Men's Basketball Buckeye Tidbits 2006-2007 Season

[duke_shoot]

Link

Oden-less Buckeyes move to No. 5

By Jim O'Connell

Job well done by the Bucks. I think we are going to be just fine. I didn't see ncaa bb coverage over the weekend. Not one thing about the Bucks. Then last night i started seeing items about Duke and the big east, and then indiana. but still nothing about us. We have a great team but not a big name I guess.

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

BSB$ (Jeff Rapp)

10 Things We Now Know About Basketball Bucks..........

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Dispatch

OHIO STATE MEN?S BASKETBALL
Matta views Michigan game as plus for recruiting plans

Basketball players get a feel for fervor of fans

Friday, November 17, 2006

Bob Baptist
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH




The coaches of Ohio State?s two highest-profile sports have made it a habit the past couple of years to textmessage each other before big games.
Thad Matta remembered yesterday that he had yet to message Jim Tressel and the football team. Matta had not even thought of what to say. But he knew what not to say.
As much as Matta wants every seat in sold-out Value City Arena filled tonight for his men?s basketball team?s game against Eastern Kentucky ? not just sold but actually occupied ? he won?t do the one thing that might guarantee that: ask the undefeated and No. 1-ranked football Buckeyes to attend. Fans would be out the door to get a look.
No, Matta knows Tressel?s young men have more important things to do, such as watch more tape of No. 2 Michigan.
"I wouldn?t want to be held responsible if they lose," Matta said.
Matta is hoping, however, to take advantage in other ways on the most hyped Ohio State-Michigan game in history. He expects to have a dozen or more prime recruiting targets in town to experience the fervor of Buckeye Nation. Some also will be at the basketball game tonight.
"I know two years ago, my first rivalry game between the two teams, I never felt anything like that," Matta said. "Hopefully, a little bit of that will rub off in the (Schottenstein Center) on Friday night, kind of use it for the fans to get ready for the game on Saturday."
From what some of the players have seen on campus, the students have been ready all week.
"I can?t even describe how different it is to see a whole city just go crazy over a rivalry like this," said freshman guard Mike Conley Jr., who said he was thinking of attending the students? traditional dip in Mirror Lake last night. But only to watch ? can?t have the starting point guard catching pneumonia.
Conley said Indianapolis, where he grew up, has nothing that compares with Ohio State-Michigan.
"I thought it was good to see Indiana and Purdue in basketball. I thought that was crazy," he said. "This blows that out of the gym. I?ve never seen anything like it."
Neither had Jamar Butler when he was a freshman. Now he?s a wiser junior.
"I saw some cars get flipped," he said. "I said, ?Why are they flipping them?? Someone said, ?Because they?re blue.?
"I have a blue Explorer. I?m parking it at the Schott all weekend."
None of the four players interviewed yesterday said he planned to attend the game. None has tickets ? although freshman David Lighty said he was looking for one ? and NCAA rules prohibit them from using any from the allotment the coaches have for recruits.
Moreover, the team has practice a few hours before kickoff, and Butler, Conley and senior Ron Lewis said they would rather chill after that with teammates and watch the game on TV in the players? dormitory rather than be part of the mosh pit in Ohio Stadium.
"If guys want to go, they can go," Butler said. "I?m going to stay out of it.
"There?s going to be a lot going on. I don?t want to say bad things (going on), but a lot of things going on that I don?t think we as players should be around."
[email protected]

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Dispatch

OHIO STATE MEN?S BASKETBALL
Attention to shooting pays off for Buckeyes

Monday, November 20, 2006

Bob Baptist
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

TERRY GILLIAM ASSOCIATED PRESS Ohio State?s Mike Conley Jr., left, says the Buckeyes "shoot every day before practice and after practice. ? We shoot like we?re actually in a game, and I think that helps us."

