ABM
Happily Married In Music City, USA!
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FWIW...
https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/...ations-for-friend-mike-conley-with-utah-jazz/
Former No. 1 overall pick Greg Oden discusses first season in BIG3, expectations for friend Mike Conley with Utah Jazz
MILWAUKEE -- Everyone knows this story. In 2007, the consensus top two prospects in the NBA Draft were Greg Oden and Kevin Durant. Blessed, or perhaps cursed with the No. 1 overall pick, the Portland Trail Blazers selected Oden. Durant went to the then-Seattle SuperSonics.
From there, the two players' careers diverged. Durant has reached great heights as one of the best players of his generation, winning an MVP, two championships and two Finals MVPs, while Oden, plagued by injuries, played just 105 games in his entire career.
The story many may not know, is that injuries were only the beginning of the problems for Oden. In 2014, just a few months after his NBA career came to an end, he was arrested for punching his ex-girlfriend. "She did not deserve any of that," he told ESPN in 2017. "I'm very sorry for it. I have to show a better example for everybody... It still hurts me that I put that lady and her family through that. That was not somebody I ever thought I could be."
Though it in no way excuses his behavior, that incident came during a period of alcoholism and depression for Oden, as he struggled to deal with the injuries that were destroying his career. "It wasn't like I was clinically depressed, but I was so down. I think I was probably depressed," he told ESPN in the same interview.
His problems with alcohol continued through 2016, when he was, in his estimation, drinking "every day" after his return from a short stint playing in China. He then decided to return to Ohio State to finish his degree and was offered an opportunity to help with the basketball team by then-coach Thad Motta. "That really helped me out to give me some direction, to give me some meaning," Oden told the Indianapolis Star earlier this year.
He slowly began to rebuild his life, and now, some semblance of a career. In May, he was selected No. 7 overall by the Aliens in the third-annual BIG3 Draft, and has suited up each weekend as part of a professional basketball team for the first time in over three years.
In Milwaukee on Sunday, Oden put together his best performance of the season, finishing with a team-high 18 points, nine rebounds and two blocks. He doesn't move like he once did, of course, but in short bursts you can still see the power, athleticism and instincts that made him one of the most dominant college players of all-time.
After the game, CBS Sports caught up with Oden to discuss, among other things, his first season playing in BIG3 and what he expects for his good friend Mike Conleyafter his trade to the Utah Jazz. (Continued....)
https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/...ations-for-friend-mike-conley-with-utah-jazz/
Former No. 1 overall pick Greg Oden discusses first season in BIG3, expectations for friend Mike Conley with Utah Jazz
MILWAUKEE -- Everyone knows this story. In 2007, the consensus top two prospects in the NBA Draft were Greg Oden and Kevin Durant. Blessed, or perhaps cursed with the No. 1 overall pick, the Portland Trail Blazers selected Oden. Durant went to the then-Seattle SuperSonics.
From there, the two players' careers diverged. Durant has reached great heights as one of the best players of his generation, winning an MVP, two championships and two Finals MVPs, while Oden, plagued by injuries, played just 105 games in his entire career.
The story many may not know, is that injuries were only the beginning of the problems for Oden. In 2014, just a few months after his NBA career came to an end, he was arrested for punching his ex-girlfriend. "She did not deserve any of that," he told ESPN in 2017. "I'm very sorry for it. I have to show a better example for everybody... It still hurts me that I put that lady and her family through that. That was not somebody I ever thought I could be."
Though it in no way excuses his behavior, that incident came during a period of alcoholism and depression for Oden, as he struggled to deal with the injuries that were destroying his career. "It wasn't like I was clinically depressed, but I was so down. I think I was probably depressed," he told ESPN in the same interview.
His problems with alcohol continued through 2016, when he was, in his estimation, drinking "every day" after his return from a short stint playing in China. He then decided to return to Ohio State to finish his degree and was offered an opportunity to help with the basketball team by then-coach Thad Motta. "That really helped me out to give me some direction, to give me some meaning," Oden told the Indianapolis Star earlier this year.
He slowly began to rebuild his life, and now, some semblance of a career. In May, he was selected No. 7 overall by the Aliens in the third-annual BIG3 Draft, and has suited up each weekend as part of a professional basketball team for the first time in over three years.
In Milwaukee on Sunday, Oden put together his best performance of the season, finishing with a team-high 18 points, nine rebounds and two blocks. He doesn't move like he once did, of course, but in short bursts you can still see the power, athleticism and instincts that made him one of the most dominant college players of all-time.
After the game, CBS Sports caught up with Oden to discuss, among other things, his first season playing in BIG3 and what he expects for his good friend Mike Conleyafter his trade to the Utah Jazz. (Continued....)
