Men's Basketball Buckeye Tidbits 2005-2006 Season

[OSUBuckeye4Life]

Just saw it flash at the bottom of College Gameday......

"Next: Does OSU deserve a #1 seed?"

Basically said it could go either way with us and Memphis, assuming we win the Big 10 tournament.

Digger felt like we would be better of a #2, and that is what he'd want if he was a coach.

Jay said you want to be a #1 no matter what, it's what the kids want.

They did bring up an interesting point. They said the committe might do what they did a few years ago when it was close for the last #1 between St. Joes and Ok. State and they just put them in the same bracket and if they got far enough they'd settle it on the floor.

Bilas said he'd pick us to beat Memphis though......

:osu:

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

scout.com$

3/13/06

OSU notebook.....by Steve Helwagen.

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

DDN

3/13/06

OSU NOTEBOOK
Foster's shooting woes continue for Buckeyes

By Doug Harris
Dayton Daily News

INDIANAPOLIS | — Ohio State coach Thad Matta pumped his fist and Buckeye fans erupted when Je'Kel Foster ended a prolonged 3-point drought with back-to-back treys late in the first half.

But those pulling for the nice-guy senior guard to shake his troubling skid will have to wait at least another game.

Foster went into the meeting with Iowa having missed his last 16 three-pointers and 24 of his previous 25. He clanked his first three against the Hawkeyes and finished 2-for-10.

"I want him to do so well because I care about him so much," Matta said.
Foster, who led the Big Ten in 3-point percentage after 21 games, has the support of his teammates, too.

"Je'Kel isn't hitting the way he has in the past — that's no secret," forward J.J. Sullinger said. "But he can definitely get it going at any given time. Shooters have to keep shooting.

"He's so valuable to the program whether he's hitting or not. I have no doubt that in the NCAA tourney he's going to be hitting."

Sylvester eager to return
Matta won the 2004 Atlantic-10 title in Dayton while coaching at Xavier, and one of his players has pleasant memories of UD Arena, too.

Fifth-year senior forward Matt Sylvester helped Cincinnati Moeller win a pair of regional games there as a sophomore on the way to the state title.

"I had a tip-in at the buzzer against Beavercreek to send us to the Final Four," he said. "It's a great arena with a lot of tradition. It's a great place to play."

Terwilliger missed
Back-up center Matt Terwilliger was sidelined for the tourney after undergoing an appendectomy last Wednesday, leaving the Buckeyes with nine scholarship players.

"I'm hoping and praying Matt will be back in the fold (for the NCAA)," Matta said. "From what we're hearing, he should be good to go.

"He was playing great basketball for us."

Alford stock on rise?
By winning the Big Ten tourney crown for the second time in his seven-year career, Iowa coach Steve Alford may have heightened his appeal with the Indiana search committee.

But the 41-year-old former Hoosier star has a lackluster 52-60 record in Big Ten regular-season games and has never won a title. And at least some IU fans aren't exactly infatuated with him.

A banner at the tourney semifinals Saturday said, "Steve, you look better in yellow. Stay in Iowa. Red's not your color anymore."

Oden dominant
Ohio State-bound Greg Oden showed why he's the reigning national player of the year in a pair of regional games Saturday.

The 7-footer didn't miss a shot from the field in either game, going 18-for-18 while scoring 42 points. Lawrence North has won 43 straight, two short of the 50-year-old state record held by Oscar Robertson-led Crispus Attucks.

Gorney contributes
Vandalia-Butler grad Seth Gorney didn't play against Ohio State, but he saw action for Iowa in its tense semifinal win Saturday over Michigan State, playing four minutes and picking up one rebound.

The 7-foot, 245-pound sophomore — the son of former University of Dayton center Mike Gorney — has appeared in 22 games this season and has been making steady progress by pounding the weights.

"When I was a senior (in high school) I never lifted," Gorney said. "I've gotten a lot bigger throughout my body. And I wouldn't say I've gotten a lot faster, but I'm faster than I was. I'm stronger. I'm not afraid to bang against anyone."

Ticket info
Each school in the NCAA at Dayton is allotted 550 tickets, and Ohio State plans to disperse them among the team and school officials and then hold a lottery for students and faculty.

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Dispatch

3/14/06

Boyages still in OSU’s corner

Ex-assistant coach holds no grudges

Tuesday, March 14, 2006

Tim May
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

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Rick Boyages isn’t neutral when the subject is the Ohio State men’s basketball team.

