Ohio State adding Oden to staff as graduate student
The last time he was at Ohio State, he got a taste of the coaching life. Now, Greg Oden is coming back for a bigger bite.
The former Buckeye center and eventual No. 1 NBA draft pick will join Chris Holtmann’s staff this season as a graduate student with an eye on becoming a full-time coach. It’s a bigger role than the one Oden held previously at Ohio State, when he was a student manager and eventually student coach before earning his degree two years ago.
“I’m thankful, honestly, for coach Holt and his staff who have welcomed me in and given me this opportunity because that’s literally what I want to do is get into coaching,” Oden said.
Oden helped lead Ohio State to its first appearance in the national championship game since 1960 while earning first-team All-american honors after averaging 15.7 points and 9.6 rebounds per game.
Portland took him as the No.1 pick in
the NBA draft, but injuries derailed his promising career.
In 2016, Oden returned as a student manager for coach Thad Matta. He spent the 2016-17 season in that role and reprised it the following year even after Matta was fired and Chris Holtmann took over. Finally, after a year spent as a “student coach” in 2019, Oden achieved a goal he had set back in 2007: he earned his degree in sports industry from Ohio State.
As a graduate student, Oden will be able to spend more time as a hands-on coach than his previous time as a student manager would allow. ajardy@dispatch.com @Adamjardy