Men's Basketball Tidbits 2008-'09 Season

[DaytonBuck]

I absolutely love the lack of respect the national media give us in any preseason rankings. I'm not sure a team that's had what most any basketball person would consider a one done center has received so little love nationally. College basketball is game dominated by guards for sure but an elite post players is what separates the Sweet 16 from the Final Four.

I'm on the Simmons bandwagon of being an at least an effective point guard in the Big 10. I'm not sure I know a team in recent memory with a 7 foot center who's supposed to be a lottery pick to struggle and be a middle of the pack conference team.

I won't claim Kyle Madsen is the second coming but he's worth more than anyone on this board gives him credit. A redshirt year and a transfer year is 2 years away from seeing a competitive game experience. That's some serious rust for a basketball player. He's a better player than most people give him credit.

Crater/Simmons/Hill give us some semblance of a floor general that's not Stephon Marbury running the show I think we're a top 3 B10 team.

Solid PG play and Mullens is the real deal we're a legitimate dark horse nationally.

Matta has gotten the building blocks of national program. For every 1 and done folks we got at a North Carolina, Kansas, Memphis they have the upper classmen role player who's a good college player, probable weak NBA talent, that compliments the Kevin Love, Derrick Rose, Marvin Williams.

Turner, Diebler (if he gets his shot back), Lauderdale are those guys for OSU. These are the folks that block out, pass the ball an extra time, wait for the motion to reset and get the shot with five seconds left on the clock.

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

I will say it again.....this season hinges on finding consistent production from the point guard position.........if we get it.....we will challenge for the Big Ten title.......another area that concerns me is we need a go to guy.......

I won't claim Kyle Madsen is the second coming but he's worth more than anyone on this board gives him credit. A redshirt year and a transfer year is 2 years away from seeing a competitive game experience. That's some serious rust for a basketball player. He's a better player than most people give him credit.

I agree........100%........to early.

Turner, Diebler (if he gets his shot back), Lauderdale are those guys for OSU. These are the folks that block out, pass the ball an extra time, wait for the motion to reset and get the shot with five seconds left on the clock.

I have posted in the past for the need to build that foundation of solid players to grow and keep the consistency for the program when a player leaves after one year, Matta needs a good mix...........I think we have a solid foundation at this point.......

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Dispatch

Want to watch practice?

The first 500 fans to pony up $75 apiece for a ticket can attend the Agonis Club?s second annual Ohio State men?s basketball tipoff event Thursday in Value City Arena. It starts at 5 p.m. and will last about two hours. Those attending will be able to watch the team practice and visit with coach Thad Matta and players.
For tickets, contact Jeff Norris at [email protected]. Proceeds will benefit the basketball program.

 

[DaytonBuck]

I have posted in the past for the need to build that foundation of solid players to grow and keep the consistency for the program when a player leaves after one year, Matta needs a good mix...........I think we have a solid foundation at this point.......

Pure brilliance. Look at last years Final Four. Memphis has Senior Joey Dorsey, Juniors Antonio Anderson, Chris Douglas Roberts. North Carolina has Flopsborough, Ginyard, Lawson, Green. Kansas has Chalmers, Rush, Darnell Jackson. Etc. Plenty of high quality upperclassmen that played heavy minutes in last years Final Four. Derrick Rose and Kevin Love were the only one and done folks in San Antonio.

One and dones are great but the teams that play in the Final Four have quality juniors and seniors on the team. We're starting to build that base. A Derrick Rose needs to be complemented with a Joey Dorsey and a CDR. The foundation for those guys is being layed with Turner, Lighty, Diebler, Lauderadale.

Look at the Florida team that won back to back titles. Vets made up their bulk of minutes.

We'll take off when the Oden and Conleys have some all conference caliber juniors and seniors to compliment them.

 

[LitlBuck]

We'll take off when the Oden and Conleys have some all conference caliber juniors and seniors to compliment them.

I think the majority of us are in agreement. This was discussed at some length in the recruiting forum. We need to have quality guys as backups when we have one and done players so we don't get hurt that badly when they go.

team is definitely going to be more up-tempo this year and play more pressure D

I would be interested in knowing since we are going to supposedly press a little bit more if that means that Matta might play a little bit more man to man this year.

I also agree regarding Madsen. I think that he will be able to contribute some good minutes off of the bench this season. I read don't think people have seen that much of him to start judging him.

That was an excellent point regarding Mullens there isn't much of a learning curve for a guy who is considered to be a #1 pick in the draft. I think the people who think he is going to struggle need to look back a couple seasons at Mr. Oden and look at how much he struggled. I know they're different players and bring different things to table but there are some things that BJ might bring to the table better than Greg.

After saying the above, I agree with you three guys that the entire season will probably revolve around us getting quality point guard play either by committee or from just one guy.

 

[MaxBuck]

Last year's team had absolutely no chemistry; the guys looked like they had no interest in one another (with a few key exceptions; Diebler and Turner looked like they genuinely liked each other).

From what I can tell, the departures of Butler and Koufos will be a net positive for the Bucks (and I'm not slamming either one; they just didn't click). This team looks to have at least equivalent talent to the 2007-08 squad, and more chemistry. Add to that the fact I've rarely seen the kind of single-season development I saw a year ago in Dallas Lauderdale, and you have a team with huge potential.

 

[jimotis4heisman]

At this point I am seeing a starting lineup with Dallas and BJ in it...

Along with PG, Lighty, and Turner...

Buford and Diebler being the first off bench...So we have the opportunity to go 4 guards alot but I also think we will see lots of Dallas and BJ on the floor at the same time...