It doesn’t matter to Boyages that his career as a college coach was sidetracked by the Jim O’Brien-Paul Biancardi scandal, or that he’s now employed by the Mid-American Conference. When Ohio State opens NCAA Tournament play Friday against Davidson, Boyages will be cheering for the second-seeded Buckeyes.

"Absolutely I’m rooting for them," Boyages said. "I love the university. Heck, I gave up a head-coaching job after three years at William & Mary just to come back (in 2003) because I love everything about the place.

"The kids on that team are great. I am pulling for all of them."

Boyages wouldn’t have turned down the chance to keep coaching them, either. But when it came to light that O’Brien had forwarded money toward a potential recruit’s family in 1999, and that Biancardi had helped arrange a rulesbreaking relationship between player Boban Savovic and a third party, Boyages knew he would be part of the fallout.

It didn’t matter he had nothing to do with those things, as the NCAA investigation showed. They would all take the fall.

Boyages’ fall was cushioned by former athletics director Andy Geiger, who made him interim head coach before hiring Thad Matta, then made Boyages a special assistant to the athletics director for a year.

"When the line was drawn, I had friends on both sides, and that left me right on that line," Boyages said. "Being somewhere in the middle is tough, feeling like all of your personal relationships have been affected. . . .

"There were some things done that everybody is aware of, things that can’t happen in college basketball. When you do them, you put yourself in jeopardy and the program in jeopardy."

One part of the NCAA penalty is the removal of dates on banners in Value City Arena signifying the team’s trip to the Final Four in 1999 plus Big Ten titles won in the Savovic years.

"It doesn’t change what we think and the feelings we have about the journey we took together," Boyages said. "Unless I was sitting in the Schott when they took them down, I’m not even sure I would notice them not being there. But I was there when they were attained, and I was there when they went up."

Boyages, 44, had been associated with O’Brien since 1991, when he was hired onto the Boston College staff. He moved with O’Brien to OSU in ’98 as director of basketball operations. Boyages left in 2000 for William & Mary but rejoined O’Brien as an assistant coach in 2003.

"It’s been a really difficult two years for me," said Boyages, who still lives in Columbus with his wife and three daughters. He works as an assistant to MAC commissioner Rick Chryst.

Boyages bears no grudge against Matta. Rather, he takes pride in the way he maintained a professional approach as interim coach, working to keep players around and that year’s recruits in tow.

"I think Thad has done an unbelievable job," Boyages said. "One thing a lot of people say about Thad is he has been fortunate in the timing he’s had in getting the jobs he’s gotten (at Butler, Xavier and OSU). But let me tell you, even when somebody hands you a pretty good roster, there are thousands of variables that can occur.

"And for him to win the way he has, it’s a great tribute to him and his staff. I’m rooting for them all the way."

[email protected]

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Link

3/14/06

OSU men should be sweet to 16, but no more

By LARRY PHILLIPS
Gannett News Service


COLUMBUS - We're behind the future of Ohio State basketball. Next year the Buckeyes were scheduled to unveil the steamroller.
A Big Ten championship season, a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament, and a genuine opportunity to reach the Final Four was all supposed to arrive in 2007 with the addition of 7-foot freshman Greg Oden and two other McDonald's All-Americans.

Truth is next year's squad won't be as good as this bunch, which has a first-round date with Davidson Friday at 12:15 p.m. in Dayton. The Buckeyes are 25-5, ranked sixth in the nation, and wield one of the most experienced and balanced teams in the country.


Coach Thad Matta starts three fifth-year seniors. Two of them, 6-foot-9, 260-pound center Terence Dials and 6-7 forward Matt Sylvester, were part of the 2002 Big Ten regular season and tournament champions who reached the second round of the NCAA Tourney. Another, 6-5 forward J.J. Sullinger, is a transfer from Arkansas who's evolved into one of the Midwest's most explosive athletes.

Dials is a load on the blocks, averaging 15.3 points and 8.0 rebounds to earn Big Ten Player of the Year honors. Sylvester is an unorthodox, crafty, effective player who averages 7.8 points, but is turnover prone at critical junctures.

Sullinger chips in 10 points and 6.8 rebounds per game. He's a matchup nightmare who can guard posts or wings, and has enough range to be a threat beyond the arc.

