SF David Lighty (Most Career Buckeye Wins, ASVEL Lyon-Villeurbanne Basket - France)

[LitlBuck]

OSU Insider

Coach Thad Matta said Friday that Lighty still has not been medically cleared to cut or jump on his healing left foot.

After reading the above, I really don't think that there is much speculation left regarding David's return this season. If he hasn't even started to cut or jump as of last Friday, I seriously doubt if he is going to be able to play before the Big 10 tournament begins and if he does not play before then I think he should take his redshirt year. However, saying that, I think David is the only person who knows what is best for him and the team.

 

[Buckskin86]

Ohio State basketball: Lighty's foot very sore after light practice
by Doug Lesmerises
Sunday February 22, 2009

Junior forward David Lighty practiced with Ohio State on Saturday. But don't get excited Buckeye fans. He was so sore today, he couldn't even take part in the shootaround before OSU's loss to Illinois.

"He can't walk today because he went yesterday," OSU coach Thad Matta said after a 70-68 loss to Illinois, "which is what we anticipated."

Lighty is more than nine weeks removed from surgery on a broken bone in his right foot, an injury initially reported to have a six- to 12-week recovery period, but the soreness means Lighty still has hurdles to overcome before a possible return. The Buckeyes have four regular season games remaining before the Big Ten Tournament.

Matta said Lighty could not run up and down the court in practice, but he slid in to play defense for a few possessions, and the change in the Buckeyes was obvious.

"It was the most ridiculous thing I've seen in my life," Matta said.

If only he could see it in a game.

Ohio State basketball: Lighty's foot very sore after light practice - Ohio State Buckeyes Football & Basketball Blog (OSU) - cleveland.com

 

[crazybuckfan40]

At this point there is no reason to risk further injury this season...From the sound of it, it would basically be NCAA tourney time if he was going to make it back, and be able to play at full stregth...

The thought of him being there for the 2010 team is very exciting...

That should give us Lighty, Diebler, Lauderdale, Kecman, Z, and Offut as upperclassmen to go along with the big time class coming in...That will be nice to finally have a mix like that...

 

[billmac91]

everyone should keep in mind the advantage David gives this team. At 6'6 he's explosive and SMART enough as a defender to guard 4's and even 5's down low in the zone.

Offensively, even when he isn't playing well, he is defended as a 4. And David starts in the corner in most sets. He forces opposing 4's out to the perimeter.

If you substitute Buford for Lighty, I don't think you really lose much offensively. That is a testament to William b/c he is a great scorer. Defensively, it takes a special build and understanding of the game to play 4's and 5's at 6'6.

I just can't see Thad running our zone for long stretches of time with Simmons, Diebler, Turner, and Buford in the line-up. I'd imagine Turner replaces Lighty's normal spot, but then you're giving up defense on the wing.

When you run BJ and Lauderdale together, you can't really press b/c those guys aren't great in space in a 2-2-1 type press around half-court.

I think we'll see less pressing as a result of David's injury, and probably a lot of BJ and Dallas playing together. It will be more of a slow down game, with a lot of Evan Turner iso. We can still be successful, but I was enjoying the Rick Pitino type defense of a fullcourt press back to a zone.

I posted this the day Lighty was announced out, and I think it was pretty accurate.

David played several minutes of defense in tOSU's last practice, and Matta said the "improvement was ridiculous".

Matta said Lighty could not run up and down the court in practice, but he slid in to play defense for a few possessions, and the change in the Buckeyes was obvious.

"It was the most ridiculous thing I've seen in my life," Matta said.

If only he could see it in a game.

David is a special blend with his size, athletic ability, and basketball IQ. His absence has killed our team defensively, because we don't rebound out of the zone well with Turner down low, and we can't put pressure on the other team when a combo of Mullens/Lauderdale/Madsen are in.

We also don't close well on the perimeter defensively when Mullens/Lauderdale/Madsen are responsible for getting out to the corners.

If we finish .500, it'll be interesting to see if they opt to bring back David, in an attempt to persuade the committee. Our statistics are considerably better with Lighty, and the committee often takes injuries into account. Bringing him back could be enough to put us ahead of a team with a similar resume.

 

[leroyjenkins]

I posted this the day Lighty was announced out, and I think it was pretty accurate.

David played several minutes of defense in tOSU's last practice, and Matta said the "improvement was ridiculous".


David is a special blend with his size, athletic ability, and basketball IQ. His absence has killed our team defensively, because we don't rebound out of the zone well with Turner down low, and we can't put pressure on the other team when a combo of Mullens/Lauderdale/Madsen are in.

We also don't close well on the perimeter defensively when Mullens/Lauderdale/Madsen are responsible for getting out to the corners.

