Men's Basketball Tidbits 2008-'09 Season

[UpNorthBuckeye]

we don't need no steenking ranking

I am so glad that we are not in the top 25. Anything we do will be seen as an achievement instead of a disappointment.

I can see us being 20 and 10 or so, and winning a game or two in the tournament.

I wouldn't be thrilled with that but I think under Matta that this will be what is considered a "down" year, winning 20!

If they really come together, who knows? 25 and 5?

I will say it here, so you can laugh at me later, but after 10 games or so, Buford will be our leading scorer. the kid is for real, a Hopson kinda guy.

We have guards out the yin yang. at this point the mystery is whether our bigs will do anything remarkable this year?? or if it will take another year.

I know they can run and score. The quality of their defense will determine their success this year.

Just one fan's opinion.

 

[LitlBuck]

I will say it here, so you can laugh at me later, but after 10 games or so, Buford will be our leading scorer.

I won't "laugh" because it will mean that Ohio State will be winning games but I don't think that Buford will be our leading scorer for a couple of reasons. #1 it will depend on whether we go with a big lineup of Dallas and BJ along with two wing players or go with 3 wing players. If we go with the latter, I can see Buford possibly being our leading scorer but I would think that the upperclass guys (Lighty and Turner) will probably lead the team in scoring especially at that point in the season. I know that Buford is the real deal but you have to remember that he is also a freshman.

 

[crazybuckfan40]

I see Turner, Mullens, Lighty, and Buford in double digits quite often...

I will say that if those 4 score in double digits on a given night...All four of them that is, we will not lose 4 games when that happens...If we add Diebler and make it 5, we wont lose 2 games when that happens...

We are 1-0...Gonna keep track of this for the year...I know it is exhibition but it is a start for a data point...

 

[osugrad21]

Blade

Article published Friday, November 14, 2008
SHAPING UP
Young Buckeyes seek identity
By MATT MARKEY
BLADE SPORTS WRITER
COLUMBUS - Thad Matta is like the director of a long-running, highly successful Broadway show - his cast members excel and then move on to more lucrative ventures, so he has to keep capable replacements in the pipeline. For the basketball Buckeyes, the show must go on. Matta held his third major casting call in the last three seasons when he started putting together a performing group for this season. After a dress rehearsal last night at Value City Arena against Walsh University, the Buckeyes make their debut next Thursday against Delaware State in historic St. John Arena. "With so many new faces, the hard part a lot of times - one of the big challenges - is trying to get these guys to understand that college basketball is like anything in life, it's about getting better every single day," Matta said. The Buckeyes lost seniors Jamar Butler, Othello Hunter, and Matt Terwilliger from last year's 24-13 team that went 10-8 in the Big Ten Conference. That team also had seven-foot freshman Kosta Koufos, the leading rebounder and second-leading scorer behind Butler, leave early for the NBA.
Cont...

 

[UpNorthBuckeye]

Buford the leading scorer?

okay, I shoulda said "tied for leading scorer". At least after one, meaningless exhibition game!!

But I'm stoked!

Go Bucks!

 

[LitlBuck]

see Turner, Mullens, Lighty, and Buford in double digits quite often...

I will say that if those 4 score in double digits on a given night...All four of them that is, we will not lose 4 games

I am way more optimistic than you when it comes to this. I think if we have 4 guys score in double digits we might lose two of those games unless we would be atrocious defensively.

 

[crazybuckfan40]

I am way more optimistic than you when it comes to this. I think if we have 4 guys score in double digits we might lose two of those games unless we would be atrocious defensively.

Yeah but that could only amount to 40 points...If you think about it, so there is some room for error, it isn't like we are looking at 60+ all the time if they all four get into double digits...

 

[brutus2002]

We are a sleeper...period. I love not being ranked. When the big men get some games under their belt and improve we will be scary. I like what I have seen.

