The fact that No. 1 Ohio State (7-1) defeated Valparaiso (3-4) 78-58 was an afterthought to the main attraction at Value City Arena on Saturday, the much-anticipated debut of freshman center Greg Oden.

Greg Oden got the word while he was shopping at the Target store in the Lennox Center near the OSU campus that his Indianapolis-based surgeon had cleared him for limited action. His doctor sent him a text message that brought a grin to his face.

"I was with a friend of mine and I was just smiling. He wanted to know what I was smiling about, and I was just...," said Greg Oden breaking into a huge grin in the way of demonstration.

OSU Head Coach Thad Matta, who was sitting next to Greg Oden when he flashed the smile, had one of his own.

"That was my reaction too," said Matta.

Greg Oden's performance in the game pretty much paralleled that of the Buckeyes. OSU did not play particularly well in the early going but eventually took control of the game. Greg Oden too needed a little time to get his legs under him.

"I had jitters two days ago, because it was a possibility, but we didn't know. Last night it was killing me. Coach told me to relax today but I was feeling it (jitters)," said Greg Oden of his first appearance in a Buckeye uniform.

Greg Oden logged 13 minutes in the first half. He scored three points and grabbed six rebounds, but also turned the ball over twice. He looked very much like a player who hadn't played competitively for six months. He was one-of-two from the field and one-of-three from the free throw line where he shot left-handed. Greg Oden normally shoots right handed, but because he has not regained full mobility in his right wrist, shot left-handed from the free throw line.

While is offense wasn't particularly impressive, his mere presence on the floor changed the flow of the game.

"His presence took away our inside game," said Valparaiso Head Coach Homer Drew.

"We had a couple looks and he rose up and blocked them so then it really keeps you on the perimeter. That really hurt us, his presence alone, then he goes to the line and hits the left-handed free throw, I mean my goodness, and he had a nice touch with it too," said Drew.

The Crusaders had put 16 points on the board in the first 10:46 of the game to lead 16-15. They scored just six more the rest of the half to face a 33-22 half time deficit. Greg Oden was on the floor for much of that time.

"We gave them a couple easy transition baskets and when Greg came in I think momentum changed. The crowd got into it and he made some blocks. We got a little hesitant on our inside play against him," said Drew.

Greg Oden got over his jitters in the second half with a little help from his teammates.

"It was just give him the ball and get him used to playing," said freshman guard Daequan Cook who was a teammate with Greg Oden in AAU basketball.

"Like he said, he was a little nervous. We wanted to get it inside to get him used to playing and that's what we did," said Cook.

Greg Oden put 11 points on the board in the second half hitting both of his field goal attempts and making seven-of-12 free throw attempts despite shooting them all left handed. He also ended the game with a game-high 10 rebounds to go with his 14 total points to put up his first double-double as a Buckeye despite playing just 23 minutes in the game. He also was credited with a total of five blocked shots.

While Greg Oden's appearance overshadowed the game, the offensive star of the game was Cook. Cook poured in 20 points in 23 minutes of play on six-of-nine shooting that included four-of-five from three point range and four-of-five from the free throw line. Cook also missed a wide open tomahawk dunk that looked like it was going to be a highlight moment and ended up a moment of embarrassment. Freshman point guard Mike Conley was also impressive again with seven assists.

Ohio State shot 51.1 per cent from the field. Valparaiso shot just 37.7 per cent and was guilty of 19 turnovers against the OSU full-court defense.

"We felt like we were going to have to speed the game up a little bit," said OSU Head Coach Thad Matta describing why OSU pressed full court against Valparaiso.

Matta said he expects the improvement Greg Oden showed to continue in the coming weeks, not only because he is regaining the use of his right hand, but because he is now able to practice with the team. The Buckeyes play just two games over the next two weeks, and Matta feels like the team will benefit from the practice time.

"The thing I'm excited about is that we have a week to prepare for our next opponent, then we have another week to prepare (for the next game)," said Matta. "I think you'll see us a little bit different when we take the floor again. We'll have more continuity, more flow to what we're doing."

 

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