David Lighty miked for the IU game , plus his in game interview with Erin Andrews

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.

It tickles me – Dallas Lauderdale introduces Ohio State’s starting 5 versus IU

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

Big Ten Network comments on Ohio State’s womens team

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).

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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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.

In honor of the 44th President of the United States – Barack Obama/Those players who have worn #44 for Ohio State

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!

“She’s my mom. She’s my heart.” DLaud the 3rd knows what’s truly important

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.

Smack ->Thanks Buckeyes! I needed that!

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!

Minus Shavelle Little, Buckeyes lose to Minnesota in Columbus for the 1st time ever, 59-56

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!

Nada…Nyet…None. No negatives from OSU win over Hoosiers.

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…