Oden puts hurt on The Enforcer

Jason Quick has a great story from the Oden workout. "..Shortly after the Blazers won the draft lottery, assistant coach Maurice Lucas asked coach Nate McMillan if he could take Greg Oden under his wing on the practice floor - should the Blazers draft the 7-foot center. After Lucas helped workout Oden on Wednesday at the Blazers practice facility, you might wonder if he still wants the job?" "..Lucas was asked to play some post defense against Oden during the hour-long workout, and he quickly discovered that this wasn't any ordinary session. The way Lucas describes it, the first time Oden was asked to post, then spin toward the basket, Lucas was knocked slightly backward by the post. On the simultaneous spin toward the basket, Oden's forearm connected solidly with Lucas' forehead. It was that powerful and that quick. So on the second repetition, Lucas chuckles in describing his revised tactic. He got his normal base - legs spread, right forearm set to rest against Oden's back - but then once the spin came, he moved his left forearm to protect his face. Lucas also said there were drills where he held a blocking pad. Oden would get a head of steam and run into him and establish position. Lucas said he would have to brace his legs far in back of him for extra leverage to better absorb Oden's impact?" Go to blazers.com, click Oden, then videos, and look at the tape. Impressive stuff. Oden looks like LT wearing out a Giants linebacker coach stuck holding a blocking dummy. link to J Quick story... http://blog.oregonlive.com/behindblazersbeat/2007/06/lucas_oden_reminds_me_of_nate.html