NIT: #1 Ohio State 84, #8 UNC-Asheville 66

[osugrad21]

CPD

NIT victory no big problem


Wednesday, March 19, 200oug Lesmerises
Plain Dealer Reporter
Columbus -- Othello Hunter told his Ohio State team mates he was going to dunk on the 7-7 guy.
"Actually, everyone on the team said that," said fellow OSU big man Dallas Lauderdale. "Othello got a crack at it. But Kenny George still flat-footed him."
So George, the center for the North Carolina Asheville men's college basketball team, blocked the 6-8 Hunter's two-hand baseline dunk try without jumping. At least Hunter drew the foul.

Two days after accepting a consolation NIT bid after missing the NCAA Tournament, at least the Buckeyes had a little fun in their 84-66 first-round NIT win over the Bulldogs on Tuesday night.




Cont...

 

[osugrad21]

Canton

OSU is moving on
[FONT=Verdana,Times New Roman,arial,helvetica,sans-serif]Butler leads Bucks past Asheville[/FONT]
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
BY Mike Popovich
REPOSITORY SPORTS WRITER

COLUMBUS Huge curtains draped Value City Arena's upper deck. And the exposed lower bowl seating was not filled to capacity.

Let's face it. Ohio State basketball fans are not going to rush to see a first-round NIT game a year after the Buckeyes played in the finals of the big dance. Fortunately for the 7,117 who came to watch the Buckeyes face UNC-Asheville on Tuesday, their team did not have a ho-hum attitude.

Two days after their NCAA tournament bubble busted, top-seeded Ohio State went out and spanked No. 8 Asheville, 84-66. Jamar Butler had game highs of 21 points and 10 assists for the Buckeyes (20-13), who will host California or New Mexico in the second round Monday at St. John Arena.

The NIT certainly wasn't the tournament the Buckeyes wanted to play in. They held out hope for an at-large berth to the NCAA tournament until the last pairing was released Sunday night.

Cont...

 

[osugrad21]

Dispatch

Ohio State 84 | UNC Asheville 66
Tall task doesn't trip up Buckeyes

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


THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

RENEE SAUER | Dispatch
Ohio State's Matt Terwilliger, from left, Jamar Butler and Dallas Lauderdale could do little to stop UNC Asheville center Kenny George.


When Kenny George tripped on a carpet strip and fell on all fours jogging to the UNC Asheville locker room before last night's game in Value City Arena, heads turned, eyebrows arched and doubts formed. Yeah, he is 7 feet 7 and 360 pounds, the thinking went, but could he put one of his size 28 feet in front of the other without stopping to think about it?
He could, and quite well, as it turned out.
"He did a lot of things out there I didn't think he was going to be able to do," Ohio State coach Thad Matta said.
Once the ball went up, it was George's teammates who tripped up instead, committing 21 turnovers against Ohio State's pressing defense to smooth the Buckeyes' run to an 84-66 victory in the first round of the National Invitation Tournament.

Cont...

BOX SCORE

 

[bkochmc]

Myself and Thump went to the game tonight. Good game over all, the crowd was pretty dead, but that has allot to do with the students being on spring break. They actually had the entire top level cutained off.

George is just gigantic, and I don't know how much was seen on tv, but near the end of the game he was begging to come out of the game he was so winded.

Overall good game, if they stay focused it could be a good tournament for the bucks

George did look pretty tired at the end of the game... one of the TV shots had him looking to his coach with that "I need a rest" look... probably one of the same ones you saw.

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

A pretty good game......it was nice to see the bench get to see the floor late......Butler had a great game and it was good to see Lighty get going.....

 

[buckeyes_rock]

A pretty good game......it was nice to see the bench get to see the floor late......Butler had a great game and it was good to see Lighty get going.....

Agree...Lighty was really hot to start the game. Awesome to see him draining threes and driving to hole in the same game. Very complete game from him. I sure hope to see that continue for David and hopefully he'll gain the confindence to use it as a spring board for next year.

I know people seem to think the NIT isn't important. But the more opportunity our guys have to grow and play together, the better.

Nice to see PJ getting some more meaningful minutes. We have a great PG coming in next year, but he can't play every minute, especially as a frosh.

