Sports Medicine Master System

"My name is Greg Oden."

"On January 22nd, 1988, I was born in a very run-down house in Buffalo City, New York. It was really run-down, because there was a big hole in the wall of my room that I had to cover with a poster."

"Later, my father left, leaving my mother and my younger brother. We had no choice but to follow my mother back to her hometown, Terre Haute, Indiana. That’s when I first started playing basketball."

"To be honest, I really didn’t like basketball at first. I wanted to be a dentist, because they told me dentists make a lot of money. When I was a kid, the people I envied most were the rich, because they could always eat their fill."

"You probably know the rest of the story. They called me ’King’ because on the court, I could do anything. No one was my opponent."

Facing the camera, Oden made a fierce expression, then broke into a giggle, amused by himself. He chuckled and told the executive director they needed to do that part over.

After the director signaled to start again, he put on another fierce expression and even flexed his thick arms.

"OK." The executive director gave Oden a hand signal and said with a smile, "Greg, I wish you success."

Oden said his thanks and got up, walking toward the other side of the recording set.

The players who were still waiting for their turn all looked over at him.

From the day they arrived in Phoenix, they knew that if there had to be a main character for these tryouts, it would definitely be Oden.

Half an hour later, Oden appeared on the recording set.

At the judges’ table, Chen Yu and the other six judges instantly perked up.

Jabbar sized up Oden intently. If Beasley’s talent was blindingly obvious, then Oden was the very definition of talent.

"Chen, how many shots do you think he’ll make?" he asked in a low voice.

Before Chen Yu could speak, Wes Unseld, who was next to him, chimed in, "I actually think he might not make a single one."

Jabbar was slightly taken aback. With a strange expression, he said, "Wes, you don’t think highly of him? His talent is truly outstanding."

"Of course I know his talent is outstanding," Wes Unseld said, quickly agreeing. "But he’s a center, a defensive one at that—the most traditional kind. The development of a center is very slow. It requires not only personal effort but also depends on their environment."

"Wes is right," Chen Yu interjected, giving Unseld a thumbs-up.

The last time he saw Oden, Chen Yu had told Negro that you can’t simply have expectations that are too high for Oden.

Whether a center can be successfully developed, especially in the league’s current environment which is increasingly unfriendly to them, truly depends on many factors.

For example, their individual ability, injury history, which team they join, whether the coaching staff is good at developing centers, the team’s roster composition, whether there’s a point guard who can pass, and so on.

If you put a rookie O’Neal on the Princeton-style Kings, he would also take a couple more years to mature, or he’d have to completely change the Kings’ tactical system.

The time it takes to develop a center and their success rate are both much slower and lower than for a guard.

"His weight and height are about the same as Dako’s, but in terms of athleticism, I feel Dako might be even better."

Because Milicic started out as a point guard, any scouting report on him will always mention that he possesses athleticism comparable to a guard’s.

The two are similar in height and weight, but differences in things like bone density make Milicic look like a bigger version of Nowitzki.

Oden, on the other hand, is clearly sturdier, like one of those tough, bruising centers from the eighties and nineties.

"Under the basket, Oden might have a slight edge in toughness, but Dako isn’t lacking in experience or willingness to battle. Especially his strength—he’s built that up over the past year."

Oden is, after all, younger and his skills aren’t as polished. In a high school league environment, his technique is more than enough.

Milicic, however, is in the NBA, an environment with a level of competition far beyond high school leagues.

Chen Yu was very familiar with his situation. This season, when he first arrived at the Pioneers, he also couldn’t hold his ground under the basket at all.

But through training, as his strength and contact skills improved, he slowly became able to stand his ground, even though his playstyle was shifted more to the perimeter later in the season.

With advantages in age, experience, and skill, Chen Yu really didn’t think Oden could get the better of Milicic.

But on the other hand, the very fact that you can compare Oden to Milicic is enough to show just how high his talent ceiling is.

After all, Milicic was a second-overall pick and a starting player for the Pioneers.

"This discussion is pointless. We’ll know when they play. Anyway, I feel like he looks a lot more promising than Brown," Jordan muttered.

Chen Yu shook his head to himself. ’Just how much do you look down on Kwame Brown?’

’Was picking him back then the biggest stain on your career?’

Oden, who had the face of a hardened thug, actually had a very gentle and even somewhat introverted personality.

Just by looking at his face, no one would believe he was only 16 years old.

"Greg, good luck," Chen Yu said encouragingly at the end.

After speaking, he gave a slight nod to Milicic.

Above the court, a jib camera swept by quickly. The one-on-one officially began.

He started with his back to the basket. The moment their bodies made contact, the difference in strength was apparent.

Milicic was clearly stronger.

And after a season of grinding, his defensive habits had been adjusted. His stance was incredibly stable.

The current Oden still had some technique. Realizing he couldn’t back him down, he jab-stepped with his left foot, leaned in, and then spun to his right, trying to use the misleading step to slip past him to the basket.