When Thad Matta became a head coach for the first time, at Butler in 2000, one sage he tapped for advice was Dick Harter, regarded as one of the best defensive minds in basketball and then an assistant with the Indiana Pacers.
Matta asked Harter if he had another chance to be a head coach, what would he do differently from when he led the expansion Charlotte Hornets from 1988 to ?90.
"He said, ?I?d shoot the ball more (in practice),? " Matta said. "I?ve always taken that from day one as a coach, to practice shooting, because it?s that important.
"It?s like taking 20 minutes to run five-on-zero and get all your sets down and (take) no time for shooting. You may run the play well, but (it doesn?t matter if) you can?t make the shot."
Practice has paid off for Matta?s young Ohio State men?s basketball team. Good shot selection, and by extension good shooting percentages, are not always a strength of players experiencing college basketball for the first time. Yet the No. 5-Buckeyes (4-0), with four firstyear players in their eight-man rotation, have shot 50 percent or better from the field in every game leading up to tonight?s against San Francisco (2-1).
"In the offseason, we got up a ton of shots each day. It?s paid off. It shows everybody worked on their shot," said guard Jamar Butler, whose .469 field-goal percentage is the lowest of the eight regulars.
Matta said he did not know how many shots players hoisted from April through September, but guard Mike Conley Jr. said the team?s goal when it began preseason conditioning in September was to shoot 10,000 shots before practice began Oct. 13. The goal was met.
"It?s just crazy how much we shoot," Conley said. "But it?s definitely working out for us."
Conley said people thought he was working hard in high school when he would put up 200 to 300 extra shots a week.
"That was nothing compared to what we do here," he said. "We shoot every day before practice and after practice. We get up at least 100 jump shots or three-pointers or whatever the drills are that day. We do like 50 mid-range (jumpers), then 50 threes, then come back and shoot 25 free throws.
"The important thing is that we shoot game-type shots, so it?s not like we?re just messing around and throwing the ball up. We shoot like we?re actually in a game, and I think that helps us."
It can be tiring after a hard practice, Conley said, but that?s the idea. "Being able to still shoot when you?re tired is a big deal," he said.
Matta complimented his players for "getting the shots we wanted" in a 74-45 win over Eastern Kentucky on Friday. He singled out freshman Daequan Cook, who scored a game-high 22 points, for doing "a nice job of finding the (open areas)."
Openings could be harder to come by tonight. San Francisco will have better athletes than Eastern Kentucky did. The Dons were picked to finish third in the West Coast Conference this season, behind Gonzaga and Loyola Marymount.
"They?re an athletic team, they like to get up (on defense) and force your hand a little bit," Matta said. [email protected]

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Dispatch

OSU Insider....

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Dispatch

OHIO STATE MEN?S BASKETBALL

Channel 10 will show games

Thursday, November 23, 2006

Bob Baptist
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

The sometimes-futile search for Ohio State men?s basketball games on local television is over.
All of the Buckeyes? games not televised by ESPN or ESPN2 will be on Channel 10 for the rest of the season, Frank Willson, the station?s director of operations, said yesterday.
Some recent games had been shown on Ohio News Network, prompting complaints from some viewers whose cable systems do not carry ONN. The Buckeyes? next game, at 8 p.m. Friday in Nationwide Arena against Youngstown State, will be on Channel 10.
"Each year, CBS, ESPN and 10 TV negotiate what games we?re going to be able to (air on Channel 10) and what CBS programs we?re going to pre-empt," Willson said. "ESPN came in with a much more aggressive schedule this year. ESPN wanted to air more games on WBNS than we had room to air under our CBS contract."
As a CBS affiliate, Channel 10 is sensitive to the network?s wishes, Willson said.
"If you say we?re going to run your programming and decide to pre-empt, they?re not happy," he said. "They have 200-plus markets they?re counting on to deliver viewers to their programming. Every affiliate that pre-empts CBS takes those viewers away from those advertisers and programs (that CBS has) paid to produce.
"But all parties worked well together and got it solved before there were too many inconveniences."
The starting times of two games were changed as a result. Games against Valparaiso on Dec. 2 and Cleveland State on Dec. 9 will start at 4 p.m. They had been scheduled for 2 p.m.
[email protected]

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

DDN

OSU basketball unbeaten, but has room to improve


By Mark Gokavi
Staff Writer

Thursday, November 23, 2006

COLUMBUS ? Ohio State basketball coach Thad Matta stayed up some nights this preseason wondering how his team would fit together without 7-foot freshman Greg Oden.