Ohio State's guards can take over a game, or be an Achilles heel with their errant shooting.

Sophomore point guard Jamar Butler is the steadier player. A defensive stopper who controlled Michigan's Daniel Horton, stopped Dee Brown of Illinois, and put Michigan State's Drew Neitzel in his hip pocket, Butler overcomes a lack of size with great position defense. He is one of the most improved players in the Midwest. Ohio's former Mr. Basketball hits 42 percent of his treys while averaging 10.2 points.

Ja'Kel Foster is an enigma. The team's second-leading scorer averages 12.4 points, but faded badly down the stretch. He still shoots 39 percent from 3-point range, but that number has plummeted dramatically in the past month. Foster was 2 of 24 from beyond the arc in the Big Ten tournament (8 percent), and is 9 of 62 (14.5 percent) from distance in his last nine games.

Bowling Green transfer Ron Lewis, a junior guard, is a slasher off the bench.

He averages 11.3 points, third-best on the team.

Ohio State can get points in bunches. This is the top scoring team in the Big Ten, averaging 75 points while allowing 63.5 points.

As good as that sounds, the Buckeyes are thin, with backups Ivan Harris and Matt Terwilliger bit players at best.

Matta's men reached the Big Ten Tournament championship game, but didn't play well. A squad that lives and dies by the bomb, OSU hit just 21 of 85 from long range (24 percent) in three games.

Coming off their worst 10 minutes of the season, the Buckeyes coughed up the Big Ten tournament title to Iowa after leading most of the contest. The 67-60 decision was the worst defeat of the year, and dramatically exposed Ohio State's flaws. An eight-man rotation can leave the Bucks exhausted on short rest - and the next scoring drought is always right around the corner.

Iowa limited OSU to just six baskets in the second half Sunday, including a 71¼2-minute span without a field goal. In all, the Buckeyes scored just four points in the last nine minutes of the title tilt.

Defensively, when the lumbering Dials finds foul trouble, as he does frequently, Ohio State can be vulnerable in the paint.

"I told the team by no means should they get down. We just need to shift into another gear and get ready for the NCAA Tournament," Matta said after the loss to Iowa.

When the Buckeyes shoot it well, they can beat anyone in the tournament.

However, when 3-pointers don't fall, and they haven't over the past five games, this is a team that can be had by anyone alive in the second round.

Georgetown, a big, athletic, and defensive-minded squad that has beaten Duke looms as just such a candidate on Sunday.

Still, Ohio State hasn't been overwhelmed by anyone. There should be enough balance and local fans in Dayton to get this team out of the first two rounds.

If that happens, a quick elimination probably awaits in Minneapolis, regardless of the foe.

lbphillipsnncogannett.com 419-521-7238

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Dispatch

3/15/06

MEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL

OSU hopes three-point difficulties end soon

Wednesday, March 15, 2006

Bob Baptist
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

Not long after his team had been selected for the NCAA Tournament on Sunday, Ohio State coach Thad Matta was asked what concerned him most now that every game could be the last.

"Getting our minds right and getting our rest but not losing our sharpness is probably the biggest thing," he said.

Getting rest should not be a problem. The Buckeyes (25-5) have almost five full days between losing to Iowa on Sunday in the Big Ten tournament championship game and playing Davidson (20-10) on Friday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in Dayton.

Losing sharpness should not be a problem, and Davidson hasn’t played a game in 10 days.

Getting their minds right . . . now that could be a problem.

"Hopefully we can get back to shooting the ball well," Matta said. "We’re obviously a better basketball team when we do."

The key word is "hopefully," because no matter how much confidence the Buckeyes express in their ability to make three-point baskets, the nagging fact is that they haven’t made them the past nine games with the frequency or accuracy they did the first 21.

A month ago, after they had torched Michigan and Illinois with 28 three-pointers in less than 72 hours, the Buckeyes were averaging 9.5 three-point baskets and ranked second in NCAA Division I in three-point percentage (.428). Je’Kel Foster had the best percentage (.523) of any Division I player, and Jamar Butler and J.J. Sullinger also ranked among the top five in the Big Ten.

An article in The Dispatch on Feb. 15 called attention to the phenomenon with the headline, "Let it rain." The Buckeyes have been in a drought ever since. In the past nine games, they have averaged fewer than six three-pointers. They have made more than six twice.

