Oden, future NBA star, launches blog

Greg Oden, widely considered one of basketball’s greatest big man prospects, has launched his personal blog at Yardbarker.com. Oden, who earned All American honors as a freshman at Ohio State, will share his daily life experiences and answer questions from fans as he prepares for the 2007 NBA Draft as well as competes during the 2007-08 basketball season.

“The idea of connecting directly with fans made the Yardbarker opportunity very appealing to me,” Oden said. “No matter what happens in the draft I will be going through some dramatic changes in my life. I thought it would be fun to share those experiences with the fans and learn a little bit more about them too.”

Despite playing the 2006-07 season with an injured right hand, Oden established himself as the most dominant post player in college basketball, leading Ohio State to a 35-4 record, a Big Ten title and a berth in the national championship game. With his intimidating presence on defense, Oden has often been compared to Hall of Fame center Bill Russell.

“Greg Oden is pioneering the next wave of sports media,” Yardbarker Co-Founder Pete Vlastelica said. “The intimacy and sincerity of what he writes, and the access he gives his fans by actually responding to their comments, are unprecedented in professional sports. Greg is going to make it very difficult for anyone who reads his blog to root against him. We are very proud to be working with him.”