The short answer is 5-0. But coaches aren't easily satisfied.
"As crazy as this sounds, I think that we have a long way to go," Matta said. "I think we're making progress."
San Francisco coach Jessie Evans, whose Dons lost 82-60 to OSU on Monday, had a different take. "They play well together," he said. "They seem to have a lot of fun out there.
"I noticed it on TV watching them in a couple games, they seem to enjoy their roles and they know their roles. And as a result, they're a little further along. I think that compensates for their lack of experience.
"They've still got another guy to add," Evans added, then joked, "He may mess up their chemistry a little bit."
Southwest OH syndicate
About five minutes into most games, the Buckeyes insert Daequan Cook (Dunbar), Matt Terwilliger (Troy) and Ivan Harris (Springfield). Cook has adapted to his sixth-man role, leading the team with 18 points per.
The top eight players all average between 18-31 minutes.
"We feel like we've got some depth and we know we want to play everybody," Matta said. "The big thing is getting those guys to understand their roles."
Two strong points
Mike Conley Jr. runs the point, spelled sometimes by Jamar Butler. Against the Dons, Conley had nine assists and Butler added seven. The Buckeyes average 18 assists, tops among Big Ten teams.
"The thing we always felt with Michael is with him coming in, he's a very good decision-maker," Matta said. "I think that is advantageous for us to put two guys out there that have the capability of making plays."
Flying over a Byrd
Cook's alley-oop dunk high over San Francisco's Jesse Byrd ? between two Cook 3-pointers ? excited the 14,592 fans, prompting a Dons timeout.
"That came from high school," Cook said. "Most times when you had a dunk like that, you got the crowd going.

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-6951 or [email protected].



Next game
Who: Ohio State (5-0) vs. Youngstown State (2-2)
When: 8 p.m. Friday
Where: Nationwide Arena
Radio: WING-AM (1410)

 

[osugrad21]

OZone

Men's Basketball
Hoops Week in Review
By Tony Gerdeman
It's back! It's been a long time off, but the Hoops Week in Review is back to catch you up on the things you may have missed last week. And I'm sure you missed plenty, given that you haven't napped like you did last week since you were a baby. And you were a very lazy baby, so that's saying something.

Recapping The Buckeyes' Week​

The Buckeyes went 2-0, knocking off perennial schedule-fillers San Francisco and Youngstown State.
Game One: The Buckeyes got out to an early lead and never looked back. The score was 45-29 at the half and Ohio State coasted the rest of the way, eventually winning 82-60. The Buckeyes displayed the unselfishness of a veteran team, dishing out twenty assists on their 32 field goals.
Game Two: This one was a rout from the tip. The Buckeyes led 54-25 at half, but really never pulled much further away than that, eventually winning 91-57. They only outscored Youngstown State by five in the second half, so it wasn't a perfect game for Ohio State. Five Buckeyes scored in double figures, led by Ivan Harris' 19 points.

Buckeye of the Week​

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Daequan Cook [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Photo by Jim Davidson [/FONT]

​

Daequan Cook. I'm guessing this won't be his last time here. Cook averaged 18.5 points and 8 rebounds per game last week. He made 15 of his 25 field goal attempts, including 5-10 from three. He only shot two free throws, making both. It was clear, however, that he could get a makeable shot at any point against San Francisco and Youngstown State, so his lack of free throw attempts isn't a concern yet. In the coming weeks, however, he will have to get to the basket more as he won't be able to rely on the jump shot all season. But for now, all is well. And in a stroke of genius, Thad Matta has decided to bring Daequan in off of the bench. Cook coming off the bench is like having somebody jump into a boxing ring after the round is over and start pummeling one of the boxers as he sits in his corner trying to recover from the beating he just got done taking.
Additional Buckeye Thoughts
Greg Oden looked pretty angry sitting on the bench against Youngstown State. I'm guessing the day before each game, Thad Matta has to come up with a new way to tell Oden that he's not going to be playing in that particular game. I hate to always bring up the A-Team (I really don't), but it reminds me of the methods they used to use to get B.A. on an airplane. That look on Oden's face Friday night was the same look B.A. would give when he'd wake up at an orphanage in El Salvador instead of his bunk at HQ.
Mike Conley Jr. will be the best point guard to ever play at Ohio State...by the end of next season. He sees the entire floor and can get to the rim whenever he feels like it. He's averaging nearly seven assists per game right now, and that's without Oden. His assist numbers probably won't go up once Oden comes back, but that will be due to Big Ten teams slowing the pace down. Once he improves his jump shot, he will be unstoppable.
Lastly, isn't it fun watching a team that's having fun? Of course, I hope they won't mind it when somebody else is doing the blocking and dunking and rebounding.
Magic Number for an NCAA Championship
29 wins

