After missing all of last year with a knee injury, Greg Oden is ready to take over in the NBA. The #1 overall pick in the 2007 NBA draft had microfracture knee surgery a little over a year ago, but he's back now, and is ready to try to live up to the hype that he received coming out of Ohio State after his freshman year.
Last year, the Blazers were actually a pretty good, finishing at exactly .500, after 3 straight losing seasons. They still missed the playoffs in the highly competitive Western Conference, but a lot of their young players were impressive, including Brandon Roy, who followed up his Rookie of the Year with an All-Star appearance, and LaMarcus Aldridge, who finished 2.4 rebounds per game short of averaging a double double.With Oden, Aldridge, Roy, as well as Martell Webster, Jerryd Bayless, Sergio Rodriguez, Channing Frye, Travis Outlaw, Rudy Fernandez and Ike Diogu, the best collection of young talent in the NBA has been assembled in Portland, Oregon.
If Oden can play up to the high expectations that have been set for him this team could be absolutely ridiculous this year. At the very least, they WILL be fun to watch.
Oden finished with 13 points and 5 rebounds in his first preseason game, in only 20 minutes.
NBA big men, you're on notice.
more
