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Men's Basketball Buckeye Tidbits 2007-08 Season

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Look, I too early on was begging, pleading, to the TV for some man-to-man, to mix it up and maybe disrupt the other team's offense. Lately, I have resigned myself to the fact that it isn't going to happen. Lately, watching the Bucks in zone play has me rather disappointed. Often, the rotation can only be described as horrible and at other times the spacing can only be described as beyond horrible. What is so disappointing is that rotation and spacing is not a function of physical talent.

Without a doubt, the one player from last year that is most missed is Conley. Matta had to expect that Oden was one and done and planned accordingly. I don't think anyone expected Conley to be one and done and that left a huge hole in Matta's plan for this year. Not only losing the point guard, but a leader as well. Not a knock on Butler at all. Some folks have it and some don't (leadership qualities) and Conley made the team go in more ways than simply being the point guard.

IMO, the loss of Conley really does make this a true transition year, moreso than the loss of Oden.
 
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I really don't know what to say...

There is no reason to point finger at anyone person/coach...

It is the team aspects where we are lacking...

Scoring the ball is a team effort...You need all guys working to find the open look for that one man...Not just one guys penetrating and forcing his own shot why all the other 4 watch, and don't go for the offensive rebound...

Rebounding the ball is also a team effort...I know it isn't about blocking out but you need to have some sort of positioning but if 3 guys have position but the ball goes where the one guy should be, then the team failed to rebound...

defensive rotation is also a team effort, need to communicate if one goes up the other comes down, if a guy cuts thru the lane one needs to cut him off not two guys...

Yes it is great to have Greg Odens and Mike Conley's of the world that can bail you out of team situations like that where they have the ability to get rebounds that shouldn't be got or create for teammates with one or 2 bounces or block shots if a guy gets beat off the dribble or make that pass that frees the guy up for a shot...

The thing is we don't have that this year...We have talented guys that can do things at times, but not enough consistency to depend on a guy or two like that...That is why we have needed to play as a team all year, and we haven't...This is why we are struggling late in the season, because guys are starting to press even more as they thing they have to do it themselves...You have all heard the saying don't try and get it all in one chunk...That is what they are doing, they are all trying to save the season at one time...This is the reasoning IMO why Purdue has been successful...They don't have anyone guy like Oden or Conley, just a bunch of talented young guys with a few leaders and have quickly learned how to do things on the court as a team and understand each other very well...

As for talent next year and saying and maybe not banking on it before it steps on the college court...I don't think that was the problem IMO in terms of where my expectations were before the season, I think mine personally had more to do with the returning guys then anything...I truly believed that Butler would take his game to a new level and same with Lighty, and I figured on a given night that Turner, Diebler, or KK could be the third guy...

I thought Butler would play most nights like he did the Florida game this year...I still believe that he is a very good pg, and no one will ever tell me different, but for whatever reason he just can't lead a team...Don't want this to be a knock on him, it just isn't in his personality and I didn't think that it would effect his play, and I think maybe him trying to take on more of that role hurt us overall...He is still one of my favorite buckeyes and will forever be such...

Hunter has struggled this season moreso than I thought he would and I believe that it comes back to only having 5 years of experience...There are just times when he struggles to play for long stretches of time...His game against Tennessee was truly dominant, but those stretches have been few and far between...This is a player that you would wish was only a sophomore because we would be saying by the time he was a senior he would be truly dominant...

Lighty...He is only a sophomore and I truly expect him to continue to improve...He has shown glimpses, and the kid is THE hardest worker on the team...I still think he would excel a little more in a running style game, as at times he struggles to finish in traffic, but one on one situation in fast break situations he finishes better...

I could go on, but those three have underperformed IMO, which is why we have struggled...Yes the frosh have struggled, but I know I expected them to struggle some, and expected the above 3 to lead the way and by the time the end of the season come we would be playing our best basketball as these guys would of shown some maturity...but that hasn't happened for whatever reason...

Now next year Buford won't be one IMO that will struggle like these guys have on the offensive end because he has natural ability to score the basketball in many ways and won't need others all the time to create for him...He also has the strength to bang around with college guys...

As for Mullens, he has the stregth unlike KK to bang in the post at the college level...I know it is watching him against guys that are smaller than him, but he truly understands positioning in the post, how to use his body to get position...He won't be as big a force on the defensive end as Oden was, but he will give us a force in the paint that we are truly lacking this year...Whether he struggles or not he is going to give us that...

