Mike Conley remembers hearing the news about Greg Oden from a couple of his teammates: Your boy just blew out his knee.

Immediately, Conley began texting and calling Oden, his childhood friend and former teammate at Ohio State.

“I just shook my head like, not again. It was an unfortunate thing,” said the Memphis Grizzlies second year point guard straight-faced.

“I was shocked.”

When Memphis arrived in Portland with a four day layoff until they faced the Blazers on Tuesday night at the Rose Garden, it provided ample time for Conley and Oden to re-connect. The two hung out at Greg’s house on Monday and reminisced about their days playing high school basketball together at Lawrence North in Indianapolis, Indiana and later in college with the Buckeyes.

“He seemed like he was in good spirits,” Conley explained about Oden, with their conversation always coming back around to Greg’s left knee and him being carried off the floor on a stretcher on December, 5.

“It doesn’t even seem real to be honest. I expect to be playing against him most of the time, but all these injuries are tough. It’s part of basketball and he’s just been on the bad end of the line lately. It’s just sad.”

It shouldn’t have come to this. Not him. Not again. Some believed Oden was on the verge of making the All-Star team out West this season, with his 11.1 points and 8.5 rebounds per game outings seemingly on the rise before his injury. Now, an extensive rehab process has once again become Oden’s unfortunate reality.

But while he may be banged up physically, Conley knows Oden is mentally tough.

“He was playing so well right before he got injured and I think that really helped him out a lot, knowing that he’s gotten the mental part of the game down and can be effective. He can play well at a high level.

“I think he’s just waiting to get back out on the floor again and perform the way he feels he can play,” Conley continued.

Right then, Conley busted out an ear-to-ear grin. He was thinking about Greg. He was thinking about their days in high school and at Ohio State. He was thinking about how the guy has jokes, and how he always has Mike’s back and he's got Greg's.

“His family is part of my family,” added Conley, as his father, Mike Sr., represents both his son and Oden.

“He’s my extended brother. We’ve always been close since we were little. It’s fun watching him play and playing against him. We talk about as much as we can about everything,” Conley said.

“It’s always good to see him.”

photo: espn.com

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