…And all of quite a few. I can do that because I had a little one home from school sick and I am a stay at home dad. Heck, even if I was working a job at this point in my life I would still take vacation days on the Thursday and Friday of the 1st round NCAA games to do the same thing.
My bracket picks aren’t in the best of shape but I’m okay overall still as none of my picks to go the Sweet 16 have been eliminated. I picked 12/16 games correct. From now on, possibly until the end of time 
, I will refuse to pick BYU in the any 1st round game unless the reincarnation of Danny Ainge is wearing a Cougar uniform. I got convinced BYU was woefully underseeded by a reputable hoops stats site (which I thoroughly enjoy still) and thought better of sticking with Texas A&M as a result. That is my one regret of my 1st round picks. However, that same site, thankfully, got me to realize picking against the tide of the VCU upset over UCLA was sound reasoning. I did pick the Bruins then and UCLA was just good enough to hang on versus the Rams in the final seconds for a 1 point win. VCU’s Eric Maynor is very good and his teammate, the center named Sanders, is going to really be something to behold the next few years. That kid has the very longest arms I have ever seen. And he “is” exceptional.
Note – UCLA’s Alfred Aboya is a man. That guy is really good. He reminds me of former Ohio State Perry Carter as far as his strength goes. He’s a much different player, of course, I would love someday for the Buckeyes to have a player of his ilk in uniform.
I’m worried about Ohio State’s game tonight but am convinced they will play well. I think it’s a tossup game that will come down to who makes plays in the last two minutes.
Go Bucks!
I need to rethink how to do this. I need to refine and scale down. Trying to post too much just isn’t going to get it done. (Obviously, since February I haven’t done any posting so save the sarcasm ) Anyway, I’m going to continue to try at this and work on providing more through less, if possible.
GO Bucks vs Siena tomorrow night. Going to be a tough game but would love to win and face Louisville in Dayton.
I went into this week as a Buckeye basketball fan hoping to get a split from the two home games versus Purdue and Minnesota. I was quite pleased to see Ohio State defeat Purdue midweek but figured UMINN would be a loss as ther Buckeyes have struggled with consistency this conference season.
Folks, after tonight’s game, I think we are seeing a young team who has progressed and gained a thimble full of confidence to be able to finally deal with the peaks and valleys always present in any conference game.
I’ll try and elaborate tomorrow after I get some time to gather my thoughts.
Final word tonight, this team isn’t going to win the NCAA tournament but it’s a pretty good group of kids right now who enjoy playing with each other. Love to see that for sure. A bid to the tournament certainly is fully within grasp right now and didn’t this win put the Buckeyes into a tie for second in the Big Ten?
With the roster issues the Buckeyes have been forced to manuever around I can do nothing but applaud the coaching staff and players.
Go Bucks!
Stats indicate not many are reading this blog anyway but for those who show up from time I want to apologize for not having posted for awhile.
The way I would like to pursue a blog like this one was/is to try and make it unique from any others dealing with the same subject matter. But it’s difficult to do. I have the ideas but not the time it would require to plan, research and write so that readers would always be able to count on seeing something different, and Buckeye related, here.
We’ll have to see.
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As far as the victory over Purdue is concerned that is a win this team absolutely needed to get. Yeah, Purdue was down a Robbie Hummel but the Buckeyes were w/out David Lighty still so that’s a non-argument in my mind. Seeing the last seconds tick off the clock with the Buckeyes in the lead made me aware a possible appearance in the NCAA tournament is still a possibility. Next up, a win versus Minnesota in Columbus would almost seal it. But if Ohio State cannot take care of that business then the Buckeyes go back on the bubble. Remember, bubble teams have to win a team by team comparison in the committee’s mind on Selection Sunday. A program better have more ducks in a row than most of the others in the mix in able to grab a spot. That’s just the way it is. There can’t be bad losses either as the regular season winds down.
It’s imperative Ohio State win as many games as it can over the next couple weeks as exhaustion eventually is going to make a difference in the quality of this team’s play as the conference schedule winds down.
I do not think a conference championship is possible.
Back to the game, Evan Turner was the eventual hero but he better start making free throws in the second half of big games. He can thank his lucky stars his many misses from the charity stripe did not cost the Buckeyes a win. But Evan was very good other than that. Congratulations to him. William Buford might be the most impressive freshman scorer/offensive player I’ve seen in many, many years at Ohio State. Jon Diebler is having the season amost nobody in Buckeyeland, before the season, would even give him credit for at least being possible. His improvement as a player this year is just fantastic, plain and simple. BJ Mullens made the plays he had an opportunity to make last night. It’s a simple equation but that’s all BJ really needs to do to help this team out in a big way. DLaud was a complimentary component to Mullens when subbed in for him. He does what he does and just needs to keep working hard. PJ Hill is actually becoming a nice little role player. He still has to keep his composure in tight spots while handling the ball but, hey, maybe that will come to. I like the kid and am glad he’s a Buckeye.
Overall, the coaching staff has be lauded for putting the team in position to win games at this stage of the year. The offensive efficiency is eye opening at this point and the defense is working well enough to make for a good combo.
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Looking forward to this weekend’s game versus UMINN, I think their overall depth, tenacity and the way they play together may be too much for Ohio State but I want to be wrong in the worst way.
Go Bucks!
In this first quote, I realize this isn’t a basketball reference but it sure meets the standard for the level of energy teams sometimes have on court.
John Anderson, coach of the NHL’s Atlanta Thrashers – Whether a team wants to compete or not…”Our give-a-crap level was, like, at zero.”
Anonymous, maybe A. J. Carr from the Charlotte Observer – High # of turnovers for both teams…”The game didn’t offer a clinic on ballhandling. There were 44 turnovers – 22 by each team – or enough to open a bakery, according to one observer.”
Jimmy Dykes/ESPN’s SEC game announcer – On importance of making that 1st shot for a young shooter…”For a young shooter it’s very important for that 1st shot to go down. He can go 1-10 or 5-10 depending on that 1st shot.”
Jimmy Dykes – As an offensive player. what constant movement does for a player…”He seldoms guards himself. He’s in constant motion.”
In a game that seems to be an inside/out version of the last one these two programs played against each other, Jantel Lavender scored 30 points and snared 12 rebounds to lead the Buckeyes past Illinois 68-51 in Columbus Thursday night.
In Champaign, Illinois attempted to take Lavender away from Ohio State and the Buckeyes ran all over the Illini by a 30 + point margin. Last night Illinois switched manuevers and decided to cover the three point shooter who helped destroy them last game, instead.
From news reports, it’s stated Illinois had the margin between the two teams down to eight at some point in the second half but then had a number of empty possessions after that which led to their 17 point final margin of losery. [Yes, a new word. Instead of "Victory". "Losery". 
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The difference in strategy did contain Samantha Prahalis to a large degree. She had a “wunderkind” type of game in Champaign, but this time, as I didn’t see the game, she settled for a low amount of assists and points and it seems was probably content to direct the offense and watch it go. Star Allen added a 13 point/10 rebound effort to the Buckeye win.
With the victory Ohio State moves to 6-1 and 2nd place in conference behind Indiana.
Next game for the Buckeyes will be televised at 5pm on ESPN2 Sunday versus Purdue.
Continuing the theme there are no cupcakes (outside of IU) in conference this season, MSU lost at home to Northwestern last night. That adds one more aspect to what the Spartans will bring into Columbus Saturday. The formula to become the conference champion, that teams usually have to try to meet or be better than, is that a Big 10 team must win all their games at home and split, 50/50, games on the road. So, the Spartans now have to make up a loss at home versus the Buckeyes. It’s going to be a very hard fought game, I believe, given that Ohio State was blown out at Illinois Tuesday and will not be in a very good mood themselves that day.
Also, the Iowa Hawkeyes defeated the Wisconsin Badgers last night in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Things are really starting to heat up in the Big Ten as it is becoming apparent conference teams are as evenly matched as any in recent memory. No one is invincible.
On a recent college gameday telecast, ESPN’s Hubert Davis and Digger Phelps participated in a segment comparing the 2008 freshmen class to recent classes including players like Greg Oden and Derrick Rose.
Phelps took the time to describe why it’s difficult for any freshman to play well, no matter how skilled/gifted, right away at the Division 1 level versus experienced players. Phelps used Ohio State’s BJ Mullens as a focal poinbt upon which to make his point.
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Phelps – “Look at BJ Mullens at Ohio State. It’s much different than in high school because you get experience coming at you in the paint. You got to learn new defensive moves. You got to learn how to stay out of foul trouble and obviously you got to learn how to get 2nd chance points from offensive rebounds. Plus, how do you score? And I think BJ Mullens hasn’t learned that yet at Ohio State.’
Those words were stated two weeks ago. Since then we’ve seen Mullens begin to show some life as far as putting some of those aspects together positively. But BJ has so far to go yet to really be a good player. I see BJ still riding a roller coaster as far as consistency goes for a large part of the rest of this season. And like Kosta Koufos last season, I think if the Buckeyes can get into the post season we may see his best games played there in a row.
I guess the only question is whether the Buckeyes and Mullens will be playing for an NIT title again or trying to win a game in the NCAA tournament in March?
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To end the segment, Hubert Davis mentioned Memphis’s Tyreke Evans and Greg Monroe being rated highly this season but it’s just not the same as compared to Greg Oden and Derrick Rose (who were dominant players right away at the collegiate level, with both competitors taking their teams to the NCAA championship game)
Buckeye basketball add ons
Some of this goes back a week or two but I think if you are a Buckeye fan you will appreciate the content nevertheless.
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1. Ohio State’s Tracey Hall, the Big Ten’s first 2-time Kodak All-American, will have her #44 jersey retired at halftime of the February 15th Northwestern game. Tracey played for Ohio State from 1985-1988. During the ceremony, she will have her jersey hung beside the only other Ohio State woman’s player to be so honored before her, Katie Smith.
I’ve heard nothing but great things about Tracey Hall for the quality of her basketball skills and the competitive nature she exhibited on court. It’s always great to hear the stories about players of her ilk when they are honored in this way. I can hardly wait for that day to arrive.
2. Jon Diebler and Evan Turner are together averaging 34 minutes apiece. Only two other Big Ten players average more.
This data was mined a few weeks back but it still seem like they are both on court for a million minutes each game. Here’s to hoping coach Matta finds a way to keep them fresh throughout the season.
3. In a pre-season poll among Big Ten players present at media day Emily Fox of Minnesota and Ohio State’s Jantel Lavender both garnered 4 votes (tied for the lead in that category) for being the player other conference competitors players were looking forward to competing against because they were respected and admired. Fox was voted pre-season MVP among the players with 5 and 2/3 votes and Lavender came in second with 5 and 1/12 votes.
It was interesting to watch Fox compete last week as the Gophers picked up their first win ever in Columbus against Ohio State. She’s a very good player and deserving of any awards or appreciation she recieves from her fellow competitors. But I also know just how good Jantel Lavender is. Buckeye fans are lucky to have her wearing the Scarlet and Grey for two more seasons past this one.
4. At one point Dallas Lauderdale had been credited with 28 blocked shots in 6 games but only blocked 6 in the next seven games.
Consequently, along with the loss of David Lighty, that change in the pace of blocked shot totals DL earned for Ohio State coincided with the difficulties the Buckeyes had in closing out games versus Minnesota and MSU.
5. Jon Gasaway, formerly known as the creator of the much read site Big Ten Wonk, who now works for the much respected Basketball and Baseball Prospectus site, rates former Buckeye commit, Nevada Wolfpack power forward, Luke Babbit as the 5th best freshman in the country.
I would have loved to have had Babbit play for Ohio State but I’m really happy with how William Buford and BJ Mullens have progressed this season for the Buckeyes. Neither of those two were rated by Gasaway but the list was a short one, I think ending at 15 total. By year’s end I feel certain one and probably both of Ohio State’s twosome will be ranked near the top of any list about the best 1st year players in the 08/09 class.
Greg Monroe of Georgetown was ranked number 1.
Having done a little research on Illinois yesterday…having watched them play impressively in entire games vs (at) Vanderbilt and then against Missouri this season…knowing they played well versus Clemson, despite the loss there, and really have yet to be out of any game they have lost this season…It is not surprising to me Illinois whupped Ohio State’s tail last night in Champaign. (I don’t often record final scores, even when the Buckeyes win, but wasn’t the final score by 18 points in favor of Illinois?)
This is a very good Illinois team. Minus the star power, it reminds me a whole lot of the two loss Illinois team of a few years back that was such a pleasure to watch. It’s tough defensively and the ball moves on offense. Everything works the same way.
On the other hand, Ohio State showed it’s youth & inexperience last night in following up a solid performance at Michigan Saturday night (Doesn’t it feel even better to have won that game now?) with an effort that was not good at all. Too many turnovers. No ability to get a stop against a team that came right out and established itself on both ends versus the Buckeyes. No energy. Period.
It’s the kind of night that can be expected in general more often than not on the road in any conference when you don’t have a single senior on the floor, when two of your main scoring threats are freshmen, when the other two point producers are sophs playing big, big minutes night after night, when you don’t have an experienced point guard, when, when, when, when…in the end, all those “whens” end up being excuses.
The best thing about that situation is those same players have some pretty good ability and can and will eventually get it done. But, it’s part of the maturation process to get nailed every once in awhile like Ohio State did last evening. Unless you are rolling freshmen like Greg Oden and Mike Conley, when you are forced to play 1st year players, onto the floor then you are going to have your games you’d like to forget.
Saturday finds MSU coming into Columbus to play a contest I really don’t think Ohio State has much of a chance to win. I haven’t looked to see how the conference schedule lines up after that game but it can’t be any more difficult than it has been already. So, you get in there and dig and claw and scrap for every win you can get. That’s the fun of conference schedules. Hopefully, your team ends up in a favorable spot when the dust clears.
I’m ready to see how this Buckeye team reacts Saturday. I, myself, would like nothing better than to see MSU’s Ohio kids, Raymar Morgan and Delvon Roe, go home with a loss. I really don’t hold their choosing MSU against either one of them, I know it’s just not possible for every Ohio kid to play for Ohio State, but it sure does make it that much sweeter to beat a team where native Ohioans are a big part of it. Whether Ohio State wins or loses that game I want to see the Buckeyes show the rest of the conference it’s home floor isn’t going to be fun and games for any visiting team to compete on. And West Virginina already blasted Ohio State in Columbus once this season, directly after the loss of David Lighty to injury. So, that kind of destruction in front of the home crowd just doesn’t need to happen again to this team.
So, I’m not looking back at last night’s game after today and will focus on the Spartans.
Get with it, Buckeyes!
Hello Buckeye basketball fans!
11-22-2008
The Ohio State football team just defeated Michigan 42-7 at the Horsehoe in Columbus, Ohio.
Woo Hoo! Go Bucks!
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But this is an Ohio State Basketball Blog.
I’ll leave the football team to others much more well versed to handle that subject.
Rather, throughout this season, I’ll provide commentary about both the Buckeye men’s and women’s teams.
Why the name, Ghostofstjohnarena? Because I haunted St. John Arena (I miss that place) when I was young. Those memories are among the finest I have in life as they relate to sports and they are ever present as I continue along the path of rooting for Buckeye basketball teams.
I didn’t get to see enough of Ohio State’s four point win over the Bowling Green State U. Falcons game (yet) to make too many observations.
But here are two items I noticed:
1. Jon Diebler is now 6/13 from beyond the new distance three point line. That’s hitting them at roughly a 48% clip. We all know Jon was offered the chance to play at Ohio State based on his ability to score and as Thad Matta’s offense revolves heavily around the three point shot it’s great to see Diebler flowing the long bombs in at a highly regular clip, albeit the test sample is based on the earliest of returns. Keep it going, Jon. This Buckeye team needs your shooting prowess to continue to be demonstrated.
2. Somebody compute how many blocked shots Dallas Lauderdale will have if he continues to average 6.5 of them per game the rest of the season. Shades of Kenyatta Johnson!!!
I’ll get to the whole game sometime soon and post more of what occured as I saw it.
Go Bucks!
To begin with, a few items from the Ohio State Athletic site’s men’s basketball pages:
Jon Diebler, sophomore guard
On his performance
“One of the things I worked on in the off season was my head fake.
(The head fake is otherwise known as the pump fake)
The kid in college basketball who uses this fake to perfection is Stephen Curry. If used properly, this offensive maneuver can be a great weapon to get a defender off his feet and out of position to contest a shot or dribble drive.
One of the things Jon did last year was just try to go to fast on offense. He wanted to dribble fast, shoot fast, score fast. This season, it’s a good sign he seems to be adding some subtlety to his game. With big games upcoming, after Samford, let’s hope we’re still witnessing a level of consistency from Jon.
Thad Matta
On playing a MAC team
“It’s funny. I texted our guys at the halftime of the Ohio-Ohio State football game and said, ‘You better be ready to go on November 24.’ I think that’s a team that’ll challenge for the MAC title. I hope we look down later in the season and say that was a great win.
We’ll see and I hope he’s right about that.
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Big Ten Network basketball commentator Tim Doyle’s recent opinion of Penn State point guard, Talor Battle:
“PSU’s Taylor Battle is the best point guard in the Big Ten.”
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Early in the game, on the Big Ten Network telecast of the Bowling Green game, Jimmy Jackson stated David Lighty can score 17-18 points a game this season. From his Big Ten blog, Jackson also places undersized Penn State PF Jamelle Cornley on his 1st team All Big Ten pre-season team.
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Big Ten Network commentator Patricia Babcock on Ohio State’s Jantel Lavender’s pre-season strength gains:
Ohio State’s 6-4 soph center made big gains in the weight room, posting three or more records for Ohio State post players. Among that group, one of the items that apparently impressed Buckeye head coach Jim Foster was that Lavender benched 100 pounds 29 times
Babcock also mentioned she sees Michigan’s 50-42 win over Vanderbilt as the Big Ten’s best OOC win thus far.
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I happened to catch an interview of David Lighty Bill Hosket did with him after the Delaware State game at St John Arena and I have to say I bet, after his playing days are over, we’ll see David get a chance to work in the television business as an in game commentator/personality. David was very well spoken in that instance and seemed to enkjoy being in front of the camera.
The 2-0 Ohio State men’s team takes on 3-1 Samford at 12 noon Saturday on the BTN. Former Buckeye forward Tony White will be alongside Tom Hamilton to broadcast the contest. In four games Samford has had four different players lead in scoring.