Foster’s demise has been the most alarming — he has made nine of his past 62 — but the malaise has been across the board. The Buckeyes have shot almost 20 percent worse from three-point range in the nine games than they did in the first 21.

"Shooting can be a strange thing. There just aren’t a lot of pure shooters out there anymore, and that’s why you see a lot of inconsistency with the jump shot," said Iowa coach Steve Alford, the Big Ten career leader in three-point percentage (.530).

But Ohio State, because of Matta’s offensive system that has four players on the perimeter, probably practices shooting three-pointers more than most teams.

Another explanation that has been offered is that the Buckeyes could be fatigued after more than two months of Big Ten games.

"When you play in this league, you can get worn down pretty quickly," Alford said.

A third reason could be that Big Ten teams have each other so well scouted by the second half of the conference season that it’s difficult to get open shots, especially for a team like Ohio State that has only a few players who can create their own.

If indeed that is the case, that could be good news for the Buckeyes. The soonest they can see a Big Ten opponent again in the NCAA Tournament would be Wisconsin in a regional final.

"We’re a shooting team, and guys will continue to shoot threes," center Terence Dials said. "They’re going to drop one of these days. Hopefully soon."

[email protected]

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

CPD

3/16/06

NCAA INSIDER


Four things I think about Ohio State



Thursday, March 16, 2006



1. Ohio State can’t wait for Je’Kel Foster to shoot himself out his slump. He made 2 of 24 3-pointers in the Big Ten Tournament. He has to stay on the floor for defense and leadership, but a fake and drive or an extra pass are better choices than taking eight 3-pointers a game.

2. Thad Matta’s players love him. And that wins you games.

3. The Buckeyes need backup center Matt Terwilliger back. He averages only 10 minutes and two points a game, but in his absence, OSU is desperately short when Terence Dials tires or has foul trouble.

4. A second-round loss to Georgetown might be a popular upset pick. I wouldn’t worry until a possible Sweet 16 matchup with Florida, which has two athletic big men in 6-11 Joakim Noah and 6-9 Al Horford.

— Doug Lesmerises

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

DDN

3/16/06

Dayton just fine with Ohio State

By Doug Harris
Dayton Daily News

Ohio State complained about its first-round destination the last time it played in the NCAA tournament, having been sent across two time zones to Albuquerque in 2002. But you won't hear any whining this time.

The second-seeded Buckeyes arrived at their hotel near the Dayton Mall on Wednesday evening in preparation for their opener against 15th-seeded Davidson at U.D. Arena on Friday. And coach Thad Matta and his players don't think they could have gotten a better draw if they filled out the brackets themselves.

"It's a tremendous situation for us," Matta said. "I'd much rather play here than (at other first-round sites in) Jacksonville, Fla., or Salt Lake City, Utah, or San Diego. I love the fact that we're in Dayton.

"I know the Ohio State alumni base in Dayton is tremendous. ... It's a unique opportunity we have. The only thing that would be better is if we were playing at Nationwide (Arena in Columbus)."

Matta, 38, coached previously at Xavier and has a 7-2 career record in Dayton. He went 2-1 against the Flyers in the regular season, 1-1 in the 2003 Atlantic-10 tournament and 4-0 while winning the '04 crown.

He also went 1-1 against UD as a player at Butler.

The Buckeyes, who will hold an open practice from 1:30-2:10 p.m. today at the arena, met Davidson in the first round in 2002 and prevailed in a 69-64 thriller.

Only four No. 2 seeds have dropped first-round games since seeding began in 1979: Iowa State to Hampton in 2001, South Carolina to Coppin State in 1997, Arizona to Santa Clara in '93 and Syracuse to Richmond in '91.

Contact Doug Harris at 225-2125.

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Dispatch

3/16/06

OSU MEN’S BASKETBALL | NOTEBOOK

NCAA says banners need more alterations

Thursday, March 16, 2006

Bob Baptist
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH




The memories are all that’s left of four seasons in Value City Arena.

Banners commemorating the Ohio State men’s basketball program’s accomplishments from the 1998-99 through 2001-02 seasons were missing from the arena rafters and undergoing alterations yesterday as the Buckeyes went through a final practice before busing to Dayton. They play Davidson in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at 12:15 p.m. Friday in University of Dayton Arena. If they win, they will play either Georgetown or Northern Iowa at 2:20 p.m. Sunday.

