Men's Basketball Buckeye Tidbits 2007-08 Season

[crazybuckfan40]

Not picking on anyone, but go ahead and click on page 1 of this thread.

Only if you need a good laugh. :tongue2:

Maybe I will give a version 2 sometime soon...:)

 

[schwab]

Maybe I will give a version 2 sometime soon...:)

Paranoid much?

It wasn't what was said, 40, by you or anyone else, but just the overall feeling and the unknown. None of us knew any better back in April, and if we did, no one said it! Your views are not to be discredited. Your input is certainly appreciated, and yes, version 2 wouldn't hurt too many feelings. Just comic relief, as I'm sure most threads are, if you go back to look.

Bottom line is, I can see another outright Big Televen title. Maybe one day we will look back on this and laugh, but I certainly hope not!

 

[crazybuckfan40]

Paranoid much?

It wasn't what was said, 40, by you or anyone else, but just the overall feeling and the unknown. None of us knew any better back in April, and if we did, no one said it! Your views are not to be discredited. Your input is certainly appreciated, and yes, version 2 wouldn't hurt too many feelings. Just comic relief, as I'm sure most threads are, if you go back to look.

Bottom line is, I can see another outright Big Televen title. Maybe one day we will look back on this and laugh, but I certainly hope not!

I know it was just funny how we were including Conley and Cook as part of the team and maybe Oden...

 

[itsmitch]

07-08 season projections

With my first ever post here I'll give you my projections for this year's Buckeye basketball team.

I have the players listed at each position that I project them to play. Players are listed in my projected playing time depth chart for each individual position. I'm projecting playing time for 11 players -those are the numbers in parenthesis and at the position I expect them to get the most of their playing time-. Those projected minutes add up to 200 (40 minutes times 5 players). Below the depth chart and minutes grid I'll share some other thoughts. If you can follow what I'm doing here I'd love to see your take on the '07-'08 Buckeyes.

1 point
2 shooting guard
3 small forward
4 power forward
5 center

1 Butler (37+) Hill (2), Diebler, Turner, Lighty
2 Diebler (24), Lighty, Turner (10), Wallace, Butler,
3 Lighty (34), Wallace (13), Hunter, Lauderdale, Turner, Diebler, Koufos
4 Hunter (26), Terwilliger, Lauderdale (10), Lighty, Koufos, Wallace, Madsen
5 Koufos (28), Terwilliger (12), Hunter, Madsen (4), Lauderdale


Butler will be an iron man playing almost every meaningful minute of the season. His game will improve yet again and we will see him emerge as a seasoned vet who takes charge from the point guard position and scores a bit more than most PG's. I see a stunning turnover/assist ratio and about 15 points a game.

Koufos will be magic at the offensive end but there will be some trade off as he will at times get burned on the defensive side while he learns better foot work skills and adjust to the college game. In big games against top post players Matta will have to substitute often to cover Koufos weakness on defense using Terwilliger, Madsen, Hunter, and maybe even Lauderdale to play post defense and soak up some fouls. Koufos will be good for 12-15 points per game maybe about 6 boards

Lighty will have an absolutely stunning season. He won't have to score as much but his game will be reminiscent of Wisconsin's Alando Tucker. Defensively he will get national acclaim as one of the best in the country! He won't have to carry a huge load offensively or shoot 3's but as a slasher, finisher, and 15 ft and in guy no one will be better!

Diebler will far surpass all expectations. He is a classic gym rat in the mold of Chris Mullin and Larry Bird. His hoops iq is off the charts and when he is on the court he will obviously be option #1 for the offense. I have him playing fewer minutes than any other starter only because of the tremendous depth Matta has at that position and the advantage of having him get frequent breathers allowing him to gun at a breakneck pace when he is in! He should score 15-17 points a game with occasional outburst of much more!

Turner and Wallace will both play lots of quality minutes at the 2 and 3 slots scoring when needed and providing nice depth.

Inside depth will be the strength of the team with a never ending rotation of Hunter, Terwilliger, Lauderdale, and Madsen slotted in when and where needed in support of Koufos. They will provide better than solid defense, grab rebounds, score a few put backs, absorb fouls, and wear down opponents who won't have as many fresh legs late in games. I also see Lighty playing some important minutes in post defense when needed to shut down another teams star player. Wallace looks like he may have the body and strength to help with some occasional post defense if quickness become critical in shutting down a shorter and quicker post player.

Over all I see a surprisingly strong team. 25+ wins. Another shot at a big ten title. Nothing lower than a 4 seed and more likely a 2 or 3 seed in the tournament. What do you think?

 

[crazybuckfan40]

Nice first post and welcome to the board...

The one thing I will disagree with you on for sure is Wallace getting more minutes than Turner...

Wallace has great potential and athletic ability, but his overall game is behind Turner at the moment...Turner will be the first one off the bench to spell Lighty or Diebler, and I would see around 15 minutes/game for him...

I say between an average of 30-35 minutes/game for Diebler and Lighty but Tuner will get most of the extra minutes...

Also I see Hill getting a little more, and I wouldnt be suprised to see Butler get some minutes at the 2 if foul trouble presents itself with the 3 wings...

Hill is going to suprise some people...

Also at this point I think that Madsen has the upper hand on playing time over Lauderdale...I could end up wrong on this one, but Madsen has put in a lot of work, and with that whole last year of practice, I also think he could suprise some people...

Also as for KK's defense, Matta will not put them in situations where he has to take him off the floor...What he will do is go to a zone defense or have KK defend the 4...

 

[itsmitch]

thanks

Nice first post and welcome to the board...

The one thing I will disagree with you on for sure is Wallace getting more minutes than Turner...