Samford is a member of the SOUTHERN CONFERENCE, the same as Davidson, which shocked it’s way to the Great Eight last season in the NCAA tournament before losing a nail biter to eventual champ, Kansas.
The women’s team is scheduled on the BTN (according to the Big Ten Network site) on Sunday at 2 pm. From what I can tell from the Ohio State Athletic site, the oppoenent will either be Central Michigan or Dayton?
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The Schmidt’s Illinois PrepBullseye site on #3 ranked Zion-Benton and Buckeye recruit Lenzelle Smith:
“The Top 10
1) Chicago North Lawndale
2) Chicago Whitney Young
3) Zion-Benton
“The bulk of that team returns this season, led by 6’3 class of 2010 wing Lenzelle Smith, who as we have stated repeatedly is one of our favorite players in the state. Smith, who has committed to Ohio State, personifies a workhorse, as he consistently works his tail off at both ends of the floor and plays with reckless abandon.”
(I am seriously hoping to see L. Smith in an AAU tournament sometime this next spring/summer as I doubt I will be up Chicago way before then…but he sounds good, doesn’t he?)
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Here are the results (summarized from the PrepBullseye site) of Zion Benton’s 1st game of the 08/09 season:
With Illinois head coach Bruce Weber looking on Smith totaled 15 points on 3/7 shooting and 9/13 free throws (with 7 rebounds) to lead Zion-Benton to a 46-39 victory over Mt. Carmel. Weber was there to see 2011 guard Tracy Abrams and 2012 guard Malcom Hill-Bey
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ChicagoHoops.com recently named Smith to 2nd team All-State preseason team.
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I’m getting the itch to see this Buckeye team versus Miami in it’s first road game of the season on the Hurricane home floor. Hurricane guard/team leader/big time clutch scorer Jack McClinton will be a treat to watch. McClinton has a great mid-range game and can hit almost any type of shot attempt.
With McClinton in mind, remember the name of 6-8 Dwayne Collins for Tuesday’s game. Collins had 16 points and 14 rebounds in the semi-finals of the Paradise Spice Jam versus UCONN, including a dunk on UCONN’s 7-3 Hasheem Thabeet. He is averaging about 14 points and 10 rebounds a game for the Hurricanes. Miami 4-1 defeated San Diego 80-45 on Nov. 24th for 3rd place in the US Virgin Islands tournament where UCONN outclassed Wisconsin for the title.
First the good news, Ohio State held visiting Samford to the least points, in winning 59-22 Saturday, allowed by a Buckeye team since the year 1946. Great work, Buckeyes!
The bad news is also that Ohio State held Samford to 22 points because the visitors were just that awful offensively. That the Buckeyes didn’t score more versus this team, too, is a big area of concern as the offense isn’t exactly sizzling so far this season. Ohio State needed to play that well defensively as if Samford hadn’t seemingly been trying to perfect the proverbial “deer in the headlights” playing mode this might have been a much closer game.
And it might have been more like 40-22, or something like that, if Samford player Gaby Bermudez didn’t try to knock BJ Mullens nuts off by nailing him in the groin area at about the 10 minute mark while trying to inbound the ball on the baseline under his own basket. The ball went out of bounds after that attempt and Bermudez got a deserved quizzical staredown from the ref before he was handed the ball back to try inbounding it again. Surprise! Surprise! Bermudez faked pulling that same manuever again and then tested fate on the ensuing play as he drove the ball hard right at Mullens…who promptly smacked the ball and Bermudez down, on a clean foul attempt, which then started a minor scrum around the scene where Samford player Griffin pushed Mullens in the chest as BJ stared down Bermudez beneath him. And BJ wasn’t out of place doing only that. Buckeye Jeremie Simmons then gave a shove to Griffin who got tangled up with Bermudez’s feet, who was still sitting on the floor pumping his fist in celebration for some unknown reason, and Griffin fell over him.
That sealed it. The Buckeyes, whose play had been increasingly going downhill, then woke up and concentrated on trying to stick it to Samford the rest of the way out.
Without that melee the rest of an unentertaining game became interesting to watch again. I guess a thank you is due Gaby Bermudez but instead I wish Samford had just tried to play better offensively. Worst team I’ve seen in Columbus in the past few seasons for sure.
Evan Turner was the player of the game for Ohio State. He scored, played D, and rebounded like the all round talent he is.
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Going into tomorrow night’s ACC/Big Ten (Non) Challenge Miami game against the Hurricanes in their gym I’m hoping Ohio State can get some leadership out of kids like David Lighty, Evan Turner and Jon Diebler.
Lighty, especially, if he is going to lead this team this season needs to get it going offensively. He hasn’t seemed to have been engaged so far in the first three games. I think he’s been trying not to lead with a strong hand and to go with the flow but it has cost him in the quality of his play. He can’t allow himself to sit back and watch the river flow by.
I was watching Tennessee versus Gonzaga last night and one of the commentators mentioned how UT plays every possession of the ball for keeps. I guess I just wish at the end of this week’s games versus Miami and Notre Dame that it could be said Lighty, especially, but also, Turner, Diebler and everyone else, competed like I saw Tennessee competing against Gonzaga.
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Here are player evals heading into the Miami game Tuesday.
(I’m not going to be rough at this point. When this week’s games are finished will be a better time to be more precise and pointed.)
David Lighty - Arrow down – He’s adding very little on offense except confusion. David is not scoring. In fact, his passive aggresiveness is contributing to the confusion which seems to reign offensively for this team thus far. Quit making turnovers. If David is going to lead this season he needs to start showing leadership tomorrow night in a strong manner.
Evan Turner – Arrow up. Evan is rounding into form. He’s going to get a bunch of attention this week from two very good team’s defenses in Miami and Notre Dame. But he can handle it. All round on court Evan is getting it together. As a rebounder especially. The one area he can show the work he put in over the summer is with his turnovers. He has 5 more of them than anyone else on the team with 11, compared to 8 assists.
Jon Diebler - Arrow up. Diebs is doing enough so far to merit a positive ranking but the challenge he has to meet is to now do the same versus the better competition. His area of strength is shooting the ball and his high percentages there merit applause. But Jon needs to add in other areas, also. Whatever he can do otherwise is icing on the cake. If Buckeye fans still feel Jon belongs on the court this season at the end of this week’s games then he should be there for good.
Jeremie Simmons – Arrow up – As starting point guard, Jeremie is taking care of the ball w/8 assists and only the one turnover. Too, his three point shooting % is most welcome. But overall, he’s shooting 31% from the floor. Got to get better there.
Dallas Lauderdale – Arrow unanimously up. Just keep getting better big guy. His 16 blocks in the first three games are a Godsend. I’d like to see him rebound more and show a bit more offensively…but I’m not going to complain.
BJ Mullens – Arrow up or down?(Hard to say for me) - Raw is the best word to describe him. He played with more energy, especially in the first half, versus Samford. If he heads to the NBA at the end of this season as a top 10 pick won’t we all be surprised? And speaking for myself, stupified. BJ has a loooooooooonnnnnnnnnnnggggggggg way to go. But what’s the old saying? You can’t teach height and the fact he is playing at this point gets him on court respect from opponents. I hope DLaud’s atitude rubs off on Mullens. Play. Try hard. Get better, BJ.
William Buford – Arrow up but only slightly. He’s a freshman. That’s how to describe his play. He has great tools. At this point I look to see him William in Ohio State uniform next season. If he’s the second coming of Daequan Cook then he has yet to show the OOC form Cook had in gear during his one season at Ohio State. Cook had a better team around him that year and that might be the difference between them. Buford is exhibiting Jon Diebleresque freshman three point % numbers at this point w/a .111% on 1/9 from beyond the stripe. The good thing is he’s only going to get better and better this season and I look for the light to turn on for him soon. Maybe even this week? I, for one, would love that.
Anthony Crater – Arrow down. Anthony is just not contributing enough to give him an arrow up ranking. His two airballs from threeville Saturday underscores his offensive limitations. I think the kid needs to go at the basket in a big way the rest of this season to maximize his value to this team. From watching his decisions with ball in hand (outside of shooting it from deep) I’m hopeful for Anthony. I would love to see Crater get down and dirty in the lane.
Kyle Madsen – Arrow up – As I didn’t think Kyle had any chance of playing at all this season it’s pleasant to see him averaging 12 mins. per game early on.
Walter Offut – Arrow up – Did you see Walter’s twisting, aggressively athletic layup conversion in the second half? I wish he was playing more but it’s early and he’s going to be around for more than two years. What’s the hurry? I’m looking forward to watching him possibly earn more and more minutes this season. He’s at 7.5 per game thus far.
That’s it for evals as those are the only guys that play any appreciable minutes
Due to my not looking for the information I missed the telecast of the Hartford game. So I was elated to have the chance to take in the Dayton game this past Sunday. A game Ohio State won 65-51.
I don’t have a game report for the 1st round game of The Buckeye Classic Ohio where Ohio State defeated Central Michigan by a good amount. For that game I just know that (I believe, anyway) every single player on the Buckeye bench was able to play and the Buckeyes won by a strong margin. Among those, Sarah Schulze had a good game. And that’s important because that piece of information played into the championship game versus Dayton that next day.
From the start, versus Dayton, the Flyers took it right at Ohio State. They shot well from the outside and rebounded strongly, making it a wonder Ohio State was able to tie the game at 34 to end the half. We all know the well worn, sometimes true, story that when Ohio State plays teams within the state it sets up an automatic rivalry deal. The kids on the other team, some of them who undoubtedly wanted to play for the Buckeyes, see this as a chance to take down big sister and are sometimes able to raise the level of their game to where they can put a scare into her. That was the deal this time and the story was almost fact and fiction. Dayton frosh post Justine Ratterman was particularly good and scored with ease against Ohio State in the first half, especially. I can recall at least one time where she truely baked Ohio State’s sophomore star post, Jantel Lavender, with an up and under move from about 7 feet out on the left foul lane line that was a thing of beauty. Ratterman is a player.
As far as The Flyers outplaying, specifically in rebounding, the Buckeyes goes, with 11:35 to go in the second half, Dayton had 15 more rebounds that their Ohio State counterparts.
Lavender was being doubled on with success (she was guarded straight up by Larry Nance’s daughter – frosh Casey Nance – who went about 6-4) by Dayton. Ohio State missed many a first shot they had no chance of rebounding and all that converged upon the Buckeyes where they found themselves down by ten, 49-39, with 12:44 left in the game.
Enter the offense of Sarah Schulze, Samantha Prahalis and Jantel Lavender and the defense of Shavel Little and the game finally turned toward Ohio State. I was worried there for awhile. Schulze hit three three balls down the stretch. Lavender finally loosened herself from the tough blockouts that kept her off the boards in the 1st half, she grabbed nine in the second half, and Jantel went on a scoring tear that rode the wave until the end of the game.
When the Buckeyes turned it up a notch at that point Dayton could not answer. And that was that. Thanks for making me happy, Buckeyes!
There were a number of the Ohio State players I had formed good impressions of from this game.
Jantel Lavender – I was thinking – wow, not so good in the first half – but she exploded in the second half. Sometimes in the 1st half it seemed like she was throwing the ball at the basket but eventually she softened her shot up, got used to what Dayton was trying to do to her and then got after it real good. I was impressed. I’d like to see her put a full 40 minutes together sometime. She may go for 40-50 someday for Ohio State.
Samantha Prahalis – To me, she was everything as advertised - a real playmaker who refuses to lose – There were a few times in this game where she made crucial plays – converted drives and long shots – where she basically said to the defense “See if you can stop me”. They didn’t. I love this kid’s game and I hope Foster continues to let her play and go after it even though she makes a few mistakes here and there. If Foster lets her go she will only get better and better. You can see the fire she has to win. A star and Ohio State legend in the making…so much fun to watch.
Shavel Little is an unreal defensive player. She can pick your pocket so fast. I hope Foster can continue to recruit players like both she and Prahalis. (And of course, posts like Lavender) She rebounds, defends…she’s a play maker.
Star Allen – wally is right – I hope Star can keep her academics in a favorable status – his team needs her – great rebounder and pretty good shot maker – her ability to pass surprised me.
Brittany Johnson didn’t show me much. But it’s just one sampling.
Trebilcock was pretty good. She can shoot and works hard defensively. I need to see more of her to know what to think overall.
Schulze has a certain something about her. It would be nice to see her continue to be that outside shooting spark and hustle/enforcer off the bench.
Next game for the Buckeyes is a televised on the BTN game vs North Carolina in Columbus starting at 7 pm.
In the most interesting game in the past two seasons, Ohio State knocked off a top 20 school in Miami, Florida in their gym. This game had everything. A huge comeback from 14 points, trumped up controversy involving the rightful ejection of Hurricane star Jack McClinton, some of most off base commentating from Steve Lavin and his broadcasting partner (whose name I don’t even care enough to llok back or find on the tape he was so bad) I’ve ever heard, and a stellar team effort from the Buckeyes spurred on by the excellence of Buckeye small forward, Evan Turner.
There is so much to write about here. I’m not going to try and put it all down this minute but I’ll post it ASAP today.
Go Bucks!
I love thinking about player and team matters from each game.
Here are a few observations from last night’s contest:
Crazy game – All the hubbub surrounding the McClinton ejection/Crater incident, and fully indulged by the broadcast team of Steve Lavin and whoever that other guy was, took away from the story of the Buckeye getting it together from almost every angle for the first time this season. The Ohio State defense was intense. The Buckeyes put together a half where they valued the ball and made only one turnover. They found a go to guy and an overall team leader in Evan Turner. Offensively, this team finally looked like they had a plan. Ohio State played inspired and effective basketball and may have reached an early turning point in this young season. Many players contributed heavily to this win. That was great to see.
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With 17:00 minutes to go, I wrote down “This will be a game late into the 2nd half” meaning I thought it would be either team’s game to win at that point. Ohio State had pulled to a 38-28 deficit and it appeared to me the Buckeyes would be able to drive the ball to the rim without too much interference from Miami anytime they wanted the rest of the game. Surprising! And the fact that it seemed as though the Buckeyes wanted to do that whenever possible was even more surprising. Ohio State’s offense under Matta has always appeared to settle for jumpshots too often. Tonight they rid themselves of that perception in my mind anyway.
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Dallas Lauderdale’s Phi Slamma Jammaesque dunk in the 1st half was a heck of a lot of fun to watch. I did so about 15 times in a row…in slow motion. Evan Turner’s, late in the 2nd half, was cool, too, and had a ton of “I’m enjoying myself” attitude hooked into it. Now if he would have missed it…with all the extra hot dog condiments attached that would have been another thing. But he didn’t and that’s that. I loved it.
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MIami’s coach, Frank Haith is it?, seemed like he was classy to me. Even though some of his comments about the McClinton/Crater incident may have appeared to have attempted to implicate Anthony as maybe having done something to instigate it, I felt like he was just protecting his player. Overall, he appeared quiet, studious, intense and under control. I wish his program good luck.
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Evan Turner is startng remind me of former Buckeye great, Michael Redd, in the way he is able to drive to the basket, contort his body, and finish the manuever with a converted shot attempt. Evan is gifted w/great skill in that area of the game.
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Evan also seems more in control of his emotions on court this season. He “is” focused.
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Did Ohio State really have only one turnover the 2nd half?
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Sure, 1-10 from threeville David Lighty needs to dial in more successfully his long range shot. But he doesn’t need to stop shooting it altogether. Maybe he just needs to search more for the shot where he feels comfortable getting off a quality attempt moreso than allowing imself to be defeated. It’s going to be tough for Matta to ask any of his perimeter players to back off of shooting the three. He bills his recruiting upon playing the style kids, nowadays, like to play…the Phoenix Suns system..and to start to try and row the boat back upstream instead and say who can and can’t shoot the three among the perimeter players I don’t think is going to happen. If he was going to do that, Jon Diebler would not have been shooting the ball successfully in crucial times last night, based on his experiences last season.
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Speaking of Jon Diebler, he only has one miss from the free throw line this season. I think Evan Turner may be near that % also for this season.
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I’ll add more later today.
Go Bucks!
Kyle Madsen is starting to carve out a role for himself. I think he played 12 minutes last night and I am beginning to recognize him as the dirty work player for this particular Ohio State team. He sets good picks, rebounds, boxes out well, gets on the floor for loose balls and other items of that sort. Someday soon he may start knocking down those far and few between opportunities to take wide open 10 foot jumpers. If so he’ll play quite few more minutes than I felt would this season. He has good form on it. And yes, he fit the mold for bigs that play for Vanderbilts’ Kevin Stallings in that he could do so coming out of high school.
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I see the mark of a good defender’s intellect in Ohio State’s team this season. They know how to bother the living daylights out an opposing offensive player yet when they know the best they can do is make it difficult for the offensive player to get his shot off, they stick their hands straight up as high as possible and leave it at that. My dad and mom always said “Choose your battles”. This team is choosing a lot of correct defensive battles this season. And especially so last night.
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Would you say both Turner and Lighty can best be described as holding the value of point forwards this season? The Buckeye point guard situation is still attempting to settle into what it can accomplish and these two players seems destined to drive, dish and set up the O as often as possible until Crater and Simmons establish themselves.
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BJ Mullens - I don’t fully understand why BJ’s attempt to escape the double team by immediately turning toward the baseline failed last night, ending in a turnover. But I feel he appears to have decent recognition skills concerning that sort of defensive manuever. It took Kosta Koufos forever last season to be able to even marginally handle that. One wish for BJ for Christmas, among many, is that he picks up the double downs faster and nails them with more and more adept passes out of them.
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Why didn’t William Buford play more last night? He’s a freshman, for goodness sakes. And freshman usually play like freshman. I’m not unhappy he didn’t play more. The wing position is well stocked for the Buckeyes and until he earns time over more experienced temmates I prefer he sit out in crucial games.
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Thumbs up to Miami’s dance team!
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Mullens seemed very willing to fight for everything he could get for his team last night. I was impressed and I think that’s the perfect mindset for BJ as he continues on into this season’s OOC games. Wish he would have made that tip dunk attempt he missed last night.
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Congratulations to Jon Diebler on a fine offensive performance last night. He wasn’t quite 50% overall from the filed but I do think he was 6/12 from beyond the three point line and many of them were timelycompletely crucial shots.