I also think Crater truly will benefit from the year at prep school as he is already playing against guys that will be playing college ball day in and day out at practice and in games, and it is more like college structured there so he will be more prepared than if he would of stayed in Michigan...

Not really sure what to expect from Offut yet...
 
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Dispatch

March 2, 2008

Tiebreaker info

Michigan State?s win over Indiana today clinched a first-round bye for the Spartans in the Big Ten tournament, leaving Minnesota, Ohio State and Penn State still in contention for the No.5 seed and the final first-round bye.
Minnesota and Ohio State each would win head-to-head tiebreakers against Penn State, which is 0-2 against the Gophers and 0-1 against the Buckeyes.
If the three teams all tie for fifth place at 8-10, Minnesota has the edge because it was 3-1 against the other two; Ohio State was 2-1.

Continued.....
Click to expand...
 
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Honestly if we could win the next two and still have the 6th seed that would be best for us IMO, as we would play NW and get another free win, and that would put us at 20...

Then there would be a chance to take out one of the top teams in the second round and getting to 21 wins...

Keep in mind this is an absolute pipe dream, and best case scenario...

What will probably happen is we lose the last two games get the 6th seed with and 8-10 record in the big ten and the only hope of doing anything is winning 4 straight in the BTT which isn't going to happen...
 
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OSUBasketballJunkie;1105875; said:
It is simple....the coach gets the credit when they win and he gladly takes it......when they lose or do not play up to their ability, then the coach should take some of the heat.....Coach Matta is a great coach, but sometimes youth cannot be overcome.

No one is giving him a pass but no one had 3 first year players.......leave after their first year and go in the first round.....it hasn't happened. EVER.

Give him a little time to build the classes from one year to the next. As far as adjustments.......he knows what these kids can do, he is coaching them everyday....I believe he played the type of defense that would be most successful for this team....it is easy to second guess when things do not go right. I hate the zone....despise it......but I trust that Matta and staff did what they believed would give us the best chance to win.

The defense is not the problem........rebounding and consistent scoring is the issue.
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I agree with the last statement - tOSU has had a good season statistically in defensive FG% and in the low number of fouls committed. The zone has been part of the problem in allowing the opponents to get offensive rebounds, but has usually given the team the best chance to win.

I think the offensive struggles were more of a problem; there's been a lack of ball movement that's partially explained by youth and a lack of chemisty. And as cfb40 pointed out, there isn't a dominant "go-to guy".

I'm still thrilled by the ride the team took last year, and look forward to better days ahead. Hopefully this year is just a bump in the road; in terms of Matta's long-range plans, the unexpected loss of Conley had a big effect on this squad.

And this year isn't over yet. Although improbable, four straight wins could garner an NCAA bid.

I also have no doubts that Thad Matta is the guy that Buckeye fans should want to be at the helm of the basketball program for many years to come.
 
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I think the offensive struggles were more of a problem; there's been a lack of ball movement that's partially explained by youth and a lack of chemisty. And as cfb40 pointed out, there isn't a dominant "go-to guy".
Click to expand...

The lack of ball movement has been an issue for the past few weeks, they look out of synch on the offensive end and do not seem to have an idea of where to go with the ball. I would have to agree that youth plays a role here.

Not really sure what to expect from Offut yet...
Click to expand...

Talk about a great kid. I am hoping he fully recovers from his injuries and gets a chance to show what he can do. A RS has been mentioned in a few articles......by all accounts his rehab has been going well.
 
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I would rather this team make the NIT and win it than make the NCAA and get knocked out the first or second round. The NIT can help a team especially if they make it to the final. I have been saying all year I wanted this team to win the NIT rather than make the dance.

I would love to see us make some noise in the B10 tourny and carry that over to the NIT. The NIT is a fun tourney to watch. In some ways it is more competetive than the first 2 rounds of the NCAA.
 
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just a pipe dream, and probably a bad one at that but I'd love to see Thad come out and let these guys go Fab 5 style and just run.

With as hesitant as the freshman have been to pull the trigger, and how we have struggled all year getting into and executing offensive sets, it'd be really refreshing to see them just push the ball and try and shoot within 10 seconds of the shot clock. Kind of Phoenix style where they look for a shot within 7 seconds.

Again, pipe dream, and probably not the message Thad would want to send, but it could give the guys more confidence to make plays and not be so afraid of taking a bad shot.

All these kids can play, they just haven't put it together. With really nothing to lose at this point, I'd love to see them come out relaxed and looking to gun.
 
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