Greg Oden to return to Ohio State as student manager

There was a time when Greg Oden was both literally and figuratively the big-man on campus in Columbus, Ohio. The obvious one-n-done who would punctuate his presence with the Ohio State Buckeyes with a NCAA championship appereance and a block against the Tennessee Volunteers whose shock waves are now being felt on a distant planet.

He may not be the big-time recruit he once was, but Oden is returning to Columbus. While completing his degree, the 7-foot, 250-pounder will serve as a student manager for the basketball Bucks, according to former Buckeye and former Grantland writer Mark Titus.

The #scoops just keep coming, folks: MULTIPLE SAUCES tell me Greg Oden will join OSU bball team as a "manager" while he finishes his degree.

— Mark Titus (@clubtrillion) April 12, 2016

Why would head coach Thad Matta bring back one of his former players, you ask? Oden will now be able to practice with Ohio State’s bigs and allow them to learn from a former number one overall NBA pick and improve their skills. Perhaps it will double as a recruiting sales pitch too.

He's essentially just going to practice w/ the team and dunk all over OSU bigs. But still – he's technically joining the manager fraternity.

— Mark Titus (@clubtrillion) April 12, 2016

The center was a standout during his one-year college career in Columbus. As a Buckeye, Oden averaged 15.7 points, 9.6 rebounds, and 3.3 blocks in 28.9 minutes per game during his 32 games as a freshman. After just one season in college, the big-man decided to declare for the NBA Draft, where he was the first-overall pick by the Portland Trail Blazers, selected one pick ahead of current NBA star Kevin Durant.

During his brief NBA career, Oden battled knee injuries, forcing him to start just 60 games in his first two seasons. Oden missed the 2010-13 seasons, and only played 23 games more games in 2014. He averaged just 8.0 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks during his abbreviated and injury-plagued NBA career as the parallels to Sam Bowie mounted for Blazer fans.¹

The Indianapolis, Indiana native’s best season was his sophomore campaign in 2009-10, when he averaged 11.1 points, 8.5 rebounds, and 2.3 blocks per game while shooting 60.5 percent from the field.

Obviously, Oden will be the most skilled student manager to ever step foot in Columbus. He will not be able to turn any of hte current frontcourt players into the player he once was, but hopefully he can educate them on the intracacies of the position.

The Buckeyes need any help they can get as they attempt to rebound from a disappointing season that finished with a NIT loss to the Florida Gators. Yes, the same Gators that ended Oden’s collegiate career with a loss.

1. A shame things didn’t work out with CBA’s Jiangxu Tongxi Monkey Kings too. [↩]