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What more can you say about Evan Turner performance last night.? 19 points – 6 rbs -4 assists – only 3 turnovers (could have been worse) – 2 blocks and 2 steals. He is setting himself up for a fine sophomore season and may be the one kid Ohio State fans have to worry about turning pro at the end of this season.
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The bad news is Ohio State lost 72-63 to a deeper, more gifted and more athletic basketball team last night in Columbus.
The good news is the Buckeyes have Samantha Prahalis for the better part of this season and three after that. Fasten your seatbelts because it’s going to be fun.
Fellas and ladies, the most entertaining player in a Buckeye basketball uniform this season is a member of the women’s team. Her name is Samantha Prahalis.
She made so many savvy decisions w/ball in hand last night. And she made many hustle plays, too, where the 6th sense she possesses and her speed and coordination allowed her to get to a ball and do something with it no one else on the court could have imagined would occur. And that includes the roster full of Mickey Ds on the North Carolina side.
The move Prahalis made late in the second half was in rarefied air. She is fun to watch.
For those who didn’t have the privilege(sp.?) to witness it. Samantha started off in the back court with ball in hand. She dished to ball cross court right to left to Maria Moeller, cut diagonally, and recieved a leading 15 foot pass back from Moeller. On the run, Prahalis jumped, caught the ball high on her right side, reversed the ball around her back (EDIT – she did this to avoid two NC players flying at her on either side – that’s why it was a genius move) before she hit the ground and kept dribbling. In the next three dribbles she had already gained awareness of the situation in front of her and shot a 35 foot on the button assist to Lavender for the score.
Upon seeing this, I wrote down “I did not just see her do that!” It was incredible. Like lightning out of a clear blue sky.
I know there have been a lot of very, very good players go through Ohio State but Samantha is already, next to Katie Smith, my favorite on the women’s side.
Next time the women play, check her out.
And we still have two years to watch the combination of Lavender & Prahalis play together.
Jantel was her usual excellent self but Prahalis is the swizzle stick that stirs the drink.
Ryan Ayers – son of Randy
In the Columbus Dispatch today Bill Rabinowitz has an article about Notre Dame starter (Who the Buckeyes play Saturday) Ryan Ayers, son of former Buckeye head coach, Randy Ayers. Randy is definitely one of the ghosts of St. John Arena whose name will always bump around the place as long as it stands as he is connected with arguably the best Buckeye team(s) since Fred Taylor’s groups were regularly visiting the Final Four.
Okay, you got me, if you’re thinking it. When did Jimmy Jackson’s teams make the Final Four? Okay, you take the Scoonie/Michael Redd squad who made it the FF and/or the Oden/Conley team who made it to the FF and I’ll take JJ’s teams and hopefully both of us will be happy. I know I will!
Anyway, Ryan is quite a player (he had an extremely high point output a couple games back for The Irish) and, once upon a time, wanted to (when he had the daily access to the men’s practices and functions every coach’s kid does) wear the Scarlet and Grey. But, as we all know, fairy tales do end. His dad was fired from his job at OSU and that bubble burst completely when Ohio State did not choose to recruit him.
I sure wish the kid well, though, just not versus Ohio State in a televised on ESPNU game that I will have to beg someone for a burned DVD of to be able to watch.
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Interesting to me, but probably not to you , Randy is one of the few Ohio State personalities I see from time to time out in the wide world. I’ve spoken to him twice at airports and I saw him once at the Bob Gibbons Tournament of Champions event held in the NC triangle area each year on Memorial Day weekend. The times I’ve spoken to him, and right away mentioned I was a Ohio State fan, I could see him trying to hide his reaction w/a “you can’t see me cringing but I really would rather not talk to you about Ohio State” stone faced exterior, monotone voice, and eyes that never completely would look at me. Hey, I know I don’t look like Redford in his prime but, c’mon, I’m worth at least one look. Anyway, it was apparent to me he didn’t want to talk both times so I simply told him “Pleased to meet you. Thanks for the JJ years”. And left it at that.
At the TOC this past year he was watching another son play AAU basketball in the tournament. I do not recall his first name or team but I could look it up (but why?). I think his son’s team was a 15-U squad and the kid was pretty good. Much like I expected Ryan was as a high school athlete. It was obvious he had game but I doubt the Buckeyes will try real hard with this kid either. Who would want to play at a school where your dad was fired from the head coaching job?
Anyway, Randy, if you read this, remember the next time I see you at the airport I don’t want to knock you around for what happened w/you at Ohio State. I just want to talk about old times and how great it was to watch JJ, Jent, Brown, Carter, Funderburke, Skelton, Robinson, Baker, Davis, Hall (Who am I leaving out?) and others play a fun and dominating brand of basketball during the time you were coach there. That’s all.
IRISH Notes (Taken from “game notes” section at the Ohio State Athletics website)
Going into tomorrow’s 4:05 ND game at Lucas Oil Stadium:
- As if you had to guess, Dallas Lauderdale leads the Big Ten in shot blocks with 4.5 pg and is second nationally in that category. His total of 18 is already is already better than the 15 he recorded his entire freshman season as a Buckeye. Wisconsin’s Marcus Landry is #2 and has gotten to and rejected 17 in seven games.
- Remember when? The last time Ohio State and Notre Dame played was the 1999-2000 season (It’s not listed in the game notes but I believe it was part of the Pre-Season NIT series that season?), a game the Irish won 76-72 in Columbus.
- Ohio State is 69-46 all time versus Big East teams.
- Jon Diebler is 13-28 from beyond the three point line this season.
- Evan Turner leads the Big 10 in steals with 3.25 pg.
- The Buckeyes are #1 nationally in scoring defense, allowing 40.3 pg
- Lucas Oil Stadium is the site of the 2009 NCAA Men’s Basketball South Regional
- There is still no definitive word on whether Luke Harnagody will play tomorrow or not. (I thought I read in nthe Dispatch today he had lifted weights a little and shot a few baskets yesterday and may practice some today. )
- Ryan Ayers had 35 points in The Irish’s last game versus South Dakota.
- Kyle McAlarney is averaging 32.7 pts a game in nthe last three games
- The highest scoring average of any player off the ND bench is 3.8.
- Notre Dame is currently ranked 7th in this weeks AP and coaches polls.
- ND set a record making 19 threes versus South Dakota.
- ND’s only loss this season was to North Carolina 102-87 in the championship of the Maui Invitational
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NEBRASKA game notes (From the OSU athletics site):
- 1 pm start time in The Devaney Center in Lincoln, Nebraska
- Jantel Lavender leads the Big Ten in scoring, rebounding and offensive rebounding
- Samantha Prahalis leads the Big 10 in assists at 6 pg. Her scoring average of 12.9 leads all freshman
- Ohio State has made almost twice as many free throws as their opponents this season at 130 to 74
- Nebraska is 6-1, losing only to New Mexico. Jr.
- Junior forward Cory Montgomery leads the Cornhusker in scoring (17.7) and rebounding (8.6)
- Head coach Connie Yori si 112-82 in seven seasons at Nebraska
In an ESPN article Irish head coach Mike Brey states he is planning to keep Luke Harnagody out of the game tomorrow versus Ohio State.
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How many of you would have guessed that both Miami and ND would have played their games versus Ohio State this season without the services of their top players?
I feel Notre Dame is more formidable than Miami in this situation. They still have good enough size and more than enough skill to best the Buckeyes. I’m guessing where this hurts Notre Dame the most is in it’s bench depth as the guys that are left on the bench haven’t contributed a bunch. However, this group is battle tested versus Texas and North Carolina. It should be interesting down the stretch to see, if the Buckeyes are within striking distance, if my guess on a lack of depth might wear on the Irish team.
Either way, I’m sad big Luke won’t be allowed to work over Dallas Lauderdale and BJ Mullens. And work them over he would. Dallas is a good defender but Harangody is a running, jumping block of granite who happens to be highly skilled and relentless. Lauderdale and Mullens will miss out on an opportunity to learn what it takes to compete versus one of the very best frontline players this country has to offer this season in the college ranks.
But I’ll take a win, too.
I knew when I started this blog I would hate trying to write when I hadn’t been able to watch a game. I did not get to see either game Saturday, where the men’s team jettisoned a 7th rated Notre Dame out of spanking brand new Lucas Oil Stadium 67-62, or the women at Nebraska, where Jim Foster’s team again allowed a seemingly lesser squad to hang around a little too long before dispatching the Cornhuskers 69-65.
The women again allowed a seemingly lesser team to hang with them too long – see the Dayton game – before focusing when it counted to take the win. Jantel Lavender was very good again to lead the Buckeyes with 20 points and 10 rebounds. The Buckeyes had to win the game in the last minute with Lavender converting a crucial fouled shot in the lane plus a free throw to spur that effort.
Difficult for me to state what I think happened in the rest of the game but from what I have read it seemed like the Buckeyes just weren’t focused like they would have liked and had to really dig in the 2nd half to subdue Nebraska.
I’ll see what else I can come up on this game throughout this week.
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– Can you say “Profile building?” Saturday’s win versus Notre Dame was superlative for many reasons and maybe the best thing about it is the boost it might give the Buckeyes when the 08-09 NCAA men’s basketball tournament committee meets next March to choose teams for the tournament.
1st things first, this win last Saturday, combined with the win at Miami earlier in the week, starts to strongly build Ohio State’s profile to actually get into the tournament in the first place. And after being on the bubble last season and missing being invited by three slots or so, that’s a fantastic development.
And if the Buckeyes continue along the path it’s fans are hoping for, which is to just keep getting better and better, these two wins, combined with hoped for others in the rest of the out of conference and conference schedules, will raise the Bucks profile in the minds of the committee and allow them to earn a precious higher seed. I don’t know how many times I’ve heard basketball experts say “The tournament is all about the draw”. In many, many respects, that statement is true.
Therefore, congratulations to Ohio State on two important wins this past week.
In my way of thinking, Christmas has come early this year!
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I caught the halftime of last night’s WVU-Davidson game where Digger Phelps and Bob Knight were holding court on recent developments in college basketball. Digger’s comments completely centered on the Big 10, and specifically, UM and Ohio State. He gave UM big credit for winning at UCLA and then dispatching Duke at home this past Saturday. (I do, too. Good job, Wolverines.)
Then, Phelps jumped on Ohio State’s bandwagon, congratulating them on the wins at Miami and versus Notre Dame.
While not saying so specifically, Knight cautioned thinking this was the best Notre Dame had to offer, though. Knight noted Harangody has been sick and stated when he recovers the Irish will be “a different team.” Phelps then said (Don’t quote me word for word) “He got 28. What? You think he would have got 48? And McAlarney was 3/11.”
I loved the interchange. Loved Phelps giving Ohio State credit and Knight expressing his viewpoint. For me, Knight is the best thing to happen to the college basketball broadcasting world. He’s always going to say what he thinks and, to me, whatever he says is interesting and expressed with personality.
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Before Phelps spoke what was said above, Knight pointed out teams he liked so far. He said “I’m obviously prejudiced toward Duke but they play the way I think the game should be played.
Duke’s like an orchestra.
North Carolina is like the British SAS(?), SEALS , or the Delta Force. They are a powerful, powerful team. They are not just a good rebounding team. They are powerful. But power w/speed!”
So, if Duke is an orchestra and North Carolina is likened to an overwhelming military unit, then what can Ohio State’s Buckeyes be compared to?
I’ll leave that question to ponder.
In the Dispatch OSU Insider article yesterday, Miami coach Frank Haith was again attributed with a quote stating what he thinks what happened in the incident between Hurricane guard, Jack McClinton, and Buckeye frosh, Anthony Crater, was more than likely precipitated by actions which occured earlier in the game.
I feel Haith is directly implicating Crater for an action/s no one else, that I can tell, witnessed.
I know what I would say to coach Haith, if I had the pleasure of speaking with him. That is “Just drop it, coach Haith”.
Alluding to what he thinks happened earlier in that game is bunk because, if he hasn’t noticed, that blade cuts both ways. McClinton is a tough player who plays with an attitude. I’ll bet whatever Frank Haith thinks happened, his player was in the middle of it right from the start.
I think it’s Bob Baptist who compiles the information in “OSU Insider” and comments about it. In that blurb about Haith he stated he had recieved an email basically saying “Again, what up’s with Ohio State being handed games by officials?”
To that, all I have to say is “What’s up with Miami fans and it’s basketball coach, not giving credit where credit is due?”
Dec 10 – 08 OSU #2 in nation ;)
According to the Big Ten Geeks site, Ohio State is #2 in the nation in the category of what’s called adjusted defensive efficiency.
I have no idea what that means exactly but it sounds like the Buckeyes play pretty good D, eh? Let’s hope Ohio State can keep that up throughout this season.
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I enjoy Big Ten Geeks, as well as I did it’s predecessor, Big Ten Wonk (John Gasaway’s – now w/Basketball Prospectus - now defunct site). I appreciate the use of numbers to quantify what’s occuring on court but don’t ever expect this blog to tilt that direction. I’m just really glad there are others out there who can figure that stuff out.
DEC 1st NBA Charlotte Observer NBA Today Notebook
The title to this post allegedly comes from an NBA scouting executive who talked with the Boston Globe about UCONN’s 7-3 junior center Hasheem Thabeet.
I’ll buy it the physical attribute portion of the statement. Thabeet is a huge and agile who is definitely very quick off his feet. Greg is also very quick off his feet and extremely powerful. But Hasheem apparently thinks a lot of himself as a player. That’s the difference between the two.
The same scout also mentioned Thabeet is considered a top 5 draft pick next season and that he is just as good a shot blocker as Greg.
That perception was apparently driven home for people employed in the business of scouting pro basketball prospects at the United States Virgin Islands Paradise Jam Tournament earlier this season. The scout stated about Thabeet in that torunament “He was off the rack in the USVI”. Thabeet averaged 12.3 points, 9.3 rebounds and 5 blocks a game there. The scout also stated Thabeet’s comparison is Dikembe Mutombo. But does he know how to wag the finger? LOL
Anyway, a source close to the UCONN program was quoted as saying that for all the good attributes Thabeet has, there is a school of thought he is too m uch into thinking about his future in the NBA. Not once did anyone ever hear that about Greg Oden.
What does that mean exactly? That Thabeet is large headed about his upcoming career as a professional basketball player? To me, it may mean lots of negatives. It may mean he’s not team oriented. It may mean Hasheem isn’t willing to push himself to get better. It may mean he’s not getting it done in the classroom. It could mean lots of things, I suppose. Maybe not all of them entirely negative.
But that’s a guessing game one never had to play with Greg Oden. The guy who played with one good wrist his entire collegiate career. The kid who never worried about his own stats. Oden just did whatever his team needed to win a game. He was humble.
So, yeah, there may be physical similarities between the two players. But that’s where it ends at this point if the assertions coming from close to the UCONN program are true. Former Buckeye Greg Oden has proven himself as a player and person. Sounds like Hasheem Thabeet has proven himself only as a player.
Buckeye point guards (Prahalis, Simmons and Crater) and what Larry Brown might teach each of them
I live just outside of Charlotte, NC and ever since Larry Brown became head coach of the Charlotte Bobcats I’ve heard how much he expects out of the guys who play point guard for him. I’ve read about NBA vet after NBA vet, former MSU point, Eric Snow (who toiled under Brown as a 76er, when The Show, Allan Iverson, was there) who have stated how demanding he was of them. Brown likes to yell and stresses a player both physically and mentally during practices and games. It seems rare for Brown to dole out compliments. I’ve read more than one article in the Charlotte Observer about this particular subject and figured it was just one extreme of what being a pro player is like…something I’d never really have a chance to understand. All these guys just said it was tough to play for him but that they got better as they understood what he wanted, moreso, out of them on the day by day basis.
But then an article was printed in the Observer on December 5th that I felt expanded on this subject and helped me connect with the ins and outs of playing point guard in general.
So I thought it might something good to share here and I thought it would be fun to think out loud about what the young point guards on the both the men (Crater & Simmons) and women’s teams are trying to see on court as they attempt to master an extremely difficult position in basketball.
According to the article, written by Rick Bonnell, there are two basic ideas Brown asks his point guards to follow. They are:
A. A point guard must be obsessed with finding easy baskets for teammates, and …
B. The offense runs inside-out, not outside-in.
The example was shown about Brown wanting Bobcat point, Raymond Felton, to help post player Omeka Okafor become more of a valued scorer for the Charlotte team. And so I likened this idea to Samantha Prahalis, with Jim Foster’s propensity to run almost the whole offense through Jantel Lavender, being given a ton of responsibility to set up the sophomore post from Cleveland this season, and Jeremie Simmons and Anthony Cater being asked to get better themselves while trying to coax more and more out of freshman post, BJ Mullens.
Brow is quoted as saying “It takes time to understand (see note below) …the nature of this league; (I think it can probably just as easily be said like this “…the nature of basketball”) that if you dribble drive, a lot of good things happen.” That was said of Brown that he wants (His team I’m guessing) to be less dependent on jump shots. Makes sense overall to me. The Buckeyes seemingly settle for jumpshots, from my perspective,(especially early in a shot clock) they’d be better off working harder to try and get better shots instead on any given possesion. (This occurs naturally through the hands of Evan Turner and sometimes for David Lighty when they are able to penetrate this season thus far. Buckeye fans saw that go well during the Miami game and I bet it happened versus ND as well)
Brown went on say “Our big guys are recognizing, when he (Felton) penetrates, where they need to be. He becomes almost like a quarterback, going through his progressions” (the article states) from reciever to reciever.
I think that’s a revealing angle from which to view the challenge Simmons, Crater and Prahalis faces this season. Prahalis has a lesser challenge, even though she is a frosh, as Lavender is a sophomore and has been through a year of competition at this level. Because of her experience, Jantel is better able than either of the men’s posts, Mullens or Dallas Lauderdale, to adjust her pattern on the fly and read the spots she needs to get to in order to recieve a post feed in a spot where she can use it. Similarly, Prahalis as well as Crater and Simmons, need also to go through their progressions to decide just what might be available each time they decide to venture into the lane.
Driving into said lane draws defensive opponents to the point guard and as that happens posts have to make themselves available to catch the ball in a position to do something positive with it.
The challenges for all three players in this area are different from player to player.
(To be continued……come back soon)
EDIT + ADD
From my limited views of games, Samantha Prahalis seems to get more opportunity to operate in space than either Anthony or Jeremie. In those views she has shown an excellent grasp of making decisions and often makes the difficult seem routine. That is a gift she is blessed with.