 

[Oh8ch]

George did look pretty tired at the end of the game... one of the TV shots had him looking to his coach with that "I need a rest" look... probably one of the same ones you saw.

He turned his ankle late in the game. But he was sucking wind throughout.

 

[crazybuckfan40]

Don't have time to read thru the whole thread, but thought I would comment on a couple things...

Probably one of our best displays of team ball the entire season...

Lighty played a great game along with Butler...

We need to play against a big guy like that all the time because it actually forced kK to pass the ball out of the post and get some open looks on the perimeter for guys like Butler and Lighty, but he still had Hunter open on the backside a couple times where he missed him...

Nice to see Diebler knocking down the open looks as well...

Nice to see PJ Hill and Dallas get some solid minutes...

As for the crowd, it was probably one of the best crowds we had there all season...It was only 6000 or so but it was fans that wanted to be there, that cheered the entire game, stood up for lots of the game...It wasn't the people sitting on their hands all game long...I really think that Mondays crowd, with students back and fans like that will be loud at st. john...I look for about 10000 there...

 

[LitlBuck]

It seemed to me that the team was loose and I attribute that to one of the reasons that they played so well. This was one of their best offensive performances of the year. Everyone shot the ball well and it seemed like guys cared about each other. There was a fun game to watch.

I feel sorry for the big guy George. You'd never think about it but he has a dot of personal problems that he must go through during his life. Clothes, transportation, and just getting around. I am also pretty sure that he will not have a normal life span and I give props to him for playing the game and giving life everything he has.

 

[buckeyes_rock]

I feel sorry for the big guy George. You'd never think about it but he has a dot of personal problems that he must go through during his life. Clothes, transportation, and just getting around. I am also pretty sure that he will not have a normal life span and I give props to him for playing the game and giving life everything he has.

I was thinking that as well. Can't imagine the strain on his body trying to run up and down the court. Has to be hard on his legs. There are a few game pics floating around of him and KK...he looks more than 7 inches taller. The guy is so big. He looks pretty athletic though. Decent hands.

I wonder how much a pair of custom size 26 shoes run these days?

 

[Tlangs]

George was about 3x more mobile than I thought he would be. He made a nice block from the weak side on Lighty. Also made a nice rebound and stick back with a hook shot (may have been traveling though).

I thought he was on the team just for show and to sell tickets, but it really looked like UNC played better with him on the court. He forced us to take a lot of midrange jumpers and pull ups which usually isn't our strongpoint. If we weren't hitting those midrange jumpers this could have beena close game.

Kudos to George for playing well last night. He also logged the most minutes of his career last night which could be why he was so worn out at the end.

 

[ScriptOhio]

Anyone else remember UNC-Asheville's Kenny George?

George out amid reports of foot amputation

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (AP) - UNC Asheville's Kenny George, at 7-foot-7 the nation's tallest college basketball player, will not play this year amid reports part of his right foot was amputated.
George needed surgery after contracting a staph infection, the Asheville Citizen-Times reported. ESPN.com said the 22-year-old player had surgery three weeks ago and is expected to remain in an Iowa hospital for at least another month.
When reached by phone Sunday by The Associated Press, UNC Asheville coach Eddie Biedenbach wouldn't confirm the reports, saying he was respecting George's wish for privacy.
"This is a terrible setback for Kenny George that he's not going to be able to play basketball this year," Biedenbach said. "He's worked so hard from the time he was in high school and earlier to get to the point to do what he did last year."
Biedenbach said the senior first felt discomfort in his foot in August after attending a basketball camp in Las Vegas. When George returned to his native Chicago, a doctor recommended immediate surgery. George has undergone several operations since. George's height and weight - he was listed at 360 pounds last season and wore size 26 shoes - is the result of an overactive pituitary gland. George, who stands 7-9 with shoes, could dunk flat-footed and towered over most players. But he had two major knee injuries, among other problems, and missed nearly three full seasons.

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Entire article: FOX Sports on MSN - COLLEGE BASKETBALL - George out amid reports of foot amputation

 

[fourteenandoh]

that sucks.

 

[BUCKYLE]

Damn. That's too bad.

 

[LitlBuck]

I really feel sorry for the kid. His life is difficult enough being that large and this will just make his life that much more difficult. Plus, it's not like he did anything wrong. He was just dealt the hand that the Lord gave him.