Ken
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OSU Basketball: Sit Back and Enjoy the Ride
Ken via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Ohio State sports fans are going down the stretch with the “Michigan” portion of their schedule. Meanwhile, the OSU Women’s and Men’s team have opened pre-conference play. At the writing of this article, the women’s team sits with a record of 1-2 and the men are 2-1. I have some brief thoughts and tone-setting for these teams.
Women’s Basketball
Coach McGuff’s record of 1-2 is understandable, considering they opened the season playing at the #2 ranked University of South Carolina and three days later hosting the #1 ranked University of Connecticut. The Buckeyes played a competitive game against USC, were not competitive in their loss to UConn, then bounced back with a solid win versus Belmont.
Frankly, I was surprised that Ohio State was ranked in the Top Ten in the pre-season polls Granted, they had a good season last year (24-11) but I’m not sure that is ample reason for the lofty early high national ranking. Maybe my expectations were influenced by the pollsters.
There are a couple things going on with this team that I see. First, it appears to be a very talented team, yet it is a very “new” team. Nine of the 15 players on McGuff’s squad are freshmen/sophomores. Many of the upperclassmen are transfers and are new to the program. Several players took medical leave (ACL injuries) last season. They are, in effect, new to the program. Coach McGuff will have to draw upon his skills as a teacher and a psychologist this season to get these “skill sets” (players) to mesh together and play to their capabilities.
One area that may need addressed is field goal shooting. At 37%, they are about 5% lower than last season, but the Buckeyes have played two very good (USC, UConn) defensive teams, so I’m confident this will improve throughout the season. The other area that definitely needs addressed is rebounding. They are currently being out-rebounded by 16 boards per game. The tough schedule to date is no excuse; Belmont out rebounded Ohio State 53-34. It’s one thing to be out-rebounded by top teams in the country (they were), it’s quite another thing to be out-rebounded by a team that you beat by almost 30 points.
Men’s Basketball
At the very start of the season, Joe Dexter commented to me that “This team may not win 20 games this season, but they will be fun to watch.” He’s probably right. Similar to the OSU women’s team, Thad’s squad is still relatively new to one another. Only returners Loving (23 min/game) and Tate (22) and Williams (14) averaged double-digit minutes last season. Bates-Diop, averaging 35 minutes this season, averaged only 9 last season. Everyone else had insignificant minutes or are new. Thad has a lot of game-minutes to replace this season.
However, there is one flaw to this team that I feel needs to be corrected. It’s their abysmal free-throw shooting. You can, if you want, point to the box score and circle OSU’s FT shooting against UT-Arlington as a direct cause of their loss: the Buckeyes were 13-27 (48%) from the FT line. They lost by 5 points (73-68) and there were well over 5 points that OSU left at the foul line. As Buckeye fans, this is something that you should be used to by now. Last season, OSU shot 67.8% (“good” for 232nd in the nation) while this season they are clocking in at 57.1% (323rd). Don’t look for OSU to win too many games at the foul line, but look for them to lose games late at the foul line. To get his players more focused on FT shooting, maybe Thad should try this at his next practice. (There is a passing resemblance between the coaches, no?)
Wrap Up
These are two talented, I feel, young squads that are still ‘Works in Progress’. If anything, this will be a challenging season for the coaching staffs, since there are a of “moving parts” that have to be identified and synchronized to allow these teams to play at a level approaching their potentials. This will be a season where Coaches McGuff and Matta have to coach beyond the “X’s & O’s” and manage the “Janes & Joes”. In coaching, there is always an element of teaching and patience. This will apply to being fans this season, as well.
The post OSU Basketball: Sit Back and Enjoy the Ride appeared first on The Buckeye Battle Cry: Ohio State News and Commentary.
Continue reading...
Ken via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Ohio State sports fans are going down the stretch with the “Michigan” portion of their schedule. Meanwhile, the OSU Women’s and Men’s team have opened pre-conference play. At the writing of this article, the women’s team sits with a record of 1-2 and the men are 2-1. I have some brief thoughts and tone-setting for these teams.
Women’s Basketball
Coach McGuff’s record of 1-2 is understandable, considering they opened the season playing at the #2 ranked University of South Carolina and three days later hosting the #1 ranked University of Connecticut. The Buckeyes played a competitive game against USC, were not competitive in their loss to UConn, then bounced back with a solid win versus Belmont.
Frankly, I was surprised that Ohio State was ranked in the Top Ten in the pre-season polls Granted, they had a good season last year (24-11) but I’m not sure that is ample reason for the lofty early high national ranking. Maybe my expectations were influenced by the pollsters.
There are a couple things going on with this team that I see. First, it appears to be a very talented team, yet it is a very “new” team. Nine of the 15 players on McGuff’s squad are freshmen/sophomores. Many of the upperclassmen are transfers and are new to the program. Several players took medical leave (ACL injuries) last season. They are, in effect, new to the program. Coach McGuff will have to draw upon his skills as a teacher and a psychologist this season to get these “skill sets” (players) to mesh together and play to their capabilities.
One area that may need addressed is field goal shooting. At 37%, they are about 5% lower than last season, but the Buckeyes have played two very good (USC, UConn) defensive teams, so I’m confident this will improve throughout the season. The other area that definitely needs addressed is rebounding. They are currently being out-rebounded by 16 boards per game. The tough schedule to date is no excuse; Belmont out rebounded Ohio State 53-34. It’s one thing to be out-rebounded by top teams in the country (they were), it’s quite another thing to be out-rebounded by a team that you beat by almost 30 points.
Men’s Basketball
At the very start of the season, Joe Dexter commented to me that “This team may not win 20 games this season, but they will be fun to watch.” He’s probably right. Similar to the OSU women’s team, Thad’s squad is still relatively new to one another. Only returners Loving (23 min/game) and Tate (22) and Williams (14) averaged double-digit minutes last season. Bates-Diop, averaging 35 minutes this season, averaged only 9 last season. Everyone else had insignificant minutes or are new. Thad has a lot of game-minutes to replace this season.
However, there is one flaw to this team that I feel needs to be corrected. It’s their abysmal free-throw shooting. You can, if you want, point to the box score and circle OSU’s FT shooting against UT-Arlington as a direct cause of their loss: the Buckeyes were 13-27 (48%) from the FT line. They lost by 5 points (73-68) and there were well over 5 points that OSU left at the foul line. As Buckeye fans, this is something that you should be used to by now. Last season, OSU shot 67.8% (“good” for 232nd in the nation) while this season they are clocking in at 57.1% (323rd). Don’t look for OSU to win too many games at the foul line, but look for them to lose games late at the foul line. To get his players more focused on FT shooting, maybe Thad should try this at his next practice. (There is a passing resemblance between the coaches, no?)
Wrap Up
These are two talented, I feel, young squads that are still ‘Works in Progress’. If anything, this will be a challenging season for the coaching staffs, since there are a of “moving parts” that have to be identified and synchronized to allow these teams to play at a level approaching their potentials. This will be a season where Coaches McGuff and Matta have to coach beyond the “X’s & O’s” and manage the “Janes & Joes”. In coaching, there is always an element of teaching and patience. This will apply to being fans this season, as well.
The post OSU Basketball: Sit Back and Enjoy the Ride appeared first on The Buckeye Battle Cry: Ohio State News and Commentary.
Continue reading...