She has the old eyes in the back of her head routine down and appears to be able to think the action in front of her two or three moves ahead. She keeps the ball moving and piles up the assists but makes a whole lot of turnovers, too. With the way she gets Ohio State’s running game going she is going to make some mistakes along the way in handling the ball but her assist to turnover ratio is more like one to one than the 2-1 ratio that seems to be the mark of a good point guard. I don’t want her tamed totally because she also has the gift of taming chaos. That’s a skill that is contagious for teammates.
She’s one of those kids, I feel, a coach has to just let go. She’ll improve because she wants so bad to win and will see what needs to be done. I think she has both of Brown’s basic ideas down. She just isn’t experienced enough. Yet. She is playing so many minutes right now that her maturation will happen much faster than a normal freshman players would.
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Jeremie Simmons isn’t a pure point guard. But, so what? I like what I’ve seen out of him. He isn’t adventurous on the dribble and I think his handle could use some work but he doesn’t turn the ball over much. I think he needs to start probing the middle of the defense more in order to see if he can step thorugh a seam from time to time and start to break down defenses. He is a good long distance shooter and he’ll take the deep shot anytime he gets it. As a point, I’d like to see him go for the inside out stuff more, first. Later, I’d like to see more obsession with setting up other players. But like I said, I’m perfectly happy with him on the offensive side right now.
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I think Anthony Crater is good on Brown’s main ideas. But he’s just a baby and confidence is his main opponent. He hurries a little too much some of the time. In the Miami game he tried to, heading baseline from right of the lane, throw passes without checking to see where defenders were. Same play twice. Both instances resulted in turnovers.
But he makes good decisions as often as not and stands out with the way he keeps the ball moving when he has the ball in hand on offense. In that avenue he has good vision for what needs to be accomplished from small play to small play. He at least attempts to pressure a defense with dribble penetration and that’s good. I”d like to see him jet through the gaps more and be willing to make a mistake here and there in order to get Brown’s main ideas covered.
I do think Anthony’s ball handling skills are good enough to take those chances and win a lot more than he probably thinks he can at this point.
Anthony is going to be very, very solid for Ohio State throughout his career in the Scarlet and Gray. It will take him the better part of this year to level off and to start to be able to work his will in a game against most any opponent. But he’s a freshman head coach Thad Matta is taking it slow with in general. Making mistakes is how he’s going to learn. Keep making them, Anthony, and keep learning from them.
Thanks Bob! As a result of a fellow Buckeye fan’s generosity I finally got a chance today to view this past Saturday’s Ohio State/Notre Dame game.
Right off the bat – Dallas Lauderdale’s quick set volleyball spike of a 1st half shot attempt by Notre Dame star Luke Harangody (That kid is very good) makes me have to choose between that shot block and his dunk versus Miami as my favorite play of the season thus far. Laud’s long arms are a nightmare for opposing offensive players. Dallas was in the air a half a second ahead of Harangody and merely waited until Luke showed him the ball to slap it down like he was trying to hand Lauderdale a burnt biscuit at breakfast. (I don’t know if that makes sense to you or not but it was fun to write. LOL )
Overall, I was impressed with Ohio State’s effort. It’s obvious their defense is ahead of the offense right now but that’s a good thing, seeing the two wins the Buckeyes have just put on the board.
The Buckeyes rebounded missed shots! After witnessing their effort in that area, I now have hope Ohio State can reverse last season’s awful results on the backboards.
Evan Turner was great. The best thing is he has so much room to get better. And there were a bunch of other Buckeyes who played very well, too, offensively and defensively. Great job by Ohio State.
I don’t have time to get into too much right now but Ohio State better forget about what it accomplished last week and set it’s full concentration on a surprisingly good and surprisingly (extremely) young Butler Bulldog team Saturday. As much fun as it was to defeat top 20 Miami on it’s home court and #7 Notre Dame at Lucas Oil Stadium Saturday, it will feel that bad to lose to Butler at home Saturday in a game that could easily be overlooked by fans and players as a not so stiff challenge.
Don’t get battered and then bit by Butler’s Bulldogs, Buckeyes!
Warning issued/Upset alert
Reasons to be concerned for Ohio State in Saturday’s game versus Butler:
– Matt Howard, Matt Howard, Matt Howard…I still see this kid in my nightmares (bet Kosta Koufos and Othello Hunter do, too) slicing through Ohio State’s interior defense last season to make big play after big play in the scoring and rebounding departments.
– Butler is 8-0 itself and owns four wins already this season as the visiting team.
– The Buckeyes are still a young team who played very hard in two games last week against quality opponents. The tendency for a young team who has experienced some success is to feel good about what it has done. Ohio State cannot just walk onto the floor and expect to win Saturday. It’s got to focus, play hard, play smart and not take anything for granted against an opponent who is not going to expect to lose.
– Freshmen sometimes don’t know they aren’t supposed to play well in away games versus higher profile teams. Butler has three freshmen playing in the top 7 of it’s rotation and 6-3 freshman guard Shelvin Mack leads the Bulldogs in scoring, and assists. What would John Cooper say about pups?
– Butler shoots .370 from beyond the three point line which is not that scintillating but if it gets hot from behind there look out. The very same Butler offense has driven better teams crazy for quite some time now.
– Pedigree – Butler is a great basketball program. The Buckeyes better be ready to fight until the last second for a win that is essential for it to keep building a resume worthy of a high seed in the NCAA tournament. Lose this game and guess who gets to build it’s resume?
Final word – Get ready Buckeyes because I bet Butler is!
Go Bucks!
In a recent article in the USA Today sports section titled “Oden’s start solid, not blazing”, starting Portland TrailBlazer center Joel Przybilla states “Greg tends to get down after a bad game. I tell him, hey, in the NBA, you have so many games. You can always bounce back. You’re not going to play 82 perfect games, even if you’re Kobe Bryant.”
Also, TrailBlazer star, guard Brandon Roy, says about Greg, “How many games has he played, 14? People are expecting the wrold from him, but we don’t need that right now. We just need his presence. Eventually, he’ll get his confidence.”
The words of those two players in trying to reach out to their rookie center, Greg Oden, struck me as reminiscent of the situation BJ Mullens is in right now.
I think almost every Ohio State fan who knew about BJ thought at some point he might come in to Ohio State this year and dominate right from the start. On line NBA draft sites (like DraftExpress etc.) who scout and try to speculate which players will picked where had BJ listed as the #1 or #2 pick in the 2009 NBA draft. Scout and Rivals had BJ listed as a top 10 player in his class, and I think one of them even named Mullens the top player coming out of high school from the 2008 class.
All that high praise had to have placed a whole lot of heavy pressure on BJ from outsiders. And maybe even from himself, too.
But like the headline attached to the Oden article, BJ’s start at OSU has simply been solid. And that’s all. And I think what I’m trying to say here is that is okay.
Mullens is young. And improving. But he’s not Greg Oden and all he brought to the table, even as an almost one handed player most of his one season in Columbus, and he’s not Kosta Koufos, he of the small forward’s game in a post man’s body.
Early on this season, BJ looked like he had a lot of questions about playing at the college level with his new teammates. And he appeared to not be sure he was going to get the answers to those questions for awhile.
However, in the past two games, versus Miami and Notre Dame, it’s obvious to me BJ is starting to gain an awareness of what he needs to do on the court to help his team win. He’s starting to understand how to acquire the answers to his questions. AS I saw that happen, I began to wonder if some of Dallas Lauderdale’s makeup as a player hadn’t worn off onto BJ? I recieved a really good feeling about Dallas last season as I noticed he mostly decided to play smart and do what he could do, no more, no less, each time he entered a game. He fit himself into the team concept so well. I think BJ has adopted that modus operandi, too. And that’s what I hope I continue to see out of BJ in this last half of the out of conference schedule and on into and through the end of conference play.
How great would it be to see he and Dallas, who are already showing themselves to be good unit, both get better and better as the season goes along? It could easily happen, too, as both Dallas and BJ just need minutes to function as a catalyst for growth.
All that’s important for BJ to do is to play and learn every night he has an opportunity to. If he just can continue to try and take a continual series of small steps, sooner or later, he’s going to get his confidence.
Then look out.
In his Dispatch blog “Hoops and Scoops’. Bob Baptist went back through the ND game video and made some good observations, I felt.
Going into today’s game versus Butler, who I think may give Ohio State quite a tussle today, I feel some of his thoughts bare going over.
1. Evan Turner has stepped us his game immensely. But if and when an opponent figures out how to take him out of any given contest (I was in the stands at Davidson when Loyola of Maryland put two defenders on Stephen Curry at all timesand shut him out completely…so, it can be done…That was one of the craziest basketball games I have ever seen) who is going to step up and take over the scoring load for the Buckeyes? There are a number of candidates who would try but, at the end of any contested game, who can take the big shot and deliver?
2. Bucks need to start hitting wide open three attempts. Baptist counted 10 of those versus ND of which only one went down.
3. Evan Turner & William Buford are the only players thus far to exhibit a successful mid range game. Hitting those shots is a subtle way to take a defense apart, especially in stepping into the weak spots of zone at angles.
4. Buford needs to get more on court time but he needs to pick better shots to take as well.
5. Baptist likes the lineup of Lighty, Turner, Crater, Buford and Mullens. He liked it for the aggressiveness and productivity it showed in each half it was used against the Irish. He liked Crater better than Simmons because Anthony made himself a threat to drive and dish, which placed stress on the defense. And he liked Mullens because BJ is more likely to convert an offensive rebound than Dallas.
6. Ohio State needs to work on finding the shooters during an opponents fast break. Notre Dame wasn’t given many chances to run versus Ohio State but if they could have the opportunity for easy looks from three were there.
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Today’s game is a matter of Ohio State protecting it’s home court. I would like to see a good game from both teams but if Butler should somehow defeat Ohio State that would be unacceptable.
One phrase of warning about this Butler team from Peoria Journal sports columnist Kirk Wessler, after Butler had taken down the Bradley Braves in Butler’s last game “If that was a rebuilding project that ripped through the Bradley Braves on Wednesday night at Carver Arena, I’ll make this prediction right now.
Butler is going to be one scary team for the next few college basketball seasons.”
Let’s hope Ohio State decides not bring back Halloween to the Schott today.
A win is a win is a win
Next season, Ohio State better be ready for the Butler team it defeated Saturday by three points when it again travels to Hinkle Fieldhouse to take on the Bulldogs.
For such a young group of players, aside from the fact Ohio State is almost as young also, they really played well. 6-8 Gordon Hayward continues the tradition of fine Bulldog jump shooters. He was a ridiculous 7-11 from behind the three point stripe Saturday. Those were mostly open, stand still, Js he was shooting but still, c’mon, his touch is dead on.
I’ll give credit to David Lighty for playing Hayward’s last second three ball attempt at tieing the game so well. David was right up on Hayward about as close as one can get without obviously hindering his attempt with a foul. Do I think Lighty made a little contact? Sure, but he stayed away from the arms and hands of Hayward on the shot. #23 for the Buckeyes made the correct choice of deciding to make it as difficult as possible for the Butler freshman to feel comfortable. In those situations you can’t play such a pressure packed defensive situation any better than the Ohio State captain did.
There were other plays of note worth mentioning. Let’s start with Jon Diebler. Jon was fantastic in taking what was given to him all day. Diebs got a lot of attention from the Butler defense and waited and waited until the second half where he was open enough to pull the trigger on some good looks he was presented. Jon continues to play a good overall game for Ohio State. If I could have wished one thing for Diebler to gain this season it would have been consistency. In five out of the six contests he has played he has been a player which can be counted on for production. And even in the one game, versus Notre Dame where he was saddled with foul trouble, his contributions didn’t show up strongly in the stats box score, he still added to the Buckeyes win. I’m glad he’s a Buckeye for two more seasons.
As I go down the line of Ohio State players I need to mention, I have to ask, because it seems obvious but I have to think about a long time before I decide it really is that way, who is the MVP of this Ohio State team so far? Is it Evan Turner? Or Dallas Lauderdale? I am more than sure Dallas’s defensive presence is a big reason Ohio State has been able to develop the intensity and earn the success it has. Opponents always have to think twice about where he is on the court when they decide to take it at the rim. In the back of my mind, at the beginning of the season, I recalled the Dallas Lauderdale on display in New York’s Madison Square Garden in the semis and finals of the NIT and wished hard that same player would stick around for this season. My, how my wish has been eclipsed. That same player came back but the 08/09 DL is a huge upgrade over the kid who, little by little, kept getting better over the course of the 07/08 season. If he keeps it up Dallas will go down as the pre-eminent power forward defender the Buckeyes have ever had.
In the end, I have to give Turner an edge for Buckeye MVP for everything he does on court. But DL isn’t far behind.
BTW, you have to love Lauderdale’s joyful celebration of his huge block of a three attempt but a Bulldog player late in the game Saturday. He was fired up and his high five slap with a couple Buckeye fans got the crowd into it even more. To have passion for the game of basketball and show it once in awhile is a big deal in the collegiate setting.
To sum up this game, in past recent years, Butler has gotten better and better as a program and continues to build toward being on and staying on par with larger universities. I feel this particular Butler team is going to win a whole lot of games this season. To defeat this team, even in Columbus, by the three points Ohio State did is nothing to snort at. It’s a feather in the Buckeyes’ cap any way you look at it. Great job, Buckeyes, of maybe not playing your best but still finding a way to win.
I could keep going this morning but I think I have the bases covered.
Go Bucks!
According to Ken Pomeroy’s site, Ohio State leads the nation in adjusted defensive efficiency rating. As you will discover, if you don’t already know, I have no idea what that really means as far as being able to explain what exactly makes up the statitistic. But what I do know is that it means it’s hard to score against Ohio State.
Now, if only Ohio State could get it’s offense revved up. But that’s another post.
Here, though, is what I like the most about this statistic. In last week’s Sports llustrated, in the Inside College Basketball section, there was an article about Gonzaga that stated the Zags are getting much better at defense and they now sit at 8th best in the nation at 0.82. Along with their usual offensive ability (63rd at 1.08) they are putting themselves in position to make a deep run in the NCAA tournament.
Ohio State’s defense sits at 73.9 and that ranks the Buckeyes #1 in the nation. Given that Thad Matta has often stated during this out of conference schedule, that he and his coaching staff have been paying much more attention to the defense instead of the offense, well that makes me feel pretty gung ho about what the rest of the season could hold for this Buckeye team.
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BTW, funniest thing about the article was that at the beginning, to accentuate how the focus has changed at Gonzaga, writer Luke Winn mentions former All-American Adam Morrison likd to wear a t-shirt around while in college that said “It is wasn’t for offense, I’d play defense.”
I guess Gonzaga head coach, Mark Few, wasn’t too fond of seeing that t-shirt on Morrison’s back. I wonder why? LOL.
Addition to offense/defense post
Duh. I forgot to add the main reason I thought this would be interesting to post in the 1st place.
Pomeroy has been recording this defensive efficiency stat since 2004 and every team that has won a national championship since then has had a sub .90 rating.
I’m not saying Ohio State is in any danger of winning the national championship this season but I’m kind of amazed it is that far under that benchmark rating at this point. It’s definitely a good sign.
Ohio State graduate, Katie Smith
The most decorated women’s basketball player in Ohio State history (Like Buckeye Jack Nicklaus in golf, that distinction isn’t going to any other player anytime soon, either) will graduate winter quarter 2008.
ghostofstjohnarena sends out a hearty congratulation to Katie Smith!
This according to Dispatch Ohio State women’s basketball blog writer, Jim Massie.
I believe when Katie entered Ohio State she had it in mind to enter the field of dentistry. I’ve always heard, and Jim Massie mentioned she is a terrific scholar, that Katie is very smart and could have easily gotten through the coursework involved in that particular area of medicine and started working in that profession as soon as she chose to.
But somewhere along the line that orange bouncing ball got in the way and Katie became a Big Ten MVP, a multiple All-American, and a fixture on USA Olympic teams which took gold several times. In the history of the women’s game some might be more decorated than she as a basketball player but none are better. In the Big Ten, has there been anyone even close?
I still recall reading, in a warm weather day edition of the USA Today, a blurb about her in the sports section where Katie had blown up (as the cool kids say today) in summer AAU competition and was maybe the best on the floor in several events that spring & summer. It was said she might be the best player, regardless of class, in high school at that time. I think she was sophomore in high school at that time. Then I saw she was from Logan, Ohio and I hoped very much she might attend Ohio State. The day she signed with Ohio State was as big a day for me as when any recruit Ohio State had ever gotten.
And, unlike so many high school superstars, she lived up to every adulation heaped upon her and then some.
Thanks for all the memories, Katie Smith, a true ghost of St. John Arena.
Buckeye fans have always been proud of you and now we are proud for you, as you become a graduate of The Ohio State University.
Last season, ghostofstjohnarena followed Ohio State’s unlikely attempt to ascend to an invitation to the NCAA tournament on a site called bracketproject.com.
The site is a collection of well known and other not so well known online sites devoted to trying to guess the seeding, matchups and actual invitees to the Big Dance before the invitations are handed out. The Buckeyes, of course, as the regular season waned, hovered on the precipice of earning and recieving such a bid, but it never materialized. A daily event, I watched the proceedings occur at bracketproject.com until justice was served. Ohio State couldn’t scrape together the kind of wins needed to earn an invite. And that was that.
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For the first time this season I checked in this morning to see where the Buckeyes stood in the minds of those who are bracket obsessed.
What I found fell in the category of good news and bad news. It’s certainly good news to see Ohio State sitting with a #4 seed at this time but, if the Buckeyes would be so lucky as to win that first game (4s and 13s have an interesting history, don’t you know) then a possible second round matchup looms with Davidson.
Now I’ve seen Davidson in person this season already and the Wildcats, imo, aren’t as dangerous this season as they were a season ago (minus superlative point guard Jason Richards…which put Curry on the wing the whole time looking to score) but they still have plenty in their gas tank to take it to Ohio State or any other team they might face in any game in the NCAA tournament. With Stephen Curry in uniform and Davidson’s, what’s turning out to be, usual cast of unsung but entirely functional players who plain get it done, that is a bad matchup to have to face that early in the tournament.
But to try to be the best you have to beat the best and if Ohio State did find itself in this scenario, then defeating the Wildcats would be a feather in it’s cap in following rounds. A win like that would give the Buckeyes some juice.
