Subscribe Feed (RSS)Here is a very nice review (and even an abbreviated box score from the scrimmages) from the Las Vegas Sun of Day 2 of the U.S. national team workouts, which included an evening scrimmage. Greg Oden is mentioned as one of the players the staff is watching closely:
It’s likely that Colangelo and Krzyzewski think highly of Portland center Greg Oden, and Mayo and Rose, but none of them were spectacular in Friday’s three scrimmages.
Oden scored two baskets and had five points, but that production might be inconsequential for how Krzyzewski would like to use the 7-footer.
Before Friday’s practice, Krzyzewski told Oden he liked the center’s half-court presence inside, and his main areas of concern are defending and rebounds.
“He said that’s what he’ll try to provide,” Krzyzewski said. “He’s one of the guys I’m looking forward to watching.”
Tonight is the big public scimmage in the Thomas and Mack Center so there will be much more coverage.
Tags: Dwight Jaynes, Greg Oden, USA Basketball
More video (better quality this time) over here:
http://trailblazerscentercourt.blogspot.com/2009/07/video-more-greg-oden-at-usa-basketball.html
So Team Nike and Coach K both see Oden’s game changing potential but many Blazer fans still don’t. No doubt this will irritate some Oden hater any second now. “He’s a bust. We should’ve taken Durant.”
Come to think of it, we probably should have taken Durant. LOL.
This is just a scrimmage…. Not a real NBA game…
“Oden scored two baskets and had five points…”
No doubt, he has shown tremendous growth. Next stop, Hall of Fame?
No wonder Oden is annoyed with you people. Your keeping track of his baskets in a las vegas scrimmage in july
The idea of Coach K working with Oden is very positive. I watched Duke one time live and I couldn’t believe the amount of coaching going on. It was like the entire team had walkie-talkies and Coach K and the coaches were working with them practically breath to breath. It was like a coaching seminar with a game going on in the background.
Bill,
Ouch, sounds like a micromanagement session
Yes Bill I’m very happy coach K is working with Oden! I mean look at all the fantastic NBA players that come out of Duke.
Not a big Laettner fan, I take it?
Grant Hill’s been the only Dukey worth a crap in the last 30 years in the NBA. Man if that guy hadn’t been injured so often, imagine what he would have been.
Elton Brand? Carlos Boozer? Don’t use the injured card, Grant missed a lot of time too.
I never was a Duke fan ’til I watched the Blazer coach’s kid show up on high school hoop coverage here In Portland, and then pick Duke. I thought Mike Dunleavy was fan-worthy.
The Duke team he was on won a national championship so I’d say Coach K has some success. Not to mention the work with the Olympic team where all those NBA egos pulled together for the Gold. They sure showed him a ton of respect afterwards.
I enjoy a good sports argument, but trying to dismiss Coach K’s abilities? That’s a one way ticket to Loserville.
Greg looks decent in the scrimmage video that is linked to the pdxtrailblazers twitter page. The first day vid Oden looked much improved in his lateral movement and conditioning. He was running hard and looked down right fast. The second day vid Oden looked like he did much of the time last season. A bit lost as to where he needed to be on the floor and winded much of the time. He didn’t look aggressive. He just kinda loped around much of the time. It is a scrimmage so what right? Still I lost count the number of times Oden didn’t make it across half court. I think the up-coming season we are going to start hearing from the Oden’s a bust crowd much less. I also think us Oden die hard believers, of which I count myself as one, had better step back and don’t get expectations up too high for Greg this season. He still has allot of work to do to get there.
Good point about lateral quickness. This season might be the first time we see him in game shape.
Oden’s biggest problem – heavy leg syndrome – is still a problem and if you watch the videos objectively you’ll see that immediately. He looks like he’s walking in quicksand and takes way too long to recover after landing from a jump. I’d rather have a 6-11 guy who can get up and down and back up again quickly than a 7-footer who can’t. And as far as his offense goes, sorry but that part of his game is as awful – and I mean AWFUL – as ever. He traveled two out of the three touches that they showed, his jump hook is as flat as last night’s Pepsi and it takes him 15 minutes to reload after grabbing an offensive rebounds. I’m not saying he will always be this average – and that’s really the right word, because he’s not terrible – but people need to stop acting like he’s the second coming of Shaquille O’Neal. Really, he’s just another big guy right now, nothing more, nothing less.
I think Oden will be better this season. Too early to tell how much improvment will be seen. I do believe there will be significant growth.
You’re 100% right on that hook tho. His hook shot is horribly flat. I’ve been saying he needs to get more sky in his hook since the first time he threw one at the rim. When your shot is that flat it has to be perfectly on target or it hits rim and bounces sideways hard, off and away. Get some air under the shot and it does not have to be so precise. If it hits rim chances are it will bounce up, not out, and maybe fall back in. I always thought Drexler had the same flaw in his jump shot.
The scrimmage was after two hours of practice and running. Plus the game was being played at an incredibly quick pace.
I’m entourage by the how fluid and fast he looked in the drills (which were obviously earlier in the day). I never saw him look that fast last year even at the beginning of games.
Yes, it looked like he was dragging it a bit later, but he still has until November to get fully into game shape. What he’s doing now is so much better and he still has 3 months to go.
-Jason
I’m not an Oden hater, but I’m not going to pretend like he looks like some kind of world-beater in this video. He’s just another player there. He’s big, but nothing special. I wish people would stop making assumptions about the guy.
Looks like he is regaining some of his quickness that he had in college. Lateral movement has improved as well as fronting when the player approaches.
Looking forward to fall camp when he will get sometime working with Miller. I have a feeling the addition of our new floor leader will help the big fella develop his offensive game