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OSU men's basketball: Trimmed-down Lauderdale dominates in exhibition
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
By Bob Baptist
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
WINDSOR, Ontario -- While two of his teammates went overseas to play this summer, Dallas Lauderdale took a road less traveled.
The 6-foot-8, 255-pound Ohio State junior went to Boston, where he spent a month at a private training facility against a player even bigger and stronger than he is.
"We need a post presence," Lauderdale said. "We have great wings, but wings are nothing without a post presence."
Lauderdale made his presence in the post felt yesterday as Ohio State wrapped up its trip to Canada with a 103-68 victory over the University of Western Ontario in a men's basketball exhibition game. He was 9 of 9 from the field and scored 19 points, eight of them in a 20-0 run to start the fourth quarter after the Buckeyes were agitated by being outscored in the third by a point.
"A lot of times, it's not about the X's and O's, it's about the mind," coach Thad Matta said, "and I didn't think our minds were clued in (in the third quarter). We had five individuals out there playing on both ends of the floor."
Lauderdale got three of his baskets during the run via dump-offs from penetrating guards. The fourth came off a nifty spin move after he drove his man to the basket.
While Lauderdale acknowledged that a lot of his production was due simply to his size advantage, it also revealed a player who's lighter on his feet. When Lauderdale left for Boston in June, he said, his body fat measured 11.9 percent of his weight. When he returned, it was 8.9 percent.
The results were on display in Windsor. With the Buckeyes taking the wraps off an up-tempo offense they hope to sustain throughout the season, Lauderdale kept up with the pace, several times finishing a fast break with a basket.
Lauderdale, at his expense, went to Boston to work with Bobby Martin, a former Pittsburgh center.
"It was basically the same (work) I did in Columbus except with another big man," Lauderdale said. "He's bigger than me, stronger than me, and he played overseas, so he's a professional.
"He helped me understand the game more. Nothing major. It was just good to play against another big body."
BuckeyeXtra - The Columbus Dispatch : OSU men's basketball: Trimmed-down Lauderdale dominates in exhibition
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