Is Greg Oden a Headcase?
G.O.The Oregonian’s Jason Quick, one of the best beat reporters in the country, was visiting a local radio talk show when he was asked about Greg Oden’s current state of mind. And frankly, the remarks are kind of disturbing.
Where’s the fun-loving kid we got to know during and after the draft? Are there depression issues? Will this guy ever have fun playing basketball? Quite honestly, I’m not sure what to make of this but I have to wonder if given the opportunity Oden would just push the money back across the table and walk away.
Could it really be that Oden internalizes the criticism that he’s faced this season so deeply that he would leave the game? He’s never seemed like the type of guy who needs to play basketball. It’s almost like he’s so physically gifted that he’s been told forever that this is what he needs to do.
Brandon Roy and Nate McMillan basically begged Oden to return to the fun-loving guy they saw at the ESPY’s and has been written about in the blog-o-sphere.
I know that in my interactions with him, Oden seemed like an intelligent, interested guy who seemed to have his head screwed on straight. But his inability to let go of some pervasive criticism is worrisome.
December 10th, 2008 at 3:16 pm
Raj S says:
Pressure busts pipes, and the Blazers really need to sit down and level with him. He’s still a kid, and this is the first time he has ever played against people who can stop him (no, he couldn’t be stopped in college; remember the National Championship game against Florida? He dominated legit NBA bigs like Joakim Noah and Al Horford). The Blazers are young so they can relate to him, but at the same time they have been through the ups and downs of an NBA season. He’s in good hands.
The article is probably an overreastion, though. I hope he doesn’t turn into another Eddie Griffin RIP.
December 10th, 2008 at 3:29 pm
Chris Cason says:
Comparing him to one of the most winningest players in NBA history (Bill Russell)puts a pressure on a young man than is different than being compared to some of the greats that are still playing to this day.
He is frustrated things aren’t going his way right now, but with how hard he worked in the off season, he just has to remember that he will continue to get better as long as he remembers what got him to the point.
December 10th, 2008 at 3:34 pm
Michorizo says:
Well….he could always just ride the pine like Marbury and collect that cash.
December 10th, 2008 at 3:36 pm
fallinup says:
He is a chameleon.
December 10th, 2008 at 3:38 pm
Mr. K1X says:
he’s not a headcase, he is a bum!!! everyone is not saying it because of what he means to the league in general.whats the difference between him and spencer hawes or roy hibbert?? nice promising 7 foot prospects. nothing Oden does is off the charts
December 10th, 2008 at 3:45 pm
dmitry of jersey says:
so instead of picking durant the guy who has basketball in his blood they picked a dude who doesn’t really care for it that much. well done blazers.
they should have taken durant and traded some of their young wings for Camby.
December 10th, 2008 at 3:48 pm
JCARR says:
It takes time for him to process things through his brain… he’s an old man.
Oden is just mad that when he goes to the club he gets the left-overs.
December 10th, 2008 at 3:54 pm
Mitch says:
Pressure busts pipes…pressure can also make a diamond…let’s give him time before we write him off…Sometimes a little adversity helps a kid grow up. Let’s see where he is in a year or two…
December 10th, 2008 at 3:54 pm
karizmatic says:
yeah he’s a headcase, bust, and whatever other negative term you can use to describe him. I’ve been calling him a bust for a while. I could be wrong, he’ll have to prove it to me. I just don’t see the motivation necessary to be a preeminent player. Maybe he is too sensitive.
December 10th, 2008 at 3:57 pm
Duke says:
Doesn’t this remind people of Vince Young in Tennessee?
December 10th, 2008 at 4:41 pm
Heckler says:
“The Oregonian’s Jason Quick, one of the best beat reporters in the country…”
bah humbug. stop trying to suck off another beat writer. one of the best in the country?…out of all 90 million of em? I doubt it. and in oregan no less? i truly doubt it.
by what standards is a writer one of the best in the country? by being a golf buddy? classmates? writer awards? coverage?
….
seriously….
how is it that one can be determined to be ‘one of the best beat writers in the country’
based on what/who’s criteria?
December 10th, 2008 at 4:42 pm
nerditry says:
@Duke : More like Ricky Williams in the NFL, but hopefully nowhere near as severe. Ricky’s problem was that he loved baseball, but was light years better at playing football which wasn’t his passion. Just became an extremely difficult job which he’s only recently (I think) come to terms with.
If this is the case, I can definitely empathize with Oden.
