Greg Oden: Man or Myth?

Last night I had the pleasure of attending the Ohio State v. Iowa basketball game. It was a quite convincing win for the Buckeyes, who lost twice to the Hawkeyes last season.

Just as you'd expect from all of the media hype surrounding the player, Greg Oden was the star of the show. The kid (and I can say that because he was born in '88) is unreal. He towers over everyone else on either team and dominates down low. He's automatic in the paint. Essentially, the rest of the team just needs to feed it in to him and it's two points on the board.

Oden scored a thus-far career high of 29 points, and all of them were scored from right under the hoop or from the free throw line. He's still shooting with his left hand, and he's right handed by nature.

What impressed me the most about Oden wasn't his dunking, his reach, or his blocking skills, but his lack of fouls. Any player who spends that much time under the hoop is bound to pick up a few. After all, center is one of the most full contact positions in all of sports. But Oden took only two fouls while attaining those 29 points- a true feat for a guy who plays so many minutes.

If you should have the means to get to a Buckeye basketball game this season, do so. Oden alone makes the experience worthwhile. What's more, chances are high he won't be sticking around for another season. (though reports are quite mixed on this issue) Oden has been touted as the savior of the NBA, and the competition to select him in the upcoming draft has been dubbed "The Greg Oden Sweepstakes."

At least a few reports have stated that Oden likes the college life and wants to spend another year or two being an 18-22 year old college kid. I can't say I blame him there. The NBA will still be there in a couple of years, and so long as he doesn't become injured, his future is more than secure. If you need any more proof that he's having a good time at OSU, look no further than right here: