Team USA Notebook: Center No Big Deal for Versatile Lamar Odom

Filed under: Lakers, FIBA, USA Basketball, FIBA World ChampionshipISTANBUL -- Not that he's a candidate yet to replace Phil Jackson, but Lamar Odom let it be known Friday what he hopes one day to do.

"That's why I'll be a great coach,'' said the Lakers and Team USA stalwart about what his versatility will mean when his playing days are over.

Odom, you see, has played every position on the basketball court, a claim not many can make. So perhaps it's no surprise Odom, who is mostly a power forward during his day job with the Lakers, has emerged as the starting center for the Americans, who open the FIBA World Championship here Saturday against Croatia.

"In high school,'' Odom, 30, said of his tenure at Saint Thomas Aquinas High School in New Britain, Conn., being the last time he was a starting center. "A lot of us were the tallest man on the court at some point (in life and played center). But it makes no difference, center or power forward. I'm a basketball player. Wherever you put me, I fit in.''

The 6-foot-10 Odom has played shooting guard and small forward before. He said he's even had stints in his career as one of the world's tallest point guards, a tribute to his agility. Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

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