December 10th, 2008 at 5:01 pm
Chaos says:
DAMN!! Can we give this dude one full season in the L…lets take a run down
1. Pressure of a #1 pick
2. Hurt wrist last preseason
3. Knees issues kept him out of line up last season
4. because of issues, he couldnt get proper conditioning
let him get his legs under him. if ya ask me he recovered better than Andrew Bynum did.
and if we can give KWAME BROWN and 4 seasons to prove us right/wrong…why cant we give him 1 season?!
He is showing loads of potential and is gonna have his growing pains. the ability is clearly there but let the
him gain some experience AND confidence..
plus, Dwight howard, andrew bynum and emeka okafor got HOF centers helping them work on their games (Ewing, Abdul Jabaar, Olajuwan)…lets get The admiral out there to help him with his
December 10th, 2008 at 5:20 pm
BEdger says:
So Oden isn’t being very personable right now….big deal. Can you really blame him? This is a game he used to be able to play pretty well, and for the first time in his life it’s a struggle, that might put me in a bad mood too. He has also never had his legs fail him before, and I doubt he can figure out why he doesn’t have his old springs when the doctors are telling him that his knee is healthy.
Now add to all of that, Jason Quick came out and told the entire world that this guy was going to be an all star immediately. Of course the national media heard this and passed it on to the national public, and now everyone wants to call him a bust because he hasn’t delivered on the promise of a beat writer.
For the record, I think that this will all be moot by next year. Greg will get fully healed, he will understand the league better, and the next big story will come along and the spotlight will be taken off of Oden and put somewhere else.
I just love the fact that people are calling him a bust 20 games into his career….what a joke. A year from now when he has his legs back and he’s experienced the league he will look like a completely different player. Then all the Oden bashers will climb back under the rock they crawled out of.
December 10th, 2008 at 5:24 pm
kevin k says:
OJ MAYO FOR ALLSTAR ONLY KOBE HAS BETTER STATS FOR A SG IN THE WEST
December 10th, 2008 at 5:37 pm
Jim says:
Quick is widely regarded as one of the best beat reporters in the country; Dime didn’t just make that up.
Anyone who follows the NBA knows he has to be the most in touch beat reporter. That might be because every other prominent beat reporter is on TV now, but whatever.
A big part of that is because he doesn’t kiss players’ asses by hiding things from the public. That’s why Bonzi had beef and why Oden has confronted him before.
(Not from Oregon or a Blazers fan)
December 10th, 2008 at 5:46 pm
George W Kush Sr says:
This guy is going up against the biggest and strongest dudes in the League. You cant hang with Duncan and Dwight right out of the gates, its gonna be atleast 2 years of him getting sonned by these guys for him to develop into what he can be.
He’s already better than Darko, so he aint no bust like Weezy thought, he’s gonna be just fine.
The media is always going to put insane pressure on young guys, its up to the Blazers to guide their young talent. The game has developped immensely in the last 30-40 years, its never going to be as easy as it was for Bill. That’s right, as easy as it was for Bill, lets not forget that.
I’m not taking anything away from the old timers, but their skill level was inferior the modern day’s. The built in reactions to situations are completely different, the flow of the game is completely different, much faster and innovated. Bill Russell + any 4 players from his generation would get “AND 1′d” if they played now.
For Oden to get there, he needs more support.
December 10th, 2008 at 6:01 pm
BEdger says:
@kevin k…big numbers on an awful team isn’t going to get you to an all star game
December 10th, 2008 at 6:03 pm
Jah says:
Greg Oden needs:
- braces
- no more tattoos
- to read a good book, preferably about better communication
- a better diet
- to stay focused on his basketball career
He’ll be fine.
December 10th, 2008 at 6:04 pm
mules says:
you want sophisticated?…he got sophisticated.
December 11th, 2008 at 12:10 am
dapro says:
Problem is Oden seems like a genuinely good dude who hasn’t been tainted by the pitfalls of being young and successful
He’s in a good situation in Portland
For the record I think he loves basketball but he doesn’t like all the other bs associated with being famous
He seems to want to be better and he’s frustrated with the fact that he continues to either get injured or get derailed by fatigue
Give him at least a full season and watch his development
December 11th, 2008 at 4:39 am
Benoit Benjamin says:
The guy is 20 years old, learning his job and facing everyday pressure from everybody not only in the US, but in the world. Give him time and cut him some slack.