The No. 1 overall draft pick in 2007, Oden would rather be on the court slapping hands with his teammates and talking trash in practice.

He took a step in the right direction Wednesday when he ran on the treadmill for the first time since undergoing surgery in December to reattach his broken left kneecap.
“I’m all right, but it’s just tough,” Oden said. “I’m going through all this again. I’ve been through this before and I know I can come back from it, but it’s the fact that it happened again that’s making it tough.”

The 22-year-old former Lawrence North High School star added another sad chapter to his career when he broke his kneecap in a Dec. 5 game against Houston. Oden had jumped to contest a drive by Rockets point guard Aaron Brooks, then fell to the court in pain before he was carted off.

“When I jumped to block the shot, I looked down and saw that there was a hole in my knee,” said Oden, who has seen video of the play several times. “The feeling I get is that I wonder why did this happen to me again. What can I do to not make it happen again?”

Oden now practically lives in the weight room, working to strengthen his leg. It’s a long shot, but he hopes to return before the season ends.

“There’s a possibility,” he said. “I couldn’t give you an exact time, but I do know there’s a possibility.”