Big Ten Week In Review​

Illinois 3-0 this week: wins over Savannah State (81-34), Miami OH (51-49) and Bradley (75-71); 7-0 this season
Michigan 2-0 this week: wins over Youngstown State (65-56) and Maryland-Baltimore County (66-54); 7-0 this season
Ohio State 2-0 this week: wins over San Francisco (82-60) and Youngstown State (91-57); 6-0 this season
Michigan State 2-0 this week: wins over Vermont (66-46) and Oakland (71-53); 6-1 this season
Wisconsin 2-1 this week: wins over Delaware State (64-52) and Auburn (77-63) and a loss to Missouri State (66-64); 5-1 this season
Penn State 2-0 this week: wins over Bucknell (63-60) and St. Joseph's (65-61); 4-1 this season
Purdue 2-1 this week: wins over Oklahoma (74-71) and DePaul (81-73) and a loss to Georgia Tech (79-61); 4-1 this season
Indiana 0-0 this week; 3-1 this season
Northwestern 2-0 this week: wins over Brown (64-40) and North Florida (40-39); 3-2 this season
Iowa 0-2 this week: losses to Villanova (89-60) and Arizona State (67-64); 2-3 this season
Minnesota 0-3 this week: losses to Iowa State (68-63), Marist (63-56) and Southern Illinois (69-53); 2-4 this season

Big Ten Notes​

Purdue senior forward Carl Landry is back from injury. He missed all but five games last season, but has picked up where he left off in '04-'05 when he averaged 18.2 points and 7.1 rebounds per game. This season, he's averaging 19.4 points and 7.2 rebounds per game. He has a little bit of range, but he's at his best in the paint. Against Oklahoma last week, he scored 30 points on 10-13 shooting and was 10-12 from the free throw line. The Boilermakers are undersized this season, as the 6'7" Landry is the tallest contributor on the team, but they have a bunch of players that can score and shoot. However, Landry is the guy that keeps the team grounded. Wisconsin's Alondo Tucker will get more press, but Landry may ultimately be the more complete player.
Speaking of players coming back from injury, Indiana forward D.J. White has also impressed on his comeback tour. He too missed all but five games last season, but has come back just as athletic as the day he left. He has had some foul trouble issues so far this season, but when he's on the court, he's usually the best player playing. He hasn't been getting to the free throw line as much as the other power forwards in the conference, but he may just be feeling some things out. As long as White is in the lineup, the Hoosiers shouldn't miss Marco Killingsworth too much.
There are only three statistics that the Big Ten keeps that don't have one of the Thad Five in the top seven in that statistic. They are free throw percentage, three-point field goals made per game and minutes played per game. Some stats of note: Daequan Cook is third in scoring at 17.8 points per game; Mike Conley Jr. is seventh in field goal percentage at .590; Conley is also second in assists at 6.33 per game; Conley also leads the conference in steals at 3.17; He's also second in assist-to-turnover ratio at 2.92; Cook is fourth in the conference in three-point field goal percentage; and he leads the conference in defensive rebounds at 5.5 per game.
Michigan State point guard Drew Neitzel is now a scorer. His first season, he was a dribbler and a watcher. Last year he was a dribbler, distributor and reluctant shooter. This season, he's shooting as soon as the ball is tipped. He's averaging 17.7 points per game, more than double last season's average, but his assist numbers have only dipped slightly. He has already taken a third of the shots that he took all season last year, and he's done it in only seven games. And he's already made 41 field goals, compared to the 98 that he made all of last season. And he's already made half of the free throws and three-pointers that he made last season. This is not the same Drew Neitzel that was abused by Jamar Butler last season.

Game of the Week​

Kansas 82 - Florida 80
This game was played in late November, but as you may have heard, it felt like late March. It was a neutral site, and it pitted #1 Florida against #12 Kansas. The Jayhawks jumped on the Gators early and led at the half 37-31. Kansas had a four-point lead with ten seconds to play, but fouled a driving Corey Brewer, who made the layup. He missed the free throw attempt, but it was tipped in by Joakim Noah to tie the game with three seconds to play. Kansas couldn't get a shot off to win the game. The Gators led for most of the overtime, and actually had a three-point lead late. Kansas took a one-point lead with 26 seconds left, and then upped the lead to two points with five seconds to play. Florida's Corey Brewer had an open look on a three-pointer at the buzzer, but left it short, giving Kansas the win. The win came just ten days after the Jayhawks lost at home to Oral Roberts.

