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F Marc Loving (Agua Caliente Clippers of Ontario - NBA G-League)

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One of the latent great things about Loving is he's clearly talented enough to be an able successor of Ross at the 4, whether that be next season or two seasons from now. I know a lot of people from a distance in the national media and rival fans discount OSU year after year now because of the talented players that they lose every year, but one of the subtle but crucial things that Matta has done is manage his roster well in terms of getting enough talent in enough different ways and enough different players at the right positions to keep things rolling even when great players leave. Clearly Loving is going to be the key cog in the Ross replacement plan. Lighty-Thomas-Ross-Loving-the Matta train keeps chugging along.
 
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He's on the way up. He still makes some rookie mistakes and forces things, but he couldn't be smoother. If kids actually stayed all 4 years anymore, I would say he could approach JJ status considering where he is starting. More strength and more floor experience is all he needs.
 
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Could be the game that really gets him going. If it is, with he and Ross getting their shots going and ADV adding some too, we might be able to turn this season into something afterall.

Perfect shooting stroke!
 
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CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The Marc Loving who scored 10 points in the Big Ten opener, the one who helped Ohio State erase an 18-point, second-half deficit to force overtime at Michigan State has been gone for weeks.

Then as he watched his first shot go in since late January, Loving felt like himself again.

“It was like a monkey climbed off my back,” he said.

How big? A gorilla?

“A silverback,” Loving quipped.

Though Loving is only a bench player that had seen his minutes reduced in February, the freshman went scoreless in each of Ohio State’s last four games before the No. 22 Buckeyes’ 48-39 win at Illinois on Saturday night.

And the last time Loving made a field goal was Jan. 20. He was in a funk, one he admitted was stressing him out, but coach Thad Matta said he was waiting for one shot to fall for the freshman to regain his confidence.

“I was like, ‘Man, it’s going to happen.’ He just needed to see the ball go through the basket,” Matta said. “When it finally went down, you could just see 1,000 pounds lifted off of him. I told the team afterward – if I could have gotten the game ball, I would have given it to him.”

After Loving’s first shot went through – a jumper with 10:06 remaining in the game to put Ohio State up 36-29 – it started a spurt in which the freshman scored eight consecutive points for the Buckeyes. Illinois didn’t counter.

Loving was the catalyst of a 12-0 run that lifted Ohio State to the win. His last shot, a jumper with 5:30 remaining, put the Buckeyes 42-39, their largest lead of the game. His resurgence came at the perfect time.

“I just needed to see one go in and it felt good to see one go in for once," Loving said. "Eventually the ball is going to in, and you can't keep doubting yourself. You have to have a lot of confidence in the hard work you put in.

"I am happy I kind of snapped out of it. I feel like I can provide a spark off the bench with my scoring ability and help us propel to the next level."
Click to expand...
http://www.cleveland.com/osu/index.ssf/2014/02/a_silverback_monkey_lifted_off.html#incart_river
 
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I have almost no doubt that Marc is going to be a huge impact player over the next few years. He already has a good jump shot, he's should easily get stronger, and experience will come with time.

I think what is telling about Marc is that Thad still gave him some spot duty even after he hit the freshman wall. He played him over Ross at very critical times early in the Big Ten season.
 
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