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Sullinger uncertain about where sport will lead him[/SIZE]
Thursday, July 20, 2006
PAUL BATTERSON
ThisWeek Staff Writer
[FONT=ARIAL,HELVETICA,GENEVA,GOTHIC][SIZE=+1]At a glance[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=ARIAL,HELVETICA,GENEVA,GOTHIC][SIZE=-1] [/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=ARIAL,HELVETICA,GENEVA,GOTHIC][SIZE=-1]Below are the recent results and coming schedule for the McDonald's Summer League: [/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=ARIAL,HELVETICA,GENEVA,GOTHIC][SIZE=-1]JULY 13 (first round of tournament) [/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=ARIAL,HELVETICA,GENEVA,GOTHIC][SIZE=-1]City Wide 73, HER Paul Hunt 54; Cordray for Treasurer 60, Donatos 52; Jump Management 80, Pengwyns 76; Columbus Christian Center 71, Union Savings Bank 55; Fraser & Michaels 106, All-Ohio Masonry 85; Prudential Residenz Realtors 77, GoCollegeBound.Com 72; Mitchell-McKinney 67, Andrew Insurance 64; Buckeye Corner 71, Safe Auto 64 [/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=ARIAL,HELVETICA,GENEVA,GOTHIC][SIZE=-1]LAST TUESDAY (second round) [/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=ARIAL,HELVETICA,GENEVA,GOTHIC][SIZE=-1]City Wide vs. Cordray for Treasurer; Jump Management vs. Columbus Christian Center; Fraser & Michaels vs. Prudential Residenz Realtors; Mitchell-McKinney vs. Buckeye Corner [/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=ARIAL,HELVETICA,GENEVA,GOTHIC][SIZE=-1]LAST WEDNESDAY (at Worthington Kilbourne) [/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=ARIAL,HELVETICA,GENEVA,GOTHIC][SIZE=-1]Semifinals [/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=ARIAL,HELVETICA,GENEVA,GOTHIC][SIZE=-1]TODAY (at Kilbourne) [/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=ARIAL,HELVETICA,GENEVA,GOTHIC][SIZE=-1]Consolation final 6:30 p.m.; final 8 p.m. [/SIZE][/FONT]
In the past, J.J. Sullinger always knew who he was working for during the summer. However, after graduating from Ohio State last spring his future is up in the air.
"He's not connected," said his father, Satch Sullinger, who coaches the boys team at Northland High School. "This is the first time he doesn't know what team he is going to be playing for. In middle school, he knew he was preparing himself for the middle-school team. In high school, it was Thomas Worthington. And then it was Arkansas and Ohio State. Now there's that separation. Of course it's going to be a little (awkward), but it's just a rite of passage."
J.J., a 2001 graduate of Thomas, frequently is in contact with his agent, Richard Katz in Cincinnati.
"Right now I'm just waiting on that phone call and preparing to make the best of the opportunity I am given, if not here then overseas," he said. "In a couple more months here, I don't know if I'm going to be in the United States or 10,000 miles away from home. It's tough and it's hard, but it's a process."
For the time being, Sullinger is making the most out of playing for Buckeye Corner in the McDonalds Summer League. On July 13, he scored 27 points and had eight rebounds as Buckeye Corner beat defending champion Safe Auto 71-64 in the first round of the tournament. Buckeye Corner faced Mitchell-McKinney in a quarterfinal last Tuesday.
Safe Auto beat Buckeye Corner 81-75 in the championship last year. Sullinger said he was glad he could return the favor.
"I'm not sure how many of our guys were on that team last year, but I took it personally," he said. "I didn't want to say anything to these guys because I didn't want to put any pressure on them. In the back of my mind I knew that they beat us last year in the championship, so it was something we wanted to get back.
"We have some talented guys on our team who know how to play the game, so I just try to be a leader. I'm trying to work on my all-around game, working on my jump shot and becoming a guard again."
As a senior at Thomas, Sullinger averaged 21.7 points, 8.7 rebounds and 6.0 assists and shared the Division I state Player of the Year honor with former Ohio State teammate Matt Sylvester. Sullinger went on to play for Arkansas, averaging 9.4 points and 3.0 rebounds as a freshman.
After a year with the Razorbacks, Sullinger transferred to Ohio State when Arkansas coach Nolan Richardson was fired. After sitting out a year, he started 23 of 30 games for the Buckeyes as a sophomore and led the team in scoring 16 times.
When Thad Matta replaced Jim O'Brien as Ohio State coach in 2004, he looked at the 6-foot-5 Sullinger and the rest of the players with whom he had to work and moved Sullinger from guard to power forward.
"I played power forward a lot the last two years, but I know I probably am not going to be able to play that at the next level," Sullinger said. "Being moved to forward was tough, but coach Matta knew how to do it. He got me in the weight room and I gained a lot of weight, got stronger and became more physical."
During his senior year, Sullinger averaged 10.1 points, 7.0 rebounds and 1.5 assists as Ohio State finished 26-6 overall and was ranked sixth in the final poll. The Buckeyes won the Big Ten at 12-4 and earned the second seed in the Minneapolis Regional of the NCAA tournament.
Asked what made the difference between last year and a 21-12 finish in 2004-05, Sullinger praised his coach.
"Thad Matta was the one who brought things together. (After a 60-49 loss to Wisconsin in a Big Ten quarterfinal in 2005), Matta told us how hard we were going to work. They formatted a workout plan for us and we just stuck to it. We knew last year was going to be something special. That was a good one to go out on. I couldn't ask for a better senior year."
Matta was the third coach Sullinger played for in college, following Richardson and O'Brien. Sullinger said nothing but positive things about the three.
"It was tough, but it taught me a lot," Sullinger said. "I had some pretty good coaches in Richardson, who was probably the king of the full-court press, and O'Brien, who as far as Xs and Os go, was just phenomenal. Thad Matta is just amazing. His record here and at the other places just speaks for itself."
But he added that it was his father who made him into the person he is today.
"My father taught me to be accountable for my actions, both the good ones and the bad ones. He taught me to believe in what I stand for, even if that means standing alone.
"He instilled one phrase that I will always remember: You play the game the way you live your life. If you are cutting corners playing basketball or off the court, you're going to cut corners vice-versa. I try not to cut corners and just play the best way I can."
(he wants to get back at it in early 2011 after sustaining a knee injury in China..Sully turns 28 on the 5th of October)