IMO we are as good defensively as I can remember. Turner, Noop, and Lighty are no joke defensively. IMO thats what seperates the contenders from the pretenders. I say watch out. IMO 24+ wins is possible. I would not want to face us late in the season...especially at home.

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Dispatch

Tall order: Ohio State and coach Thad Matta are learning that experience is tough to come by

Wednesday, November 19, 2008 3:16 AM
By Bob Baptist


THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

NEAL C. LAURON | DISPATCH
Freshman B.J. Mullens is projected to be a top-five NBA draft choice if he decides to leave college after his freshman season.




After two years of coaching his most-prized players for a fraction of the time he spent recruiting them, Ohio State coach Thad Matta hasn't changed his mind about chasing one-and-done players.
"If Greg Oden comes along tomorrow, I will recruit him again," said Matta, whose team reached the NCAA championship game in 2007 thanks in part to Oden and two other freshmen, Mike Conley Jr. and Daequan Cook.
Less than three weeks after that game, all three entered the NBA draft. Without them last season, the Buckeyes did not return to the NCAA Tournament.
Kosta Koufos, who helped them win the NIT instead, bolted just as quickly. Next spring, Matta could lose his fifth freshman in three seasons if B.J. Mullens follows the lead of the others. Mock drafts for 2009 rank him as a top-five pick.

Continued.............

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Dispatch

OSU men: Keys to the season

Wednesday, November 19, 2008 3:17 AM
By Bob Baptist


THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

Andrea Kjerrumgaard | Dispatch
Junior David Lighty, the team captain, should serve as a good role model for his younger Ohio State teammates.

NEAL C. LAURON | Dispatch
Sophomore Jon Diebler feels he has made off-season corrections to improve his outside shooting.


KEY OFFENSIVE PLAYERS

The offense thrived late last season when coach Thad Matta tweaked his half-court set and gave David Lighty and Evan Turner more room to attack the basket from the wings. Will the expanded three-point arc aid that endeavor? As the only returning starters, Lighty and Turner need to shoulder more of a scoring load, especially while other roles are being defined on a very young team. Both could help themselves by shooting a higher percentage from the perimeter, which would force opponents to defend them honestly.

Continued...............

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Dispatch

OSU men: New faces

Wednesday, November 19, 2008 3:10 AM
By Bob Baptist


THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
William Buford

Freshman guard

Mr. Basketball in Ohio and a McDonald's All-American last season after averaging 23 points and 11 rebounds at Toledo Libbey. Buford led Libbey to the Division II state championship game and scored 29 points in a one-point loss to Chillicothe. At 6 feet 5 and 190 pounds, Buford is the sixth McDonald's All-American recruited to Ohio State by coach Thad Matta in five seasons. A smooth player with an effective mid-range jumper, he was ranked No.12 overall and the third-best shooting guard in the class of 2008 by the Recruiting Services Consensus Index.

Continued................

 

[LitlBuck]

The Buckeyes really got hosed by the computer:( who does the scheduling. In their first seven Big 10 games they play Michigan State twice which is just ridiculous. I know it is been said before but they really need to get some "human" involvement involved when the scheduling is done.

 

[Best Buckeye]

Is the NBA still one year or have they gone to 2?

 

[Oh8ch]

Is the NBA still one year or have they gone to 2?

Still one.

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Dispatch

How much 'big lineup' will we see?

Dallas Lauderdale, cleared to play after missing the Buckeyes? exhibition game against Walsh last week with a sprained left shoulder, thinks he?s ready to go all 40 minutes against Delaware State on Thursday night, coach Thad Matta said today.
?I don?t know if he?s quite there yet,? Matta added with a smile.
But Matta wasn?t selling his 6-foot-8 post man short, either.
?Had the injury not occurred, he was playing himself into a bonafide rotation guy, a dependable guy we would be counting on,? Matta said.
?Not that the injury has changed my opinion of him. He?s been good the last two days of doing what he needed to do. I think his minutes should be pretty substantial.?



Continued...............