Sam Donnellon | Peeking from behind Oden's shadow
BEST PAL CONLEY IS THE BUCKEYES' UNSUNG HERO
LEXINGTON, Ky. - The swell of reporters around their lockers wasn't equal, and probably never will be. Mike
Conley Jr. could hit the winning bucket in a game to decide the Big Ten championship (which he did), could outscore everyone in the conference tournament final (which he did), but when the doors open, 7-foot Greg Oden will magnetize the flock as surely as he has attracted the accolades distributed during the better part of a decade that the two have been together.
Yesterday though, before Ohio State practiced for today's first-round game against 16th-seed Central Connecticut State, the swells were almost the same. And, well, Conley noticed.
"I'm getting more attention than I ever have," Ohio State's point guard was saying, wearing an endless grin. "Even in high school, I never had as much attention as I have been getting. It's done nothing but help me and motivate me to get more of it.
"You don't want to sit back and relax."
At least you don't if you are Mike Conley Jr. Since he and his father recruited Oden to play for their middle-school AAU team, Conley has played alongside Ohio State's 7-foot, 270-pound center, roomed with the dude, too, even spent some quality cartoon time with him.
They won three state championships together at Lawrence North High in Indianapolis.
Oden was the can't-miss prospect who would have been the NBA's first pick in the draft.
Conley was a debate: Was he that good because he played with Oden, or would he have been more noticed, more celebrated had he grown up elsewhere?
"I don't know," Oden said. "I know he doesn't get respected as much as he should, in newspapers and on TV with some analysts. He just goes out there and plays his game."
Conley's game has been the gift that just keeps giving. His 209 assists this season were a Buckeye record. His penchant for big plays at big moments complemented Oden's steady, measured efforts.
"I'm not sure Mike Conley is not the most valuable player," Indiana coach Kelvin Sampson said recently of the Big Ten voting. "It's who is the best player vs. who is the most valuable."
There's irony there. In high-school game after high-school game, AAU tournament after AAU tournament, the hardware went to Oden, even when statistically it made little sense.
Oden was Mr. Indiana basketball last year.
Conley finished second. And yet, "He's the best athlete I've ever coached," said Lawrence North coach Jack Keefer.
So why follow Oden to Ohio State? Why continue the walk in the shadows?
"Well, the best I can explain it is that we have that kind of relationship," Conley said. "No hard times between us when it comes to basketball or anything."
Conley is the jokester and joke-teller, Oden the easy and willing laugh. Conley is the socialite who pulls Oden from his room. They have been roommates since seventh grade. They are, by all accounts, like brothers.
Want Oden to play at his peak? Then hope that someone roughs up his roommie rather than him.
Want Conley to keep improving? Keep handing the hardware off to Oden.
"It motivates me, sure," Conley said. "But I also know what kind of player he is, and he knows what kind of player I am. We're so unselfish that we want to make each other better."
Clearly they have. Case in point: In the 49-48 victory over Wisconsin for the regular-season championship, Conley floated a last-second runner over the Badgers' big men. He created and perfected the shot to offset Oden's dominance in high-school scrimmages and schoolyard pickup.
"He's never blocked it, not once," Conley said.
"That's true," Oden said.
Projected as the top pick in this year's NBA draft, Oden yesterday told wave after wave how integral his friend has been to his success, both through his playmaking and through their friendship.
It's a nice story, an epic really, but even epics have an end. If Oden turns pro as everybody expects him to, and Conley returns next year as expected, the swells will undoubtedly subside, at least on one side of the room.
Then again, so will the shadow.
"It's been a fun road," Conley said. "I probably would not be where I am at right now without Greg. Because I really needed him, to accomplish the things I have done so far." *
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