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Star Sighting at Williams Arena Sunday
This
town’s only opportunity to see Greg Oden as a
college player could be Sunday at Williams Arena when he and his Ohio
State teammates play the Gophers. The NBA covets the 7-foot, 280-pound
Oden because his potential indicates he may become Shaquille O’Neal’s
successor as the most dominant center on the planet.
Oden’s shot blocking and rebounding are eye-catching. He encourages
comparisons with a young Patrick Ewing because of their similar
physiques and more limited offensive skills as college players. Oden’s
statistics include 15.3 points per game, 9.5 rebounds and 3.6 blocks.
As
always, stats tell only part of the story. Oden has been a major contributor
to Ohio State’s success of a 22-3 record and No. 2 national ranking.
Who knows how many shots he has changed or discouraged from being
attempted because of his height, timing and long reach?
Then,
too, Oden’s emergence from high school to college has been slowed by an
injury to his right wrist. First, he missed part of the Buckeyes’
non-conference schedule and for most of the season had to shoot left
handed (normally a right handed shooter).
The
NBA’s new policy in 2006 requiring players to be 19 years old and a year
out of high school gave Oden no choice but to play college basketball
for at least one year. A source from Columbus said speculation has been
Oden will play a second season at Ohio State but, of course, that’s
just talk. He may not want to risk further injury without the security
of NBA millions. It also wouldn’t be surprising if he’s somewhat
frustrated by the college rules that allow lesser contact compared to
the NBA and the resulting foul trouble that often has him on the bench.
NBA
draft followers know Oden and Kevin Durant of Texas will go
one-two in the 2007 selections if those players are available. Durant
has more impressive stats (24.9 points per game, 11.4 rebounds and 1.8
blocks) but he’s a forward and not a franchise turning center like Oden.
New Englanders are already dreaming of a Boston Celtics (worst record in
NBA) opportunity to draft Oden. |
The NBA covets 7-foot, 280-pound Greg Oden
because his potential indicates he may become Shaquille O’Neal’s
successor as the most dominant center on the planet.
It wouldn’t be surprising if Oden is
somewhat frustrated by the college rules that allow lesser contact
compared to the NBA and the resulting foul trouble that often has him on
the bench.
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Greenway Recovered from Knee Injury
Chad Greenway recently told Sports Headliners he
is recovered from the knee injury that caused him to miss his entire
rookie season. Asked about his availability for practices even before
July training camp he said, “I am ready right now.”
Greenway said he hasn’t been told whether he will play inside or outside
linebacker, or if he will be a starter. “I will just go out there and
do my best, whether it is starting or whatever it is,” he said. “I
expect to have an opportunity to start. I think that would be a
capability of mine and I hope that will happen.”
Greenway was asked about the qualities that impress him in a defensive
coordinator prior to the announcement last week that Leslie Frazier
will replace Mike Tomlin who accepted the
Pittsburgh Steelers head coaching position. “Somebody who is
emotional,” Greenway answered. “Somebody who will get into it and loves
the guys he’s coaching. Somebody who knows what he’s talking about and
(has) been there before.”
Was
it a sad day when news came Tomlin was moving on? “It was but he’s
moving on in his career and that’s great for him and his family,”
Greenway said. “Everybody is excited for him. . .but we’ll keep rolling.
If we keep the same guys here and hopefully keep the same defense we
should be pretty good.”
What
impressed Greenway about Tomlin? “He coached with emotion,” Greenway
said. “He coached like he was a player and I think that really helped
him a lot. He was smart enough to be able to make changes during a
game. …” Greenway also praised Tomlin for listening to others.
Greenway was the Vikings’ No. 1 pick in last year’s
draft, the 17th player selected. Even without Greenway the
draft class showed promise with five of the team’s six rookies having
one or more starts (cornerback Cedric
Griffin, offensive tackle Ryan Cook, quarterback Tarvaris
Jackson, defensive end Ray Edwards and safety Greg Blue). |
Chad Greenway
"I am ready right now.”
Chad Greenway
Tarvaris Jackson
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Worth Noting & Quoting
Earlier this week the Gophers had about 1,800 tickets available for
Sunday’s game against Ohio State (noon start). This will be Minnesota’s
only game against Ohio State in 2007.
Timberwolves guard Rashad McCants asked
about his limited minutes and progress now that he’s playing again
following his severe knee injury: “There’s not a lot that I can put on
the table as far as a timeline but I know that I am getting better
everyday, knocking some of this rust off in a game by game situation. I
feel more comfortable on the floor. It’s just a matter of time now.”
McCants plans to “kick back and relax and get my body back” over the
upcoming NBA All-Star game break. He “probably” will go to Las Vegas to
support teammates Kevin Garnett and Randy Foye who will be
participating in all-star activities.
Honors earned by Vikings
players during the past season included
Associated Press All-Pro First Team
defensive tackle Kevin Williams; Pro Bowl defensive tackles Kevin
and Pat Williams, center Matt Birk and
guard Steve Hutchinson; NFL Alumni Best At Their Position,
Hutchinson; NFL.com All-Interview Team, Birk and Hutchinson; Sports
Illustrated Dr. Z’s All-Pro Team, Pat Williams; Sports
Illustrated Peter King’s All-Pro Team, Kevin Williams and
Hutchinson; USA Today Larry Weisman’s All-Joe Team, running back
Chester Taylor, Pat Williams and cornerback Antoine Winfield.
The top 10 candidates for the 23rd Annual Mr.
Hockey Award are: Jordy Christian (Moorhead), Mike Dorr
(Roseville), Tyler Johnson (Cloquet), Nick Larson
(Hill-Murray), John Lee (Moorhead), Aaron Marvin
(Warroad), Taylor Matson (Academy of Holy Angels), Ryan
McDonagh (Cretin-Derham Hall), Matt Reber (Edina) and
Patrick White (Grand Rapids). The Mr. Hockey Award is given to the
outstanding senior high school hockey player in the state and is
selected by a panel of NHL Scouts, Division I college coaches and
selected media. The award will be presented on Sunday, March 11 at a
banquet in RiverCentre that will include other hockey award
presentations. For ticket information, call
(651) 735-2184. |
Rashad McCants
Ten
candidates have been announced for the high school Mr. Hockey Award. |
