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Men's Basketball Buckeye Tidbits 2005-2006 Season

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DDN

3/18/06

Davidson left-hander baffles Buckeyes' Dials

By Doug Harris
[email protected]

DAYTON | Ohio State's Terence Dials was perplexed about how to stop Davidson's mobile forward, Ian Johnson. But the Big Ten player of the year probably would have wasted his time asking coach Thad Matta for help.

"I told Terence, 'I don't have an answer for a 12-foot jump-hook shot that hits net every time,' " Matta said.

The 6-foot-9 left-hander sank a bevy of shots that confounded the Buckeyes, some of them seemingly released from his hip. He hit nothing but twine on three 3-pointers and finished with a game-high 26 points, about 10 above his average.

"He's a crafty, skilled player who knows when to pop (out), and he'd get me on the 3," Dials said. "He was kind of like a European player with an array of moves."

Matta not surprised

Davidson came close to becoming only the fifth No. 15 seed to win a first-round game since the current seeding format began in 1985. But Matta wasn't surprised by the near-upset.

He was already viewing three tapes on the Wildcats on the bus ride to Columbus from the Big Ten tourney.

"I got off the bus and said, 'Why do we have to play Davidson?' " he said.

"Then I looked at the bracket and said, 'Who do you want to play?'

"The parity and neutral sites (in the NCAA tourney) make for these types of games."

OSU cold again

The Buckeyes pride themselves on hitting 3-pointers and playing stifling defense, but they left the former undone in the first round. They sank just 5-of-22 bombs — the ninth time in 10 games they've shot 33 percent or worse from beyond the arc.

Slump-ridden Je'Kel Foster went 2-for-6 from the field and 1-for-4 on 3-pointers.

"I'm concerned," Matta said. "But they asked right after the game, 'Do you have a potion to help?' If I did, I would have used it a couple weeks ago.
"Sunday — as everyone knows — (we've) got to get on a roll and make shots."

Buckeye fans erupt
OSU fans made up about 75 percent of the sell-out crowd of 12,945, but they were muzzled until Ron Lewis sparked a 10-0 run in the second half with a pair of 3-pointers.

"All of a sudden, the crowd became a factor and the crowd maintained (its decibel level) as we turned it over one or two times in response to their 3s," Davidson coach Bob McKillop said.

Father, son emotional

Davidson senior guard Matt McKillop, the coach's son, openly sobbed at the post-game press conference while discussing the impact of playing for his father. The elder McKillop, seated nearby, also fought back tears.

"The last four years have been such an amazing experience," the player said. "It hasn't set in yet that this is it. It's something I'll never forget.
"To come this far and to come so close, it's such a disappointment not to have been able to do it for my dad."

Refs not popular

Matta was irate with the officials, who appeared at times to be a little overzealous. After one questionable call, he bellowed: "This is unbelievable. This ? is ? unbelievable."

His players also occasionally came unraveled, having become accustomed to the let-'em-play style of the Big Ten.

"We did lose our composure a little bit there, most definitely," Matta said. "I will talk to (the team) — because it is a different game (in the NCAA)."

Contact Doug Harris at 225-2125.
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DDN

3/19/06

OSU NOTES
UD Arena likely to turn red again today

By Doug Harris
Dayton Daily News

DAYTON | Say this for Ohio State fans: They're a scalper's dream.

No price apparently is too high when it comes to supporting their Buckeyes.

About three-fourths of the sell-out crowd of 12,944 at a first-round NCAA doubleheader Friday were scarlet-clad OSU zealots, most of whom paid considerably more than the $60 face value for tickets.

They're expected to converge again at UD Arena for second-round action today, although one player said the team may be too consumed with the task at hand to notice.

"We have great fans," senior guard Je'Kel Foster said. "Wherever we go, they seem to be there. But we try not to focus on the crowd. We have a game to play."

Welcome appreciated
OSU assistant Dan Peters was buzzing about the pep-rally-like atmosphere at Miamisburg High School after the team conducted a practice there Thursday.

"We walked in and they had signs in the gym," he said. "Our kids loved it.

And when we left, they took us through the school.

"They said their kids were excited. But our kids were excited, too."

Terwilliger cleared
After playing all but about 20 seconds Friday against Davidson, Ohio State senior center Terence Dials may get a much-deserved breather.

Back-up Matt Terwilliger, who had an appendectomy 11 days ago, has been cleared to play, although he'll have to wear a protective brace. The sophomore from Troy admitted he's somewhat concerned about his stamina after sitting out the Big Ten tournament. But he said, "I'm excited."

