DiCaprio does women. He scowls, and walks around with a constipated look on his face. He is dour and hard on himself. He commited a grave foul at the end of a game that could have cost his team the tournament had it been called a flagrant. He commited it out of personal frustration.
I know. He’s young. But the young dumb guys I know at least make it past half court on offense. They at least run the floor without breathing hard. They are in good shape and try hard. Greg Oden doesn’t.
He lopes up the floor like a wounded antelope. He allows himself to get moved by smaller men. He disappears for minutes at a time. During these times he doesn’t appear to even want the ball offensively. And now the biggy:
His team consistently improves when he’s off the floor. OSU has come back without him on the floor numerous times. Give the credit to Ron Lewis or Mike Conley Jr. Give some love to Butler’s defense or Hunter’s assertiveness.
The league, the announcers, and the fans are gonna hype Oden into the NBA, where he will suck eggs his first few years. And maybe more. This is not the new Bill Russell. This is more like Joe Barry Carroll. If Oden gets down playing with Big Ten rugrats, how is he going to feel when he butts heads with REAL men like Shaq or Okefor or Stoudemire? Will he go into his depression act? Will he foul out in 10 minutes?
Give Thad Matta credit for recruiting. Give the young kids credit for composure. But save your applause to Oden. He doesn’t deserve it yet.
March 25th, 2007 at 1:20 pm
I have to say I’m not an Ohio State fan but congrats to the Buckeye fans. I’ve been very impressed by Oden. At the beginning of the year, I was anti-Oden because so many people were talking about how great he was before he even took the floor. But as I’ve gotten to see him more and hear him talk I’m more impressed. He is a better person than he is a basketball player and that’s saying something. He is always giving credit to his coaches and teammates and often deflects praise to others.
Even though he is most likely the #1 pick the NBA next year (unless is Durant), he may pass it up to stay another year in Columbus. He thinks he may not be ready yet. He says he is a defensive player now that needs to work on his offense. How fresh is that? I’m so tired of hearing kids in high school that actually think they go can straight to the pros. They think they are already a star despite the fact that they are 160 pounds soak and wet and can’t hit a jump shot.
Oden knows he needs to work on his game and enjoys college. This is why I’m glad the NBA has a 1-yr college rule. Make the kids go to school and get an education. Who knows maybe they go to school and realize they do need coaching before they go to the NBA. Plus, they’ll need something to fall back onto if they don’t make it or if they were to get hurt later in their career.
Back to your point, Lewis and Conley Jr have really impressed in this tournament. They are the reason why OSU is in the Final Four - not Oden. I never heard about Conley really but he is a going to be playing at the next level. I saw him weave through traffic vs. Memphis and was wowed by his ball-handling. He’ll break your ankles. Lewis has been clutch in the tournament. If it not for his 3, OSU would have been upset already.
March 25th, 2007 at 2:04 pm
I wish Oden was as dedicated to education as you suggest. Unfortunately, his course load this semester is 2 courses: Sociology, and The History of Rock n Roll. Seriously. That’s his course load. This is NOT about his education. His career will be basketball. He needs more seasoning to succeed at the next level.
OSU graduated only 10% of it’s basketball athletes from 1996-1999. Michigan State? 75%. Holy Cross? 85%. UNLV? 8%. This is shameful.
March 25th, 2007 at 8:22 pm
Lewis is graduating with a soc. degree this spring commencent.
March 25th, 2007 at 9:41 pm
One guy. What are the odds that the Thad 5 will graduate? 10%. It’s hard to get behind that kind of record.
March 26th, 2007 at 4:10 pm
I’m not trying to defend Oden’s current schedule…it is what it is. But those graduation rates were from Jim O’Briens tenure, not Thad Matta. Please remember that when O’Brien came in he had to kick 3 or 4 players off the team and also had players like Michael Redd leave early for the NBA. All those players leaving have an effect on that graduation %. Our program was a mess under O’Brien and has since turned around. In Matta’s previous two years we are 4 for 4 in graduations and Ron Lewis already finished this year.