Like Butler, the Davidson program is designed to put the other team in situations where they are uncomfortable and have to play a certain style in order to win the game. Curry being the straw that stirs the Wildcat drink like it has never been stirred before.
Would this, still just a mirage, game to occur (ghost lives just 10 miles south of the Davidson campus) I would be excited but extremely wary of it’s outcome. I won’t bother to ask Wisconsin what it was like to play Davidson in the tournament and fall apart against them for all the college basketball world to see.
No matter what, to advance, any team is going to have win a big game almost every single round of the NCAA tournament. A second round matchup with Davidson would qualify in every imaginable way in that area.
The season is still young, though. And it’s fun to think of what may lie ahead. But March Madness is already starting to fester.
Go mBucks!
I despise not being able to see Ohio State play it’s games. I have a hard time feeling the spark to write “about” a game if I haven’t been able to watch it.
So goes it with the Ohio State women’s team in wins the past two nights, a not as close as the score 68-54 indicates win over Cleveland State, and a 68-35 water boarding drill of Delaware State.
The Buckeyes reportedly went out fast versus CSU but then had a letdown through selfish play in the 2nd half to allow Cleveland St. to close the gap as the Vikings did. I bet Foster burnt some eardrums up in the Buckeye lockerroom that night or at the walk through practice earlier in the day before facing Del. State. Makes me cringe. As the coaches say “Games like this produce lots of stuff to work on in practices”. As the players say “Oh no. I don’t want to go through that _ _ _ _ (Insert added word here” Usually, too, one can add the word “again” at the end of that last fabricated quote. As kids know what is coming at them in practice when play gets unnecessarily sloppy, thus making the head coach look bad.
In contrast, it seems the Buckeyes came out ready to trash Delaware State the “entire” contest last night. Did I read where Jantel Lavender outscored the entire Del. State team by herself in the 1st half? In total I think Lavender missed one shot the whole night en route to 29 points.
Possibly the best development coming out of these two games is that it was observed Brittany Johnson has decided to start going to the basket to get her points and not just settle for jumpshots she wasn’t making at a particularly impressive rate this season up to this point.
The Buckeyes need a wing to be a productive scorer somehow. The wish was for a wing who could sink the three off the drive and dish of Prahalis or the kick out of Lavender. Sometimes, though, you have to take what you get in sports and maybe Johnson and Prahalis can forge some of the relationship Sammy and Jantel have by Brittany slashing through defenses off setups by the young Buckeye point guard. It bears watching anyway.
Look below at how well tonight’s men’s team opponent has played versus the best competition it has played this season:
(From statsheet.com)
Jacksonville-Ohio St. Preview
Jacksonville defeats Lipscomb 83-67
Jacksonville rallies to beat Belmont 65-64
Georgia Tech beats Jacksonville 79-76
Dunn’s 23 helps Baylor beat Jacksonville 76-68
American tops Jacksonville 75-67
Monroe’s debut a winner: Hoyas top Dolphins 71-62
Jacksonville-Georgetown Preview
Florida State tops Jacksonville 59-57
Although Jacksonville hasn’t earned a win at any of the venues of the bigger schools they have played at this season, they have played well against them.
The reason I worry about this game? When a team is a
- chipper
, as in “a team who has no positive result to show for it’s effort yet but they keep chipping away at it” then that is a team to be wary of. They’ve come close versus Georgia Tech, Baylor, Georgetown and Florida State in their gyms.
The Dispatch previewed tonight’s game by saying Jacksonville comes at opponents with a stable of 6-5 to 6-7 kids who rebound in waves. That’s a different style team than what Ohio State has played so far. One that doesn’t care if it’s three point shot isn’t falling as long as it can rebound the miss and try again. One that will take chances and drive the ball straight at an opponent and dare the other team to stop it. No bad shot is a bad shot when that’s how a team is best suited to play. It should be interesting to see how the flow of this game settles in.
On a side note, one would think this game is one where Dallas Lauderdale will have many chances to up his blocked shot total and solidify his being the third best shot blocker, per game average, in the nation. Because, what’s the best way to deal with a dominant shot blocker? Go right at him is how and this Jacksonville squad appears to have the makeup to want to challenge everything on the floor tonight. Offensively and defensively. Dallas will either feast or get saddled with foul trouble. And I’ve been impressed with how Dallas stays on his feet so well in situations where an opponent eventually decides to show him the ball on a shot attempt. The sound of “thwack”, as the ball is jarringly swatted is by large guy Dallas, is usually the only sound that is heard when DL does block a shot and not the officials whistle just after it, also.
So, the Buckeyes better get ready for a throwdown tonight at the Schott. A team with nothing to lose and everything to win is coming to play. And it thinks everything on court is there for the taking. Watch out Buckeyes!
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I hate ESPNU. I won’t get to watch this game, either. Ugh.
Way to go, David Lighty!
David Lighty scored 21 points last night at the Schottenstein Center versus Jacksonville missing only one shot from the field along the way. To that I can only say “YYYYYYYYYYIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIPPPPEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!”.
It’s about time and I hope it’s just a forecast of things to come for DL. Ohio State needs every player on the floor consistently doing damage against every foe. When that happens it just makes it easier for everyone to get into the act. Each Buckeye becomes a little more difficult to guard because no one or two players can be focused on. It’s about team and it’s about a team trying to stretch and reach it’s potential.
Way to go, David Lighty! But look through the box score and see how last night’s wealth was shared. That is a recipe for good old fashioned winning basketball.
Go Bucks!
Watching the Buckeyes play Iona today, I couldn’t help but consider and compare the story line of a Christmas classic movie to the injury and forced absence of David Lighty from the Ohio State lineup for at least the next 6 weeks.
As you may know, David broke a bone is his foot this past week in the game versus Jacksonville. That game just happened to be, by far, David’s best offensive and, therefore, overall game of what seems to still be a promising season. Looking on into the rest of the season there was a lot of hope involved as this team obviously still had and does still have a lot of room to mature and get better. This season isn’t done because ot Lighty’s injury. The original story just needs a rewriting.
As in all good stories, adversity reared it’s ugly head, in the form of DL’s broken bone, and a big old fat problem began floating in the water for all to see. Without it’s captain, how will Ohio State react as a program? Who will take the extra minutes now available and contribute positively? In other words, how will the problem get fixed (or not fixed) and what will the outcome be?
Since the wife and I took the time Thursday night for our annual viewing of “It’s a Wonderful Life”, I couldn’t help but think of Ohio State’s predicament in terms of George Bailey’s problem, our old Building and Savings and Loan Pal. For George, everything in his life was cruising along with nary a problem on the horizon.
But then, on Christmas eve, Uncle Billy, on what should have been the finest day for the Baileys, with George’s little brother, Harry Bailey, coming home from the war as a highly decorated solder, lost $8,000 dollars of the Bailey Savings and Loan transactions for the day to money grubbing rich man Old Man Potter and his overtaker, wheel chair pushing henchman inside the Potter bank.
From there, things fell progressively apart. George rightly thought he was doomed and finally went to the local ice covered suspension bridge while it was snowing with his mind on committing suicide.
Enter Angel 2nd Class, Clarence. He knew hope still existed. And in an attempt to get his wings, it had been over 200 years he had been trying, he decided to show George Bailey what the lives of others in Bedford falls would have been like if he had never been born. In doing so, he would save George Bailey, let him know his problems were not as big as he thought and that a solution was in the works. When all was said and done, Clarence would get his wings.
In Ohio State’s case, who among the Buckeyes will rise and come to the aid of a team that no longer has it’s most experienced player, maybe it’s most physical, as well as possibly it’s best defender, to depend upon? Who will be Ohio State’s Clarence?
The rest of this Ohio State story will write itself. I believe things are not as bad as they seem. Multiple players on the Ohio State squad will show their worth, earn minutes and keep this team headed positively toward better things. It just remains to be seen who that is.
Right now, I see Thad Matta and his coaching staff taking over the role of Clarence. They’ll put this team in position to solve it’s problem even though, right now, it may look like all is lost. The team takes over the role of the family and townspeople of Bedford Falls who will work a miracle and fashion a happy ending at the end of this season.
But the details are yet to be discovered and that’s where the fun in this exists.
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As far as today’s game goes, Evan Turner and Jon Diebler stayed solid and provided leadership in a right about 20 point win for the Buckeyes. I saw only the last part of the first half and all of the second but those two really played well. Jeremie Simmons made some big plays. William Buford got hot after what I understand was a not so good 1st half, offensively, and showed well.
The Buckeyes are going to be alright. It’s going to be difficult but it’ll eventually work out.
GO Bucks!
I have the OSU/Michigan women’s game dvd’ed from Sunday but haven’t had the chance to watch as of yet. Likewise, I’d love to go back through the OSU/Iona game and look/listen for tidbits of interest. Then, Ohio State faces UNC-Asheville (Asheville is a great place if you ever get the chance to visit it) this evening. I don’t have near enough time to dive into all of it.
This happens every season. This time of year is when my focus, as is probably most of yours, is on other things. I, of course, pay attention to what is happening with the Buckeyes but past that it’s hard to get much done on a site like this when family is more important. So much so that I feel good if I actually get the games viewed as they are played.
Saturday, West Virginia and it’s head coach, Bob Huggins, invade Columbus. (When was the last time the Gnadenhutten Indian Valley South – Was it South or North he played for under his father, Charlie? I’m thinking South off the top of my head – graduate was officially inside an Ohio State sports facility as a coach?) I’m excited about this upcoming game, as, with a win, it will provide a big push for the Buckeyes come March. Like I already said, though, if I get it watched as it happens I’ll be tickled pink.
Rest assured, though, when 2009 arrives, I’ll have more time to devote to what I am trying to do here.
Thanks for stopping by today.
ghost
– I’m enjoying Buford’s improvement. He has a whole lot of natural basketball talent/skill, and it’s beginning to show. He appears to be coming along at the rate most freshman do in making contributions in the all round aspects of the game.
I’m concerned, though, what’s going to happen when William’s mid-range and 3-point jumper aren’t falling? Especially, when conference coaches see what he likes to do and schemes against his special skill, is he going to up fake and go to the basket? I hope so. He had 5 games before the last two (all in a row) where he didn’t even attempt a single free throw. Got to go to the rack once in awhile, William.
– Crater can be a jet in the open floor. If you saw him go nearly the length of the floor on the one possession in the second half you’ll know it’s true. Anthony’s flat out speed there was as fast as any MC Jr. accomplished while at OSU. He can really stress a defense that way.
I just hope the aggressive, creative, explorative nature he had last night wasn’t a by product of his percieving the Asheville perimeter defenders as being sub par. As an example, young kids lacking confidence will often seek often out younger playmates to feel more confident and accepted. Likewise, the game last night was the first where I’ve noticed Anthony attempting to probe off the dribble on a regular basis to see what was available. Beforehand, he has been content to earn the occasional assist but even more content to merely snap the ball to teammates. I would love to see Crater breaking down the WVU defense Saturday. That team is going to hound the OSU ball handlers on the perimeter and I’m betting there will be room for Anthony to create. I’ll take the mistakes if he can regularly make the plays.
– Offut brings to the table what no one else on the Ohio State roster can duplicate for the Buckeyes in the wake of David Lighty’s injury. Walter’s the only other player who adds the ultra aggresive Ron Lewis “I’m going to the basket, Sucka! Now try and stop me” manuever to Ohio State’s plate. The more he gets time, the better he will get at finishing there. (He was on top of the rim three times that I can recall) That type of manuever is Walter’s offensive speciality, just like Buford’s mid range game is his. Look for WO to get more time on into the conference sched. I hope to see Walter for 10 minutes or so versus WVU Saturday. If so, then I think it’s a lock he plays more and more during conference games.
– How great was it to see BJ Mullens accumulating point after point last night? Sometimes momentum on top of a good performance can escalate a player’s contributions over a certain period of time. I would enjoy seeing BJ dunking a whole lot over the next 5-6 games.
He had a pretty good taste of success last night in a number of ways. Like Buford, he got on the floor in a scrum for a loose ball last night. Absolutely, if everybody on this team is locked into playing hard so that every loose ball is contested (and there were a number of sequences were everyone on the team got on the floor to try and dig the ball out) like that the rest of this season then the Buckeyes are going to be alright.
– What’s up with DLaud’s attitude? There seemed to be lot of talk by the announcers about that subject last night and we all know they usually don’t have a valid, original take on most broadcast subjects without having talked to someone connected to the team. It’s hard for me to imagine Dallas having a bad attitude. And, maybe, I’m wondering about something that isn’t there. That the announcers were just guessing at.
– Turner continues his high level play.
However, he should ditch his 10-15 foot reverse pivot jumper when he has a defender draped on top of him. That shot is responsible for the airballs he does have during any game. He doesn’t really get his feet under him when he attempts it as he’s trying to avoid getting the shot blocked. Therefore, he leaves it way short.
– Lighty’s experience (44 games started in a row) is going to be missed.
– Is Simmons currently in a large shooting valley? Seems that way to me. To me, without the points, sometimes it seems like he isn’t out there. I know he’s had some good moments lately, too. Where does anyone see Jeremie going?
– Diebler was quiet, too. He was 1-4 from three but had one that was as far down as you can get without it dropping in. I thought he played well enough in other areas.
– Madsen isn’t great but we all knew that anyhow. A pick up the scraps effort is what is needed from him and that’s exactly what he provides in the minutes he supplies. I’m for him.
– WVU is without guard Joe Mazzulla still, I believe. Lighty is gone for the Buckeyes. Call it even.
Should be a fun game. WVU has some talent. It’s a “Make plays, live with the mistakes” kind of team and will be a physical challenge for the Buckeyes. I hope there is a big and boisterous crowd there Saturday.
Go Buckeyes!
Thanks to those who have taken time to check into this blog since I took time out for Christmas and New Year travels to Ohio. Happy New Year to you all.
I have to say how concerned I am about the men’s team at this time. After such a promising start with big wins over Miami, Notre Dame and Butler (Ask a Xavier fan about it if you doubt the quality of Ohio State’s defeat of the Bulldogs) the wheels have began to show wear and tear. The Buckeyes lost David Lighty to injury and Anthony Crater to his dissatisfaction with how he saw his future at Ohio State playing out. Losing Crater from the Buckeye playing rotation was a slightly significant debit.
But, it turns out, David Lighty meant a lot more to Ohio State’s overall ability to compete than anyone could have guessed. David’s presence on the floor for the Buckeyes allowed them to pressure teams defensively and, also, provided continuity for it’s offense. The lesson learned should be that playing the game of basketball well, for it’s participants seeking to function as a team, goes far beyond scoring points. It’s not a stretch of the imagination to comprehend that most Ohio State fans, who pay varying degrees of attention to it’s basketball teams, watched Lighty struggle on offense early this season and dubbed him a sorry basketball player. A player who had not improved a single bit on offense since last season. One who should have played football instead of basketball in college.
Turns out David Lighty’s on court contributions to the winning style Ohio State had established early in the year were absolutely a major reason why Ohio State was playing so well. Without Lighty, Ohio State was man handled IN Columbus by West Virginia, was fortunate to defeat (on the back of Jon Diebler) Iowa at home, and then, in the last 2/3 of the game Saturday, stood around and watched Minnesota, in the Gophers’ Williams Arena home, teach it a lesson about how a basketball TEAM works together.
Turns out the things Lighty did on court that didn’t show up in the boxscore were as important as any of the numbers that did. Ohio State is nowhere the same team without it’s captain.
I think the Buckeyes are in major trouble. I think an upper division in conference finish by Ohio State is definitely in doubt. And, I have to say, I feel Ohio State’s chances to of earning a spot in the NCAA tournament [Hello NIT 
] are not great at this point.
Ohio State’s current 08/09 team reminds me too much of the 07/08 version. Right now, the Buckeyes are unorganized defensively and against WVU and UMINN, could not respond at all or well enough to runs made by opponents, in order to give itself a chance to win. Offensively, the post position is not producing and the Buckeyes are taking a whole lot of bad shots. Unless a point guard steps up soon to run this offense, and that seems extremely doubtful, efficient point production is a total dream.
Worst of all, I get this bad feeling the Buckeyes are going to mirror last year’s team in not being able to win significant games down the stretch of conference play. The NCAA tournament committee does take into account momentum one way or another heading into tournament competition. If the Buckeyes are struggling to win versus top Big 10 teams at the point, and are on the bubble anyway, then that’s one more nail in the coffin.
There is hope, of course. Forward Nicola Kecman will finally be eligible to play Tuesday at MSU. And, hopefully, Lighty’s broken metatarsal bone will heal fully in time for him to get back on court at the end of the season.
But, right now, there is tough sledding ahead and lots of bumps and bruises are coming Ohio State’s way.
Count on the Buckeyes to get thrashed against the Spartans in East Lansing. And then, from there, let’s see where things head as Ohio State looks to regroup and come together as a unit again. Every single team in the conference can beat Ohio State. Yeah, I think even IU is going the Buckeyes a scare. I can’t say the same about Ohio State as far as having the ability to defeat everyone else.
Ohio State cannot compete for 40 minutes with the upper level Big 10 teams, of which the Buckeyes are no longer a part of, and it showed last night as the Buckeyes fell 67-58 in East Lansing to the MSU Spartans. I’ll leave you to determine who those upper level teams are but it will be a fact in my mind until this player depleted team shows me otherwise.
Yet, a sssmall sliver of hope, in the person of BJ Mullens, shone through last night to give me hope this team may still be able to manufacture enough wins to make the NCAA tournament. And that’s the only hope I have left for this season as I feel the Buckeyes have zero chance to win the conference title.
But, back to Mullens fine play last night, BJ came up with a 16 total points scored effort on an 8-14 performance from the field. Finally, the Buckeyes were able to get BJ shot attempts on the block and his constant success there gave teammates good reason to continue feeding him the rock. BJ also pulled down 6 rebounds, blocked two shots while altering a number of others, and didn’t commit a single turnover.
It’s just one game, though, and one has to go no further than BJ’s frosh teammate, William Buford, to understand a 1st year player’s, unless you are Greg Oden or Mike Conley, contributions are going to rise and fall in quality just like any of the roller coasters one can ride at Cedar Point’s Sandusky, Ohio based amusement park. These two guys are no different. William is beginning to level off a little more lately but BJ is still, until he proves otherwise, going to have games where he just doesn’t seem able to get it done.