As for experience, These kids are playing at a high level in AAU, some high schools, and thus the frosh are more ready than they have been in the past...They will just need to improve there game while the season goes on...I don't envision these guys struggling because they are intimidated by older guys...Maybe a crowd or two, and road trips early in the season, but late in the season they should be used to situations like that...

do you think well see some turner bringing the ball up the floor? diebler? with three guys like that we may not run a true pg this year?

i think some of you are coming around on the importance of 8 min guys who come in and steal minutes. they are so key at this level. (in response to the madson discussion)

 

[LitlBuck]

do you think well see some turner bringing the ball up the floor? diebler? with three guys like that we may not run a true pg this year?

Personally, I think we could see Turner at the PG but only in very special situations or unless one of the three guys (Hill, Crater, Simmons) do not work out but I would have to think that one of the three will be capable enough to handle the PG duties.

 

[DZ83CK]

Maxbuck - I don't know if you noticed, but Turner said team chemistry was 10 times better than it was last year.

Litlbuck - as for the man-to-man defense, Matta said on the radio this summer that he hopes to use a couple of defenses, so don't expect the zone to be abandoned entirely. The zone seems most likely to resurface when they go to a "two post" lineup with Dallas and BJ in there at the same time.

jimotis - One of the things that was in my post earlier in this thread reflected the fact that Matta said Turner could play PG in a pinch, which means to me that he's going into this season hoping to not use him there at all. Matta didn't bring up Turner's name when discussing the PG position initially, it was only after being prompted by media members to discuss him that he said he could play there in a pinch. From Matta's comments, he made it seem more likely that Offutt would see time at the point than Turner (Matta did say they'd been having Walter run the point in some situations). He also made it sound like he didn't want to do a PG-by-committee sort of thing.

With possibly four guys they might play at PG in Crater, Simmons, Hill & Offutt, there is a good blend of different skills and abilities. Crater is very athletic, a great ball-handler and a pass-first guy whose lack of scoring could be a reason to play someone else at times. Simmons is a scoring option who is a good 3-point shooter, a great FT shooter (he actually was #1 in NJCAA Division II in FT percentage last year) and an excellent finisher. Hill is another pass-first guy who knows the system and could be thrown in there for his defense. Offutt is bigger (6-3 190) than the other guys & is another great athlete. They can put just about any type of player they want out there at PG.

Another tidbit that I noticed today in the Blue Ribbon Preview that I hadn't heard anywhere: Kyle Madsen had surgery in June to remove a blockage in his nasal passage that was causing him to have trouble breathing.

 

[crazybuckfan40]

do you think well see some turner bringing the ball up the floor? diebler? with three guys like that we may not run a true pg this year?

i think some of you are coming around on the importance of 8 min guys who come in and steal minutes. they are so key at this level. (in response to the madson discussion)

Yeah I talked to a coach last year, before we had actually pulled Simmons in, Crater wasn't here yet and it was just coaches not knowing what to see from PJ Hill at that time...

But he mentioned that we could see Turner play some point...I look at it as more of a Point Forward type thing that LBJ kinda does with the Cavs at times, and we saw this some last year in the NIT with Turner playing some point and moving Butler on the wing, to come and get the ball and then get into the movement that way...

As for pressing as Litlbuck asks, I would say we continue to see Matta's staple of the 2-2-1 press and I really hope that we mix up defenses...Not just man and not just zone...I think with BJ and Dallas you could see zone and with 4 guards you could see a man trapping style full court defense...We have the depth this year at every position to really go get em on defense and also run on offense...

 

[LitlBuck]

As for pressing as Litlbuck asks, I would say we continue to see Matta's staple of the 2-2-1 press and I really hope that we mix up defenses...Not just man and not just zone...I think with BJ and Dallas you could see zone and with 4 guards you could see a man trapping style full court defense...We have the depth this year at every position to really go get em on defense and also run on offense...

You need to read the post on the prior page from the official Ohio State web site that DZ8... posted. It talks about us possibly play a little more man-to-man and having both big guys on the floor at the same time. In addition, Matta does not envision Turner playing much at the PG if at all.

 

[buckeyemania11]

How does Walter Offut fit into this years team? will he play or be redshirted?

I know he was injury plagued in high school but when he was healthy he looked like a pretty good player

 

[crazybuckfan40]

You need to read the post on the prior page from the official Ohio State web site that DZ8... posted. It talks about us possibly play a little more man-to-man and having both big guys on the floor at the same time. In addition, Matta does not envision Turner playing much at the PG if at all.

Yeah I know all this...Just saying that I would like to mix it up a little and play zone to confuse teams, if they are beating our man to man...

As for Turner, obviously I would think with Simmons, an improved Hill, and Crater the coaches feel the situation is better than it was when I talked to them...But Turner could play if need be...

 

[DZ83CK]

How does Walter Offut fit into this years team? will he play or be redshirted?

I know he was injury plagued in high school but when he was healthy he looked like a pretty good player

The only way he would be redshirted is if he gets injured again. Matta said he could become the best defensive player in OSU history, so he's obviously been impressed with how Walter plays & it's hard to imagine Matta keeping a guy like that on the bench given the value Matta places on defense. Furthermore, Matta was quoted in one OSU team preview as saying the staff believes that Walter will be able to help them (i.e., make positive contributions in games) this year. So he will play some, just how much is the real question. I tend to think he will have a role similar to what David Lighty had his freshman year only at a combo guard position.

 

[osugrad21]

Dispatch

College basketball notebook: Ohio State men's team will hold free open practice Saturday

Tuesday, October 21, 2008 5:51 AM

The Ohio State men's basketball team will have an open practice from 4 to 5 p.m. Saturday in Value City Arena. The football game against Penn State in Ohio Stadium begins at 8 p.m. The arena will open at 3:30 p.m., and admission is free. Fans may watch practice from any seat in the lower bowl.