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

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Posted: Tuesday March 9, 2010
Seth Davis>HOOP THOUGHTS
Ohio State swingman David Lighty captains 11th annual All-Glue Team

david-lighty-davis.jpg

David Lighty has become one of the best defenders in the Big Ten, and he averages 12.4 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.7 assists.
Ben Solomon/Icon SMI

During his first week of practice as an Ohio State freshman, David Lighty, a 6-foot-5 swingman from Cleveland, was so dominant in a full-court, zig-zag defensive drill that he nearly brought the exercise to a halt. "He was turning the guy over and over. The line of guys going next was all backed up," Ohio State coach Thad Matta recalls. Though it was early in Lighty's college career, Matta sensed the kid could be something special. "I told him right there, 'I've never seen anything like that. If you play your cards right, you could be the best defender who ever played at Ohio State.' " Matta says.

That was a huge compliment, but it is not the sort that a freshman usually likes to hear. After all, Lighty was a big-time scorer at Villa Angela-St. Joseph High. He once put up 50 points in a game, he averaged nearly 28 points a game as a senior and as a result was ranked by Scout.com as the No. 30 player in his class. But Lighty was also smart enough to realize that when you come to college with a class that includes Mike Conley Jr., Daequan Cook and Greg Oden, your best chance at earning playing time is not going to be as a scorer. So he had to find other ways to make himself valuable.

In other words, he had to turn himself into a Glue Guy.

Lighty embraced Matta's challenge to be a great defender while applying a variety of skills to blend in at the offensive end. As a freshman, he played 32 minutes a game by doing a little bit of everything, averaging 9.0 points, 3.6 rebounds and 2.4 assists. But it was on the defensive end that he made his mark, especially during the Buckeyes' run to the national championship game, when he showed he could blanket both bigger and smaller players. His signature performance came in the Final Four against Georgetown, when he held the Hoyas' 6-9 forward Jeff Green to 9 points on 5 shots. "I still show clips of that game to teach our guys how to defend," Matta says.

Lighty missed all but seven games last season with a broken foot, but he has come back this season to lead Ohio State to a 24-7 regular-season record, a share of the Big Ten title and a chance at a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament. He is still not the featured player in Ohio State's offense -- we all know that is Evan Turner -- but he is excelling in all areas of the game, both tangible and intangible. For all of his varied and often unnoticed contributions, Lighty has been bestowed the ultimate honor for college basketball's unsung heroes: the captaincy of SI.com's 11th annual All-Glue team.
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Read More: Ohio State's David Lighty captains 11th annual All-Glue Team - Seth Davis - SI.com
 
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Matta Abashed at Snub of Lighty
By Brandon Castel

David Lighty was not named to the Big Ten all-defensive team by the coaches Monday, a fact that did not escape the head coach of the conference?s top-rated team Wednesday.

?The biggest one I?m shocked is Dave not being on the all defensive team,? Ohio State coach Thad Matta said during his press conference.

?Just knowing what he does for us, I?m blown away. I?m not trying to bash the balloting, I just love the kid and think he?s a heck of a defender.?

Matta, now in his sixth year at Ohio State, has always held Lighty?s defensive prowess in high regard back from the days he recruited the dual-sport athlete out of Villa Angela-St. Joseph?s High School in Cleveland.

?Evan (Turner) and I were laughing (about it) yesterday,? said Matta, who typically assigns Lighty to guard the opposing team?s best player in the second half.

?If there was five seconds to go and I had to pick one guy in this league to get the stop I?d put him on it. That?s for sure.?
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The-Ozone, Ohio State Football, Wrestling, Softball, Basketball, Hockey, Baseball and More
 
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Lighty is undersized, but never overmatched
Mike DeCourcy
Sunday, Mar. 14, 2010

INDIANAPOLIS? You can find most of them now in NBA box scores, or you would if only beleaguered Greg Oden could remain healthy enough to complete an entire season. It seems so long ago the "Thad Five" arrived at Ohio State to win a national championship and convince Buckeyes fans there was room in their winters to care as much about basketball games as football recruiting.

So far, Thad Matta's recruiting class of 2006 has come up short on both counts, but not all of them have surrendered the pursuit. David Lighty still is wearing an OSU uniform, and he'll be back in that outfit again next year.

And he is no small reason why those original plans have not been abandoned.

Well, in some ways he is a small reason. At 6-5, he is playing power forward for the Buckeyes?undersized compared to nearly every guy he faces but certainly never overmatched.

"I'm a guard. That's what I've been playing my whole career," Lighty said. "At times, it gets hectic down inside. There's a lot of wear-and-tear on your body.

"To be a good team, you have to have all the parts. If you're selfish, the team can't win. For me to do the dirty work, I'm happy to do it."
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Lighty is undersized, but never overmatched - Mike DeCourcy - College Basketball - Sporting News
 
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Article published March 15, 2010
Foes can't take Ohio State's Lighty lightly


INDIANAPOLIS - We can debate Ohio State's seeding for the NCAA tournament, we can debate whether Evan Turner is capable of any better body of work than the one he exhibited during three games here at the Big Ten tournament. But what is beyond debate is David Lighty being the not-so-secret weapon who could well deliver a return appearance to central Indiana for the Buckeyes.

