Greg Oden says he pretty much became an alcoholic in his second year - NBA Update
Greg Oden, once a sensation in the world of NBA, is now living in the memories of his prime. His career was brief that started with glory and ended with nagging injuries.
He was selected as the 1st overall draft pick in 2007 by Portland Trail Blazers, but fate had decided something else. He missed the entire rookie season due to a micro fracture in the
knee.
In the next 2008 season, he came back after gaining 40 pounds of weight and suffered a foot injury in the debut game against Los Angeles Lakers that ousted him for another 2 weeks. During that time his cousin
came to live with him. Greg said that it was his cousin from Air Force who introduced him to drinking.
“If you know anything about guys in the Air Force, it’s that they drink a ton,” Oden said. “My cousin got wrapped up in it too. When I played well, I’d drink to celebrate. And when I played poorly, I’d drink
to forget. That second year in Portland I pretty much became an alcoholic.”
In 2009, just when he started to gather impetus he was once more sidelined due to knee injury for nearly three weeks. After the recovery he started to perform solid on the court but fractured his left knee once
again, the injury was followed by a surgery and he had to miss the entire 2009 season.
The thing that troubled him more than injuries was to witness the rise of players who were drafted along with him. He particularly mentioned Kevin Durant.
Greg believes if injuries wouldn’t have held him back then Durant could never reach the zenith. He believes that Durant took away something that was destined for him. But that doesn’t mean he dislikes him personally.
“I'd be lying if I said that it didn't suck to see Durant doing so well," he said."But that doesn't mean I dislike him as a person or anything like that. He's a good guy and one of the three best players in the
league right now.”
He did manage to prove his metal for a brief time on court. Before the 2009 surgery he went onto collect 24 times one more than one occasion. While he also recorded a career high 20 rebounds during that season.
Oden didn’t play the next 2010 and 2011 season due to complications in the knee. That led to multiple surgeries and long rehabilitation process. Finally Portland waived him off in 2012 to create slot in the roster.
This was the ordeal of 7 ft Buffalo native, whose story ended before starting. But he didn’t give up the good fight. He is planning to complete his degree from Ohio State in 2013. After wards he will weight his
options for returning into the mainstream basketball.
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