Portland Trail Blazers Scrimmage for the Garfield School Foundation
On Saturday, October 16th, the Portland Trailblazers, with whom Greg Oden plays as center, will battle the Golden State Warriors for a second pre-season game win. Their coach, Nate McMillan, says they have room to improve their rebounding. McMillan says that in order to strengthen their offense, the Blazers will begin setting plays that are more focused for certain players, which will help the team get the most from each member.
Aside from working on their game, the Blazers will be reaching out to the community by visiting Seattle’s Garfield High School, all-star guard Brandon Roy’s alma mater, for a 40 minute scrimmage. Tickets to the game cost 5 dollars, and all proceeds will be donated to the Garfield School Foundation. Roy, with the help of the Trailblazers, will be matching the proceeds with an additional 10,000 dollar donation to the foundation.
2010-11 Trail Blazers’ Training Camp Roster
It was no surprise when Portland Trail Blazers’ GM Rich Cho announced the following additions to the team’s camp roster: Dwight Lewis (3), Patrick Mills, Raymond Sykes (25), Seth Tarver (21) and Eric Williams (34). In addition, Marc Camby was listed as no. 23 following last year’s position as no. 21. He was traded from the LA Clippers as Martell Webster wore no. 23 who was traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves. Greg Oden plays center position for the team.
Jeff Pendergraph for the Portland Trail Blazers
Playing alongside Greg Oden at no. 31 for the Portland Trail Blazers is Jeff Pendergraph, originally drafted by the Sacramento Kings of the 2009 NBA Draft. These draft rights were later traded to the Trail Blazers. In Arizona State University, Pendergraph played college basketball and in his sophomore season grabbed a career-high 19 rebounds in a 52-36 victory over Colgate. He signed his contract with the Trail Blazers in September 2009 with his first game against the Dallas Mavericks, scoring two points in four minutes. As well, in the last 2009-10 NBA season game, he scored a career-high 23 points.
Greg Oden’s Contribution to the Portland Trail Blazers
What many people forget about Greg Oden, is that he is a young, healthy player with the Portland Trail Blazers who has years of good playing ahead of him. He is also extremely talented and can offer much to the NBA. Oden will be able to lead the Trail Blazers to becoming contenders in the west. There are other talents in the Trail Blazers team such as LaMarcus Aldridge, Nicolas Batum and Brandon Roy making a lineup that is likely to go from strength to strength over the years. At the end of the day, sports analysts believe that Greg Oden has the capacity to “make the difference from a lower seeded playoff team that will last one or two rounds at most to a perennial title contender.” Oden will give the Portland Trail Blazers their best chance to compete against the Lakers too.
Bowling & Talking with Greg Oden
While hosting a charity event in Vancouver as part of Oregon Mentors and Team Oden, Greg Oden took the time to talk to Oregon Live.
He discussed what he’s been doing lately, and explained that he’s splitting his time between Portland and his hometown in Indianapolis. He plans to be in Phoenix to visit teammate Jarryd Bayless for his birthday and then to return to Indianapolis to continue “bothering” his mom, Zoe Oden.
He explained more about his involvement with Team Oden, saying that, “I grew up with mentors. So, anything that has to do with mentors, I’m happy to give back and to help.”
A Bowling Bonanza with Greg Oden
Over 200 mentors and youth had the privilege of spending the afternoon with Greg Oden (pictured left) on August 21, 2010 at Big Al’s Bowling and Arcade. Greg Oden sponsored this yearly event, offering free bowling and arcade games to say thank you to the youth and mentors who participate in Team Oden and who work together all year.
Team Oden is Greg Oden’s contribution to the Oregon Mentors program. Oregon Mentors pairs volunteer mentors with needy children to create relationships, support and help for kids who need extra assistance.
Oden joked around with reporting, explaining how difficult it is to find size 19 bowling shoes and to find a ball big enough for his hand. He set his sights on scoring a 98, and finished with a 92.
New Staff at Portland Trail Blazers
The Portland Trail Blazers have appointed Bill Branch and Steve Rosenberry as their assistant general managers. This announcement was made by Rich Cho, the team’s new GM. Both have impressive careers to date. Branch was Director of Player Personnel for Oklahoma City (and for the Trail Blazers who will take on the same role) and Rosenberry was Atlanta’s scout, having also worked for Seattle and Milwaukee (he will be overseeing the Portland Trail Blazers college personnel). What’s good for the chemistry of the entire team is that in the past, Cho has worked with both of these individuals. In addition, when it comes to matters of the NBA, Branch for sure knows what he’s doing, having been involved in NBA work for over two decades in the capacity of assistant coach, personal director and scout. Likewise, Rosenberry worked with the Sonics and has had significant experience working alongside college coaches, as well as playing in the CBA.
Greg Oden & The Buckeye Stars Basketball Camp
We don’t have pictured from the 3rd annual Buckeye Stars Basketball Camp, but here are a few from last year’s fun. The camp took place just two weeks ago from July 28-30 at the Worthington Kilbourne High School in Columbus, Ohio. Kids enjoyed three days of team building and basketball workshops with Greg Oden, Mike Conley and Daequan Cook, former Ohio State Buckeye Stars. Enjoy the glimpse into the camp – we’re hoping to have pictures from this year’s amazing experience soon.
Greg Oden & ProCamps Worldwide Making a Difference
This summer, kids in Ohio got to experience a fantastic camping experience. From July 28-30 at the Worthington Kilbourne High School in Worthington, Ohio, kids were invited to join the Buckeye Star Basketball Camp with former Ohio State Buckeye Stars Greg Oden, Mike Conley and Daequan Cook.
The camp was made possible with the help of the event management company, ProCamps Worldwide. They assist professional athletes like Greg Oden to develop their personal sports camps. Since 1998, more than 40 of the most well known athletes have used their services to operate their camps. Their clients include NBA All Stars like Greg Oden, Team USA Basketball members, NBA World Champions, NFL Pro Bowlers and many others.
These camps touch the lives of many children, helping them to learn sports skills while building their confidence and teaching them about teamwork.
Portland Trail Blazers: Eyes on Rudy Fernandez
A recent article written in The Boston Herald has claimed the Celtics are currently investigating various trades including Portland Trail Blazers Rudy Fernandez. Fernandez has done well for the Trail Blazers, averaging 8.1 minutes and 1.0 assists in 23.2 minutes for the team over the last year. He is a 6”6 shooter and estimates have him making $1,246,680 next season, with a team option of $2,180,443 for 2011-12.
Like Greg Oden, Fernandez was selected on June 28, 2007 but this was by the Phoenix Suns. Sometime thereafter that team traded Fernandez’s draft rights to the Portland Trail Blazers for cash. At the same time, Oden was selected as the no. 1 overall pick, whereas Fernandez was 24th overall in the NBA Draft.