The move was very fluid, and the speed of his spin was extremely fast. You could tell he had practiced it a lot.

However, at this moment, he was facing an NBA-level player.

Milicic was as familiar with his little tricks, his simple footwork and moves, as the back of his hand. Trying to fake him out was just a dream.

With one small step, Milicic solidly cut off his path along the baseline, instantly pressing forward to apply pressure and reaching in to strip the ball.

Oden protected the ball, but his move had already been broken up.

His dribble was used up. His reaction was extremely quick; he immediately dropped his hips for a pump fake, then turned and rose up for a hook shot.

But the moment he jumped, he felt Milicic’s body pressing against him.

CLANG! The basketball hit the rim and bounced out.

Milicic, having landed, immediately jumped again and grabbed the rebound. He was slowly developing the habit of snatching rebounds.

At the judges’ table, Wes Unseld shrugged his shoulders, a ’See? I told you so’ expression on his face.

Chen Yu smiled, glanced at Oden who was now frowning on the court, and shook his head to himself.

’Looks like my prediction was right. This guy has no idea how to compete against an NBA-level player.’

In high school, against a bunch of high schoolers, Oden used his physical gifts to dominate opponents under the basket.

In his mind, opponents probably always seemed a step slower. He could use any simple fake to send them flying to the Pacific Ocean.

But now, against Milicic, he would get the feeling that his opponent’s movements were just as fast as his, or even faster, and that all his moves seemed to have been anticipated.

’How could he possibly score in this situation?’

’But that’s fine. If a rookie still wandering around the novice village could beat a fully-geared pro, now that would be something else.’

Most importantly, Chen Yu and the others weren’t watching to see how many shots he could make. They were looking at his talent.

His height, wingspan, frame, body proportions—his static physical attributes were perfect.

The speed of his spin was frighteningly fast. He possessed agility that didn’t match his size. This was explosive-level athletic talent.

That alone was enough.

Technique and experience were things that had to be developed through practice.

The first shot was a miss. The second shot was, without a doubt, another miss.

When Oden drove baseline and attempted a hook shot while under pressure, the stability of his release was very poor.

When one plan failed, he even tried to show off his left hand, but it was like running straight into the barrel of a gun.

Milicic’s scouting report had long since noted he was skilled with both his left and right hands.

On the opposite stands, James and the others all frowned slightly.

"LeBron, he’s really good," Wade said softly.

Although Oden was constantly being contested and blocked, in Wade’s eyes, he already had the prerequisites to become a top-tier center.

His physical gifts were just too good.

James nodded in agreement and added, "I read in the media that his greatest strength is actually his defense. He once had 9 blocks in a single game."

"That many?" Ford said, startled.

Bosh stared intently at Oden and said, "That’s normal. With his athleticism, he had no equal in high school."

He was an inside player himself, so he knew all too well how terrifying it was to have a great physique in high school. It was a total mismatch, like an attack from a higher dimension.

In high school, for instance, he had led his team to a 40-0 record to win the state championship, and he too had dominated opponents with relentless scoring and crazy blocks.

The feeling was like playing basketball against a bunch of kids.

And with Oden’s physical gifts, he could only be even more dominant than Bosh himself was.

As the few of them chatted, the five offensive possessions were over.

Not a single ball went in.

Chen Yu secretly breathed a sigh of relief for Milicic.

If Oden had scored a few, and it got on TV, the media would have roasted him for being a draft bust, unable to even beat a high schooler.

However, Chen Yu was quite curious about the upcoming defense.

Oden was clearly better at defense, but Chen Yu wondered if he could guard an NBA-level player.

Milicic on offense.

He started from a higher position on the court.

Under the guidance of Chen Yu and the others, he had started to change his game, shifting to a style focused on facing the basket and attacking from the high post and above.

He posted up, made an explosive dribble, faked a post-up spin, slipped past Oden, and drove straight to the basket.

The entire sequence of moves was as silky smooth as a guard’s.

However, Oden’s turn was faster. He caught up in a single step, leaped into the air, and met Milicic at the apex.

Chen Yu clearly heard Jordan gasp sharply beside him.

He was astonished.

Milicic, in mid-air, was also completely surprised that Oden could turn and catch up so quickly.

Caught off guard, his shot was contested and rolled off the rim.

"FUCK."

In the opposite stands, Bosh couldn’t help but curse.

For the first time among these nearly three hundred rookies, someone had finally managed to stop his offense.

That spin, and the explosion of speed after it, was truly a bit outrageous.

Beside him, James pursed his lips, his eyes fixed on Oden, muttering to himself, "He should be in the ’06 draft. That means there are still 2 years."

’In ’06, if the Knights get the number one pick, and if I could team up with Oden... with his athleticism, I could drive to the basket, toss the ball back without looking, and have Oden trail for the alley-oop slam. That picture is just too beautiful to imagine.’