Team of the Week​

Butler. This is actually the "Team of the Season" so far. Last week, the Bulldogs won the preseason NIT Tournament with wins over #21 Tennessee (56-44) and #23 Gonzaga (79-71). Then, the day after their championship, they beat Kent State 83-80 in two overtimes. And if you want more credentials, the week before last, Butler won at Notre Dame (71-69), then beat Indiana (60-55) the next night.

Player of the Week​

Kansas forward Julian Wright. Wright played three games last week, and his numbers were nothing special. For instance, he only scored 11.5 points per game against Tennessee State and Ball State earlier in the week. But against Florida, a team with three or four lottery picks, Wright was the best player on the floor. Undersized at 6'8" against the twin tower combination of Joakim Noah (6'11") and Al Horford (6'10"), Wright scored 21 points and pulled down ten rebounds, including four on the offensive end. And what about Noah and Horford? They were both held under their averages in nearly all categories. Noah only had four rebounds and Horford finished with nine points on 3-8 shooting. Oh, and they had nine fouls between the two of them trying to keep up with Wright.

Some Things Without a Category ​

Duke forward Josh McRoberts needs to stop trying to play like Grant Hill and start playing like Cherokee Parks. We get it, you think you're a small forward. That's great. But if you're not careful, Tyler Hansbrough's going to make you wish you were a point guard.
They say Duke freshman guard Jon Scheyer is the next J.J. Redick. And who can argue? After all, he is white and can shoot threes. He's 12-23 from three so far this season, and is averaging 10 points per game. This, of course, begs the question "Who's the next Adam Morrison?" His name is Matt Bouldin and he's a freshman guard for Gonzaga. Of course, he's a little shorter than Morrison, being only 6'5". But that doesn't matter. What does matter is that he can shoot and, more importantly, he has floppy hair!
VMI is averaging 105.6 points per game this season, and averaged 150 points per game over a two game span against Virginia Intermont (who?) and South Virginia (what?). The second half of the South Virginia game saw VMI outscored 92-90. Saturday against Howard, VMI scored 111 points...and lost.
And if you've watched any games this season, you've undoubtedly noticed that the refs are finally calling palming and carrying. I like it, but I'm not going to like it when the Buckeyes get called for it late and the Spartans don't. Lousy Big Ten refs. I'm already tired of them.
In Summation...
You're as lazy now as the you were the day you were born...Buckeyes are hazardous to a penguin's health...The Buckeyes have five players better than Daequan Cook...Greg Oden pities the fool that tells him he can't play against North Carolina...Mike Conley is better than Carlos Davis and is chasing down Doug Etzler...He should have him by December...Drew Neitzel may finally be as good as Spartan fans thought he would be from day one...Florida is no longer number one...Joakim Noah is still overrated...Josh McRoberts is an awkward teenager trapped in an awkward teenager's body...Jon Scheyer, if you really are the next J.J. Redick, you better get some thick skin...And Matt Bouldin, if you truly are the next Adam Morrison, wait until you get into the locker room before you cry like your girlfriend dumped you...VMI's defense makes baby Matt Sylvester cry...Too soon?...Anyway, by the time you read this, the Buckeyes may be ranked #1 in the nation...for at least a week.

 

[Fungo Squiggly]

Some interesting stats:

---All eight regulars are averaging between 18 and 32 minutes, led by Butler at 31.2 and trailed by Twigs at 18.2. The other six average between 21 and 29 apiece.
---OSU, as a team, is shooting 52.6% from the field. Only two of the eight regulars are shooting below 50%. Ivan Harris at 48.1% and Jamar Butler at a surprisingly low 39.1%. Hunter, Cook, Conley, Twigs, and Lewis are all above 54% from the field. Lighty is at 50%. Opponents are shooting 38.1% from the field, including 27.3% from three.
---OSU is shooting 42.3% from three. Three players are shooting greater than 45%, led by Cook at 48%, Lewis at 47.2%, and Harris at 46.4%. Butler is shooting 36.8%, Lighty 33.3%, and Conley 14.3%.
---OSU is shooting 71.9% from the charity stripe, led by Lewis at 79.2% and Conley at 76.9%.
---On average, OSU is outrebounding opponents 35.3-27.8 and is dishing out 18.5 assists (vs 14.7 turnovers), while swiping 10.0 steals and rejecting 5.5 shots per game.

