......to help him rediscover the fun of playing basketball. Nonetheless, it seems all good. A decent little piece from The Columbia Dispatch
Greg Oden is going to have a good year. I feel it. Biggest improvement is from 1st to 2nd year, and I don't see it as any different with Greg. 12, 10 and 2 would be a great step in the right direction, imo.
There are a lot of people that have become hyper sensitive to all things Greg Oden. If the man breaks wind they want to smell it to see what it says about his game, attitude, and potential. He does have a great deal of expectations placed on his shoulders, but he appears to have a positive approach to reaching his potential.
All the man has to do to increse his stat line to 15 pts, 10 reb and 2 blocks a game is stay on the court. That's if he doesn't even improve his game. Which he will. And he will stay on the court. He got a lot of flak last year based on what every armchair shrink thought his mental problems were. If he has rediscovered the joie de jouer, and increased his lateral quickness and conditioning, I expect him to have a very good year. MIP.
Does this mean the people who called Webster mentally weak for hiring a sports shrink will call Oden mentally weak too? Or is it okay when Oden gets a shrink? (personally, I think it's fine in either case)
It "appeared" to work great. He was in the best shape of is life. His body language and facial expressions "seemed" day-to-night better. If anything, he overdid his workouts to the point of wrecking his foot. I don't think Webster had the same 'mental' issues to overcome that Oden had -- two distinct sets of issues. It "appears" that in both cases the results were positive. But what the hell do I know? I'm just some guy sitting in front of a gray and red computer screen.
When your jumper is off.....you hire a shooting coach. If you are weak or not in good shape you hire a trainer. If you are fat you hire a nutritionist. If you have trouble with your footwork, or ball handling, or defense....you have a coach help you learn better skills. And if you are having difficulty between the ears it makes sense to get someone to help you straighten that out too.
Is that an Aztec pyramid or maybe it's from Teotihuacan? I've been to Tikal in Guatemala and it was stunning. One of the coolest places I've ever been to.
It seems to me that all the things you mentioned in you post are "issues between the ears". We all need someone to coach us or instruct us to learn sometimes. If we have a physical weakness we can choose (a between the ears exercise) to get help and how to solve it. A lot of people have not had the training growing up to deal with all the mental decisions and attendant emotions needed to handle life, especially those of a #1 pic of the NBA draft. And also the mental issues needed to deal with serious injury multiple times in a short span of time. I say GOOD FOR HIM AND I HOPE HE EXCEEDS EVEN MY EXPECTATIONS.
Yep. I don't see how someone looking to gain an even greater mental component could be viewed as anything but a positive. I remember John Smoltz being one of the first to make public his use of a sports psychologist. He went from an erratic fireballer, to polished pitcher, to Cy Young, to potential Hall of Famer. Best news about Oden I've heard this summer.
You have to think this is the first time Greg has really had to deal with adversity in his basketball career. I can't imagine how difficult that would be after 19 years of domination.
Until and unless he uses emotional issues as an excuse or a crutch, I don't see a problem with this (and, if that happens, I will feel bad for him as a person, but worry about his efficacy as a player). I don't think there should be a stigma attached to self-improvement, whether that comes from lifting weights or talking to a counselor. Ed O.
I probably wouldn't have made something like this public if I were in his shoes, but I'm happy that the guy is really making an effort to get better. I think we all know his numbers are held back because of foul trouble. When he figures that out, he's easily a 15/10 guy.
