Oden, Durant in different spots at US minicamp

LAS VEGAS — Kevin Durant was invited to practice with USA Basketball two years ago and nearly made the U.S. team.

Greg Oden called in sick.

That’s been the way it’s gone since they were chosen with the top two picks in the 2007 draft: Durant on the fast track to superstardom, Oden having trouble getting on track at all.

So the goals are different at this week’s minicamp. Durant is moving closer to a likely berth on the U.S. team in next summer’s world championships, while Oden is just trying to get his international career off to a long overdue start.

“Let’s be realistic about it. Durant has already established himself in two years in the NBA,” USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo said Friday. “He averaged 25 points a game last year in the NBA, so he’s determined that he’s a player to be reckoned with. Oden still has to find himself.”

Oden was invited to train with the national team in 2006 following his senior year of high school, but couldn’t participate while recovering from wrist surgery.

He was added to the national team roster in 2007, but couldn’t come to camp after undergoing a tonsillectomy. Knee surgery a few months later wrecked any chance of playing last summer, so even he was surprised when he was chosen for this week’s minicamp roster.

“I thought they were just going to be like, ‘You know what, it’s a lost cause,’” Oden said. “So they see something in me, so I want to come out here and just work to show them what I got.”

Durant has spent the last two summers doing that. He never thought he would have a real chance in 2007, then only 18 years old when he was invited to practice with the U.S. team after his sensational freshman season at Texas.

Then he was one of the best players on the floor in the Americans’ intrasquad exhibition game, scoring 22 points in 24 minutes, and ended up being one of the final players cut before the 12-man team was picked for that summer’s Olympic qualifying team.

He returned to play last year on the select team of young players who scrimmaged against the Olympians before they left for China, and is probably the best player in camp this week. So he seems nearly a lock to land a roster spot next summer when the Americans travel to Turkey.

“He’s paid his dues and he gets better every year, and just on a competition basis he’s going to make it very interesting for somebody, regardless of who came back,” Colangelo said.

U.S. coach Mike Krzyzewski called the Oklahoma City forward a “world-class talent.” The only person who seems to think he has to prove himself this week is Durant, who has averaged 22.7 points since being taken with the No. 2 pick two years ago.

“It’s not a shoo-in with me,” Durant said. “I’ve got to continue to come out here and be a good teammate, be a good leader, play my hardest on the defensive end and we’ll see what happens.”

Things haven’t been nearly as easy for the player taken right before him. Oden missed what would have been his rookie season following microfracture surgery, then was hurt again last October in his first NBA game. He later missed more than a month with a bone chip in his left knee and spent the remainder of the season coming off the bench.

Still, USA Basketball officials felt they needed to give Oden another shot, with Krzyzewski saying he’s seen little of the 7-footer over the last couple of years.

“We have yet to see Greg Oden and I think Portland feels that way,” Colangelo said. “We need to give him a look to see just how far he has come and what’s there because the potential, that hasn’t changed. His potential is still out in front of him.”

Krzyzewski told Oden the Americans needed big men who could rebound and defend, and said Oden told him he could provide it. He has looked strong on the defensive end in practices, controlling the backboards during one scrimmage session when he played on a team with Durant.

“I’m just happy that he’s here,” said Portland coach Nate McMillan, one of Krzyzewski’s assistants. “He’s been invited the last three years, due to injuries and other situations he hasn’t been able to show up, so I’m happy to see him out here and participating.”

Durant has said how much he gained the last couple of summers by getting to play with stars like Kobe Bryant and LeBron James. Meanwhile, Oden has barely played any summer basketball in years.

That has left him far behind his classmate, but perhaps this week is when he begins to show he can catch up.

“I think he still has time,” Colangelo said. “He’s got a future in the NBA and maybe a future with us, but he’s got a lot of work to do.”