2009-2010 Lady Buckeyes Basketball (6 straight Big Ten Titles)

[LitlBuck]

October 26, 2009
Big Ten media day

The Big Ten media and coaches, with selected players, meet Thursday in Chicago for what is a rather rapid fire series of interviews.

Being a media type, I try to light at a table with all of the coaches and as many players as possible for a few minutes over the two-hour time period. I always miss somebody because a table appears full of other media types whenever I take a look.

There are no new coaches this year. It always helps when introductions aren't necessary. We're asked not to list the players scheduled to attend. Most of the kids are media savvy these days and I'm sure to know a few of them from previous get-togethers. That also helps.

Finding a funny one not tied to cliches remains a delight. Former Purdue stars Katie Douglas, Shereka Wright and Erin Lawless were all delights to interview.

Anyway, I figure that the Buckeyes will be picked to win a sixth consecutive league title. Michigan State, however, is going to get some first place votes. The Spartans have everybody back from a team that upset Duke in the NCAA Tournament. Purdue always demands respect.

I also figure that Ohio State junior center Jantel Lavender, a two-time player of the year in the conference, will be the preseason choice for that award again. Illinois junior center Jenna Smith should be a unanimous pick for the preseason team.

Six or seven players deserve serious consideration after Lavender and Smith. Penn State's Tyra Grant, Indiana's Jamie Braun, Michigan State's Aisha Jefferson and Allyssa DeHaan, Ohio State's Sammy Prahalis, Iowa's Kachine Alexander, Purdue's FahKara Malone and Brittany Rayburn come to mind immediately. And, yes, I'm sure I missed somebody like Ashley Ellis-Milan of Minnesota. So stop yelling.

Here are thumbnails of who is back and where in the conference.

more

Posted by Jim Massie




Ohio State women's basketball.

 

[backabuck]

"Illinois junior center Jenna Smith should be a unanimous pick for the preseason team."




I love Jenna Smith and she surely deserves some kind of award for carrying Illinois on her back, if nothing else.......but I believe she is a senior.

 

[LitlBuck]

"Illinois junior center Jenna Smith should be a unanimous pick for the preseason team."




I love Jenna Smith and she surely deserves some kind of award for carrying Illinois on her back, if nothing else.......but I believe she is a senior.

I mean I don't really care:osu: but you are incorrect she is a junior link

 

[backabuck]

"I mean I don't really care but you are incorrect she is a junior link"

Well that is funny then because on the official Illinois athletic site she is listed as a senior.......so possibly Mr. Bleill is incorrect or the Illinois AD. I don't particularly care either but I am sure that Jenna does.

 

[Oh8ch]

Player Bio: Jenna Smith - FIGHTINGILLINI.COM // THE OFFICIAL HOME OF UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS ATHLETICS

Describes what she did her first three years. Senior.

 

[backabuck]

"Describes what she did her first three years. Senior."

Thank you Oh8ch. Evidently Mr. Bleill is guilty of not checking his facts. Oh well, other than that, it's a good piece of writing.

 

[Buckskin86]

October 29, 2009

Men's and Women's Basketball: The annual basketball meetings are taking place in Chicago today and they have announced the favorite pre-season teams and players.

The Buckeyes are well represented as the women's team has been picked to win the Big Ten Championship for the sixth year in a row. The men, while predicted to improve, are selected third in a very tough conference.

Junior forward/guard Evan Turner has been selected as a member of the pre-season all conference team.

Junior center Jantel Lavender, to the surprise of no one, has been tabbed as the pre-season Player of the Year by both the media and the coaches. Lavender is joined on the pre-season all conference team by sophomore guard Samantha Prahalis.

Ohio State Football, Basketball, Hockey, Baseball, Wrestling, Softball, and More

 

[Buckskin86]

Women's basketball: Buckeyes know they wear a target
Friday, October 30, 2009
By Jim Massie
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

ROSEMONT, Ill. -- Expectations follow a winner as doggedly as a tailgating driver loves the other guy's rear bumper at rush hour.

So Jantel Lavender wasn't surprised to learn yesterday that the Big Ten coaches and media had picked the Ohio State women's basketball team to win its sixth consecutive conference championship, or her to repeat for a third time as the player of the year.

"In the conference aspect, we expect to be picked," said Lavender, the junior All-America center. "In the player aspect, I expect to be picked. You want to live up to those goals. I'm just ready because I know a lot is going to be thrown at us this year as a team and individually."

She knows because she can hear the honking horns and feel the glaring eyes from people intent on passing. Michigan State, with five starters returning, was picked second in both polls. The Spartans defeated the Buckeyes last season in East Lansing. Minnesota also pulled off a rare conference upset of OSU in Value City Arena.

"Everybody wants to beat you," Lavender said. "They hate us. They want to be in our position. They want to feel what we feel. They want to take our spot. We have to constantly protect our title."

BuckeyeXtra - Women's basketball: Buckeyes know they wear a target

 

[backabuck]

This is the excerpt from that article that caught my eye;


Illinois coach Jolette Law has title designs, if not this year, then in the near future. She sees human nature in the rivalries.

"It's not hate," she said. "It's just something that I want. Everybody always wants to be in that No. 1 spot. Ohio State just so happens to be in the No. 1 spot. I want to be where they are. I love Ohio State. But I want to be in that No. 1 spot."

I love Ohio State??? .....Probably not so much.

