The Long Wait
Russ Bengtson adds to the Oden overanalysis.
by Russ Bengtson
There have been plenty of posts on Greg Odengate already, so I promise not to make this one a long one. Second-guessing has been part of the NBA Draft ever since Providence selected Walt Dropo in 1947* (with Hank Biasetti still on the board? Idiots.). And, with Oden scheduled to miss his rookie season after dreaded microfracture surgery (the worst NBA scourge since J.R. Rider), the second-guessers have been out in full force.
Here’s the thing. Assuming Oden can make a full recovery, what’s to say this still wasn’t the right pick for Portland? According to everything I’ve read, the injury was relatively minor, and Oden is allegedly only 19 years old (maybe he was born on February 29th so he’s really 133?), so he should be able to make a full recovery. Amare Stoudemire did. So did Oden’s almost-teammate, Zach Randolph.
Let’s even go worst-case scenario, and assume Oden won’t be back at full strength until the start of the 2009-10 season. Defensive-minded center picked first overall takes two years to make an impact on the League. Hm, sounds familiar.
I’m not saying that Greg Oden is gonna be another Admiral. But let’s give him a chance to prove himself before we toss him on the Sam Bowie Memorial scrap heap. OK?
* The NBA apparently didn’t keep track of the overall Draft order until 1957. But they DID keep track of what order individual teams selected their picks, so I know that Dropo was selected before Biasetti. Um, I think.
12 Responses to “The Long Wait”
Sep.14 at 3:23 pm
PG27 says:
I knew that an Oden vs. Durant game on Christmas was too good to be true!
Sep.14 at 3:33 pm
bobby stew says:
I agree we should wait and see what time reveals. I actually think Portland is still a pretty good team. Watch out for Frye! That being said regardless of this injury I still would have picked Durant first.
Sep.14 at 3:36 pm
Russ Bengtson says:
In the interests of full disclosure, Walt Dropo DID go on to the be the Rookie of the Year and an All-Star…for the Boston Red Sox.
Sep.14 at 4:12 pm
Tarzan Cooper says:
all we can do is wait and see.
Sep.14 at 4:40 pm
Ben Osborne says:
Russ, he has been compared to Robinson in the past. Thanks for reminding me of that with some perspective.
Sep.15 at 7:40 am
phunkykarma says:
Hope he’ll be doing fine.
Sep.15 at 7:45 am
phunkykarma says:
Ok, i get it! David Robinson had to wait one year before joining the team that had drafted him, too.
Sep.15 at 9:26 am
nick says:
I like the leap year theory. Best explanation I’ve heard.
Sep.15 at 9:29 am
htown nick says:
One problem though. Robinson was working out at a navy base…Oden had the most feared surgery in the most fickle joint in ball. But still, that’s probably fair.
Sep.15 at 12:50 pm
Drolfe says:
Walt Dropo sounds like an increadible man.
Sep.16 at 8:20 pm
Russ Bengtson says:
David Robinson had to wait two years–and he was serving in the military. Sure, he wasn’t in a combat situation, but there was still a lot that could have gone wrong. Also, I think the fear of microfracture is overblown. Those who’ve had the most trouble coming back from it have either been older, less dedicated to rehabbing, or suffering from more serious injuries. I think Oden’ll come back just fine.
Sep.21 at 12:34 am
Dyce says:
But now it’s almost an excuse for him not be great….Like if he comes back and is average a border line all-star, defensive stopper….It will be what if he never had the surgery? Or if he bombs doesn’t recover it’s going to be it was the knee.