Ohio State’s punishment for NCAA rules violations includes removing the years 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2002 from banners recognizing the program’s appearances in the NCAA Tournament all four years and the Final Four in 1999.

Still to be resolved is whether the Buckeyes’ Big Ten championships in 2000 and 2002 and Big Ten tournament title in 2002 will be removed. Those banners also were missing yesterday.

Athletics director Gene Smith said Friday that the NCAA infractions report said the school must vacate only NCAA Tournament accomplishments for the four years. Two NCAA officials said otherwise.

Athletics department spokesman Steve Snapp said yesterday that the school was awaiting word from the NCAA. But NCAA spokesman Kent Barrett said the infractions committee’s position has not changed.

"The view of the committee is that the vacation extends to all games in which ineligible studentathletes participated during that four-year period, not just the tournament," Barrett said. "Maybe there was some confusion, but everyone if not now then very soon should be on the same page."
Terwilliger update



Coach Thad Matta said he hopes to use backup center Matt Terwilliger "for a few minutes here and there" to spell Terence Dials but will not "jeopardize his health for a game of basketball."

Terwilliger, who missed the Big Ten tournament after having an appendectomy March 8, said he feels fine but might wear protection around the three small surgical incisions in his abdomen.

"What they’re worried about is (me) getting a direct shot to those stitches and having them break," he said.
Nothing but ball



J.J. Sullinger and Dials took their last final exams this week. Though their grades are not in, both expect to graduate Sunday. But they hope to be playing for a trip to the Sweet 16 instead that day.

"I haven’t graduated yet, but I’m done with school," Sullinger said. "It feels good."
Public practices



The eight teams competing in Dayton will have open workouts free to the public today in UD Arena.

Ohio State will be the court from 1:30 p.m. until 2:10 p.m. Its firstround opponent, Davidson, will practice at noon.

Other teams and their starting times: Northern Iowa, 12:45 p.m.; Georgetown, 2:15 p.m.; Michigan State, 4:25 p.m.; North Carolina, 5:10 p.m.; George Mason, 5:55 p.m.; and Murray State, 6:40 p.m.

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[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Blade

3/16/06

Outside touch vanishes
Buckeyes scoring inside during shooting slump

By MATT MARKEY
BLADE SPORTS WRITER


COLUMBUS - If indeed you live by the sword and die by the sword, then the Ohio State basketball team should be bleeding profusely and someone should be notifying the next of kin.


A number of times this season, the Buckeyes have been able to use the 3-point shot as the dagger that dispatched their opposition. But recently, that edge has dulled, and the long-range stuff is missing the mark.


Ohio State (25-5), which opens NCAA tournament play in Dayton tomorrow against Davidson (20-10), has made just 23 percent of its shots from beyond the arc in its last six games. But instead of being felled by that foil, the Buckeyes have just relied on a different sword, and won five of those six.


LONG-DISTANCE TROUBLEOhio State from 3-point range in the last six games (percent in parentheses):

• Iowa: 6 of 28 (21.4)
• Indiana: 5 of 27 (18.5)
• Penn State: 10 of 30 (33.3)
• Purdue: 4 of 24 (16.7)
• Northwestern: 6 of 24 (25)
• Michigan: 4 of 18 (22.2)
• Last six games: 35 of 151 (23.2)
• Season: OSU has made 252 of 680 attempts (37.1 percent)."If the shots aren't falling, we can do other things to score, and I think that helps us get through any kind of slump or cold spell," Ohio State senior J.J. Sullinger said after the Buckeyes went just 5-of-27 [on 3-pointers] against Indiana in the semifinals of the Big Ten tournament, but still won.


"We've got guys who can score inside, and guys who can drive the ball to the basket, so it's not like we have to be hitting everything on our 3-pointers to be successful. If one thing isn't working, we just have to rely on something else."


That "something else" has been Sullinger, sophomore point guard Jamar Butler and junior guard Ron Lewis slashing inside, and Big Ten player of the year Terence Dials dominating the middle.


Ohio State coach Thad Matta said yesterday he hopes to see the Buckeyes snap out of their shooting funk, and that keeping Dials on the floor is the best insurance policy against poor 3-point shooting leading to the Buckeyes' demise.


