Dispatch
OHIO STATE MEN?S BASKETBALL
Oden?s presence helps Hunter
Duels in practice paying off in games for junior-college transfer
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
Bob Baptist
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
One thing coach Thad Matta likes about the load of talent he has hauled into the Ohio State men?s basketball program ? besides all the games the Buckeyes are going to win ? is how much it has elevated the competition in the practice gym.
Nowhere was it higher last week than in the post, where 7-foot, 280-pound Greg Oden was full-go for the first time and 6-9, 225-pound Othello Hunter had to deal with it.
Against Oden, Matta said, "You have to bring it every day."
Hunter had his best week of practice since he?s been at Ohio State, Matta said. Not coincidentally, he had his first double-double Saturday in a win over Cleveland State, with 17 points and 11 rebounds in only 13 minutes.
"I told him before the game, ?If you just play the way you did in practice this week, I think you?re going to see a great carryover,? " Matta said.
"Every play (against Oden), you?ve got to battle. Greg makes you do that. I?ve had it before with David West (at Xavier). The guys that went at David just continued to grow as players because of what they were doing every day."
Just a couple of weeks ago, Matta answered a question about Hunter?s progress by implying it was intermittent.
"When you?re playing at this level, the quicker you come to the realization that every play, every possession, every practice is vitally important," the better off you will be, Matta said.
Hunter evidently came to that realization against Oden.
"It helped a lot," he said. "You have to stick every play. You?ve just got to go out there and execute."
He also had an opportunity, for a few minutes against Cleveland State, to play alongside Oden.
Hunter, who played high school basketball in Winston-Salem, N.C., for only one year, was recruited out of Hillsborough Community College in Tampa, Fla., with the idea of pairing him inside with Oden, giving the Buckeyes two rebounders and shot-blockers with wingspans exceeding 7-2.
Saturday was the first time the tandem saw the court in a game. When Oden made his debut the previous weekend against Valparaiso, 6-8 Matt Terwilliger was with him in what Matta calls his "big-ball package."
"I think Othello relished the opportunity," assistant coach John Groce said. "We?ve told him that he?d benefit greatly from Greg being out there, but obviously it?s one thing to tell him, it?s another thing for him to see it or feel it actually happening."
Hunter is averaging 8.3 points and 6.6 rebounds and shooting 57.4 percent from the field. Terwilliger is averaging 4.6 points and 2.9 rebounds and shooting 55.2 percent. He did not help his cause Saturday by failing to get a rebound in 18 minutes.
"We?re still sort of feeling out that lineup, that rotation," Matta said.
With Hunter, Terwilliger and starter Ivan Harris all vying for minutes at power forward, the competition has heightened. Harris responded with a careerhigh 10 rebounds Saturday.
"It better be quality time when you?re in there," Matta said. "Hopefully, that?s a staple of our program. What we?re trying to do is get guys to understand that."
OHIO STATE MEN?S BASKETBALL
Oden?s presence helps Hunter
Duels in practice paying off in games for junior-college transfer
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
Bob Baptist
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
One thing coach Thad Matta likes about the load of talent he has hauled into the Ohio State men?s basketball program ? besides all the games the Buckeyes are going to win ? is how much it has elevated the competition in the practice gym.
Nowhere was it higher last week than in the post, where 7-foot, 280-pound Greg Oden was full-go for the first time and 6-9, 225-pound Othello Hunter had to deal with it.
Against Oden, Matta said, "You have to bring it every day."
Hunter had his best week of practice since he?s been at Ohio State, Matta said. Not coincidentally, he had his first double-double Saturday in a win over Cleveland State, with 17 points and 11 rebounds in only 13 minutes.
"I told him before the game, ?If you just play the way you did in practice this week, I think you?re going to see a great carryover,? " Matta said.
"Every play (against Oden), you?ve got to battle. Greg makes you do that. I?ve had it before with David West (at Xavier). The guys that went at David just continued to grow as players because of what they were doing every day."
Just a couple of weeks ago, Matta answered a question about Hunter?s progress by implying it was intermittent.
"When you?re playing at this level, the quicker you come to the realization that every play, every possession, every practice is vitally important," the better off you will be, Matta said.
Hunter evidently came to that realization against Oden.
"It helped a lot," he said. "You have to stick every play. You?ve just got to go out there and execute."
He also had an opportunity, for a few minutes against Cleveland State, to play alongside Oden.
Hunter, who played high school basketball in Winston-Salem, N.C., for only one year, was recruited out of Hillsborough Community College in Tampa, Fla., with the idea of pairing him inside with Oden, giving the Buckeyes two rebounders and shot-blockers with wingspans exceeding 7-2.
Saturday was the first time the tandem saw the court in a game. When Oden made his debut the previous weekend against Valparaiso, 6-8 Matt Terwilliger was with him in what Matta calls his "big-ball package."
"I think Othello relished the opportunity," assistant coach John Groce said. "We?ve told him that he?d benefit greatly from Greg being out there, but obviously it?s one thing to tell him, it?s another thing for him to see it or feel it actually happening."
Hunter is averaging 8.3 points and 6.6 rebounds and shooting 57.4 percent from the field. Terwilliger is averaging 4.6 points and 2.9 rebounds and shooting 55.2 percent. He did not help his cause Saturday by failing to get a rebound in 18 minutes.
"We?re still sort of feeling out that lineup, that rotation," Matta said.
With Hunter, Terwilliger and starter Ivan Harris all vying for minutes at power forward, the competition has heightened. Harris responded with a careerhigh 10 rebounds Saturday.
"It better be quality time when you?re in there," Matta said. "Hopefully, that?s a staple of our program. What we?re trying to do is get guys to understand that."
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