Greg Oden is turning to family, friends and his coach to make the right decision about his future basketball career.
But Oden, whose basketball talents were spawned here in Terre Haute, is without a friend who was there for the 19-year-old from the beginning of his basketball playing days at the Terre Haute Boys Club.
Travis Smith’s life tragically ended at 19 in a Jan. 27 car accident in Muncie.
Oden was there for some of Smith’s best moments on the golf course, coming to Terre Haute more than once to ride along for a round.
Travis’s father Jimmy Smith, a former basketball player at Indiana State and Oden’s coach during his early days, had dinner with Oden and his mother Zoe on Saturday at Indianapolis.
Jimmy Smith said that Oden had plans to meet with Mike Conley Sr. on Sunday to gather information to make a decision, but he didn’t know how soon Oden would decide whether or not to return to Ohio State for a sophomore season.
During diner, Oden brought up the fact that he and Travis Smith had plans for when the time came for him to make the jump to the NBA.
“It’s something Greg made mention of last night,” Jimmy Smith said Sunday. “Greg wanted Travis to come live with him. They kind of had their plans. I actually felt sorry for Greg when he was talking about it. Travis is isn’t here to go with Greg; that’s what life has dealt us.”
Life in the NBA for a 19-year-old can be tough with millions of dollars thrust into his hands. Nothing like having your childhood best friend come along for the ride.
Travis Smith had the potential to be a professional in his sport too as a four-time Indiana state finalist in golf. Oden no doubt wanted his friend to achieve greatness as well.
Watching a guy like Zach Johnson from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, come from obscurity to win the 2007 Masters, I couldn’t help but wonder if Travis Smith could have one day made his own history.
Travis definitely had that mentality, that confidence in himself to make something amazing happen.
After a great round of golf, Travis was never satisified.
“I’ve played good, but not as good as I could,” Smith once told the Tribune-Star.
Unfortunately, he never had a chance to see how good that could have been.
Travis Smith told Andy Amey once that he needed a medal to match the ones Greg Oden earned in leading Lawrence North to three basketball state championships.
During his senior year, Travis Smith didn’t catch the breaks he needed to win it all, settling for a tie for fourth place. But Smith almost led his team to the state title, which would have meant even more to him.
Everyone that knew Travis Smith, has to know that his influence on Oden will be a part of the big man’s drive to succeed.
From what I saw from Oden in the NCAA championship game, the big man is ready to have an impact right away in the NBA — if he decides he’s ready to go for it now.
“I just want to make sure Greg’s happy,” said Jimmy Smith. “I don’t if anybody’s ever really ready for the NBA. There’s been guys that make the transition well and guys that don’t.
“A lot depends on what Greg puts into it. It’s obviously a totally different league. I know a little about the jump from high
• • •
• Conley Jr. — If Mike Conley Jr. decides to leave Ohio State, I’ve got the perfect place for him to play. Right here in Indiana.
With the Pacers’ loss Sunday at New Jersey, Indiana is all but eliminated from the playoffs. That doesn’t mean the Pacers would even have a first-round pick though.
In the trade to bring Al Harrington to Indiana, the Pacers traded their 2007 first-round pick to Atlanta. But the Pacers get to keep the pick if it is the 10th pick or better. In other words, Indiana would be one of 14 teams in the lottery and would need the ping pong balls to fall in its favor to get a top-10 pick.
Conley has been projected as high as No. 8 overall. Oden is projected as the No. 1 or No. 2 pick.
Craig Pearson can be reached by email at craig.pearson@tribstar.com. Read his blog on a variety of sports topics at blogs.tribstar.com/craigpearson.
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April 15, 2007
Given to Fly: Oden trying to make the right decision
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GIVEN TO FLY: Come to expect new standards of excellence
Records are definitely meant to be broken; athletes today are faster and stronger than those in the past in many endeavors in athletics.
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GIVEN TO FLY: ISU women have solid recruiting class
The caliber of athletes that the Indiana State women’s basketball coaching staff is bringing in is on an upswing.
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GIVEN TO FLY: Major leaguers John, Dorsett meet up at tonight’s game
Terre Haute’s only two big leaguers of the last 50 years — Tommy John and Brian Dorsett — will catch up with one another today.
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FOOT NOTES: Valley natives perform well on national stage
Several Wabash Valley natives continue to shine on the national track and field scene.
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'Til It's Over: Sycamores ‘in a good place,’ but searching for more in MVC
Can Teri Moren lift Indiana State, last year’s seventh-place team in the Missouri Valley Conference, to one of the league’s contenders in her first year on campus?
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'Til It's Over: Two sets of identical twins should keep North Central baseball a contender
The last high school baseball team standing in the Wabash Valley was the North Central, the Thunderbirds falling short 4-3 in the Class A Semistate on Saturday just one game shy of Victory Field.
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'Til It's Over: Jarvis, Anderson confident Olney, hard work leads to Division I dream
Olney, Ill., population 8,000-plus and known for its population of white squirrels, might not be the dream destination for high school basketball players in Indiana.