"With Terence, keeping him out of foul trouble is very important for us," Matta said. "One of the biggest improvements Terence has made is becoming a smarter player defensively, and that should help him stay out of foul trouble. We need him out there."


Matta said the Buckeyes' mysterious 3-point affliction should pass, and he hopes the rest Ohio State has had since Sunday's loss to Iowa in the Big Ten tournament championship game will accelerate the recovery. His team set an Ohio State record by hitting 12 of 16 first-half 3-pointers at Michigan just over a month ago, but made just 4 of 24 (16.7 percent) in its home finale against Purdue.


"The 3-pointer is something we practice a lot, and we have a lot of guys who we feel can shoot it," Matta said. "As long as they are taking good shots, we are going to encourage them to keep shooting. If I knew what else there was to do, I'd do it."


The deepest slump belongs to senior Je'Kel Foster, who has gone from red-hot to stone-cold in the last several weeks. Foster set an Ohio State record with 12-consecutive made 3-pointers in wins against Minnesota and Michigan in early February, but has been remarkably inaccurate since then.

Foster went just 2-of-24 (8 percent) from beyond the arc in the Big Ten tournament, and in his last nine games has made only 9 of 62 long-range shots (14.5 percent).


Matta, who gave Foster a solid vote of confidence last week and said he'd stick with the senior from Natchez, Miss., even if he went "0-for-100," said Foster brings a lot of other things to the table.


"With Je'Kel, I don't care if they go in or not, because he is such a tough competitor out there," Matta said. "He knows I support him. But when he's making shots, obviously we're a better basketball team."


Matta added that the Buckeyes have proven over the last half dozen games that they can win without scorching the nets from way out, so he is confident they can have success in the NCAA tournament without relying on a rain of 3s.


"I think there's going to be other factors," Matta said. "We've won some big games when we haven't shot the ball well. I think it ultimately will come down to defense and rebounding, and taking care of the ball. We've done pretty well with that."


Contact Matt Markey at:

[email protected]

or 419-724-6510.

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

scout.com$

3/17/06

OSU notebook by Steve Helwagen.

Note: comments by Coach Matta stating he is not interested in the Indiana job.

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

rivals.com$

3/17/06

News and notes from the Buckeyes as they prepare for the NCAA tournament, by Jeff Rapp.

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Dispatch

3/17/06

OHIO STATE | NOTEBOOK

Matta: ‘I will be back’ as coach

Friday, March 17, 2006

Bob Baptist
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH




DAYTON — The regular season came to a close Sunday, and the window in Thad Matta’s contract that permits him to talk about other jobs came open.

So yesterday, Matta actually said the word "Indiana " for the first time in the context of the soon-to-be-vacant job. And the Ohio State men’s basketball coach said definitively what OSU fans have been waiting a month to hear — that he will be coaching the Buckeyes next season.

"Yes," Matta said. "As long as they have me back, I will be back."
Matta’s comments came a day before Ohio State (25-5) plays Davidson (20-10) in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in University of Dayton Arena. In his second season at Ohio State, he led it to a Big Ten championship and to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in four years.

But Matta’s quick departures from Butler in 2001 after one season there and from Xavier in 2004 after three years there led to speculation he might be interested in the Indiana job. He has roots and strong recruiting ties in the state from playing and coaching at Butler, which is in Indianapolis.

"I’ve never had any interest in the Indiana job," Matta said yesterday, "nor do I have any interest today.

"I think I’ve got one of the greatest jobs in the country and I’m as committed to Ohio State as I can be. For me to think about another job, I won’t have any of that."
Father knows best



Slumping sharpshooter Je’Kel Foster said he put up about 1,000 shots in recent days under the watchful eye of his father, Willie, who was in Indianapolis last weekend to see his son miss 26 of 30 shots from the field, including 22 of 24 threepointers, in the Big Ten tournament.

"He was saying that the ball was coming out of the side of my hand," Je’Kel said, "so he told me to spread my fingers when I shot the ball and follow through. I’ll be doing that (today)."
Cheerleading



Before the Buckeyes left the court after their workout in UD Arena, they led hundreds of fans who showed up to watch them in an impromptu OH-IO cheer.
It’s official



An Ohio State spokesman confirmed that all games and accomplishments, not only those in the NCAA Tournament, will be vacated for the 1998-99 through 2001-02 seasons, as required by the NCAA sanctions against the men’s basketball program.