 

[BB73]

Lady Buckeyes are #3 in the Coaches Preseason poll, behind a unanimous #1 UConn, and Stanford.

ESPN

 

[lord vegas]

When do the lady's get to step on the floor? I didn't see anything posted in this thread.

And for the record, uglier teams seem to have a built in advantage. So Stanford already has a 4 point lead before the clock started. Look at the Boston Celtics with DJ, Parrish, McHale. Their collective ugly was at least a 8 point spot. When you can't look across at the person your guarding without going "wtf" its an advantage. lol

 

[Ttown]

When do the lady's get to step on the floor? I didn't see anything posted in this thread.

From LitlBucks post #2
The Ohio State women's basketball team opens its season on Nov. 13, with a WNIT game against Eastern Illinois in Value City Arena.

The Buckeyes, the five-time defending Big Ten champions, begin conference play with a home game at 2 p.m. Dec. 6, against Wisconsin. The home schedule also includes a potential match-up against California in the second round of the Buckeye Classic on Nov. 29 in St. John Arena.

Go Buckeyes!

 

[lord vegas]

Yeah, but I figured they had some exhibition games set up before then.

From LitlBucks post #2
The Ohio State women's basketball team opens its season on Nov. 13, with a WNIT game against Eastern Illinois in Value City Arena.

The Buckeyes, the five-time defending Big Ten champions, begin conference play with a home game at 2 p.m. Dec. 6, against Wisconsin. The home schedule also includes a potential match-up against California in the second round of the Buckeye Classic on Nov. 29 in St. John Arena.

Go Buckeyes!

 

[Buckskin86]

OSU women: Raising the bar
Quick offense, competitive fervor ignite Buckeyes
Sunday, November 8, 2009
By Jim Massie
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

More coverage from our 2009-10 college basketball special section

NEAL C. LAURON | DISPATCH

Ohio State's Samantha Prahalis leads the fast-break offense. Competitive even in practice, Prahalis says the team has reached a new level.
T he volume rises and begins to echo around the practice gym as soon as Ohio State coach Jim Foster has a team manager turn on the scoreboard for a drill or a scrimmage.

None of the players are shy about not wanting to lose even to close friends and teammates. A week away from the opening of the new season, the competitive level feels sharper than the business edge of a new steak knife.

"It was there last year," sophomore point guard Samantha Prahalis said. "But it's like at a new level now. When the score gets counted, it's like everyone gets so loud that it's out of control.

"When you're winning, people call fouls and start yelling at people because they're not getting their fouls called. It's crazy. But it's good because it's going to make us all better."

BuckeyeXtra - OSU women: Raising the bar

OSU women: Keys to the season
Sunday, November 8, 2009

Key offensive player(s)

This becomes plural because All-America junior center Jantel Lavender and sophomore point guard Samantha Prahalis have become extensions of one another on the court. By the end of their first season together, Lavender and Prahalis were as good as any big-little fast-break combination in the country. Lavender, now a two-time conference player of the year, led the Big Ten in scoring (20.8) and rebounding (10.7). Prahalis, the reigning freshman of the year, topped the conference in assists (5.8). Both should be better in '09-10.
Key defensive player

Senior guard Shavelle Little earned a second consecutive Big Ten defensive player of the year award despite playing limited minutes because of a chronic right knee injury. The bad news for opposition coaches and point guards is that her surgically repaired knee feels better than it has in two years.

BuckeyeXtra - OSU women: Keys to the season

OSU women: New faces
Sunday, November 8, 2009

Aleksandra Dobranic
FRESHMAN CENTER

Dobranic signed in the spring and is the first European to play for the Buckeyes during the Jim Foster coaching regime. A member of the Serbian junior national team, Dobranic brings much needed inside size and, like most European post players, can shoot from the perimeter.

Emilee Harmon
FRESHMAN FORWARD

Harmon, from Pickerington Central, was ranked as one of the top forward prospects in the country by ESPN's Hoopgurlz and All Star Girls Basketball Report. She averaged 19.7 points and 11.3 points as a high-school senior and earned co-player of the year honors in Ohio from the Associated Press. She chose the Buckeyes over Duke, Stanford, Notre Dame and Purdue.

Tayler Hill
FRESHMAN GUARD

Hill, like Harmon, was among the most highly recruited players in the country. Her decision to sign in the spring gave the Buckeyes a top-10 recruiting class. The sister of OSU men's point guard P.J. Hill, she was player of the year in Minnesota and is the state's all-time leading scorer with 3,894 points. A combo guard with great speed, Hill could play her way into the starting lineup early. She also considered Duke and Texas.

Brianna Sanders
FRESHMAN GUARD

Sanders hit the Ohio State recruiting radar as a freshman at Cincinnati Princeton. The Buckeyes stayed with her despite ACL injuries during her junior and senior seasons. She wears a brace on her left knee but is cleared to play. Coaches and teammates already are touting her three-point shooting range.

BuckeyeXtra - OSU women: New faces

BuckeyeXtra - OSU women: 2009-10 roster

BuckeyeXtra - OSU women: 2009-10 schedule

 

[Best Buckeye]

Ohio State's Lady Buckeyes vs E. Illinois 11/13/09

On Friday night at 5pm the Lady Buckeyes will have their season opener against Eastern Illinois. The game will be broadcast on WOSU for those of you lucky enogh to live close enough.
The Bucks have generated a lot of interest since being ranked very high and with the players they have this year.