Greg Oden: Well, when you’re by …

Greg Oden: Well, when you’re by yourself, you need to cope. I had to think about this: I used to drink a lot and I never thought about this, but it used to numb my body. So I never thought about all of the pain that I was in. And one thing that’s big in Ohio is opiate abuse. I had an abundance of pills and I was drinking and taking them. I had to deal with that stuff. I remember calling Coach [Thad] Matta and just feeling like I didn’t even know who I was and I couldn’t sit by myself and be quiet. He was like, “Just come to the gym, come to practice.” I started going back to practice and, honestly, getting basketball back in my life and having something to do every day was something that was huge in helping me get out of that funk. Then, once I was there, he told me, “You know, there’s this degree-completion program…” I was like, “Hmm, alright.” Then, when I was going back to school, I actually had to concentrate and I couldn’t be hungover every day. It gave me a path. And once I went down that road, I realized, “You don’t have to drink every day to feel okay or feel something. You’re just numbing yourself.” Then, I had a family. My daughter made me want to live a better life and do things right for her because, eventually, she’s going to hear these things about me. I’m going to have to talk to her about some of the things that I’ve done in my life, but I want to help her be a better young woman and make better decisions in her life.