Banners recognizing the Buckeyes’ Big Ten championships in 2000 and 2002, Big Ten tournament title in 2002, Final Four appearance in 1999 and NCAA Tournament appearances all four years were hanging again in Value City Arena yesterday for the girls state basketball tournament, but with the vacated years removed.
[email protected]

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Dispatch

3/17/06

COMMENTARY

Buckeyes will stick with what brought ’em to Big Dance

Friday, March 17, 2006


BOB HUNTER

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DAYTON — Everybody wants to know the same thing. Why, when the Buckeyes have been shooting threes as if the object were to hit the rim, the backboard or the wide-open spaces around the basket, are they so insistent on shooting them until their arms are ready to fall off?

Why not try to run some plays and get some higher percentage shots? With the Big Ten player of year in the middle, why not just get the ball in to the big guy and take the almost-sure two?

When this was mentioned to Terence Dials, the big guy in that equation, he grinned and nodded.

"People have asked me the same thing," Dials said. "They want to know why we keep shooting the threes when we’re missing so many. Why don’t they just throw it inside?’ I tell them ‘Don’t worry about me. I’m getting enough shots.’ They’ve got to take those threes. That’s the kind of team we are."

It’s not easy for Ohio State fans to be comfortable with "the kind of team" they are when the Buckeyes’ best shooters seem to be clanging up a new basketball symphony with each passing game. There’s not much that can be done about that, though.

Just as Dials said, this is the kind of team the Buckeyes are. Without the threes, this is a hard-working group of overachievers with first-round fears and Sweet Sixteen potential. With the threes, you might be looking at a berth in the Elite Eight or a Final Four. Their three-point shooting has been a little off for six games now — actually, 33 of their last 151 threes calls to mind a sunny March in northern Siberia — but there is no other option.

There is no Plan B.

If the Buckeyes are going to have a great tournament, there is no other way for them to do it. They aren’t deep enough, big enough or talented enough to do it any other way.

"We know we’re going to have to make them eventually or we won’t be successful in the tournament," Dials said. "We know the situation. We aren’t going to keep winning if we don’t start making some shots."

The Buckeyes are a team with some excellent defenders, a good big man with five years of college experience and several great shooters. When they don’t look like great shooters, the Buckeyes bear little resemblance to the Big Ten champions they are.

Staying the course isn’t a bad plan, even if it sometimes seems like it. Ohio State might be able to beat 15 th-seeded Davidson today in University of Dayton Arena without shooting the three — might. After that, the danger level goes up dramatically.

For that reason, senior guard Je’Kel Foster was asked repeatedly about his recent shooting slump, not because reporters wanted to badger him but because they know there might be a direct correlation between his shooting from beyond the arc and his team’s success in the tournament.

Foster was among the nation’s best three-point shooters when his slump began nine games ago and when he made two in a row in the Big Ten tournament final against Iowa, Matta reacted as if his team had won the tournament. It was obvious just how important he thinks it is to keep Foster’s confidence up.

"I have such an appreciation for him," Matta said, afterward. "I know how bad he wanted to make shots. It was just so exciting for me to see them finally go down. I was hoping he could take a deep breath and just get back to knocking shots down."

Foster was knocking them down during practice yesterday, maybe because his father noticed a flaw in his shooting motion and told him what to do to correct it. The OSU perimeter players were all knocking them down, much the way they used to back when opposing coaches were calling them one of the best shooting teams they had ever seen.

"That’s the makeup of our team," senior forward J.J. Sullinger said. "We have good shooters around the perimeter. We’ve got a good man inside in Terence. That’s been our game plan from the beginning and it’s gonna be our game plan from here on out."

A mistake?

No.

It is the only way they could be 25-5.

Bob Hunter is a sports columnist for The Dispatch.

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[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Dispatch

3/17/06

It’s possible Ohio State could augment its stellar 2006 men’s basketball recruiting class with another player or two now that the program has been spared further scholarship reductions.

The Buckeyes have two scholarships available for next season and would have three if guard Sylvester Mayes, who has disappeared from the rotation the past six weeks, decides he has a better a chance of playing elsewhere as a senior.
Matta and his staff would love to find a true center willing to back up Greg Oden, which would allow Matt Terwilliger to shift to power forward. At this late date, however, finding not only a quality big man but one willing to back up Oden might be too much for even Matta.