---Conley is averaging 9.5 points, 6.3 assists, and 3.2 steals against 2.2 turnovers in 26.8 minutes and leads the team in assist:turnover at 2.86.
---Cook is averaging 17.8 points and 7.0 rebounds in 23.5 minutes.
---Hunter is averaging 7.2 rebounds (3.5 offensive) and 1.8 blocks in just 22 minutes.

 

[IronBuckI]

Some interesting stats:

---All eight regulars are averaging between 18 and 32 minutes, led by Butler at 31.2 and trailed by Twigs at 18.2. The other six average between 21 and 29 apiece.
---OSU, as a team, is shooting 52.6% from the field. Only two of the eight regulars are shooting below 50%. Ivan Harris at 48.1% and Jamar Butler at a surprisingly low 39.1%. Hunter, Cook, Conley, Twigs, and Lewis are all above 54% from the field. Lighty is at 50%. Opponents are shooting 38.1% from the field, including 27.3% from three.
---OSU is shooting 42.3% from three. Three players are shooting greater than 45%, led by Cook at 48%, Lewis at 47.2%, and Harris at 46.4%. Butler is shooting 36.8%, Lighty 33.3%, and Conley 14.3%.
---OSU is shooting 71.9% from the charity stripe, led by Lewis at 79.2% and Conley at 76.9%.
---On average, OSU is outrebounding opponents 35.3-27.8 and is dishing out 18.5 assists (vs 14.7 turnovers), while swiping 10.0 steals and rejecting 5.5 shots per game.

---Conley is averaging 9.5 points, 6.3 assists, and 3.2 steals against 2.2 turnovers in 26.8 minutes and leads the team in assist:turnover at 2.86.
---Cook is averaging 17.8 points and 7.0 rebounds in 23.5 minutes.
---Hunter is averaging 7.2 rebounds (3.5 offensive) and 1.8 blocks in just 22 minutes.

Great post. I agree. If free throw shooting doesn't improve, we're going to finish last in the Big Ten.

 

[OSU_Buckguy]

http://bigtenwonk.blogspot.com/

Ohio State will play in the national championship game (in basketball)
I guess for me the moment came when I was looking at the numbers for Mike Conley Jr., Ohio State's freshman guard. Sure, he hasn't shown an outside shot yet (1-of-7 on his threes)--but with uncommon non-freshman acuity he chooses his shots accordingly (only 18 percent of his shots have been threes) and thus is a paragon of scoring efficiency (1.26 PPWS). Plus he's registered a gaudy 13 assists per 100 possessions thus far. (Drew Neitzel led the Big Ten last year with about 10 assists per 100 poss.) And he records more than six steals per 100 possessions. Good grief, give Conley another few games and Jamar Butler, my Big Ten POY last year, may not even be the best point guard on his own team. So Thad Matta has multiple point-guard-level performers on hand.

Plus Ron Lewis (1.41 PPWS).

Plus Daequan Cook (1.33).

Mutliple highly efficient offensive threats.

And I thought: man, this team looks a lot like Illinois in 2005.

Uh, plus Greg Oden.

What you need to understand about Ohio State
OK, now the disclaimers. It's early and the young Buckeyes are yet to play a "power"-conference opponent or, for that matter, journey outside the friendly confines of Value City Arena. That's about to change in dramatic and abrupt fashion: Ohio State plays at North Carolina Wednesday night.

But even granting applicable adjectives like "young," "early," and "home games a-go-go," here is what can fairly be said about this team at the present time:

1. They present multiple offensive threats. See above.

2. They defend. When Ohio State posted a notably strong number for FG defense in Matta's first season in 2005, I was skeptical and thought it might have been mere chance. When they did it again last year (particularly on the perimeter), my skepticism vanished: tenacious FG defense can now be positively affirmed as a Matta genetic marker. (It's true opponents actually shot pretty well on the interior against the Buckeyes last year. My uncommonly enlightening insider's perspective on Big Ten hoops leads me to expect, however, that this will be less of an issue this year.)

3. Even without Oden, they're not as weak on the interior as commonly assumed. In Othello Hunter (18.4 rebound percentage) and Cook (16.8), the Buckeyes have two very solid performers on the glass--and Hunter blocks shots (4.5 every 100 possessions), as well. Sure, they'll improve dramatically on the interior when Oden arrives but the same could be said of Florida, Carolina, or any other team in the country.

