Greg Oden missed his rookie season due to microfracture surgery and didn't have a veteran role model to guide him during his transition to the NBA.

"For starters, Portland isn't a great city to live in if you're a young, African American male with a lot of money," Oden said. "But that's especially true if you don't have anybody to guide you. Since I was hurt the entire season, I was on my own a bunch and didn't have veteran teammates around to help me adapt to the NBA lifestyle."

Oden played 61 games in his second season, showing glimpses of his potential dominance at the center position but not doing so as consistently as he had in high school and college.

Oden also had his cousin from the Air Force move in with him, which led to an issue with alcohol.

"If you know anything about guys in the Air Force," Oden explained, "it's that they drink a ton. My cousin got wrapped up in the NBA lifestyle and threw parties at my house all the time. So I got wrapped up in it too. When I played well, I'd drink to celebrate. And when I played poorly, I'd drink to forget. That second year in Portland I pretty much became an alcoholic."

Oden plans to sit out the entire 12-13 season to rehab his knee to hopefully sign a contract with an NBA team in 2013.