Greg Oden returning to Ohio State men's basketball coaching staff as graduate assistant

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 Buckeyes 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. “One of the toughest things to do is get your foot in the door, so for them to give me this opportunity while I’m able to actually get a Master’s degree in sports coaching from The Ohio State University, which I would love, is something that’s just amazing. I couldn’t ask for anything better. I’m just so thankful and ready to take advantage of this opportunity.”

He's got plenty of experience at his disposal. The nation's No. 1 recruit in the 2007 class, 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 then took him as the No.1 pick in the NBA draft, but injuries derailed his promising career. He was limited to two seasons with the Trail Blazers and played his final NBA season for Miami in 2013-14. In 105 career games, Oden averaged 8.0 points and 6.2 rebounds.

This is the second time Oden has returned to Ohio State as part of the staff. After his playing career came to a close, Oden was working on his next step when former coach Thad Matta reached out and invited him to return to school. It helped Oden, who had been through some admittedly self-inflicted dark times, start to turn things around.

In 2016, 11 years after his lone season as a player began, Oden returned as a student manager for Matta. He spent the 2016-17 season in that role and reprised it the following year even after Matta was fired and 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. Ohio State's degree completion program for former student-athletes helped him get there.

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. 

“Now I’ll be involved more in the meetings, more in the coaching part of it, involved in every aspect of it more than when I was just the manager, kind of just rebounding and being there for practices while I was full-time in school,” Oden said. “I’m going to be more involved in cutting up the film, working with the coaches, (Ryan Pedon) specifically. I’ll be able to do more with the coaching staff.

“I’ve been around, I’ve had experience as a player but I haven’t had actual coaching experience that I feel like I would need to be the best coach that I could possibly be. That’s why I’m so thankful for this opportunity.”

In January, Oden was announced as an assistant coach for the DC Stealth, a team playing in The Professional Collegiate League. Alan Major, Oden’s position coach while at Ohio State, is the head coach. Now, he'll be with the Buckeyes instead.

“What it’s really about is being able to help the kids coming in and bring something to the university and be able to help these kids graduate and hopefully further their playing career,” Oden said. “I think I’ve got some things I can add to that, off the court as well as on. That’s the reason why I want to be a coach in the first place. I look forward to that as well.”

Contact Adam Jardy at ajardy@dispatch.com or on Twitter: @AdamJardy