Good News for Greg Oden

Greg Oden is known by his fans to be an excellent basketball player, so it’s great news that the man anticipates he will be up and running and more than ready to join in at the team’s 2010-11 training camp. It shouldn’t be so surprising that the man is so strong, physically, either. At 7”0 tall, Oden is incredibly agile and can stand up to a lot. Greg Oden is definitely not going to be put off and is indeed very much looking forward to his return to the field. It shouldn’t be forgotten that he was, after all, the no. 1 overall pick of the NBA Draft in 2007. That fact will never change.

Greg Oden and Portland Trail Blazers

Greg Oden has been a great asset to the Portland Trail Blazers over the years. And thus, Oden has earned quite the reputation amongst the team’s fans. He certainly has his very own following and these supporters will be very excited to learn about the upcoming return of Greg Oden.

Trivia with Greg Oden & the Portland Trail Blazers

Today, when you go to watch the magic of the Portland Trail Blazers, or to enjoy Greg Oden, Jerryd Bayless, Rudy Fernandez and many others, you may not think about all of the interesting trivia behind the team.  But, there is certainly a lot of it, and true fans know their stuff.  Here’s a quick rundown of important trivia for the Portland Trail Blazers.

The Trail Blazers actually had a contest to come up with their nickname.  They sifted through the 10,000 entries and decided to go with Trail Blazers to honor the pioneers who came along the Oregon Trail.  Their logo is five red and silver lines that are curling into each other inside a slanted black rectangle.  All of this has a silver outline.  Their colors, of course, are black, red and silver and their mascot is the Blaze.

Early Origins of the Portland Trail Blazers before Greg Oden

The Portland Trail Blazers joined the National Basketball Association in 1970. It was a pretty pricey venture since it cost them a hefty $3.7 million for the privilege.  They only beat their first season’s record in 1974 however, after Bill Walton was drafted.  Two years later they did quite well too, going 49-33 with Ramsay as their leader.  This also marked the first time they made the playoffs.  The Trail Blazers then defeated a few teams: Chicago Bulls, Los Angeles Lakers, Denver Nuggets and Philadelphia 76ers.  That seemed to be their run for a while however, since the team finished the season with a relatively poor 58-24 record.
In the 1980s the Trail Blazers made the playoffs every year (except 1981-82) and even made it past the first round on many different occasions.  The early 1990s saw pretty good times for the team too.  They bulldozed through the Western Conference playoffs on their way to a showdown with the Chicago Bulls in the Finals but lost it 4-2.

Later on that decade things started really looking up again, at the end of the 1998-99 season, finishing with the second best record in the Western Conference, enjoying a 35–15 record.  Following its financial difficulties in 2003, after Bob Whitsitt resigned, the team had to declare bankruptcy.  Ohio State center Greg Oden joined the team in 2007, a year that really signaled a rebirth for the team, when they had a 13-game winning streak.

24 Points Teaches Bulls a Lesson From Greg Oden

Greg Oden sees himself as usually a nice guy, holding in his frustration and/or anger until it all finally comes out in a blaze, as it did in a game he played on November 23rd, 2009 against the Chicago Bulls in Greg’s home turf in Portland. During the course of that game, Joakim Noah and Derrick Rose dunked on Greg Oden, inspiring in Oden a retaliation which led the Trail Blazers to a very impressive 122-98 victory over the Bulls. But even more remarkable is that despite, or perhaps because of Greg’s reaction, he scored 24 points in that game, tying his own personal high score, and came back with 12 rebounds. This is definitely a case in which “getting mad” is not necessarily a bad thing.

Greg Oden: Family Guy

Greg Oden has made significant strides in his game over the years.  But there is more to Oden than just a guy out there on the field.  Greg Oden has shown his commitment to friends and fans.  He will not forget his roots and is still very close and supportive of his family, especially his younger brother Anthony Oden, who happens to be a very talented sportsman in his own right.  While Anthony might not be a US basketball player like his older brother Greg, there is no doubt the two come from the same gene pool.  He plays football for Arkansas University (O-line, no.78).  While Greg may have taken him on when the two of them were small, since Anthony now weighs in at quite a hefty 330 lbs, he’ll leave him alone these days…

Talk with Greg Oden on 95.5 The Game

Greg Oden

In a radio interview conducted on March 31^st 2010 in Portalnd on the sports talk show 95.5 the Game, Greg Oden had the following to say on a large variety of subjects:

Question: What are you looking forward to next season?