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'Til It's Over: Robinson 7-footer more focused in postseason; 6-foot Jones keeps producing
Robinson 7-footer Meyers Leonard is not going to be the No. 1 overall pick in the NBA some day, but his odds of reaching the league are pretty solid if his game continues to evolve as it has during high school.
- 'Til It's Over: ‘Stepping stone’ game points Sycamores in right direction Whether the win comes against a top-25 team or a conference pushover, ending a four-game losing streak is always a relief.
- 'Til It's Over: Indianapolis ISU recruit rolling along in senior season As Indiana State recruit Anna Munn approached Christmas with the Decatur Central basketball team, the senior guard didn’t seem to need much of a wishlist.
- 'Til It's Over: Magic’s still there for '79 Sycamores For the former Indiana State players who visited the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame in late November, the weekend was a chance to relive memories with teammates and see Larry Bird’s career with the Sycamores celebrated again.
- CRAIG PEARSON: North has strong history in cross country state finals Vigo County is home to just four IHSAA state championships in team sports. Most recently, Terre Haute South won girls titles in basketball (2002) and tennis (2001).
- 'Till It's Over: It’s been rough year but no need to break up Cubs' core Chicago Cubs general manager Jim Hendry is only in the first year of a three-year contract, and aren’t back-to-back division championships enough to keep him around despite this year’s season filled with bad luck?
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'Til It's Over: Hansbrough, Hibbert give Pacers glimpse of future
You might have heard of the Indiana Pacers’ 2009 first-round draft pick. He was on the television once in a while during his four-year career at North Carolina.
- 'Til It's Over: Bertoli, Moore put on show in abundance of events “Anthony and Erica” may not have the marketing capability of “Dan and Dave,” but neither of Indiana State’s outstanding multi-event participants had let-down performances this weekend in the Missouri Valley Conference Championships.
- ‘Walking wounded’: ISU seniors return to provide spark All three ISU seniors will graduate in May, and all three will be in uniform today as Indiana State battles Bradley in the Missouri Valley Conference tournament quarterfinals.
- Given to Fly: Northview standout runner Thacker coming to ISU Doc Brown told an old-timer in a saloon in “Back to the Future III” that despite having automobiles in the future people run for recreation.
- Given to Fly: Schilli’s Rodman-like performance aids ISU With Indiana State’s women’s basketball team ranking eighth in the Missouri Valley Conference in field-goal percentage (36.5), the Sycamores need as many shot attempts as possible to maintain their standing on top of the league.
- Given to Fly: A classic in every sense of the word What tournament director and co-founder Gary Fears had in mind when creating the tournament came to fruition Tuesday. Marshall, with an enrollment of 438 students, became the smallest school to win the Pizza Hut Wabash Valley Classic in the ninth season of the tourney.
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Given to Fly: ISU women should build confidence off strong outing
Indiana State did not pull off the monumental upset Saturday against No. 23 Kansas State, but the Wildcats are —aside from Connecticut in 2005 — the best team the Sycamores have played in the Jim Wiedie era.
- Given to Fly: ISU women's hoops team slides onto commercial radio Coach Jim Wiedie expects the Indiana State women’s basketball team to have a bit of a retro feel this season, meaning the Sycamores have the potential to get back to creating havoc with their full-court press.
- Given to Fly: ISU vets hope to prove pundits wrong Indiana State’s only two seniors were surprised to see they were picked ahead of just three Missouri Valley Conference women’s basketball teams Tuesday morning.
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Footnotes: In first marathon, former Sycamore comes out a winner
Indiana State graduate Dani Prince made her debut in the event with a victory in the Columbus Marathon on Sunday.
Prince’s goal was a time under 2 hours and 50 minutes, and she ran a 2:48.56. -
Given To Fly: ISU volleyball turning things around
It was an extremely busy weekend for Indiana State athletics this weekend.
- Footnotes: Here’s hoping perfect weather is still around for Nationals in November The weather made for a perfect fall afternoon Saturday at LaVern Gibson Championship Course. For what it’s worth, the Farmer’s Almanac calls for more sunny conditions from Nov. 20-24, with the NCAA Championships falling on the 24th this year.
- Terre Haute natives cherish memories of ‘House that Ruth Built’ Yankee Stadium was packed as usual on Easter Sunday in 1979. George Steinbrenner’s Yankees were one loss away from being swept by the Milwaukee Brewers to start the season. That was no way for the two-time defending World Series champions to perform, so the boss had a conversation with his new veteran left-handed starting pitcher prior to the game.
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Footnotes: Oregon men and women have strangehold on preseason NCAA cross countryrankings
The Oregon men and women were almost both unanimous picks as the No. 1 teams in the nation in the preseason cross country national rankings released recently.
- Given to Fly: Bronze medalist has strong ISU ties One of the remarkable American medalists of this 2008 Olympics thus far also provided one of the most sparkling stories in the brief history of the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course here in Terre Haute.
- Former ISU QB gets back to Amarillo This week, Indiana State signed its most highly-touted football prospect in years, and former quarterback Julian Reese is ripping it up for the Amarillo Dusters of Arena2.
- Indiana State track sending strong group to NCAA regional Three sophomore women and three senior men lead a large Indiana State contingent of track and field athletes into the NCAA Mideast Regional this weekend at Fayetteville, Ark.
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