Ohio State’s Oden Worthy of the Hype

By Lindsey Willhite Daily Herald Sports Writer

So Greg Oden comes to Champaign today for the first and perhaps only time in his storied career. Why should Illinois worry?

National player of the year Shaquille O’Neal and 10th-ranked LSU visited the Assembly Hall in December 1990.

Illinois pulled off the upset.

Before there was an Assembly Hall, national player of the year George Mikan and defending NIT champ DePaul visited Huff Gym in December 1945.

Illinois pulled off the upset.

(Mikan and DePaul also beat Illinois in Huff Gym on New Year’s Day in 1945, but that doesn’t advance this story’s hypothesis, now does it?)

Now that we’ve established precedents for the Illini rising up in their home arena and shocking some of the sport’s all-time great big men, perhaps it’s time to explain why the 7-foot Oden and No. 6 Ohio State should inspire some nationally televised worry (1 p.m., ESPN).

“Obviously, Greg Oden is a great player,” said Illinois coach Bruce Weber. “He’s a great person. I think he’s a winner. I think of Bill Russell because he won. Bill Russell was about championships. That’s what (Oden) cares about.”

Together with OSU freshman point guard Mike Conley Jr., Oden won 103 games, three Class 4A state titles and one mythical national championship at Lawrence North High School in Indianapolis.

He has played just seven games for the Buckeyes – none of them at 100 percent, thanks to his surgically repaired right wrist – yet he appears destined to live up to the hype.

Oden averages 15.4 points, 8.7 rebounds and 3.7 blocks in just 27 minutes per game – and he occasionally displays the best on- court attributes of Russell and O’Neal.

Early in the second half of Tuesday’s Big Ten home win over Indiana, Oden swatted back-to-back layup attempts. Then he outraced everybody down the floor and would have flushed a two-handed dunk had he not been fouled from behind.

In the final minute, when Indiana still had a chance, Oden rose above the square on the backboard to reject a runner in the lane.

That’s scary stuff.

Here’s something scarier: Ohio State actually did better against Indiana on Tuesday while Oden sat on the bench in foul trouble.

Conley, fellow freshman Daequan Cook and holdover Jamar Butler are a more than ample supporting cast.

Butler, an all-Big Ten pick at point guard last year, has moved to the wing to make room for Conley’s peerless conducting skills.

“I think they’ve done a great job together,” said Ohio State coach Thad Matta. “I look at their assist/turnover ratios combined (151 to 50) and I love that. Those two together gives us two strong ballhandlers and two strong decision-makers.”

Meanwhile, Illinois can’t seem to keep one strong ballhandler healthy.

When the Illini hit the practice floor Thursday, eager to rinse the Michigan loss out of their skulls, point guard Chester Frazier (groin) and forward Warren Carter (hip) had to sit out because they were too sore to go.

They’ll play today, but surely at less than 100 percent.

“For me, it takes my heart out,” Weber said. “I love practice. I love coaching. I love to compete. We haven’t been able to do it for six to seven weeks.”

lwillhite@@dailyherald.com

(c) 2007 Daily Herald; Arlington Heights, Ill.. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.