Oden On His Day with McRoberts

[Jaymf7]

Here is a page from Greg Oden's blog which describes a day he spent hanging out with McRoberts...

http://www.yardbarker.com/users/gregoden

Reading that post and others on the page, the kid (Oden) sounds amazingly down to earth for someone with so much hype. I'm liking him more and more. Too bad he is going to be stuck in Portland...

[wiscodevil]

Here is a page from Greg Oden's blog which describes a day he spent hanging out with McRoberts...

http://www.yardbarker.com/users/gregoden

Reading that post and others on the page, the kid (Oden) sounds amazingly down to earth for someone with so much hype. I'm liking him more and more. Too bad he is going to be stuck in Portland...

Ever been? It's a wonderful city in a beautiful part of the country.

[tombrady]

Ever been? It's a wonderful city in a beautiful part of the country.

that you won't be able to watch much on the east coast because of the late start times...

he wasn't commenting on the quality of portland's aesthetic.

[wiscodevil]

that you won't be able to watch much on the east coast because of the late start times...

he wasn't commenting on the quality of portland's aesthetic.

oops my bad!

speaking of late start times, they should show the finals on Sunday afternoon like in the old days.

[AtlDuke72]

It is nice to read such a positive article on McRoberts. He has been villified unmercifully on this Board and elsewhere. His major sin appears to be that he wasn't quite as good as most of us had hoped for. Josh gave two good years to Duke and in the process cost himself a lot of money since he has slipped down the draft boards. He wasn't my favorite player either, but he deserves thanks, not abuse. I hope he does well in the draft and in the league.

[juise]

that you won't be able to watch much on the east coast because of the late start times...

he wasn't commenting on the quality of portland's aesthetic.

Hmmm... I didn't read "stuck" as applying only to start times.


Anyway, I agree with AtlDuke72. I wish Josh nothing but the best in the league. Even so, the Blazers will be just fine with Oden. Check out the front of ESPN.com to get a taste of what great basketball does for Portland.

[Clipsfan]

Hmmm... I didn't read "stuck" as applying only to start times.


Anyway, I agree with AtlDuke72. I wish Josh nothing but the best in the league. Even so, the Blazers will be just fine with Oden. Check out the front of ESPN.com to get a taste of what great basketball does for Portland.

The original comment about "stuck" probably had more to do with the team and its rep. However, I think that people's opinion of basketball in Portland is going to change over the next 2-3 years. They still have the reputation of all the head-cases and Jail Blazers etc., but the young core is going to be GOOD.

[Jaymf7]

As some have guessed, I did not mean to disparage Portland as a city. I have never been there, but I am sure it is nice. I am disappointed that Oden is going to a smaller market Western Conference team that will be hard to watch (and may increase the apparent talent edge of the West). It would have been nice to see him land at one of the Eastern Conference teams that needed help.

By the way, I have been to Seattle and love it, but would have made the same comment about Durant getting stuck there.

[Duke79UNLV77]

Given Oden's excellent academics and friendship with McRoberts, I'm surprised I don't remember our recruiting him. I know Wake was one of his finalists, so he must have been relatively open to the idea of attending a smaller private school in North Carolina. Sure, he appeared to be a likely one and done, but that wouldn't have been surprising for Livingston, Deng, or McRoberts, either. Based on what I've heard about him, Oden definitely "unpacked his bags" at Ohio State and was serious about his year there. Anybody know why we weren't more in the picture?

[phaedrus]

there was a long feature in SI on Oden when he was a soph or junior. i thought i remember the article claiming he was looking hard at duke. the next thing i heard about him, a year or more later, he had committed to ohio state. maybe i'm remembering incorrectly.

[jaimedun34]

Did the rule regarding early entry into the draft affect our recruitment of Oden? Also, I would assume that he wanted to play with Conley.

[dukefanSD]

Are you sure Greg wasn't just enjoying hanging out with McBob
's mom?

