Anyone remember Mike Conley Jr. and Greg Oden when they starred for the Ohio State Buckeyes? They were like the Glove and the Reign Man. Balli'. High-fivin'. And alley-ooping for a flush.
They were a darn pretty good combo that tore through the US NCAA until they ran into Florida, the defending champs in the 2007 title game at the Georgia Dome. The Buckeyes lost 84-75 after Oden fouled out with plenty of time to spare. But it was Conley who proved wondrous and kept Ohio State in the game until they ran out of gas.
But the NBA is not the Big Ten or the NCAA and the path to pro hoops glory is way more difficult. Oden has had an up and down two years with the Portland Trailblazers.
As for Conley… he had good numbers in his rookie season with the Memphis Grizzlies as he finished with 9.4 ppg, 2.6 rpg, and 4.2 apg.
Then after coming off the bench under former coach Marc Iavaroni who was fired midway through Conley’s sophomore season, Lionel Hollins, the former Sixers teammate of Iavaroni, freed the Buckeye to lead the Grizzlies. Conley raised his numbers from that point by posting 14.8 points per game and 5.7 assists. He eventually finished with 10.9 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 4.3 apg, and 1.1 spg.
But now look who’s joined the Grizzlies – Allen Iverson. Hollins will probably go deep with the line-up of Marc Gasol, Rudy Gay, OJ Mayo, Iverson, Zach Randolph, Marko Jaric, and Haseem Thabeet. Kyle Lowry, who preceeded him at point is gone. So is Hakim Warrick. But the guard roster is pretty much loaded.
They finished last with a 24-58 record in the Southwest Division that is plenty tough with the San Antonio Spur, Houston Rockets, Dallas Mavericks, and New Orleans Hornets.
It will be no easy sailing for the Grizzlies in this division. And more so with Conley who will find Iverson, Mayo, and Gay asking for their touches. If they'll be winning, it's going to be fun. If not... oh, man.
Good luck with the season, Mike!
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