The Final Four will be here, just down the street from Conseco Fieldhouse at Lucas Oil Stadium. The NCAA selection committee didn't make it easy on Ohio State when it announced its pairings yesterday shortly after the Buckeyes ran roughshod over Minnesota, 90-61, in the Big Ten title game, but the way Lighty is playing it might not matter.

"That stretch he had there for about two minutes today, I've never seen anything like that before in my life," OSU coach Thad Matta said without a hint of exaggeration.

The 6-foot-5 Lighty has been a lockdown defender since the day he arrived in Columbus. Remember his freshman year when he made Georgetown star Jeff Green all but disappear during their meeting in the Final Four semifinal game? He can guard any of four positions in OSU's man defense, and when the Buckeyes go zone it's not unusual to see him matched against a 7-footer in the low post.

Offensively, though, Lighty has grown leaps and bounds from the guy who was nicknamed "Tank" because he plowed through the enemy, mostly with a similar type of finesse. He has worked hard to play more under control and to refine his shot, especially from 3-point range.

"I told David before the season started that if he could shoot close to 40 percent from behind the line we're going to have a heck of a basketball team," Matta said. "He did it. And I think we're a heck of a basketball team."
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toledoblade.com -- The Blade ~ Toledo Ohio
 
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Mini L-Train Picking Up Steam In March
By Brandon Castel

INDIANAPOLIS ? David Lighty has always worn a big smile, but there was a little something extra in his look Sunday as he sat in the corner of the Ohio State locker room after their 90-61 thrashing of Minnesota in the Big Ten Tournament championship game.

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A happy David Lighty takes his turn cutting down the net in Indianapolis.
Photo by Jim Davidson
The only thing missing was a victory cigar.

?With us losing (the championship game) last year, a game we could have won, especially without me playing, I really wanted to come out and win,? said the fourth-year junior who missed all but the first seven games of last season with a broken foot.

There is something else Lighty missed out on this season, however, that made the trip to Indianapolis especially gratifying.

Considered by many to be one of the best on-ball defenders in the Big Ten, Lighty was conspicuously left off the coaches? all-conference defensive team, announced last week. The decision rubbed Lighty and OSU Head Coach Thad Matta the wrong way, but there was someone else who took it even harder.

?My mom was real mad about it,? Lighty said of the snub.

?She was angry, but I told her ?Don?t worry about it. You can?t vote on it, I can?t vote on it so don?t worry about it.??

Lighty has never been one to do much worrying. His laid back persona rubs off on some of his more uptight teammates, like Big Ten Player of the Year Evan Turner. Yet Lighty admits that being named to the 2010 All-Tournament team was a bit of vindication for being left off the defensive team.

?Maybe you could say that,? Lighty said with his grin widening.

?You could say that. I?m excited and I?m sure my mom?s happy about it.?
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The-Ozone, Ohio State Football, Wrestling, Softball, Basketball, Hockey, Baseball and More
 
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OSU men's basketball: Lighty's now a lights-out shooter
Thursday, March 18, 2010
By Bob Baptist
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

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FRED SQUILLANTE | DISPATCH
David Lighty had the best three-point percentage (.415) of Ohio State's four starting perimeter players during the Big Ten season.

Evan Turner said he has not attempted to re-enact his last-second shot that downed Michigan in the Big Ten tournament last week.

Someone else has been trying, though.

"I hit it four times in a row," David Lighty chimed in after practice yesterday.

He wasn't joking.

"He made it four times in a row," Turner confirmed.

Time was, a statement like that from Lighty, even with Turner corroborating it, easily could have been dismissed as nonsense.

Lighty was a defender nonpareil for Ohio State, an undersized power forward who compensated with quickness and competitiveness. He was its heart and soul, a leader who is respected and a voice heeded in the locker room. He was the glue that held the team together.

But he wasn't much of a shooter. Some of his careening drives to the hoop that went awry were worthy of SportsCenter moments, his towering three-point attempts did not inspire confidence, and his free throws uh, are you sure William Buford shouldn't be at the line, ref?

Well, an amazing thing happened on the Buckeyes' road back to the NCAA Tournament. Don't-Do-It Dave became Deadeye Dave.

"I told David before the season started, 'If you can shoot 40 percent from behind the (arc) this year, we're going to have a heck of a basketball team,'" coach Thad Matta said. "He did it. And I think we've got a heck of a basketball team."
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OSU men's basketball: Lighty's now a lights-out shooter | BuckeyeXtra
 
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lighty has made 21 of last 50 three-point attempts for 42%. for the season, he is shooting 38%. that is an outstanding accomplishment for a player who shot 26% behind the arc his last full season. also, lighty has made 35 of his last 50 free throw attempts for 70%. until that point in the season, he was shooting 61%.

:bow:
 
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Cornerback6;1678776; said:
DL deserves a little extra love for his work defending down low when the Jackets had two big men in. He was working hard and I was impressed as usual.
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It's impressive watching a guy who is 6'5 defending a 6'10 guy and just giving him fits. Him helping getting Luwal and Favors in foul trouble really helped us out a ton today. Lighty is one hell of a good defender.
 
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