Sullinger just having fun
OSU senior forward J.J. Sullinger took a detour on his way to a center-court handshake during introductions Friday, playfully circling petite cheerleader Mallory Donaldson of Lorain, before trotting toward a meeting with a Davidson player.

"She's a good friend of mine," Sullinger said.

Just a friend, nothing more?

Yep, Sullinger insisted.

"We've known each other a long time," he said. "Our parents went to college together."

Foster to keep flinging
Je'Kel Foster hit just one of four 3-pointers against Davidson, but he said he plans to keep firing despite being mired in a dastardly slump.

After all, he doesn't want to disobey dad.

Willie Foster, a former Alcorn State player, worked on his son's form in Columbus on Monday before returning to their native Mississippi to watch the first-round game.

"He told me my shot looked great," Je'Kel Foster reported. "He said, 'Keep shooting my shot, and it will fall for me.' "

Foster has made just four of his last 39 three-pointers over a six-game span, after having set an OSU record with 12 consecutive treys earlier this season.

Contact Doug Harris at 225-2125.
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DDN

3/19/06

Buckeyes know they must focus better

OSU took awhile to pull it together against Davidson

By Doug Harris
Dayton Daily News

DAYTON | Ohio State's J.J. Sullinger had played all season with the same set of teammates. But for much of a first-round game in the NCAA tournament Friday, he didn't recognize them.

Instead of being the composed bunch that captured the Big Ten regular-season crown, the Buckeyes were easily agitated by the referees, their opponent and perhaps even their fellow players during a 70-62 win over Davidson.

They trailed by three with 16 minutes to go and teetered on becoming just the fifth No. 2 seed to lose its opener. But they reverted to form in time to avert disaster.

"We were talking about that (Saturday)," Sullinger said of the collective frustration, "and it was a lot like Forrest Gump."

Forrest Gump?

"Remember when he was trying to run with the shackles on his legs?" Sullinger said. "He couldn't quite get going, but once he got going, he was in full stride. That's what we were doing. We knew what we had to do. We knew what we were trying to do. We just couldn't quite get it moving."

Although the Buckeyes' shooting of late has been like a box of chocolates — you never know what you're going to get — the hallmark of the team has been its mental toughness.

But dealing with the pesky Wildcats, some overzealous officiating and their own spotty play, the Buckeyes couldn't keep themselves from occasionally coming unhinged.

Point guard Jamar Butler and forward Matt Sylvester had run-ins with Davidson players, and Sullinger and teammate Ron Lewis appeared to get a little snippy with each other while trying to clear up some confusion.

But Sullinger said: "That's the type of relationship me and Ron have. It wasn't bickering back and forth. It wasn't anything personal. In the heat of the moment, sometimes you have to say things out of a sense of urgency.

That's what it was."

OSU coach Thad Matta admitted after the game that his team misplaced its equilibrium at times and vowed to address the issue.

"We're in good shape there," he said Saturday. "We tell them all the time, 'You have to make adjustments (in a game). I didn't notice it as much as everyone else did. But we talked about it, (saying), 'We don't lose our focus. We don't lose our concentration.'''

Butler was involved in a messy incident with Davidson's Matt McKillop in the final seconds. The pair exchanged words and stared each other down while leaving the floor, and Butler stretched the lettering of his jersey with his thumbs as if to rub McKillop's nose in Ohio State's win.

McKillop claimed Butler used salty language and said the episode wasn't "very classy." But Matta said Saturday he wasn't even aware the clash took place.

"Did that happen?" he asked. "Obviously, we don't want that. We'll address it. (But) there's always two sides to every story. I've learned that with (being a father to) two little girls. We'll find out."

Contact Doug Harris at 225-2125.
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Canton

3/21/06

OSU seniors began the road back

Tuesday, March 21, 2006


[FONT=Verdana, Times New Roman, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]THE ASSOCIATED PRESS[/FONT]




COLUMBUS - For a change, Ohio State basketball made more news on the court than in a courtroom.

And if you think a 26-6 record, an outright Big Ten title and a trip to the NCAA tournament was a nice start, then wait until you see what the expectations are next year.

Despite the specter of NCAA sanctions hanging over them, and ugly details popping up because of a lawsuit by the man who brought most of them to campus, the Buckeyes still racked up a lot of high points before bowing out of the NCAA tournament with a loss to Georgetown on Sunday.

“No one expected us to do anything, but we did,” junior guard Ron Lewis said. “It was just a great season. I am looking forward to next season and doing the same thing.”

It’s odd that a team that loses four starters, including three fifth-year seniors and the Big Ten’s Player of the Year, is looking forward rather than back. Gone is the top player in the conference, Terence Dials, along with J.J. Sullinger, Matt Sylvester and Je’Kel Foster.

