Sept. 27 (Bloomberg) -- Greg Oden realized at the same time as his fans that he would miss the entire National Basketball Association season.

Oden, the top pick in April's draft by the Portland Trail Blazers, said today that he was still feeling ``drugged up'' at home Sept. 13 after exploratory arthroscopic knee surgery, which turned into micro-fracture surgery.

While he had been told of the severity of his injury immediately following the operation, the 19-year-old Oden remained foggy about his prognosis until tuning into his team's nationally televised news conference later that day to learn that his rookie season was over before it began.

``I kind of dropped my jaw and looked at my mom and said, `Are you serious?''' Oden said on a media conference call today, two weeks into his rehabilitation.

The 7-foot Oden, who had the surgery after experiencing pain in the knee and an MRI exam that showed trauma, was found to have cartilage damage.

Oden said that a different MRI taken prior to the draft showed his knees to be ``perfect,'' and that after the recent MRI, he knew the possible consequences before the operation.

Full recovery from the micro-fracture surgery such as Oden had generally takes six to 12 months. He is exercising the knee in a swimming pool and expects to stay off the leg -- and on crutches -- for eight weeks. The NBA season starts Oct. 30.

Oden missed the start of his only season at Ohio State University while recovering from surgery to repair a torn ligament in his right wrist.

Ohio State

He returned to average 15.7 points, 9.6 rebounds and 3.3 blocked shots, helping the Buckeyes reach college basketball's championship game for the first time in 45 years. Oden in July signed a two-year contract with the Blazers worth $8.1 million.

Today, he said his decision to turn professional when he did was a wise one.

``It turned out pretty good, rather than me doing this in college and having my stock drop a lot,'' he said. ``I wouldn't have gotten the No. 1 pick.''

As for his role on the Blazers this season, Oden joked at a press conference earlier today that he'd be the team's towel boy if it would help him to bond with his new teammates.

``I know most of their bonding is going to happen on the court,'' he said. ``I can't be a part of that, so just to be around those guys and bond as much as possible is something I need to do.''

The Blazers finished last season with a 32-50 record, sixth-worst in the NBA. Though the team has missed the postseason the past four years, Oden said he's received overwhelming support from the community.

``I've got an 8-foot card signed by the whole city of Portland,'' he said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Mason Levinson in New York at mlevinson@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: September 27, 2007 16:50 EDT