[johnnydakota]

Given Oden's excellent academics and friendship with McRoberts, I'm surprised I don't remember our recruiting him. I know Wake was one of his finalists, so he must have been relatively open to the idea of attending a smaller private school in North Carolina. Sure, he appeared to be a likely one and done, but that wouldn't have been surprising for Livingston, Deng, or McRoberts, either. Based on what I've heard about him, Oden definitely "unpacked his bags" at Ohio State and was serious about his year there. Anybody know why we weren't more in the picture?

A fairly credible source in the Indy area told me an interesting story about Oden and a visit from Coach K. He said K was at a Lawrence North practice and maybe even a game when Oden was just a Freshmen, but was there to see other players. When asked why not Oden, Coach K responded, "Oden will be great, but will never play in college." Obviously this was before the change in draft age rule. As for McRoberts, there are alot of people out here who DON'T agree with the overly critical, scapegoating garbage spread by some loudmouths on a message board. Had Duke won a couple more regular season games (some of those last-second shots), or a game or two further in both the ACC & NCAA tourneys, would they be saying the same things? If Duke finishes 26-7, which they could've done with a little more luck and better health, Josh could've averaged the same numbers but been thought of completely differently. Think about it.

[jaimedun34]

A fairly credible source in the Indy area told me an interesting story about Oden and a visit from Coach K. He said K was at a Lawrence North practice and maybe even a game when Oden was just a Freshmen, but was there to see other players. When asked why not Oden, Coach K responded, "Oden will be great, but will never play in college." Obviously this was before the change in draft age rule. As for McRoberts, there are alot of people out here who DON'T agree with the overly critical, scapegoating garbage spread by some loudmouths on a message board. Had Duke won a couple more regular season games (some of those last-second shots), or a game or two further in both the ACC & NCAA tourneys, would they be saying the same things? If Duke finishes 26-7, which they could've done with a little more luck and better health, Josh could've averaged the same numbers but been thought of completely differently. Think about it.

Greg Paulus has acknowledged that team chemistry was a major problem for the '07 Devils. Credible sources have stated that McRoberts was a big factor in that, as far as not being a good locker room guy and even calling out Paulus during players only meetings. IMO for Duke to have had a better season, McRoberts would have had to be a bit more mature about the problems the team was facing. If he would have done that, Duke could have had a better season and there wouldn't be much to talk about.

[johnb]

I don't think people vilified McRoberts, though they did wonder about the team chemistry issue, his demeanor, his ability to finish scoring opportunities, and his willingness to completely unpack his bags at Duke. While these were discussed, there were always at least as many people praising his talent and effort on a team in which he was the de facto star when that is not really his strength (ie, he can star as glue but not as star).

In the Oden article, I was intrigued by his tentative assertion that his AAU team was one of the best ever: "1. Michael Conley Jr, 2. Eric Gordon, 3. Deaquan Cook, 4. Josh McRoberts, and 5. little ol me." I'd say that it would certainly rank up there. Anyone know a regional team that could beat it?

[Gordon Shumway]

I don't know if they were the best but Elton's Riverside AAU team had IIRC Elton Brand, Lamar Odom, Ron Artest, and Erick Barkley. I know they had a couple other players of note but I can't remember right now.

[Zeb]

When the season was over, I think everyone on this board wanted McRob to come back next year. Then some Duke insider was anonymously quoted as saying McRob was expected to go pro and that he wouldn't necessarily be missed in the locker room. After that, suddenly a huge wave of "good riddance" sentiments started to appear. It was ridiculous--everyone wanted to believe that him leaving was somehow suddenly a blessing.

McRob was obviously not the offensive force many hoped for this past season, but he was certainly a valuable contributor on the court. I have no idea what he was like as a teammate, but he appeared to be a fiery competitor and I can't imagine the 2007-2008 team is actually better off without a 1st rounder. (e.g. Singler alone probably would have 2-3 highlight assists from Josh a game.)

I wish Josh success in the NBA and thank him for the efforts he made at Duke. I also am excited about the team's prospects next year without him. I just won't try to fool myself that we're going to be better because he left.