If we finish .500, it'll be interesting to see if they opt to bring back David, in an attempt to persuade the committee. Our statistics are considerably better with Lighty, and the committee often takes injuries into account. Bringing him back could be enough to put us ahead of a team with a similar resume.

You'd have to think that most of these close losses would be W's, with DL in the line-up.

 

[crazybuckfan40]

Won't be back the rest of the season...Will be here for the 2009 and 2010 seasons tho...

 

[Mike80]

Won't be back the rest of the season...Will be here for the 2009 and 2010 seasons tho...

It's for the best. At this point it's about preserving his future instead of the right now.....

 

[schwab]

Could the 2010 Buckeyes match the 2006 Gators? NCAA champs, twice over.

I have to think we are one of very few who have this chance, and I like our chances.

 

[crazybuckfan40]

Could the 2010 Buckeyes match the 2006 Gators? NCAA champs, twice over.

I have to think we are one of very few who have this chance, and I like our chances.

Lets not get ahead of ourselves, there will be talent, there will be lots of options to go with for this team, but chances are they are going to be starting a freshmen pg, and depend on production from another 2 or 3 frosh...

 

[DZ83CK]

It's for the best. At this point it's about preserving his future instead of the right now.....

I don't believe Lighty redshirting is for the best, at least from OSU's perspective. Maybe from Lighty's perspective it'd be better to have four seasons plus seven games as opposed to three seasons plus like 10-11 games, but who as we've seen lately there is no guarantee that OSU will have any of their better players return to the team, and there are often other injury problems like Lighty this year that derail an otherwise promising season, and guys could always decommit - none of the promising 2010 recruits have signed an LOI yet. If he is healthy enough to play in the NCAA tourney this year, playing him this year is for the best. OSU doesn't need another wing player for 2010-11 - they already would have Diebler & Offutt as vets in addition to four freshmen (Smith, Sibert, Wright and Thomas) ... and that's assuming two other wings (Turner and Buford) are gone by then. The team would have a glut of wings in 2010-11 with Lighty (Matta almost certainly would bench at least a couple of the frosh, and as we've seen with the likes of Wallace there's no guarantee that guys will come back to the team after such treatment). But the current team is a little short in a number of areas that Lighty would help in (quality depth, rebounding, creating for teammates, defensive intensity). It's pretty clear that this team needs Lighty more this year than they would need him in 2010-11. With a healthy Lighty they might actually go somewhere and I think they'd be contender for another Final Four but without him they're not going to get past the Sweet 16, and they'd be lucky to even get to the Sweet 16.

 

[mross34]

Could the 2010 Buckeyes match the 2006 Gators? NCAA champs, twice over.

I have to think we are one of very few who have this chance, and I like our chances.

Those Gators were some of the best rebounding teams I have seen in recent college basketball. Bucks haven't shown me that kind of grit yet.

 

[jimotis4heisman]

I don't believe Lighty redshirting is for the best, at least from OSU's perspective. Maybe from Lighty's perspective it'd be better to have four seasons plus seven games as opposed to three seasons plus like 10-11 games, but who as we've seen lately there is no guarantee that OSU will have any of their better players return to the team, and there are often other injury problems like Lighty this year that derail an otherwise promising season, and guys could always decommit - none of the promising 2010 recruits have signed an LOI yet. If he is healthy enough to play in the NCAA tourney this year, playing him this year is for the best. OSU doesn't need another wing player for 2010-11 - they already would have Diebler & Offutt as vets in addition to four freshmen (Smith, Sibert, Wright and Thomas) ... and that's assuming two other wings (Turner and Buford) are gone by then. The team would have a glut of wings in 2010-11 with Lighty (Matta almost certainly would bench at least a couple of the frosh, and as we've seen with the likes of Wallace there's no guarantee that guys will come back to the team after such treatment). But the current team is a little short in a number of areas that Lighty would help in (quality depth, rebounding, creating for teammates, defensive intensity). It's pretty clear that this team needs Lighty more this year than they would need him in 2010-11. With a healthy Lighty they might actually go somewhere and I think they'd be contender for another Final Four but without him they're not going to get past the Sweet 16, and they'd be lucky to even get to the Sweet 16.

with a healthy lighty final four team? is this taos alter ego?