Yes, questions remain. Most notably, scholarship players are not terribly numerous in Columbus. Will the Buckeyes be like Illinois in 2005 (key starters playing 80+ percent of the available minutes with no apparent ill effect) or will they be like Michigan State in 2006 (key starters playing 80+ percent of the available minutes with readily apparent ill effect)? We don't know.

But for now I'm standing by my headline. (Just not saying which year.)

 

[osugrad21]

ABJ

Stay tuned for OSU basketball

By George Thomas

If anyone had told me a decade ago that Ohio State Buckeyes hoops would be on the same level as its football program in terms of national recognition, I'd suggest that mental health counseling would be in order.
Now the football team is playing in the BCS championship game Jan. 8 and the men's basketball team is ranked third in the nation in the Associated Press poll and No. 1 in the USA Today/ESPN poll . Are we in the Twilight Zone?
As highly touted as they are, it hasn't exactly been easy to find the basketball Buckeyes on the tube. The reason? (Must I? Just remember, don't attack the messenger.)
ESPN owns the area rights to Buckeyes basketball and Fox Sports Net Ohio has the right to air the games when they don't conflict with other events on the cable station's schedule. This time of year, that's college football and the Cavaliers. Sports is a subjective kind of thing. You have to choose between college hoops and the face of the National Basketball Association in LeBron James. Which one do you take?
What's that? Did you say the Cavs? Yeah, that's what I thought. Take heart, Buckeyes fans, there still will be plenty of opportunities to see the Buckeyes. Much of their Big Ten schedule will pop up on CBS, ESPN or one of its little siblings -- and that includes Wednesday's showdown with the North Carolina Tar Heels at 9 p.m.
OSU hoops Part Deux
Buckeyes fans also can seek solace that Buckeyes coach Thad Matta continues to recruit like a man possessed.
Anthony Crater, a 6-1, 165-pound point guard from Flint, Mich., gave OSU an oral commitment Monday, according to Scouts.com. The recruiting service has Crater ranked as the third-best point guard in the country.

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Dispatch

OSU Insider....

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Dispatch

Another No. 1
Ohio State takes over top spot in coaches poll; third school to be No. 1 in football and basketball at same time
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
Bob Baptist
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

</IMG> Freshman guard Mike Conley Jr. and his Ohio State teammates rose to the top in the coaches poll.


National championships in both sports would be the crowning achievement. For the time being, Ohio State can savor being the first school in nearly 33 years to be ranked No. 1 simultaneously in football and men?s basketball. Basketball joined football on top of the heap yesterday when a panel of college coaches voted the Buckeyes No. 1 in the USA Today-ESPN poll. Ohio State is believed to be only the third school to hold No. 1 rankings in both sports simultaneously, an athletic department spokesman said, and the first since Notre Dame in January 1974.
"Unbelievable," OSU athletic director Gene Smith said. "I was there."
Smith was a member of the Notre Dame football team voted No. 1 after defeating Alabama in the Sugar Bowl on Dec. 31, 1973. Less than three weeks later, on Jan. 19, 1974, he was back on campus to watch the Notre Dame basketball team become No. 1 by ending UCLA?s 88-game winning streak.
Smith said the fact that Ohio State is the first school since to achieve the double "validates a couple things. One, the great job that (former athletic director) Andy Geiger did in hiring (coaches) Jim Tressel and Thad Matta. We should never forget that. And it validates the type of student-athlete we?ve been able to recruit to Ohio State."
The only other school known to have been No. 1 in football and men?s basketball simultaneously was UCLA in 1967. The Bruins held the No. 1 ranking in football for one week in November, when the basketball team was the reigning NCAA champion but the season had not begun.
Ohio State has been ranked No. 1 in football in every poll this season. The No. 1 ranking in basketball in at least one poll ? OSU is No. 3 this week in the Associated Press media poll ? is believed to be the first time since the end of the 1962 regular season that the Buckeyes have held the top spot.
The Buckeyes have not topped the AP poll since then, nor have they led the coaches poll since USA Today began administering it for the 1991-92 season. Complete results of the coaches poll before then were not available from the former administrator, United Press International.
"It?s something that is exciting, but the reality of it is, we still have a long way to go," Matta said last night during his radio show on WBNS-AM. "The thing I like is you?re sitting in that situation and you don?t have your center."
Seven-foot freshman Greg Oden has not played while rehabilitating his surgically repaired right wrist.
Ohio State (6-0) received six more points but two fewer first-place votes in the coaches poll than UCLA (4-0), which was second. Pittsburgh (6-0) was third and defending national champion Florida (6-1) fourth. OSU was behind UCLA and Pittsburgh in the AP poll.
Third last week in the coaches poll behind Florida and North Carolina, the Buckeyes took advantage of losses by each to move up. Florida lost to Kansas on Saturday in Las Vegas. North Carolina lost to Gonzaga on Wednesday in the NIT Season Tip-Off in New York.
The Tar Heels (4-1), who fell to sixth in the coaches poll and seventh in the AP, play host to Ohio State on Wednesday night in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge.
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[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Dispatch

