Oden Goodness

In preparation for today's team USA training camp, Marc Spears of Yahoo! Sports did a nice piece on Greg and his current state of mind.  It sounds like Oden has done all the right things, including seeing a "little shrink", to help him get his body and mind right for the coming season. Here's a portion of the article, it sounds like Oden is soaking up the good advice:

The psychologist helped Oden "see himself." Former Blazers forward Brian Grant provided similar help, flying from Cincinnati to Columbus to work with Oden four times a week, on and off the court. Grant, who is suffering from Parkinson's disease, grew into a mentor of sorts for the Blazers' 21-year-old center. His words stuck with Oden.

"He said, ‘People might be a lot more skilled than me, bigger than me, faster than me, but I'd be damned if I'm going to let someone outwork me when I'm out there,' " Oden said. "...He's been through it all. If I need someone to talk to, I know I can call him."

One thing I find ironic about that quote from Greg- If he keeps it up, with his athleticism and skillset, there won't be guys bigger, faster, or more skilled.  Greg is that guy that Grant is talking about.

This afternoon the team USA invitees have been running drills and scrimmaging in Las Vegas. Portland's own Casey Holdahl is in attendance Tweeting his backside off.  I've been glued to his tweets, especially this final gem:

"Oden was the surprise of the practice. He shut down everthing inside." -Coach Jay Triano at Team USA practice today.

This was the initial stellar Tweet:

McGee, Randolph, Lopez, and Milsap have all tried to take it at Oden. All have failed

Follow Casey here and check out his blog later for possible updates, I know I will.