 

[crazybuckfan40]

I don't believe Lighty redshirting is for the best, at least from OSU's perspective. Maybe from Lighty's perspective it'd be better to have four seasons plus seven games as opposed to three seasons plus like 10-11 games, but who as we've seen lately there is no guarantee that OSU will have any of their better players return to the team, and there are often other injury problems like Lighty this year that derail an otherwise promising season, and guys could always decommit - none of the promising 2010 recruits have signed an LOI yet. If he is healthy enough to play in the NCAA tourney this year, playing him this year is for the best. OSU doesn't need another wing player for 2010-11 - they already would have Diebler & Offutt as vets in addition to four freshmen (Smith, Sibert, Wright and Thomas) ... and that's assuming two other wings (Turner and Buford) are gone by then. The team would have a glut of wings in 2010-11 with Lighty (Matta almost certainly would bench at least a couple of the frosh, and as we've seen with the likes of Wallace there's no guarantee that guys will come back to the team after such treatment). But the current team is a little short in a number of areas that Lighty would help in (quality depth, rebounding, creating for teammates, defensive intensity). It's pretty clear that this team needs Lighty more this year than they would need him in 2010-11. With a healthy Lighty they might actually go somewhere and I think they'd be contender for another Final Four but without him they're not going to get past the Sweet 16, and they'd be lucky to even get to the Sweet 16.

If he was going to come back and be healthy and be able to play full go he would come back...

Secondly you don't think it would be better to have a senior laden team with frosh sprinkled in than the other...Diebler and Lighty gives you a ton of leadership on the wing, and IMHO Wright isn't going to be able to step right in as a frosh, Thomas can play the 4 some in a small lineup, and Smith and I would assume Offut are probably going to be staring at the point, so you can have Sibert as the top guy off the bench from the wing position along with Thomas depending on whether we play him at the 4 some much like Ivan Harris at the 4...

 

[DZ83CK]

with a healthy lighty final four team? is this taos alter ego?

I said contend for the Final Four, I didn't claim they'd certainly make it or anything like that. They obviously have a lot better chance with Lighty than without him. If you think there are a bunch of teams out there that are a lot better than OSU with a healthy Lighty, you're wrong. UConn suffered a key season-ending injury, so did Marquette and UNC. Pitt lost to Providence. Oklahoma lost to Arkansas. Duke is having another late season slide. It's pretty wide-open this year.

You never know what the future holds ... when you have guys going pro left and right, it's best to do everything you can to make your team better when you have one of your better teams instead of just waiting back and hoping guys aren't going to go pro. Why go into a fight with one hand tied behind your back if you don't have to?

Redshirting Lighty seems to be in Lighty's best interest and generally is not in OSU's best interest (if he is healthy enough to play well in the NCAA tourney this year). For 2010-11, Diebler, Offutt, Sibert and Thomas could reasonably be expected to handle the 2 & 3 positions (with Thomas possibly also spending some time at the 4) and Sullinger playing the 4 & 5 along with Big Z and Lauderdale - that's a solid group right there, even assuming Smith and Wright (and Kecman) won't contribute much. If Lighty were a PG, it'd make a lot of sense to R/S him from OSU's perspective. But the way it is, he could make a lot more difference on this year's team than he would on the 2010-11 team because the 2010-11 team will already be plenty good without him & a guy like Sibert would be allowed to play and develop rather than be forced to the bench. As we've seen, playing freshmen isn't a problem when they're 5* type recruits like Sibert and Thomas. They still would have the veteran presence of Diebler and Offutt.

 

[Mike80]

I don't believe Lighty redshirting is for the best, at least from OSU's perspective. Maybe from Lighty's perspective it'd be better to have four seasons plus seven games as opposed to three seasons plus like 10-11 games, but who as we've seen lately there is no guarantee that OSU will have any of their better players return to the team, and there are often other injury problems like Lighty this year that derail an otherwise promising season, and guys could always decommit - none of the promising 2010 recruits have signed an LOI yet. If he is healthy enough to play in the NCAA tourney this year, playing him this year is for the best. OSU doesn't need another wing player for 2010-11 - they already would have Diebler & Offutt as vets in addition to four freshmen (Smith, Sibert, Wright and Thomas) ... and that's assuming two other wings (Turner and Buford) are gone by then. The team would have a glut of wings in 2010-11 with Lighty (Matta almost certainly would bench at least a couple of the frosh, and as we've seen with the likes of Wallace there's no guarantee that guys will come back to the team after such treatment). But the current team is a little short in a number of areas that Lighty would help in (quality depth, rebounding, creating for teammates, defensive intensity). It's pretty clear that this team needs Lighty more this year than they would need him in 2010-11. With a healthy Lighty they might actually go somewhere and I think they'd be contender for another Final Four but without him they're not going to get past the Sweet 16, and they'd be lucky to even get to the Sweet 16.

Screw that. If there is something Tressel and Matta are and have always been about, it's about the health of the kids they coach. I will NEVER question them, especially from the "[strike]OSU[/strike] FAN perspective". The OSU perspective is to fucking EDUCATE these guys. the FAN perspective wants Lighty to risk further injury and perhaps his career to come back for some games they may or may not even play in. That's a STUPID risk.