Ohio State has the resources to be a basketball school
Wednesday, November 29, 2006

TODD JONES

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As a Kentucky native and lover of college basketball, the idea that Ohio State can?t be a "basketball school" has always bewildered me.
What exactly does Ohio State lack to be an annual powerhouse in men?s basketball?
The Buckeyes play in the high-profile Big Ten and in a state-of-the-art, $115 million arena. OSU has an athletic department that prints its own money and also has a sporadic hoops tradition dating to Fred Taylor, Jerry Lucas and John Havlicek.
And now Ohio State, a "football school" set to play for another national championship, is ranked No. 1 in men?s basketball in this week?s USA Today-ESPN coaches? poll.
The ranking is as much a testament to the talent and potential of the Ohio State freshman class ? even without All-Universe injured center Greg Oden ? as it is to the team?s current state. Still, topping a poll also reflects how far coach Thad Matta has brought the once scandal-plagued program in just his third season.
Yet even with the Buckeyes ranked No. 1, some act as if they will be guzzling truth serum tonight when they play at North Carolina because, well, you know, North Carolina is a "basketball school."
Of course North Carolina oozes with basketball pedigree, just like Kentucky, Duke, Kansas and UCLA. And, yes, the young Buckeyes will probably leave Chapel Hill tonight with a defeat that will only make them better come March.
No matter the outcome, however, it?s about time people here and elsewhere start expecting the same type of annual success from Ohio State basketball as they do down on Tobacco Road.
Matta expects as much. You should, too.
The idea that a school that dominates in football can?t be equally successful in basketball is so 20 th century. Florida is the reigning NCAA champion in basketball. Texas has been to a Final Four and Elite Eight since 2003.
Both are "football schools" also getting it done on the court.
"For years, coaches would make excuses and use alibis by saying you can?t win because so much attention is given to football," said Dick Vitale, who will call tonight?s game for ESPN. "That?s a cop-out. If you embrace football, you can use it in a positive way. Rick Barnes has done that at Texas. Billy Donovan has done that at Florida."
While coaching the Buckeyes, Jim O?Brien used OSU football as a shield to fend off expectations for his basketball program. He took comfort in the shadows, and it showed in his scheduling and recruiting.
"Anybody that is expecting Final Fours to be a yearly occurrence needs to start following Duke," he said after Ohio State?s Final Four appearance in 1999.
His predecessor preferred water pistols, but Matta craves cannons. Even though his team is ranked No. 1, he said "our program is not where we want it."
Where does Mr. Energy envision Ohio State hoops to someday be?
"Look at the football we have here," Matta said. "Every year they?re in the hunt."
The ambitious and passionate Matta, now armed with a new contract worth more than $18.6 million in guaranteed income, isn?t foolishly trying to knock OSU football off its forever-secured throne.
"I didn?t come to Ohio State with the No. 1 goal of making it a ?basketball school,? " he said. "I never thought that way. I looked at the groundwork here with football and thought, ?How can we capitalize on that with our own program?? "
That?s a smart strategy ? one of a coach who doesn?t let being second on the OSU food chain hurt his ego.
"For some it might," said Matta, "but for me, I feel like I?m the luckiest guy in the world to be here and to have our resources ? football being one of them ? to do our job better. We can build what we want to build here."
Matta has already laid the foundation for OSU to become known as a "basketball school" as well as a "football school."
Sound strange? Not if you think like the Ohio State coach. Try it. It doesn?t mean you can?t wear your sweater vest or light another candle to Woody Hayes.

Todd Jones is a sports columnist for The Dispatch
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