On the eve of the beginning of the Round of 64 of March Madness, I got the chance to sit down with former Ohio State Buckeye and NBA player, Greg Oden.
Oden, who is now the director of basketball operations at Butler, shared his thoughts on the NCAA Tournament, what Butler has to do return to the big dance, and how the NBA season will shake out. He’s also partnered with AT&T ahead of the upcoming March Madness tournament.
Greg Oden knows a thing or two about the NCAA Tournament. He and Mike Conley Jr. were the cornerstones of the Ohio State team that went on a deep run in 2007, only to fall short when the Buckeyes lost to the Florida Gators in the championship game. This is what he said he remembered about that season:
“Well, my biggest memory is all the Florida fans giving me the gator chomp as I walked off the court [as] losers,” Oden said. “But, honestly I remember that 2007 Ohio State as a team that just came together and we had fun with each other, we were all friends, and we all went out there and battled.”
It wouldn’t be a March Madness interview without getting Oden’s Final Four picks for this year’s tournament.
“I got Arizona, Marquette,” he said. “I got UCLA and Texas, with UCLA and Arizona [final] game and I kind of got Arizona winning that. Even though, I’m very high on UCLA and Texas.”
So, there you have it. A former Big Ten player and a current member of the Big East has an all Pac-12 final in his bracket.
Finally, I had to get his thoughts on the NBA as we enter the final month of the regular season.
“I got a Philly/Milwaukee Eastern Conference final with Milwaukee coming out of that,” Oden said. “And then, I don’t have a Western Conference [team] but I think the Suns are going to come out of that and to be fair I’m really scared of Golden State when they get healthy.”
Can LeBron James and the Lakers go on a run if they get healthy and make the playoffs?
Oden quoted the great Kevin Garnett when answering that question. “Anything is possible!”
Be sure to keep an eye out for an AT&T commercial featuring Greg Oden that is set to air during March Madness in the coming days and weeks.
The ad titled “One Shining Moment” features Oden Jr. and AT&T’s Lily, among other former and current NBA and WNBA players, each watching the game on their phone. They gather on the beach singing the March Madness theme song, “One Shining Moment,” celebrating that AT&T allows them to be connected and enjoy the game.
AT&T’s 2023 March Madness campaign, titled “Madness Loves Company,” focuses on the idea that watching with other fans is better than watching alone.
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