Last night, though, BJ was definitely on his game. Part of the reason was, MSU chose to play behind him a lot and he was able to get good position on either side and stay on balance in order to get a good look at the basket to get a makeable shot off. Case in point, how many airballs did BJ shoot last night? Can’t recall that many, you say? That’s because there might have been one, but generally all of BJ’s shots were on line and soft enough to have a chance to go in. Contrast that with the many games played this season where BJ literally has thrown the ball at the basket and watched it go all the way over it (or they dented the rim or backboard), without any chance, therefore, to convert the attempt.
If BJ can establish himself in the post as he did last night, more often than not, and that’s a big if, as the conference schedule rolls along, then the Buckeyes might just crawl above .500. And if that occurs, I feel the Buckeyes will have earned an NCAA Tournament invite.
BUT, that’s a really big “if” right now.
I’ll add more later today, along w/other items of interest.
Go Bucks!
According to the book “The Golden Age of Ohio State Basketball”, by Lee Caryer, Fred Taylor used to say to his teams “Why don’t you peel it and eat it?”. What Fred Taylor apparently meant when saying that was “Do something constructive with the basketball.”
Now that’s an old school type of thing to say. I can just see Thad Matta saying that to BJ Mullens in practice or a game. Can’t you? LOL Imagine the look on BJ’s face as he tries to figure out what coach has just said to him.
The style/content/subject matter which Fred Taylor chose to deliver that particular point to his players doesn’t appear to have much relevance to today’s game or to today’s player, but the message sure does.
Think about Kosta Koufos’s one and only season at Ohio State. How many times do you think Thad Matta wanted to say to KK last season, “Do something constructive with the basketball, Kosta!”. Bet you it was just a few hundred times. That’s all.
Part of what gives basketball, sports, and life in general pizzaz are various items of interest which contain little nuggets of truth concerning this or that. Think about it. What makes comedy funny? The observations a good comic makes on stage to his audience are true. That’s why people laugh at the jokes a comedian tells. They recognize something about people and situations people find themselves in when they hear a good joke as something that rings true in their mind.
Basketball is no different. It’s not often humorous, of course, but those who love the game recognize what is interesting about it and rings true.
I’ve identified this as something I enjoy hearing, remembering, and collecting from the game of basketball and am making it a separate category to share with those who read the ghostofstjohnarena blog.
I hear them stated all the time by the various former players and coaches, who are now employed as broadcasters for college basketball games. They make these observations and share them with the broadcast audience and I always feel I know a little more about what makes the game tick after hearing them said.
So, watch for them every so often here. I watch a lot of basketball and and I’ve started trying to write them down as I hear ‘em. Also, there are tons of them in print already and I’ll research those and add ‘em on.
Feel free to comment concerning any you hear, too, and I’ll make sure I place them in the next post I make in this category.
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Here are some I’ve picked up this season already.
Clark Kellogg – On rebounding techniques “Over the back is legal. On the back is a foul.”
Jay Bilas from a quote by Bobby Knight – Understanding how to play “You can teach a player to look, but you can’t teach them to see.”
Jay Bilas – defensive technique – “A pass discouraged is just as good as a pass denied.”
Bobby Knight – Free throws – “I always wanted my teams to make more free throws than the other team even takes.”
Jay Bilas on Bob Huggins – discipline – “If you make a mistake in practice they have a treadmill…he’ll put you on it for one minute and turn it up as high as it can go. If you fall off it’s your fault.”
Jay Bilas – negative correlation for committing common fouls against a great shooter – “You never want to foul a great shooter in a common foul situation. Don’t want them to get to the line and see that ball go through the basket. That just gets a great shooter going.”
Jay Bilas – Out of bound plays – “Out of bounds plays are like special team plays in football.”
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Stay tuned – more later in this are…whenever that may be.
Go Bucks!
I don’t know a thing about BJ Mullens other than he’s a 7-0 plus freshman basketball player who plays for my university’s team, The Ohio State Buckeyes. Okay that’s a lie, I know a little bit more than that about Mullens but that’s beside the point. The point is, I don’t know him personally.
However, since I am an Ohio State basketball fan, I immediately began thinking about BJ this morning after reading an article in today’s USAToday sports section titled “Biedrins pulls off inside job”, which tells the story of Andris Biedrins, a 6-11 245 lb post who plays for the NBA’s Golden State Warriors.
Biedrins is a 5th year player for the Warriors who has earned the rank of captain for Golden State. (Quick, who was the last Buckeye player who played for GS-W? Answer at the end) The focus of the article is shone upon the idea Andris has worked himself into an underdog position to make the league All-Star team. And what is interesting about Biedrins being in this position is that, in marked contrast to the offensive skills BJ Mullens has recently shown he possesses, he is extremely limited offensively.
Subtle words, appropriate for inclusion in ghost’s next “Why don’t you peel it and eat it?” installment, describing his offensive abilities, or lack thereof, were penned by writer Jon Saraceno for this article. Those words are “He prefers to troll in the paint”, which is another way of saying…He can’t shoot. Biedrins says about his ability to score “Eventually I can develop a little jump shot. My hook shot is good. But that’s about it.
Whereas, BJ Mullens developing strength as a player seems strongly to lie in his ability to score in a host of creative ways on the block in the post area. He pulled off a Hakeem (The Dream) Olajuwon like post move versus Minnesota this past Saturday, where he spun toward the center of the lane, upfaked, came back around, settled down again in his starting position, and then rolled baseline for an up and under the basket conversion of a spin off the bank board shot. As the cool kids say today, that was sick. And that’s just one example of what he has shown he can do on an inconsistent basis. And it’s a move very few young basketball post players cna successfully manuever through. In East Lansing, versus MSU, BJ scored with a diversity of moves that was impressive. Someday, he’s going to be a real load. Buit that’s far in the distance for this kid who looks about 15 in the face.
So why, if it’s obvious these guys aren’t cut from the same cloth as players, does it appear to me that Biedrins is a good role model for BJ? Well, that idea can be located in the avenues Biedrins has traveled to make himself into a better than just serviceable player at the professional level.
Here’s the crux of the matter stated by his GS-W’s head coach Don Nelson. “The easy way out is you can shoot the ball as a big man, but then you don’t learn to do the other things. He’s just the opposite – he does all the other things. He’s never going to to be a shooter because he doesn’t have a good shot. He’s not comfortable shooting. I’ve never even seen him shoot a jump shot.
Well, maybe, in the preseason. Once.”
See, Biedrins and Mullens are polar opposites. If you’ve watched Mullens play, you’ll most likely agree with me, I feel.
Saraceno writes that Biedrins spent his first few years in the league, after being drafted in the 11th spot by the Warriors out of Latvia as a raw talent, trying to learn the basics of what most young players consider as the lowly arts of defense, rebounding, shot blocking, and free throws. Apparently he learned those lessons well enough to find himself being closely monitored for inclusion in the All-Star game this season. As well, he led the NBA in field-goal percentage last season with a 62.6% showing, making himself over into an offensive player who is lethal on dump-offs, put-backs, and dunks. This season he is third in rebounding at 12.1 a game. And first for total offensive rebounds. Biedrins has had six games this season with at least 15 points and 15 rebounds. Wow. I’m impressed with that. And 20-plus rebounds in two games this season. Even more impressed. Andris states “It’s important that I prove I can be one of the top rebounders in the league.”
I wonder what it is BJ has in mind as important to prove?
ESPN NBA analyst Hubie Brown says this about Biedrins in the article “He plays with flair. He has good hands and the ability to take physical punishment to get offensive rebounds, which a lot of guys shy away from. Kids like him you’re a fan of. You know what you’re going to get every night – he plays extremely hard and he does everything within his power to help you win.”
In my opinion, Andris Biedrins is a great role model for BJ Mullens to emulate for the manner in which he thinks about himself as a player. Like I said, I don’t BJ Mullens any better than I know Ric (The Nature Boy) Flair, Queen Elizabeth, or president elect, Barack Obama (A basketball fan by the way). Which means I don’t know him. I’d like to think BJ has Biedrins mindset already. But certainly, if Ohio State’s promising young center wants to be the best player he can be, he could do worse than taking on the attitude of a guy like Biedrins who has made himself what he is by identifying the abilities/skills, no matter the glamour points they carry, he needs to get better and then devoting himself to mastering them.
Ohio State Buckeye fans are just now beginning to see Mullens unfolding the promise many experts said Mullens possessed as he entered Ohio State as a 1st year player this season. We heard all about his size, athleticism, and foot work and touch around the rim. And yep, he’s starting to show he knows how to use those attributes well.
But when all is said and done this season, I’d like for BJ Mullens to show himself, his team, his coaches, and the Ohio State fans who will always support him, he has worked his backside off to, as Biedrins has learned how to in front of him at a much higher level, “play extremely hard and do everything he can to help his team win.”
That’s my hope, wish, and dream for BJ Mullens this season.
Thanks to Andris Biedrins for providing a template I have noticed which could be useful to Ohio State’s young post player. Next time I get a chance to watch the Warriors you can bet I will be paying attention to him. He’s the kind of player I love to watch. Guys like Andris Biedrins have a portion less of ability to being with. And kids like BJ Mullens have almost all the talent that is available to start with. And, as it is said, those kind of people are blessed with attributes that can’t be taught. It’s also oft stated, it’s what all of us do with what we have been given that really matters. Andris certainly has an extraordinary amount of drive to be a great basketball player. I don’t know but maybe that can’t be taught, either. It’s peculiar to think about but maybe those of us who have a portion less of ability to begin with sometimes seem most able to be able to fight through barriers in order to be successful at something they love. Maybe that’s the key, do we love most what we are seemingly most gifted to do in life?
(Did that make any sense? I’d better stop now. I’m starting to sound like Carrie Bradshaw. Maybe I should change the name of my blog to “Basketball In the City”? Just kidding. )
Anyway, if I really did know BJ Mullens, it would be interesting to see if he had the same kind of drive Biedrins has.
As an Ohio State basketball fan, I sure hope so for this season, and I hope so for Mullens as he progresses throughout life. And through the rest of his career as a basketball player.
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Question – Who was the last Buckeye player who was a member of the Golden State Warriors? None other than former Wehrle high school star, Lawrence Funderburke.
I was looking, at the Draft Express site, for information on former Buckeye Ivan Harris, a member of the D-League Erie BayHawks. As I was doing so I came across this amusing paragraph written by site CEO, Jonathan Givony, concerning this season’s D-League Showcase.
I can see it now, the D-League Showcase sounds alot like a basketball version of Laurel and Hardy, The Keystone Cops and Fat Albert (The old school cartoon version) movies or shows all rolled in one.
Here’s the quote:
“It can actually be quite entertaining if you come here with the right mindset—a classic example would be Carl Elliott taking an in-bounds pass and running the wrong way to score on his own basket, before being redirected by his entire team jumping up and down from the bench to make him realize his mistake. He promptly turned around, drove all the way to the other end completely unopposed and scored easily—a classic D-League play.”
Sounds good to me.
Ohio State’s women’s team defeated Wisconsin in Madison tonight by a score of 55-42. In the pre-game show, the telecast showed the Wisconsin head coach (For the life of me I can’t remember her name – hey, go look her name up if you are that interested ) had written “Biggest game of the year” on the chalkboard. She was shown giving the Badger team a peptalk and at the end said something coachy like “Hey, let’s go out and get this one”, direct from the coach’s pre-game pep talk message book unlucky page 13.
I just know she’s kicking herself now for not, also, mentioning something along the lines of “Uh, girls, maybe hit a few shots tonight, too, for me, okay?” because at one time late in the 2nd half the Badger team was throwing ‘em in the ocean at a reported deep in an Antarctic Sea based iceberg cold 22% from the field.
The peculiar thing about that just sickening Badger % was that I bet there had to be 10 shots they attempted that night, I call it Jon Diebler’s disease, where the ball did everything but crawl into the basket for two. Snake bit there luck at getting shots to fall they were. (Are there actually any snakes in Wisconsin?)
Ohio State didn’t really start any forest fires on Anarctica either as they were at 36% for the night at that same juncture. But they were effective at rebounding their own missed shots and that helped the Buckeyes immensely as they went on to win the contest.
Okay, too much about Wisconsin, even though I did think #30 for the Badgers was a real nice player. I should clarify that by noting she was the best at getting her shots to miss by just a little. (I wonder if Wisconsin was actually playing a wierd form of H-O-R-S-E? Nah.)
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Okay, here are some Buckeye highlights, and/or my observations of tonight’s Buckeye road win:
A. Those of you who know me know I have a deep appreciation for the game of Buckeye freshman point guard, Samantha Prahalis. So I was waiting on her to show me a new move or two tonight along with her usual ability to enhance the overall game of her teammates, ala Magic Johnson.
But I was a little disappointed in SP tonight. Don’t get me wrong, she converted a lovely step back jump shot from the right baseline that was truly new and, overall, she played well, although her offense wasn’t really there. But the anticipation of situations, plus the timing and pace on her passes were there so I was entertained from that angle. She harassed on defense and was always aggressive, setting the tone for her teammates. I guess the problem with Samantha for me is that she holds so much promise of making the breathtaking play that when she is merely very good, I find myself wishing for more.
Other items of note concerning my favorite Buckeye player:
Samantha made what looked like a lazy pass (Say it ain’t so, Samantha) to Ashlee Trebilcock in the early part of the second half. Jim Foster called an immediate timeout, right away put his hand around her far shoulder, and started lecturing her. I guessed that SP was doing her best to listen to her coach while looking down at the floor but that she wasn’t exactly happy to have to do so. Foster finished speaking with something emphatic at the end and SP appeared to, in a disagreeing manner, start to try to explain her position when the timeout commercial cut in.
I bet those two have some interesting discussions sometimes as SP is full of spit and vinegar. If you’ve never seen her play, you would have realized that tonight in the first half when she screamed to the rafters after being called for a ticky tack foul. Her motivation seems fully realized, on court.
The announcers payed Samantha a big compliment near the end of the second half when they stated “She’s amazing. Her demeanor. Her poise. Everything. She’s like a senior”. But, ladies, she’s only a freshman. Make a note of it, please, ’cause Buckeye fans want her around for the full four years.
One last thing I bet Samantha is secretly proud of, she can palm a basketball with one hand. When I was a youngster and started playing, it was always cool if you could do that. (I never could unless I wet the ball down first so I’m jealous.)
Hey, do you suppose coach Foster would let her transfer to the men’s team this season? They sure could use her at the point.
B. Jantel Lavender was her usual self. Had a Double/Double. I’ve decided she loves the right block the most. Her shoulder level jump hook there is a beauty after she dents the rim with it the first time or so. (That seems to happen in most of the games I’ve watched this season)
C. Star Allen also had a Double/Double. She, Lavender, and Alice(?) Walker wore Wisconsin out tonight in rebounding, blocking shots, playing high-low with each other, and scoring the ball. The announcers stated she was really a guard in a post’s body. I think Star heard that said and decided to show it was true on one move where she drove to the rim off to the right of the lane, while actually converting a layup from under the bankboard while sweeping under it. That was a very nice move. Star really is a skilled player which is belied by her size on the court.
D. Ashlee Trebilcock showed me something tonight. She is definitely played up the role of a senior in leadership this evening. Near the end of the game, with Wisconsin somehow still within contact with the Buckeyes, and the Buckeyes needing to be solid in manufacturing points, you could tell she realized that when stepping just inside the free throw line into the lane to get a good look and a shot off. Ashlee was fouled and just missed getting the “and one” foul shot. She then converted both free throws to help the Buckeyes stay in a solid lead with time running down.
Later, she showed some real patience in manuevering off the dribble to eventually be rewarded with an uncontested layup.
Nice.
E. I’m convinced Shavelle Little could pick the pocket of Harry Houdini even if he had time to prepare for her trying to do so. She is that good on defense.
F. Based on tonight’s game, I’m beginning to think Cherise Daniels might turn out to be a very good offensive player for Ohio State at some point. She is very clever at slipping past a defender while driving the ball. Made some shots tonight, too.
I also noticed Sarah Schulze, Maria Moeller, Brittany Johnson and Alice Walker on the floor tonight for the Buckeyes. Of those players Schulze and Walker’s efforts will probably turn up in the stat sheet but they all did their jobs.
This team sure seems more cohesive since the last time I watched them play. I hope to get the opportunity to watch them again soon. Nice road win, Buckeyes!
Please forgive my Opie Taylor reference (I do live in the great state of North Carolina you know) but I couldn’t resist. Do you recall the Andy Griffith Show episode where a bully is taking Opie’s lunch money each day and Andy suggests Opie should stand up for himself? And the idea of standing up for himself eventually leads Opie to the idea that he might have to fight the bully. Opie then asks his dad if getting hit is going to hurt. Andy replies something along the lines of “Not one bit.” Things progress. As Opie walks out the door of the sheriff’s office that fateful morning he asks his father “Really, pa, it won’t hurt a bit?” Andy’s reply is a big hug and that’s all because he knows he can’t step in and fight his child’s battles. So, Opie does get in a fight with the bully and he is triumphant. He recieves a punch on the eye and a black eye, to boot, for his efforts, of which he is very proud to display to his father. When all was said and done, Opie states “And you know what, pa? It didn’t hurt one bit.”
How does the above, classic, old time sitcom episode relate to tonight’s Ohio State game versus Houston Baptist? Well, because no matter what, playing this game ain’t going to hurt the Buckeyes one bit and may end up helping some team situations quite a bit. And if we viewers are good, Aunt Bea might even bake us an apple pie or something if she’s feeling wild and wacky. How about that!!!
Although, I suppose, the validity of the reference falls apart because one cannot exactly characterize HB as a bully, I still enjoyed writing it that way. Okay. Well, then, move along folks…there’s nothing more here to see.
First off, look for Ohio State to easily defeat the visitors. HB has won exactly one game this season. Any win at all can’t help but provide a tonic for the Buckeyes who have gone through a difficult stretch of games recently. If nothing else, it will restore a little bit of confidence to a team that needs it right now.
Secondly, if the Buckeyes can get up early and stay up, maybe both Jon Diebler and Evan Turner, who both average more MPG than only two other Big Ten players, can get some much needed rest.
Next in line, c’mon, Thad Matta, let’s see 6-8 1st yr. junior college transfer Nicola Kecman in action for the 1st time this season for at least 10 minutes or so. Any new bodies at all which can be thrown into the fray on a game by game basis are welcome. That aspect alone is worth the price of admission.
