Greg Oden: Player Profile and Perspective on the Status of the Young Center's Career

Greg Oden entered the NBA just over two years ago with expectations set high for the seven-foot tall number one overall draft pick. His rookie season was delayed while he recovered from microfracture surgery on his right knee, but expectations remained lofty. After a mediocre "official" rookie season in 2008-2009, Oden appeared poised to take a big step this year among talented teammates Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge in Portland. Unfortunately, his left knee lasted only twenty one games this season. While stock is most certainly down on the 21 year-old Oden, is there still hope for the once heralded big man, or is this the beginning of the end of an injury-plagued career and what can Portland's past with Jermaine O'neal and Sam Bowie tell us about all this?

Greg Oden entered the NBA in 2007 as one of the most heralded big men ever. Fresh off a national championship victory with Ohio State and the number one overall selection in the NBA draft, Oden was on top of the world. Oden sported several prestigious awards coming out of high school in Indiana, including the Naismith Player of the Year Award and the Gatorade Player of the Year Award, which he won in both 2005 and 2006, according to NBA.com. Oden was only the second player - LeBron James the other - to win the Gatorade award two years in a row.

Oden continued his dominance at the collegiate level, joining the Ohio State Buckeyes for their 2006-2007 national championship season. In Oden's first and only college season he was named to the Associated Press All-America First Team, a 2007 Wooden All-American, the NABC National Defensive Player of the Year and Pete Newell Big Man of the Year, according to NBA.com. He was also named Big Ten Freshman of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, and was selected First Team All-Big Ten by the coaches and media. Oden averaged over 15 points, 9 rebounds and 3 blocks for the Buckeyes, leading the team in all three categories. To polish off his stellar freshman season, the young man came up with 25 points, 12 rebounds and 4 blocks against Florida in the 2007 NCAA National Championship Game.

Oden entered the NBA in 2007 at the age of 19 with as many accolades as any center in recent memory. Unfortunately, his rookie campaign was delayed until 2008 due to microfracture surgery on his right knee. 2008 saw Oden play sparingly while he continued his re-hab and adjusted to a much more aggressive NBA game. Oden averaged a modest 8 points, 7 rebounds and 1 block per game in his "official" rookie season. Bringing us to 2009, a year in which many believed the Portland Trailblazers to be in position to challenge for a division title, possibly even an NBA championship. Oden showed marked improvement, averaging 11 points, 8 rebounds and well-over 2 blocks per game. While he was certainly showing promise and improvement, both local and national attention questioned whether Oden had been worth selecting ahead of Kevin Durant, a budding all-star for the Oklahoma City Thunder. This attention caught fire with Oden's latest injury, a broken left patella, which has him out for the rest of the '09-'10 season.

While Greg Oden's basketball career has decidedly taken a turn for the worse in its NBA incarnation, there is still hope, and any Trailblazer fans who are familiar with the stories of Andrew Bynum, Jermaine O'neal and Sam Bowie should be able to tell you why.

Let's first take a look at Andrew Bynum. The 7'0" 285 lb. center for the Los Angeles Lakers is the exact same size as Oden and only a year his senior. Bynum, averaging over 16 points and 8 rebounds in his fifth NBA season with the Lakers, went straight from high school to the NBA. Bynum's early career has been riddled with injuries, as was former Trailblazer Jermaine O'neal's.

O'neal the 6'11" 255 lb. center currently playing for the Miami Heat played his first four NBA seasons in Portland. He, like Oden, was labeled a bust by many after his first three seasons. O'neal has gone on to be one of the most dominant, athletic and well-rounded centers in the league over the last decade and is still averaging over 13 points and 7 rebounds per game at the age of 31. Many Trailblazer fans remember O'neal to this day with a feeling of, "if only we'd hung on to him." Indeed, Trailblazers owner Paul Allen has been rumored to regret O'neal's departure greatly.

Perhaps no memory hurts Portland fans more though, than the selection of Sam Bowie ahead of Michael Jordan in the 1984 NBA draft. The 7'1" 263 lb. center was selected second overall and, like O'neal, played four sub-par seasons in Portland, only to quickly improve with his next team.

So let me break this down from a numbers perspective. Comparing the three center's statistics through their first three NBA seasons, it's apparent that for Oden there is still hope. In terms of injuries, Oden has had more than his share. Through their first three seasons Oden, Bynum, O'neal and Bowie missed - assuming Oden is done for this year - 164, 83, 105 and 119 games respectively. So, Oden has certainly dealt with a lot of injuries, but how has he played? Looking across the board Oden compares very favorably, with 9 points, 7 rebounds and over 1 block per game. Bynum was slightly younger but averaged just 7 points, 5 rebounds and 1 block through his first three seasons. O'neal, who also skipped college, had an even tougher start, averaging just 3 points, 3 rebounds and less than 1 block per game in 3 seasons. The best numbers of all, ironically, came from the infamous Sam Bowie, posting 10 points, 8 rebounds and over 2 blocks per game in his first three seasons. Bowie was a more experienced 23 year-old in his rookie season. Bowie had moderate success in ten NBA seasons but has always been regarded as a bust due to his unfortunate draft position.

So, given Kevin Durant's success, the comparison of Greg Oden to Sam Bowie are actually quite similar. That being said, the scrutiny is certainly unfairly focused toward players like Oden and Bowie. Having a player like Michael Jordan or Kevin Durant selected immediately after you is like shining a spotlight on the situation. Big men are so much more rare that teams will continue to select seven-footers at the top of the draft in perpetuity. While Greg Oden's first three seasons have left a great deal to be desired, all is not lost for the talented big man. At this point all the questions point to his 21 year-old knees with a shrug. The important thing is that Blazers fans and management don't give up on another young prospect experiencing growing pains.