| Greg Oden Jersey |
Greg Oden (born January 22, 1988 in Buffalo, New York) is a basketball center who begins wearing the Ohio State Jersey in the 2006-07 season. Greg Oden attended Lawrence North High School in Indianapolis, where he led them to three straight state titles and 45 consecutive wins. Greg Oden Jerseys became popular when he was named Parade Magazine’s High School Co-Player of the Year 2005 (along with Monta Ellis) and 2005 Gatorade National Boys Basketball Player of the Year, becoming the first junior since LeBron James to be named such. Also, Oden was named Parade Magazine’s High School Player of the Year and Gatorade National Boys Basketball Player of the Year in 2006, winning the award in back-to-back years.
On June 29, 2005, Oden and Lawrence North teammate as well as best friend Mike Conley verbally announced that they would be attending Ohio State University starting with the 2006-2007 season. Many thought that Oden would have declared himself eligible for the 2006 NBA Draft, and likely would have been the first player selected, but the NBA instituted new rules starting with the 2006 draft that make U.S. players ineligible for the draft until at least one year after high school graduation. However, Oden repeatedly stated that he would not forgo college for the NBA. In the 2005-06 season, Oden, a 7-foot-½-inch 245 lb (2.14 m, 111 kg) senior, led Lawrence North to an undefeated record, a third straight Class 4A Indiana state championship and the first ever top finish for an Indiana school in USA Today’s Super 25 rankings. For the season, the center scored 22.0 points and 10.5 rebounds per game while shooting 74 percent from the field. Oden dominated in the state championship game against Muncie Central, scoring a game-high 26 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. Lawrence North won their last three state championship games by a combined 56 points and their average margin of victory during the regular season was 21 points. Oden was also on the McDonald’s All-American Team and played in the All-American game. Greg Oden has been invited to participate on the 2008 USA Olympic Basketball team. He has been widely compared to retired NBA star center David Robinson. He will room with Jamar Butler, when he wears the Ohio State University Jersey next year.