Oden: Definitely, being around my teammates and just playing. Secretly inside, I want to prove all those doubters wrong. That’s the number one thing that irks me right there. Coming back and being around my teammates. Being on a plane and travel with them. And seeing different cities. I get a free trip to different cities all the time. Who wouldn’t want that? I didn’t get a chance to go to Miami this year – the good weather and just being around the guys and getting close with them. I would definitely like to do that and that’s something that I miss.

Question: Do you have any favorite movies?

Oden: “I saw Hot Tub Time Machine. It was alright. There were some funny parts to me. A lot of people might not like that, but I liked it. (Host: Favorite all-time?) Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back and American Pie 2 are my favorites.”

Question: Can you talk a little bit about your personality?

Oden: I’ve always been the type of person, when you first meet somebody that you don’t want to give off the wrong impression. For me, I like to be quiet and just listen. Everybody loves somebody who is going to listen to them. That’s what I love to do. After you get to know me, I have a pretty big humor. I watch a lot of movies and I would say I have that dry humor… I do have a bad side. I am so nice, so I usually hold it in and it all comes out at one time. Kind of like when I get dunked on. Like when Joakim Noah and Derrick Rose got me, I think I ended up with 18 and 20 in that game.

Greg Oden Explains His Charitable Motivation

Greg Oden explains that he has given a lot of thought to how to use his influence in the community.  He feels that he was influenced a great deal by the mentors in his life, and that many children could benefit from having the right mentor.

As he explains, “A mentor is a person who cares about the opportunities in a kid’s life and encourages him or her to make good choices. My mom has been an unbelievably strong mentor my entire life, but she couldn’t have done it alone.”

After looking at the mentors and influences in his life, Oden decided to start Team ODEN and to encourage people in Oregon to become mentors to needy kids. He is encouraging men, in particular, to become mentors and to give to a child in their community.

Team ODEN Helping Kids

Certainly, Greg Oden is a force to be reckoned with on the court – but he’s even more than that off of the court. Oden started Team Oden, which is part of Oregon Mentors. Oregon Mentors Team ODEN is a partnership between Greg Oden and the non-profit organization the Oregon Mentors. Together, they support hundreds of youth mentoring programs around the state.

Team ODEN helps Oregon Mentors by getting the word out across the state about the benefits of mentoring. He uses public service announcements, radio spots and more. He provides a block of tickets to mentors and kids for every Blazer home game and he helps to host all sorts of great holiday parties, summer celebrations and more for kids and their mentors.
Go Team ODEN!

Rookie Oden Scores 15 in Sophomore-Rookie All-Star Game

Playing against the Sacramento Kings in the first pre-season game of the year, the Portland Trail Blazers achieved a well-deserved victory with many players delivering exciting, excellent performances. Among the rookies showing off his stuff was Greg Oden, who had this to say about the game: “I’m happy we won,” said Oden. “There’s always room for improvement. I felt I did alright. I wanted to grow and get better from there.

“I had no problem (in adjusting to his first NBA game). The guys told me, especially Joel, just to take a deep breath and go out there and play basketball. That’s all it is. I’m not as good as I was but I’m going to get there.”

Nate McMillan, the head coach for the Trail Blazers had this to say about Greg: “I think Greg (Oden) also showed us what he can do when in deep,” said McMillan. “We’ve got to get him in shape but you’ve got to see the potential he has. Sacramento could see it early by double teaming him, showing him some respect. He has great hands. He can get off the floor quicker than a lot of people his size.”

Greg Oden Picked For NBA Sophomore-Rookie All-Star Game

Greg Oden has been playing serious basketball since he was just a child in middle school. Considering how young he still is and how far he has gone in such a short time, we can begin to realize just how talented a player he is. In 2009 Greg was selected to play in the Rookie-Sophomore game, just one more in a long list of honors that have been bestowed on him since he began playing basketball.

“Joining (Derrick) Rose on the Rookie team are two sets of teammates – guard O.J. Mayo and center Marc Gasol from the Memphis Grizzlies and center Greg Oden and guard Rudy Fernandez from the Portland Trail Blazers. Thunder guard Russell Westbrook, Clippers guard Eric Gordon, Heat forward Michael Beasley and New Jersey Nets center Brook Lopez round out the Rookie team.”

The Rookie-Sophomore game is part of an entire week in which the NBA  brings together the top NBA players and performers for a week of competition, community service and world-class entertainment. Among the many other exciting All-Star events are Sprite Slam Dunk, Foot Locker Three-Point Shootout, PlayStation® Skills Challenge, Haier Shooting Stars and NBA All-Star Jam Session presented by Adidas.