Men's Basketball
Like It or Not, Oden Will Command Attention in Atlanta
By John PorentasBrace yourself Greg, it's about to happen again.
OSU All-American Center Greg Oden will be on the big stage of college basketball this weekend, the Final Four.
Greg Oden
Photo by Jim DavidsonNot that Oden isn't used to the big stage. Oden has been the center of attention since his high school career when people first noticed that he wasn't just big, but also athletic, talented, and personable. He was the ideal candidate for becoming a basketball super-star, and without really trying, became one.
Oden's popularity as a target for autograph hunters has been well-documented. He is hounded mercilessly after games and before, and nearly always complies with requests with grace. He always makes an effort to sign for everyone seeking an autograph. He's that kind of guy. What is often not seen is how he is hounded by members of the media, particularly members of the national media, who are sure that they are going to break the story on his basketball intentions for the future.
If weren't so absurd, it would be comical. In press conferences prior to and after the games at both the Lexington and San Antonio in the NCAA tournament national media members were relentless in their questions regarding his future to the point of making it nearly impossible to ask Oden mundane things like...oh...the upcoming game...or...oh...maybe the game just played...something writers covering the team might like to talk about.
Oden doesn't seek the attention, but tolerates it, and at times looks a little like he is bored some by it. He has developed an effective mechanism for deflecting questions about his future. He simply replies that he hasn't thought about it yet, and won't until after the season ends. The people covering him on a regular basis take that as fact. The people who don't cover him regularly apparently think he is lying and continue to relentlessly dog him on the issue of his future.
"I keep getting the same questions over and over," Oden said recently. "It's just different people asking them every time," Oden said.
What makes it all so difficult to watch is that Oden is the antithesis of all the hype of which he is the center. While the media focus is on his future, his focus is firmly in other places, like winning as a team and improving as a player.
In defense of the journalists who think Oden is evasive, it is simply a sign of the times. Center-stage sports figures today tend to be me-oriented and enjoy public attention and toying with the media. Where everyone is going wrong is with Oden is that he simply does not fit that mold. He is genuinely something else, a guy who wants to win and to get better, and is little-moved by media attention and personal aggrandizement. Take, for instance, his recent reaction to being named to the Associate Press All-American first team. OSU Head Coach Thad Matta related the story.
"As Greg and I walked on the court I said 'I normally don't say anything about this stuff until after the season, but somebody just told me as I walked down the stairs you were named first-team All-American, congratulations, and he goes 'Uh-huh,'" said Matta.
That was the sum of his reaction. Then he went to practice. Matta was not surprised.
"That's Greg," said Matta.
"I said 'We'll have a congratulatory hug after the season and he said 'That's fine.' That's about it."
Speculation regarding Oden's future is now approaching the absurd level. There was recently a "report of a rumor" (yes, a report of a rumor) by Chad Ford, an employee of ESPN, that both Oden and Conley are gone after this season at Ohio State, a report denied by Conley's father and reported in The Columbus Dispatch by local writer Todd Jones. The ESPN report cited "individuals close to the people involved" and unnamed sports agents. Jones, on the other hand, quoted Conley Senior directly.
Who do you believe? That's up to you, but we sort of like the idea of actually quoting somebody and naming the source. As a matter of fact, we like it a lot. Maybe we're a bunch of naive old midwest farm boys and those big-time guys from Bristol have it all over on us, but The Dispatch and The-Ozone have been covering Oden and Conley all season, and our impression meshes well with what Jones reported in The Dispatch.
Oden may or may not go to the NBA, but we really believe that is still an open question in Oden's mind. What remains a mystery to us is why that is so hard for some people to believe. If we had to make a guess, it's probably because they impose their own values into the process, assuming Oden is making the decision in exactly the way they would. He isn't. He's making it the way Greg Oden would, and that is a way that is different from what we are all used to, and that's what makes this so hard to understand for a lot of people.
So to take all the mystery out of it, here is what you can expect to come out of Atlanta. 1) Greg Oden will be there. 2) He will be asked about his NBA future. 3) He will say he hasn't decided yet, hasn't really weighed the questions. 4) He will be asked again. 5) He will handle it all with a grace and calmness that nobody has the right to expect from a 19-year old person.
A lot of people won't believe him.
Too bad.
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