In regards to Oden’s foul situation and impact on the floor…. Oden never fouled out of a game until Xavier in the tournament. And, during the Memphis game when he came back in the 2nd half, we quickly went from down 5 to ahead by 5. I’m sure you also noticed how he blocked a shot immediately after coming back in the game, and continued to take away the paint from Memphis. OSU’s ability to play good basketball without Oden on the floor, is a testament to how good our other players are, not a black mark against Oden. Besides, he can’t be that bad if he’s 1st Team All-American.
March 26th, 2007 at 9:28 pm
Oden isn’t bad. He’s over rated. He’s lazy. And he is being taught the wrong things.
He’s also a great defensive presence who should be developed longer in order to be a force in the NBA.
Thad Matta is a great recruiter. We will see if his tenure is better than O’Brien’s for graduation. Oden’s course load doesn’t bode well. Lewis was there before Matta.
Oden fouls too much per minute played. It has cut down on his impact minutes. Maybe that’s good. He seems to struggle crossing the mid court line in transition, and breathes heavily after a few up and backs. He might need an iron lung if he actually played 35 minutes a game.
The NBA needs more big men. I’d like to see Oden with Roy Hibbert’s work ethic. Hibbert has no discernible athletic skill, but has worked into an acceptable college 7 footer. If Oden worked that hard, he’d be all world.
March 27th, 2007 at 10:42 am
Also keep in mind that Ohio State is on the quarter system…meaning he would have had to take a full course load in the fall quarter, and now in the spring quarter which started this week.
AND…Ron Lewis was NOT here before Matta. He transferred in from Bowling Green when Matta came on board. He was not offered by Ohio State when O’Brien was the coach. It would be nice if you could please do a little more research about a kid’s academics before pasted them on the internet. BTW…Oden got a 3.7 GPA in his fall quarter.
And again, regarding Oden’s foul situation you are way off base and obviously havn’t watched him play prior to the NCAA tournament. Oden has only fouled out of 1 game…against Xavier. And please, how could you possibly know what Oden’s work habits are?
Oden lazy? Author uninformed.
March 27th, 2007 at 1:23 pm
So Lewis’s credits came from…..I guess we can’t include him in the OSU grad stats if most of his credits came from a school that graduates a higher percentage of its athletes.
A 3.7 GPA taking what classes. I’ll betcha Oden never gets a degree. That’s the real point. I can get a 3.7 taking basket weaving.
Oden’s minutes? Compare them to other college centers. Work habits? I have eyes. He often doesn’t make it down the floor in time. He breathes heavily as if he’s not in the best shape. Billy Packer noticed the same thing.
Uninformed? No. Wrong? Maybe. Ready for the NBA. Not.
March 29th, 2007 at 10:43 am
Of course Greg Oden is not going to graduate from Ohio State, he’s going to the NBA. If the league had not changed the rule, he never would have even gone to Ohio State. He was a sure fire first round pick coming out of high school. As for his work habits, every coach says he works hard. A lot of time he does not run down the floor because he knows a shot is going up before he gets there. Face it, OSU has a lot of other scorers and Oden knows he can save some energy by not running down the floor to see a shot go up before he can get there to help. That’s smart, not lazy. As for Lewis, why shouldn’t his degree count? He still had to complete two years of college when he transferred from Bowling Green and under Matta he earned enough credits to graduate.
March 31st, 2007 at 7:56 am
Greg Oden is a great player.. I mean.. Look how tall he is, and he can make dunk a ball after knocking his defender tothe floor.. Just because he is slow, can’t score while being defended, and blocks the shots of players who are 6-10 inches shorter than him (players his own size usually score quite easily, unless Big Thug clubs them to the ground) Good luck in the NBA Glen Overrated… I mean Oden
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