Wallace has great potential and athletic ability, but his overall game is behind Turner at the moment...Turner will be the first one off the bench to spell Lighty or Diebler, and I would see around 15 minutes/game for him...

I say between an average of 30-35 minutes/game for Diebler and Lighty but Tuner will get most of the extra minutes...

Also I see Hill getting a little more, and I wouldnt be suprised to see Butler get some minutes at the 2 if foul trouble presents itself with the 3 wings...

Hill is going to suprise some people...

Also at this point I think that Madsen has the upper hand on playing time over Lauderdale...I could end up wrong on this one, but Madsen has put in a lot of work, and with that whole last year of practice, I also think he could suprise some people...

Also as for KK's defense, Matta will not put them in situations where he has to take him off the floor...What he will do is go to a zone defense or have KK defend the 4...

You hit all of the points that I was least confident about. I knew I was going against conv/wisdom putting Wallace ahead of Turner in play time but I did so because of his strength. I saw those pics from media day and thought he looked like more of a big ten type player to me. Just a hunch. Madsen should have the upper hand over lauderdale going into to the season but once they start playing I suspect it will be hard to hold Lauderdlale back. We shall see! Thanks for reading and playing along w/me in the prediction/projection game

 

[crazybuckfan40]

You hit all of the points that I was least confident about. I knew I was going against conv/wisdom putting Wallace ahead of Turner in play time but I did so because of his strength. I saw those pics from media day and thought he looked like more of a big ten type player to me. Just a hunch. Madsen should have the upper hand over lauderdale going into to the season but once they start playing I suspect it will be hard to hold Lauderdlale back. We shall see! Thanks for reading and playing along w/me in the prediction/projection game

Yeah with Wallace he does look more physically imposing, but Turner has the better skill set...Wallace will take after Lighty in his progression b/c of his athletic ability...

Also remember that Turner shut down Derrick Rose, or at least slowed him down more than anyone else on the high school level, so his defense is going to be on par to get him minutes even if his offense is a little behind schedule early in the season...

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Dispatch

First impressions
Ohio State veterans weigh in on which newcomers fans should keep an eye on in the upcoming season
Sunday, October 14, 2007 4:05 AM
By Bob Baptist


THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

Kyle RobertsonDispatch
Jon Diebler's range impresses his new teammates. "He'll hit (shots) from out of bounds," Matt Terwilliger says.

Will ShillingDISPATCH
Kosta Koufos' all-around game has earned him kudos. "He talks to me about everything," Othello Hunter says.


For the second year in a row, a youthful Ohio State men's basketball team is a mystery to fans with the first exhibition game still 2 1/2 weeks away.
Seven of the 11 scholarship players on the roster -- sophomore transfers Kyle Madsen and P.J. Hill and true freshmen Jon Diebler, Kosta Koufos, Dallas Lauderdale, Evan Turner and Eric Wallace -- haven't played a game for the Buckeyes. At least two of them are expected to start, and a majority of the seven figure to be regulars in the rotation.
Practice started Friday night, but it's closed to the media and fans. Besides a one-hour public scrimmage at noon Oct. 20 in Value City Arena, only team insiders in the next couple of weeks will see who's doing what, and how well.

Continued.......

 

[LitlBuck]

say between an average of 30-35 minutes/game for Diebler and Lighty but Tuner will get most of the extra minutes...

I think you are asking a lot of Jon to play 30-35 minutes a game. I can see Lighty doing that but I think that would hurt Diebler in the long run. Maybe 30 but not much more.

Also at this point I think that Madsen has the upper hand on playing time over Lauderdale...I could end up wrong on this one, but Madsen has put in a lot of work, and with that whole last year of practice, I also think he could suprise some people...

I am still sticking to my guns and am saying that Madsen will surprise some people in this year in is backup role. Even though he has not played college ball for two years, he has practiced against some very good players and he has a nice touch up to 15 feet..

 

[crazybuckfan40]

I think you are asking a lot of Jon to play 30-35 minutes a game. I can see Lighty doing that but I think that would hurt Diebler in the long run. Maybe 30 but not much more.

Keep in mind that Diebler played 32 minutes/game last year as a high school senior and they were up and down, pressing and he was working to get his shot every time on offense, so I don't see a guy like him wearing down...

 

[Best Buckeye]

I think Jon is going to have to get his stamina built up before he can play that much at the collegiate level. I Know he ran and ran in High school but that was against teeny boppers. IMO if he does play that much to start he wiil have to lay off at times.

 

[schwab]

Keep in mind that Upper forced many, many turnovers by using their press, and depending on where Diebler may have been positioned on the court, it can cause a lot less running around as a result. Let's say Upper scores 90 points in a game, Diebler drops 40+ points himself, and he is near the inbound pass on defense. If that defense creates 20+ turnovers, how many times does Jon actually cross the half court line, besides to turn around again for a breakway? Just a thought.

 

[LitlBuck]

Keep in mind that Diebler played 32 minutes/game last year as a high school senior and they were up and down, pressing and he was working to get his shot every time on offense, so I don't see a guy like him wearing down...

Keyword = "high school". I know where you're coming from but the Big 10 is so much more physical plus he will have to play a lot harder on defense.

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Every incoming player will have to make a transition from HS to major D1 basketball.......I have no doubts that Diebler will have an immediate impact at tOSU.

If you get a chance, really read some of the recent comments from his teammates.....

 

[crazybuckfan40]

Keyword = "high school". I know where you're coming from but the Big 10 is so much more physical plus he will have to play a lot harder on defense.

Yeah I know, but I was just getting at that even tho it was high school, he had to be in top shape to do the things that he did on the high school level and that will allow a good transistion to the college game, especially with his work in the weight room over the summer...