Examples:
Once, after the Lawrence North team finished a pregame recital of the Lord's Prayer, J.R. Shelt, a former assistant coach, noticed tears in Oden's eyes. Asked if everything was OK, Oden explained that he was thinking about having watched the movie The Passion of the Christ.
As players, coaches, cheerleaders and fans jumped with excitement, Oden walked over to a woman near the court.
"How's Esther?" he asked her.
Two years earlier, Esther had been born prematurely, weighing 1 pound, 4 ounces, to the relative of Lawrence North assistant coach Jim Etherington.
"He had met Rachel, my sister-in-law, once or twice," Etherington said. "He knew she was family. He remembered her name at a time when a lot of people wanted a piece of him. He has a personal touch. He has a sweet, genuine attentiveness to him."
When Oden made his recruiting visit to OSU, he kept holding the doors open to let coaches and others pass through first.
Friends chuckle about how often he thanks them for mundane matters, and he says "Yes, sir," and "No, sir," as if he's in the military. Oden began a recent news conference by apologizing for being late, which nearly caused reporters accustomed to waiting to drop their pens.
He sounds like a role model we can be proud of. Team him with Andre Iguodala, we may have talent and a role models for the kids of Philadelphia
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