But Coach Thad Matta — who couldn’t or wouldn’t say he was officially coming back to Ohio State until just a few weeks ago — will replace them with one of the greatest recruiting classes at the school.

No wonder Lewis, point guard Jamar Butler and the other returnees are excited.

The incoming Buckeyes include 7-foot Greg Oden, the consensus top player in the nation, and Indianapolis Lawrence North High School teammate Mike Conley along with stars Daequan Cook of Dayton Dunbar and David Lighty of Cleveland Villa Angela-St. Joseph.

“We’re going to take some time and rest,” Matta said after Ohio State fell to tall and talented Georgetown 70-52 in the second round Sunday night.

“We have four guys playing for state high school championships this coming weekend and I hope they finish that off. We’ll come back after spring break and get ready to start building again. That’s the beauty of what I love to do in coaching. Put all the pieces together and go in the right direction.”

The Buckeyes had plenty of experience, but a lot of questions. Not terribly tall — at 6-9, Dials was their only inside player — and not terribly deep, the Buckeyes nonetheless ran off 10 straight wins in November and December, including a last-second victory over NCAA tournament heavyweight LSU.

They lost three of their first seven Big Ten games, then won 11 of their next 12 games to capture the school’s first outright conference title in 14 years.

Late in that run, they also found out that the NCAA would not keep them out of the tournament this year.

The only damper on a sparkling season was a shooting slump that cost them in a loss to Iowa in the Big Ten tournament finale and the season-ending loss to the Hoyas.

“This was a year of overachieving,” Sylvester said. “We’ve had our ups and downs, like every team has. It was a great season. No one can take the outright Big Ten championship away from us. No one has regrets here.” Sullinger, who picked up the slack inside despite standing just 6-6, said, “No one ever gave us any credit. We were always underdogs. ... Ohio State basketball is back. I’m just proud to say I was part of the group that helped this program get back into the NCAA.”
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Dispatch

3/21/06

OSU MEN’S BASKETBALL
Matta will build on blueprint
‘Thad Five’ team will need time to find all the answers
Tuesday, March 21, 2006
Bob Baptist
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
20060321-Pc-E5-0400.jpg
DARRON CUMMINGS | ASSOCIATED PRESS Ron Lewis, left, celebrating Ohio State’s victory over Indiana with teammates, is a logical candidate to fill the leadership gap.
The four seniors who played their last game for the Ohio State men’s basketball team Sunday were credited by coach Thad Matta for laying the foundation for his program. What they laid was a blueprint for how much hard work, role-playing and unselfishness can mean to a team that doesn’t have the most talent. It meant an outright Big Ten championship.
Matta will have more talent to work with next season. The "Thad Five" recruiting class has been rated second-best in the nation by talent scouts and includes an NBA-ready 7-footer in center Greg Oden. Whether that translates into more success in 2007 remains to be seen.
Oden will have an effect, especially on defense, but who will go out of his area to rebound like Terence Dials and J.J. Sullinger did down the stretch of the Big Ten season? Who will get in the passing lanes and dive onto scorer’s tables for loose balls like Je’Kel Foster did? Is there another power forward on the roster to lend the offense the threepoint shooting threat and two-to-one assist-to-turnover ratio Matt Sylvester did?
Here are five more questions:
1. Who starts next season ?

If one thing has become clear in Matta’s tenure, it is that defense gets you on the floor. So write in Oden and Jamar Butler’s names. Ron Lewis has an edge on one wing because of his experience, a proven ability to get to the basket and an improving threepoint stroke, but he needs to tighten his defense. Sylvester Mayes, if he sticks around, and freshmen Mike Conley, Daequan Cook and David Lighty will compete for the third guard spot. Cook might be the most talented, but Conley might have the best basketball IQ and Lighty without a doubt has the best Big Ten frame of the three. A Conley-Butler tandem is not out of the question because of Butler’s ability to shoot the three.
2. Who’s the fifth starter ?

There might not be an answer until after the season is under way. Candidates abound, but whether anyone can handle the inside-outside responsibilities the position entails in Matta’s system is uncertain. Matt Terwilliger has the shooting range and toughness to rebound but hasn’t guarded away from the basket. Brayden Bell showed a nice outside shooting touch but little else in 33 minutes this season. Ivan Harris can shoot and improved his defense enough to possibly handle the position but hasn’t added a rebounding component. Junior-college transfer Othello Hunter is said to be a late bloomer whose athletic potential intrigues Matta. But some juniorcollege transfers (Foster) make the jump to Division I better than others (Mayes), so OSU fans will have to wait and see which category Hunter falls in.
3. What happened to Mayes this season ?