Moving along, tonight’s game should go a long way toward getting a feel for which direction BJ Mullens intends to go as far as continuing to upgrade (Who is it the entertainer which sings the “Upgrade U” song? Whoever it is, cue her here.) the level of quality of his play. I know I am on pins and needles waiting to see that.
Finally, Buckeye fans should get a chance to see more of Walter Offut tonight. Alright!
So, being truthful, tonight’s game might be pretty boring. But if you are a committed Buckeye basketball fan, you’ll be watching every second.
Let’s go Bucks!
Thumbs up to Nicola Kecman!
I still haven’t gotten to watch all of last night’s game yet but in the last 8 minutes or so I was able to sit down and view it I saw Nicola Kecman as a player who will eventually make this Ohio State team better.
What did I like like about him? Overall, I’d say I was impressed with his court presence. He had this air about him that was a good indication he thinks he belongs out there. That was the best thing. Gotta have confidence! He moved well, too, had good bounce in his step and in jumping, and looked like he could eventually mature into a pyysically strong competitor for Ohio State.
As far as what he actually did, there were two plays which impressed me. One, the pass he made for an assist under the basket, I think to Dallas Lauderdale (?), was nicely executed. He put it right on the money to the pass’s recipient. And secondly, I appreciated the touch and fluidity with which he scored on the short jumper he converted from the right baseline. He was wide open, more or less, so it should have been an easy attempt to score on, but this was this Kecman’s 1st game in a Buckeye uniform and he showed some poise on a shot he could have, otherwise, missed, if he were at all nervous or trying too hard to impress. Those two are it.
Finally, the tip-dunk he made was a matter of being in the right place at the right time. And I wish he would have converted a three, also, but I’m a greedy person in that respect.
So, good start, Nicola Kecman. I’m looking forward to your wearing a Buckeye uniform for the rest of this season and the two after it.
Just don’t go anywhere near any pro leagues when you travel home, alright?
Just kidding, Nicola.
The Ohio State men’s team is on ESPN and plays home to Indiana Tuesday, with a game on the BTN Saturday in Ann Arbor. Both games begin at 8 pm. The game at UM, I feel, will serve notice whether the Buckeyes have anything left in the tank for this season.
The Ohio State women’s team plays at 0-5 Illinois tonight on the BTN at 8 pm and hosts a 3-2 Minnesota team, also shown on the BTN at 8 pm, Thursday.
I’ll have more on these games and other items of interest tomorrow.
OSU Krushes the Illini 67 – 33
If you needed further evidence of the abrupt style change engineered by Ohio State’s head coach Jim Foster when he signed Samantha Prahalis for the Buckeye 2009 recruiting class, installed her as the starting point guard and became an up tempo team, then you should have watched last night’s 67-33 annihilation of Illinois in Champaign last evening.
I don’t have a lot time to go through it all but in a contest that couldn’t have been a whole lot of fun to play in if you were on the Illinois team, it was, on the other hand, such a fun and enjoyable game from a Buckeye fan’s perspective to watch. And I think the Ohio State team had to have had a great time on court last night, pressuring and running their opponents into submission.
Star Allen, Jantel Lavender, Ashlee Trebilcock, Samantha Prahalis and Brittany Johnson all took turns displaying team excellence last night.
I’ll add much, much more about this game as I am able tomorrow. Maybe a little more today, too.
But the outcome of this contest outlines how important it is for the Buckeyes to come back ready play Thursday in Columbus versus Minnesota. The Gophers have been known to play Ohio State tough over the years. It should be a competive matchup for the Buckeyes.
Anyway, congratulations Buckeyes, on the easy but well earned win over Illinois!
I’m anxious to get to a literal pile of observations concerning Ohio State’s women’s team 32 point win over Illinois Monday night. here’s the beginning of it. I’ll add on as is possible today:
1. Almost every OSU player who saw time Tuesday night was excellent. Watching this year’s team, offensively, is such a shock to me compared to other years as coach Foster allows for a certain amount of mistakes to be made in a high risk, high reward set up. Very cool to view for that difference.
2. To connect with the headline title, can you guess who each of the player’s are who fit the five descriptions I listed?
a. Jet Fuel in transition is a term Big Ten studio host, Stephanie White, gave to Samantha Prahalis, when describing SP’s game. White also labeled Prahalis with terms such as “Flashy…Fiesty…Instinctual…and Jason Kidd-like”, said designations I happen to agree with.
Sammy displayed those attributes all night versus Illinois. As usual, I see something special almost every time I watch her play for the Buckeyes.
b. Brianna Johnson hit almost every single shot she took Tuesday versus her home state school, Illinois. I haven’t read a single news report or looked at a box score but I have her with 14 points with a 4/4 effort from behind the three point line included. After the game. coach Foster stated, to commentator Mary Murphy, about Brianna’s results after the game with this praise “I’m pleased anytime a kid comes into the gym 45 minutes before and is in a deep sweat when practice starts. You know, I think that’s how you get better in this game and she committed to that.”
Obviously, Brianna’s coach Foster would like Johnson’s role at Ohio State to be one of the kids who is a threat to score from outside to stretch the court in order for Lavender to be allowed more room to manuever inside. It would work so well, in this team’s effort to improve, if Brianna could continue to hit those long bombs, which were often set up by Prahalis penetrating the middle of the Illinois defense. We know Sammy is going to get in the middle. Will Brianna be able to consistently add to Trebilcock’s total made shots from three as the season progresses? Thursday night, wouldn’t you agree, would be a good night for Johnson to begin to keep answering “Yes” to that question?
c. Star Allen’s best move this season, as a student athlete, in relation to her Ohio State teammates, is her remaining eligible to play on into the Big Ten schedule. I don’t think it can be quantified what she means to her teammates being successful on court. In order to have a special season, this Ohio State team needs her versatility and, sometimes astonishing, playmaking ability every game to win the Big Ten and, for once, to knock the socks off the rest of the collegiate basketball world with a STRONG showing in the NCAA tournament. Ohio State has only lost a overtime contest to #8 Auburn on their home court and to what I think is probably still a highly rated (I don’t have the rankings in front of me) North Carolina (Top 5?)squad in, a coin flip for 3/4 of the game, Columbus. With Allen along for the ride the rest of this season it looks good for the Buckeyes.
Star is a unusually gifted basketball player who can play inside or out, pass the ball, defend, rebound, drive the ball, post up, and make shots of all types. She’s very quick for her size, and with that sturdy body she is a matchup nightmare for opponents.
d. What else can be said about Jantel Lavender that someone already hasn’t? I can’t think of anything new to say about her. She is steady and spectacular and is the diamond that sparkles and cuts opponents the most each and every game. Everything revolves around her, She makes everyone on the Ohio State team better just by being on the court. You can count on her to put up conference MVP numbers every night with points, rebounds and defense. Buckeye fans may be hard pressed in the future to ever see another combination like Lavender and Prahalis working in concert together. Enjoy her, Buckeye fans!
e. I’ve come to appreciate Ashlee Trebilcock’s set of abilities and intangibles this season. If Prahalis is flashy, Lavender spectacular and steady, Allen versatile, then Trebilcock represents that aspect of Ohio State that keeps the wheels bolted to the wagon over the rough road which exists within each contest. She is a patient builder of positive results for the young team she is a senior member of.
Flavor of the game
Looking at all I have compiled about Ohio State’s women’s game versus Illinois Monday night I realize I can’t put it all down. So, I’m going to attempt to, at least, chronicle the flavor of the game in this post.
First off, the Big Ten Network joins other networks in asking participating universities to allow their players to introduce their game starting teammates.
Ohio State reserve post Andrea Walker led off the telecast for the Buckeyes. Here’s how she introduced the Buckeye starting 5:
(These are as close to possible to how both players delivered these)
……First off, we have “Little Sammy Prahalis”. Next, there’s “Chevy” Shavelle Little. Then, we have double zero A.T. Ashley Trebilcock. “SuperStar” Allen follows and Jantel Lavender.
Forward Lacey Simpson showed a strong personality in portraying her teammates:
…Lydia McCulley “Bam, Bam, Thank you ma’am. Macie Blinn, Macie run all night 3. Chelsea Graham Scoopalicious All Day. Lacey Simpson Bam Bam strong arms, up in your face, steals all night. All America coming at you all five Jenna Smith.
Kids…LOL.
Illinois definitely won the pre game attitude portion of the telecast. Too bad none the Illini women’s words ended up fitting any of their players after they played the game. But, it was in good fun, I’m sure, so what?
I admit to being leary of this 0-5, in conference, Illinois squad before the game started and I even wrote down “A little trickle of the bad feeling creeping in at this point” at the 12-7 Illinois advantage mark of the first half. That was written somewhere in the 1st 10 minutes of the game but then the wheels feel completely off for Illinois from, basically, that point on.
To that point, Illinois was sticking close with tough defense on Ohio State and by making shots here and there to add to how it started the game off. Ohio State, though, gradually began to take control behind it’s defense, which caused long misses by a stymied Illinois offense, rebounding and a running game that put together a 22-14 lead at the 5:30 mark.
Samantha Prahalis was in the middle of the run with spectacular point play. Three plays in a row started the avalanche that eventually buried the non Fighting Illini.
On the first, Sammy, who had earlier in the game had successfully gone behind the back while surrounded by three Illini players, hit Brianna Johnson with a 1/3 court length no look pass for a layup. Sammy must command a lot of attention from opposing teams, with good reason, as Illinois had three players in between she and Johnson before she dished the dime ball to Johnson on a line. Just before passing it (just beyond the half court line) all three Illinois players chose to forget Johnson was behind them and streaking toward the basket to turn and simultaneously face Prahalis as she pushed the ball up court on the run. And they paid for it, too, as the split second they did that, Prahalis burned them with the, turn my body to the sideline as I do it, no look assist.
The next play was even more fun to watch. Illinois missed another three, Prahalis rebounded, dribbled three times and threw the most beautiful timing pass pass 2/3 length of the court to Jantel Lavender for an easy layup. It was a great job by Lavender to get that deep on Illinois so quickly. To convert the pass, Samantha had to drop the ball over the head of closely trailing Illinois defender who was working to intercept the ball, if thrown, from a slight angle. The rainbow nature of the pass was perfectly drawn. It was a snap throw by Prahalis as she rebounded, was able to just get her head up to look downcourt, surveyed what she saw, kicked her legs up slightly off a little hop to gain power, and then pulled the trigger on a pass any Buckeye qb would be beamish about pulling off. Touchdown all the way!
Big 10 Network commentator Mary Murphy critically remarked about the Illinois play at this point, remarking at this point “Illinois formula of giving up easy fast break points…you get what you pay for if you are Illinois…yout take long 3s, create long rebounds, and opportunities for Ohio State and Sammay Prahalis to get out and get their track shoes on. The formula of missed shots is working in the wrong direction.”
The third play that began sealing the lid of the Illinois coffin shut came off a secondary break opportunity where Prahalis penetrated the lane to the left, dishing the ball to Maria Moeller under the rim to the left. Moeller instantly caught sight of Jantel Lavender sliding into sight and Maria deftly dealt the ball to her for a score. This is one example of the positive flow that seems to be contagious for Ohio State this season. I’m loving it!
Illinois was somewhat successful at staying close to Ohio State until half but the Buckeyes detonated in the second half, completely tearing through a searching for the emergency unit to stop the bleeding Illinois team during that time. The EMT’s never showed for the home squad and the final ended at 67-36 Ohio State as time mercifully ran out.
Highlights of the second half include Johnson’s shooting, Little’s defense, Allen’s all round play, Lavender’s stylings in taking the ball at the basket, Trebilcock’s offensive patience and Prahalis’s many assists. Heck, she had some turnovers, too, but even those are fun to watch. Other Buckeyes who got into the game include Cherise Daniels, (First name?) Jackson and Sarah Schultze. Congratulations on great play by everyone.
I’ve got to praise Maria Moeller at this point. The past few times I’ve seen her play she and Prahalis have been a good combo, one which I hope Foster continues to use this season. Maria’s ability to handle the ball and make the next pass in a sequence towards a score obviously complements Sammy so well, and is beneficial to the Buckeye team.
I’ve still a whole lot to add from this game. Guess I better hurry before tomorrow night’s contest versus Minnesota arrives. Check back for more today on this game and for a roundup of the Ohio State men’s game versus Indiana last night, too.
GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO BUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCCCKKKSSS!
1. Davidson coach Bob McKillop – On star player Stephen Curry functioning as an efficient passer/assist maker -
Named after baseball’s Seattle Mariners singles-hitting outfielder Ichiro Suzuki, Ichiro passes are assist attempts where McKillop primarily wants Curry to connect with “singles” rather than trying fancy home run heaves. (last 13 words attributed to the 01-15-09 edition of the Charlotte Observer)
2. Miked MSU coach Tom Izzo to one of his on court players during this past Sunday’s Kansas at MSU game on CBS – I don’t know exactly what it means but it’s fun to think about (I believe it’s a defensive reference) – “Way to shrink the court, baby”
3. CBS commentator Clark Kellogg – What visiting teams need to do to compete, especially when playing at MSU – “Certain things you got to do when you come on the road. You got to take care of the ball and you got to get good shots. …low turnovers with high quality shots, and then you got to compete on the glass. You can’t get dominated on the glass because if you don’t handle those areas then you really have no chance to compete in a game against a good solid team on their home floor.”
4. Big Ten Network commentator Mary Murphy (Ohio State at Illinois contest) – Hit some three point shots – “Be a pretty team.”
5. ESPN analyst Jay Williams – The nature of playing defense which makes winning a championship possible – “A coach once told me, in order to win championships you have to play defense w/passion. Nitty-gritty passion defensively.
6. ESPN game analyst Steve Lavin (Indiana at Ohio State game) – not being a selfish offensive team, making the extra pass – “Sharing the sugar.”
7. Al McGuire with a blast from the past – On allowing his players to disagree with him verbally during games “People can’t understand my players screaming back at me, but it’s healthy. Also, I notice that the screaming always comes when we’re 15, 20 ahead. When it’s tied, they’re all listening carefully to what I have to say.”
(I’ve got quite a few more of these piled up, so if you are enjoying thinking about the statements and the various personalities who state them, then check back in the next few days and I’ll provide another edition of “Why don’t you peel it and eat it?”.
To me it was easy to figure out why Ohio State had such an easy time more often than not successfully bringing rain from above on the 13 of 24 three point shots they connected on Tuesday evening in an, as expected, less than thrilling competition versus the Indiana Hoosiers. (“Bringing rain from three” refers to a nicely arched shot attempt, angled high enough to touch the clouds and bring rain as the shot eventually successfully drops into the basket for a score)
Confidence had everything to do with it.
This season’s Ohio State team is not exactly a juggernaut riding a huge wave of success on making three point shots. Yet, as the score reached 33-10 in favor of the Buckeyes, three players, Jon Diebler, Jeremie Simmons and William Buford had combined to convert 8 of their first 9 attempts for the good guys. And as the first half ended Ohio State had fallen off that pace only slightly with makes on 11 of 16 threes. That’s some good shootin’ Tex! For a team that, at times, can struggle with making three pointers this performance could show the way for the Buckeyes to get it going in a bigger way from out there during the next four difficult games Ohio State faces. Those games being home and away series versus Michigan, a visit to Illinois, and a home game versus MSU.
I feel a lot of the teams success the other night in shooting the ball to do in no small way with the confidence they had in catching and shooting and releasing the ball. I think Ohio State’s players knew this was a team they were going to drill and the relaxed “We’ve got this one in the bag. We’ll show you we’re at another level from these guys” manner in which they played showed up mostly through success in shooting the ball. Indiana isn’t a great defensive team and Ohio State’s kids knew it could be taken advantage of in that area. Overall, I thought it was easy to see Ohio State knew it could work it’s will, both offensively and defensively, onto Indiana in this contest.
I sure do hope the residue of that confidence carries over Saturday in Ann Arbor. If the Buckeyes could find a way to get an early road win in conference I feel that would give this team the feeling it has weathered the storm of losing captain David Lighty, as well as seeing Anthony Crater transfer, and a season ending injury to Nikola Kecman. Yes, winning an early conference road would set the Buckeyes up well to be able to survive this 1st difficult stretch of the conference schedule without finding itself in a hole. Spending the whole conference schedule trying to do that over and over again is hard on a team’s psyche. Just ask the 2007/2008 version of the Ohio State men’s basketball team.
It’s great to have almost no negatives to speak of when thinking back on what occured on court for the Ohio State men’s team while hosting Indiana Tuesday night in Columbus.
– While watching Ohio State knock down three after three after three after three after three (Okay, I’ll stop trying write that 13 times, one for every made three, as I’m making myself dizzy) this game I began to wonder what was different about this game which enabled them to be so successful at it.
First, Ohio State wasn’t playing last year’s Indiana team, that would be mostly a group of guys who were really at Indiana to, beside playing some hoops, to party, do drugs and not attend class very much, as well as help their highly, uh, ethical head coach, lose his job faster than he would have if they hadn’t been there to grease the tube he was sliding down. No, this season’s Hoosier team players all probably go to every single class and try really hard to create the perception IU basketball is back where it should be, at least from their usual mountain they stand on from which they look down at other programs who make it a habit to break the rules whenever they can. So I have to congratulate Tom Crean’s players on probably being about as squeaky clean as is possible. But what nobody in the Big Ten conference wants to be is the first program to have shake this particular Hoosier team’s hands to congratulate them after they pull out a win over somebody this season. They just aren’t very good right now. I sure don’t want the Buckeyes to be that team and I don’t think there’s much for me to worry about it in that direction. But if you want an indication as to why Ohio State was successful Tuesday, that’s the first place to look. All those threes aren’t going to go down versus UM, Illinois, and MSU.
Secondly, and what I’ll most look to see evidence of Saturday, is that the Buckeyes have settled down a little offensively and are getting more comfortable in playing together without Lighty and Crater as a part of the mix.
William Buford is ascending more and more as a shot maker. Jon Diebler keeps proving doubters wrong, albeit streakily, with his ability to score from beyond the three point stripe. BJ Mullens appears to have crossed over a threshold onto a higher level of play. Evan Turner continues along displaying MVP tendencies for Ohio State’s 08/09 program. Jeremie Simmons and Dallas Lauderdale are the next wave and they both have their moments when they show their worth to their coach, teammates and to the fans. Then, PJ Hill and Kyle Madsen contribute in whatever role they are asked to by the coaching staff and their value in eating up minutes to rest teammates cannot be understated.
More to come…
I can’t truly state what Shavelle Little’s defensive ability means to the women’s team at Ohio State but I bet her being out with an injury played a part in Minnesota’s ability to function offensively versus the Buckeyes. Every time Minnesota needed a basket they were able to get one as the Buckeyes just didn’t get enough out of their own defense to get stops when required. Vice versa, credit has to be given to The Golden Gophers, who displayed their own brand of fierce defense throughout the game. Heck, late in the game, Jantel had made just 5 shots. Now, that doesn’t seem like a whole lot for the All Ammerican caliber post player that she is but what’s harder to fathom is that she had 5 of 6, count ‘em, six attempts at that point. I don’t know how many points Jantel ended up with, it was quite a few, but most of her total output was earned at the free throw line. In short, there were just not many open looks for anyone on the Ohio State squad last night, and especially that was the case for Lavender. Way too many offensive possessions ended in turnovers or with shots taken that were plain bad all round. Again, credit goes to Minnesota.
What a tough bunch of players Minnesota has. The return match at UMinn should be a real battle again, too, especially so if Little is able to return to her role as defensive disrupter by then. Minnesota should feel good about getting it’s very first road victory ever at Ohio State but the Gophers should also temper their enthusiasm as what they were able to do last night as far as feeling compfortable offensively was easier because Little wasn’t there to help harass the perimeter ball handlers. As it was, Minnesota was bothered by the defensive pressure of Ohio State, often applying a forearm shiver to a Buckeye defender when the heat was too much. But they were also able to successively counterpunch versus the pressure and defeat it as necessary.
I felt bad for Buckeye point guard Sammy Prahalis, who in attempting an entry pass to an open Jantel Lavender with less than :30 seconds to go, wasn’t able to pin point it and threw it over her head. It looked like her intensity got the best of her and she forgot her usual touch and sailed it out of bounds. Seeing her talk with coach Foster as she stood on the sidelines after the play, you could tell how very disappointed she was with what she had done. But she has nothing to hang her head about as everybody out there in a Buckeye uniform came up short last night. In fact, Prahalis was instrumental in keeping the Buckeyes close in this game as her intensity burned bright as she competed extremely hard. I look at last night as a night she’ll learn from in a big way. She is a huge competitor and it shows on court. She fights like crazy for everything and I know I am going to thoroughly enjoy watching her play these next three and 1/2 years. She’s not making any buddies in conference, see Illinois player McCulley who took her out form behind Monday night, but she isn’t dirty one bit. I wished the Ohio State men’s team worked as hard and cared as much on court about winning.
Anyway, enough for now.
Go Bucks!
Like Agent 86, played in the GET SMART series by Don Adams and more recently in the film by Steve Carell, I find a good smack in the face is needed every so often to set me straight. After watching last night’s Ohio State win in Ann Arbor over a top 25 ranked UM team, I was never more happy to recieve one, either. In short, I had stopped believing these guys could get it done. I had stopped thinking adjustments and improvements could be made which would allow this team to put itself back into position to become a quality team. I was too ready to accept what I thought was the inevitable…which I felt placed the Buckeyes in jeopardy to not be able to compete in the Big Ten enough to have hope for an NCAA invitation to the tournament at the end of the season.
My one and only remaining hope was that the Buckeyes could somehow pull out a road victory over either UM in Ann Arbor or Illinois in Champaign. I’m glad they got this game versus the Wolverines last night as it takes the pressure off a team needing road wins in conference. Which, now that they have that 1st one against a good team, it adds confidence to a program that sorely needed it and allows them to let it all hang out at Illinois on Tuesday in the next road game., which will be televised at 7 pm by ESPN.
I am so proud of the veterans and the young guys who pulled it together in a difficult atmosphere, with a sold out crowd celebrating the return of the 1989 NC Wolverine team to be honored by the Michigan faithful.
Evan Turner got it done with clutch baskets, free throw shooting, defense, overall play and leadership. Way to go!
William Buford continued to show why he was so highly thought of as a recruit as did BJ Mullens. These two young guys are both stepping up their game. Mentally, they both seem to be right where they should be at this point. Anything less and Ohio State does not win that game last night.
Jeremie Simmons has a three game run now of quality play. He was better last night, overall, than I’d seen him all year. I love to see an Ohio State point guard who chooses to crease/gash a defense, when it’s available, and make it pay through a strong shot attempt or a kick out to an open spot up shooter. To me, that aspect is so important to any team looking to be successful in the long run. Good things happen when dribble drive penetration occurs from the perimeter.
Jon Diebler had a quiet scoring game but he was in there working at it. It’s good for the youngsters to see how a veteran handles games where the O isn’t working. I appreciate what Jon did do last night for that reason. He handled it like a veteran and stayed on an even keel.
Dallas had some good moments. So did Kyle Madsen.
I have to give some big praise to PJ Hill at this point. He isn’t ever going to be a standout but you can see the staff has worked with him on how to maximize his time on the floor for the Buckeyes. It’s easy for me to see PJ gets it. He has settled down to where he knows where the ball needs to be, when. And he hustles like no one else on the team. PJ, I’m glad you are a Buckeye. He gave up his body on that superlative block attempt he almost had clean and that kind of play has to put ypou in the moment if you are a teammate where you can say “If he can go at it like that, then I sure can, too”.
The coaching staff also comes in for praise. They adjusted to put UM in a spot where they weren’t comfortable offensively and it helped Ohio State through the rough patch time period that had previously spelled doom at Minnesota and at MSU.
Once again…Smack…Slap…what have you…Thanks Buckeyes! I needed that!
I haven’t mentioned it here yet but I want to go back a week and some change to when Bob Baptist wrote an article about Dallas Lauderdale as it pertains to his mother, Carol.
The title of the article was “Sacrifice part of Buckeye’s being”.
Many of you may know, 6-8 sophomore post, Dallas Lauderdale III’s (he of the 7-6 wingspan) mother Carol is afflicted with the awful disease of multiple sclerosis. The article details how close Dallas is to his mother and the things he has tried to do for her during his life, specifically the dedication he has shown in helping to take care of his mom and how that has affected him and helped define his identity as a person.
If you haven’t read it you should take the time to do so. If you chose to do so, you would be mighty proud of Dlaud as he has set a grand example of following the commandment which states “Honor thy father and mother”.
In the article Dallas states his extraordinary love and devotion he has for his mother by saying “She’s my mom. She’s my heart”.
Knowing things like this about the people that pass through Ohio State as athletes allows us from time to time to get a grip on reality. Sometimes we get a chance to understand what’s important in life isn’t really that connected to Ohio State sporting events and/or the teams playing them. Sometimes the kids and coaches teach us something about life without trying to. Just by the example they set. People like Joe Daniels, Tyson Gentry, and Brandon Fuss-Cheatham are people who have shown us a glimpse of how to live our lives under difficult circumstances. They know what’s truly important.
Through allowing us a glimpse of his and his mother’s, Carol, life, Dallas Lauderdale III also has set an example for us of how to live our own lives.
I won’t ever be able to look at Dallas again without thinking of his mom.
In honor of Barack Obama being inaugurated today as the 44th President of the United States, here are the names of the OSU basketball players who have worn #44 during their careers in Columbus.
Bryant Johnson, a 6-7 200 pound forward from Washington, DC heads the group. Bryant, from Springarn High School, played for Ohio State from 1979-1982.
Men = Joseph Newell 1971 / Jimmy Ratliff 1991-1994 / Clinton Smith 1993 / Nate Wilbourne 1993-1994 / Craig Barclay 1968-1970 / Jami Bosley 1996 / Darrel Brautigan 1966-1967 / Jerry Francis 1986-1989 / Daniel Gerhard 1972-1974 / Eric Hannah 1995, 1996-1997 / Robert Lucas 1977 / Tim Martin 2001-2002
Women = Journey Beard 1977 / Ann Dooley 1978 / Tracey Hall (Whose number 44 will be retired in a home game versus Northwestern in February) 1985-1988 / Lisa Negri 1993-1996 / Amy Tucker 1979-1982
Hail to the Chief – #44 – Barack Obama!
OSU vs Illinois women’s blurbs
Here are more observations and quotes I gathered while watching the Ohio State women’s team defeat Illinois in Champaign two games back.
1. Have you noticed the quick, low dribbles Sammy Prahalis uses to get her rhythm together at the free throw line before shooting the ball? Her routine is one of the more interesting I’ve watched over the years and it matches her personna perfectly. I especially like how she performs the Michael Jordan follow through at the end of her shot, holding her fingers pointed down until the shot finishes in or out of the rim to accentuate her concentration. She’s a very good free throw shooter who will only get better, I feel.
2. Prahalis rolls by defenders on the fast break like water over rocks in a creek bed.
3. For some reason, Illinois players Lacey Simpson and Jenna Smith performed at halftime for viewers of the Big Ten Network by free versing to the title subject of “What is Illinois basketball?”
Simpson stated “Illinois basketball is in your face, baby! (Shows her bicep)
Smith stated “Illinois basketball is giving the business. We do what we gotta do. You get in and you get out. You don’t take it personally. You just compete and get out.”
I find this kind of thing amusing to say the least. But I like it. It’s cool to see them being themselves and expressing whatever it is they want to say. I also know I could never do this kind of thing.
4. During the Illinois telecast Buckeye wing Brianna Johnson was shooting the ball extremely well and playing well, overall, in general, I thought. Game announcer/analyst Mary Murhpy mentioned something I did not know about Johnson during second half action. She said Johnson averaged 31 points a game for her entire career as a high school player in the state of Illinois. She finished with 4,031 points overall and was the first player ever to go beyond the 4,000 point mark in the state of Illinois.
I was disappointed in Johnson at the start of the season but having viewed her play recently I think she is on the verge of becoming a consistently good player week to week for the Buckeyes. Jim Foster was very complimentary of her in his post game remarks, comments I will add onto this site in another post.
5. While she was hitting almost every one of her shots in the game, Johnson repeatedly was the target of numerous Samantha Prahalis assist attempts in the second half. Mary Murphy mentioned she thought this was one of the effects of the WNBA where an offense keeps going to the hot shooter. Johnson kept getting open. Prahalis kept drawing the Illinois defense and kicking the ball out to her.
That’s myabe the first time I’ve heard the WNBA referenced that way in the women’s college game.
6. Prahalis is just on another plane as far as the effort she gives in a game. She has obviously learned the more she is active, is anticipating, and trying to determine if she can get something done or not during a game, the more she actually does accomplish things most players only dream of even trying. It’s this attribute of hers that makes her special. She is just always in that different gear that great players have. For whole games at a time.
7. Illinois #12 player, last name McCulley, committed an intentional foul on Prahalis in the second half of the game after Sammy had rebounded another long miss by an Illinois shooter, driven the 3/4 length of the floor to the rim, and was in the process of converting a layup. McCulley neglected to go for the ball and shoved Prahalis in the back. Sammy hit the floor and slid on her stomach to cushion the fall. As she was getting up you could tell Sammy loved it. Her teammates were pulling her to her feet and it was easy to seee that’s how she likes the game to be played. She plays with passion and instills passion in both teammates and opponents alike. And that makes for great basketball game viewing.
8. The Big 10 Network was advertising it’s “SuperFan” promotion during the game and at halftime the camera caught a lady who might have wanted to be considered for the designation. Comically, the lady was napping, wearing a orange and blue afro wig, and here’s the kicker, had a horse collar around her neck for what had to be a neck related medical condition. Great stuff!
9. If you like studied offensive manuevers, watch Ashlee Trebilcock work. From a Mary Murphy observation, she is always prepared to recieve the ball and so something with it. Either as a jump shooter, from deep or off the dribble in the mid range game, or in going all the way to the rim, she has studied how to get done what is possible from any point. She isn’t always able to deal with physical defense applied against her, both from individual and team standpoints, but Ashlee is a great complimentary player whose experience shows well.
10. In stealing the ball, Shavelle Little throws her body at her opponent’s feet just like a wrestler would to gain a lower leg hold. She is very quick in using this manuever and usually it’s a miracle if the opponent can react quick enough to avoid having the ball taken by her. Shavelle has the quickness of a cobra in this respect. She studies intently and strikes when it’s best to accomplish her goal.
11. Mary Murphy states that Star Allen has “velcro hands”.
12. Murphy compares Samantha Prahalis to former Penn State player, Susie McConnell. She said that Prahalis is alot like McConnell as McConnell was up and down the floor and exciting to watch whenever the ball is in her hands.
Coach Foster interview
This interview was conducted after the game and includes some great quotes about a number of items which reflect what is going on with the Buckeyes right now. Mary Murphy is asking the questions:
Talk about Star Allen and the difference she makes?…
Foster – Star’s a very versatile player. She’s a player that can score on the block. She’s a player that rebounds. She’s a player that can pass. She’s very good at dribble handoffs. She’s very good at anticipating people who are going to backdoor. She’s a good solid player.
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How does the uptempo game fit into your scheme?
Foster – We are going to run. it’s a constant. It’s something we want to do all the time abd when you have the opportunity to get out in the open floor we’ve got some players that can run, shoot the three, and spot up wide. So it makes for posion if we’re in transition.
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Talk about Brittany Johnson?
Foster – I’m pleased anytime a kid comes into the gym 45 minutes before and is in a deep sweat when practice starts. You know, I think that’s how you get better in this game and she’s committed to that.
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Talk about your team overall and where it’s going?
Foster – I think our players are starting to understand who they ae in the framework of what we do and we can be very effective when we do that. I think we guard people. A lot of people talk about offense but I think we are a pretty good defensive basketball team. We got some length. We can get after the ball a little bit. We got some people who can close off possessions w/rebounds. It’s nice mix.
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Going forward, what can you improve upon as a team?
Foster – I don’t comment on that but I watch film. You get a lot smarter when you watch film. I can say something that I’m sorry I said. You know it’s the beginning of January. There’s a lot of things we can get better at. I’ll watch film on the flight home. I’ll have, by the time we land, I’ll have the answers.
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After the game versus Illinois in Champaign The Big 10 Network’s analyst Stephanie White had some interesting things to say about the Ohio State team and two of it’s players. Here are those comments.
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On Star Allen:
Star Allen is one of those players who is so versatile and she means so much to this Ohio State team. Such a complimentary player to Jantel Lavender. She gets it done in so many ways. Blue collar – 7 offensive rebounds (versus Illinois). You see her strength. Star Allen is so underrated in what she means to this Ohio State team. (Star was part of a Ohio State rebounding result which saw the Buckeyes go +19 against Illinois in that category)
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Difference Samantha Prahalis makes to Ohio State this year as it’s point guard:
Samantha Prahalis assist to Brianna Johnson – three defenders put their eyes on her at the same time & Prahalis threaded the needle to get the ball to Johnson for a fastbreak layup. She’s so flashy in the open court. Can you say Joe Montana to Jerry Rice? Put air underneath it. Those are passes you just cannot teach. There is an element to her game that is just so instinctual and her great offensive and defensive instincts. More importantly she knows how to get the ball to her teammates in position to make them successful. That’s the difference. They have a point guard finally in Samantha Prahalis at Ohio State. Freshman of the Year, hands down. Brittany Rayburn at Purdue is having a tremendous year but Samantha Prahalis is exceeding expectations.
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Jim Foster is Coach of the Year (at this point).
It tickles me to listen to the pre-game introductions of a team’s starting five by one of the members of the team. Whoever is announcing is attempting to give their spin on how they view each player. Sometimes they get serious and that’s when it’s the funniest most of the time. Sometimes the announcer tries to be humorous to begin with and then it gets silly. But it’s always entertaining to listen to.
Here’s how Dallas Lauderdale introduced the Buckeyes versus Indiana two games back. Dallas tried going the classy route, I think:
1 guard, A-O Automatic Offense #2 Jeremie Simmons
2 guard, Jonny D – Jon Diebler
3 guard, WB – William Buford
4 man, The Kid – Evan Turner
5 spot, Me – the mama’s boy
ESPN recently placed a mike on David Lighty during the IU game. There isn’t a single thing earth shattering said by David but it’s a glimpse into what is said on the bench by David as he tries to, despite his injury, help lead Ohio State through encouragement and humor.
After those words are recorded here be sure to read the interview Lighty gave to ESPN court side reporter Erin Andrews concerning his injury and when he might be able to start playing again this season:
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In game segments…
1st segment
What? Good pass, boy. Good pass, boy. – Feeling good today…that’s what we need, baby – Yeah, Kyle! Is that his 1st career dunk? – Jonny D hitting 3s…I ain’t ___ hitting so many threes in my life
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2nd segment
DL’s doing good today. That’s what we need! – Talk on D – It’s a new rule this year? What rule is that? He can’t touch the ball? – Everybody get an offensive Re – Okay, Jonny D – Hey, we feeling good lately
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DL’s in game interview w/Erin Andrews:
EA – “Where are you at right now in your healing process?”
DL – “Pretty much started my rehab. You know, pool workouts. Things like that you know. We got a indoor treadmill in our underwater pool that we have so that’s kind of hard right now. Doing a lot of sprinting and, uh, a lot of lifting and things like that right now.
EA – “Timetable for your return?”
DL – “Well, uh, I think, we’ll find out some more probably in about two weeks when I get my boot off and I, you know, start running on the court and things like that. And then it just depends on how much pain I have. Then Probably about 2 or 3 weeks.”
EA – “Do you think you have a coaching future after this, after all the coaching advice you’re giving out?”
DL – “They call me coach Lighty right now. I guess I’m learning right now.”
EA – “Alright coach. We appreciate your time. Let’s send it back to Brent!”
DL – “Okay, back to Brent!”
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I’m not extremely hopeful concerning David being able to return too quickly from his injury. But we’ll see. Young people can heal a lot faster sometimes than is thought possible. There’s no doubt Ohio State could use an extra body at this point. The question is if David Lighty would be anymore than that if he did return sooner rather than later. What he does on court is so married to energy, strength and power. I just don’t feel real good about his being healthy enough to recapture those things for his team this season if he rejoins the team early in February. I would be leery of his reinjuring his foot. But, it’s all guesswork at this point. I want him back but not at his health’s expense, especially if he can lead as a senior (I have no idea about a possible redshirt for him this season) next season. I don’t want him to be at anything less than 100% for that.