Rumors abound, but the only reason given for him playing two mop-up minutes against Purdue the last 13 games of the season was because Matta didn’t trust him in tight games, which the Buckeyes were in about every night they played. Mayes would help himself, and the team, if he harnesses his natural ability and becomes more disciplined and dependable.
4. Who fills the leadership void left by the four seniors ?

The only returning starter is Butler, a strong, silent type who leads by his play. He came out of his shell more as his role expanded the second half of the season, however, and might be more comfortable asserting himself as a leader with Foster gone. Lewis is a logical candidate as the only senior seemingly sure to start.
The X factor might be Conley if he comes in and claims a major role. He’ll only be a freshman but, like Scoonie Penn did, has Pied Piper intangibles that influence teammates to follow him. Just ask Oden.
5. How good will the Buckeyes be ?

None of Matta’s teams has ever finished shy of 20 wins, so use that as a benchmark. But then think about how much experience meant to the success of this season’s team and how much inexperience will be in next year’s rotation. And then consider that the Fab Five at Michigan never won a Big Ten title. And then put off answering this question until the end of January, because until then, the only answer is, ‘Who knows?’.
[email protected]
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the dispatchs take
 
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Dispatch

3/21/06

OSU MEN’S BASKETBALL

Within reach

Thad Matta knows the Buckeyes will be taller and more athletic soon enough

Tuesday, March 21, 2006

Bob Baptist
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

20060321-Pc-E1-0600.jpg

NEAL C . LAURON | DISPATCH Thad Matta can count on his incoming class to give Ohio State a different look.
20060321-Pc-E1-0800.jpg

Thad Matta had an all-too-simple answer for a perplexing problem after becoming coach of the Ohio State men’s basketball team two years ago.
He was told that one thing the Buckeyes routinely had trouble with during Jim O’Brien’s seven years as their coach — other than making free throws — was defending the three-point line.
‘‘Maybe they’re not tall enough," Matta said.
This season, the Buckeyes were the only Big Ten team to hold their opponents under 30 percent (28.3) from threepoint range in conference play.
They still weren’t tall enough for the long haul, however, a shortcoming that was made all too obvious Sunday by Georgetown in the second round of the NCAA Tournament in Dayton. The Hoyas, with a front line measuring 7 feet 2, 6-9 and 6-9, and wingspans to match, used their length to keep the Buckeyes out of rhythm on offense for most of the game and handed them their worst loss ever in the tournament, 70-52.
It was reminiscent of double-figure drubbings by Missouri in the 2002 NCAA Tournament and at Alabama in 2001 in which a team not built along the thick lines of those in the Big Ten used its superior length and athleticism to thoroughly lock down the Buckeyes.
If Matta has his druthers, Sunday will be the last time it happens on his watch.
"I think you’re going to see a little more length when we take the court next year," he said.
Seven-foot freshman Greg Oden will be in an OSU uniform then. So will four other first-year players — freshmen Mike Conley, Daequan Cook and David Lighty and junior-college transfer Othello Hunter — who are expected to inject the program with more length and athleticism than it has had since Scoonie Penn, Michael Redd, Ken Johnson, Jason Singleton and Brian Brown carried the Buckeyes to the Final Four in 1999.
Conley is only 6-1 but long-armed. Cook is 6-4, Lighty 6-5 and Hunter 6-9. Future recruiting classes include 6-6 guard Jon Diebler, 6-2 guard Walter Offutt and 7-foot center/forward B.J. Mullens.
As Georgetown proved, it isn’t only the height that matters. It’s also having the wingspan and the athleticism to blanket the court on defense and go over opponents on offense when going around them isn’t an option.
"I hear NBA guys talk now about they don’t care how tall you are, they care how long you are," Matta said. "Georgetown’s a unique team (in college basketball with) their length. Our passing angles, we were struggling. We had the angles but it was just hard to get (the ball) over or around them."
Point guard Jamar Butler came off high screens from Terence Dials a couple of times but couldn’t get the ball to 6-9 Dials on the pick-and-roll because 7-2 Roy Hibbert or 6-9 Jeff Green were between them with arms extended.
"That was a problem," Butler acknowledged with a smile.
Matta said Ohio State succeeded this season despite a lack of size and quickness because of the potential problems its offense, with four three-point shooters on the perimeter, presented opponents. The Buckeyes, especially when 6-5 J.J. Sullinger was at power forward, were built like a midmajor with muscle.
"People probably feared, ‘Hey, we can’t play our big guys in there because we can’t guard them at the other end,’ " Matta said.
Georgetown had big guys who could. Ohio State soon will, too.
[email protected]
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baptist kind of twists mattas words pretty good in this one, i also think it comes off as negative. interesting though, and a really nice picture of matta.
 
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