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Which Thad 5'ers start next year?

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talltorrec145 said:
i say we start butler, and at least for the start of the season, sullegner and lewis, with oden and another freshmen to be detemined, starting, but by the end of the season, i think it will be 4 freshmen and butler...
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four freshman? hunter isn't a freshman. Unless you have lighty or cook playing the four, which wouldn't work very well.
 
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bucknuts44820 said:
Lets not forget about Othello Hunter at the 4 spot next year, he is 6-9 big body who can rebound and shoot.
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Definitely think he sees a lot of minutes. Though I haven't seen him, his measurements would indicate he's a bigger guy than Twigs is. If he doesn't start, I bet he's the first off the bench.

Looks like we can stick a fork in Ivan Harris if what Twigs says is true. He's already playing more than Harris.

OSU should be DEEP next year. It should be a lot like this year's team, but with a more dominant C than the B10 PoTY. Oh, yes. Soon enough OSU won't be a football school. :oh::io:
 
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Anybody remember the 'Fab Five' from Meatchicken? By the end of the year, all five of them had starting roles. Couple were spelled quickly, but nonetheless......

Oden
Hunter
Strong frontcourt, bang the boards

Butler at point
Conley at co-point (take turns bringing up the ball)
Cook at wing - shooting forward
Big front line gives the backcourt some flex, and with two superior ball handlers, creates havoc as no one knows who is the shooting guard

Mayes transfers
Twigs gets big minutes in relief of Hunter
Harris odd-man out (unless he learns how to rebound).

Wonder if Ricardo is looking forward to what he missed? Hope his girlfriend was worth it.

Anyway,

:gobucks3: :osu4: :banger:
 
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We're looking at a decent lineup with some possible size advantage over this years team, which is what inevitably took us out of the tournament this year. I predict this lineup for the season:

PG Butler
SG Lewis
SF/SG Cook
PF Terwilliger
C Oden

Our bench should be deep again if some guys improve their play. Hunter, Bell, Mayes, Conley, Lighty and Harris.
 
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http://dispatch.com/bball/bball.php?story=dispatch/2006/03/21/20060321-E5-00.html
the dispatchs take
OSU MEN’S BASKETBALL
Matta will build on blueprint
‘Thad Five’ team will need time to find all the answers
Tuesday, March 21, 2006
Bob Baptist
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
20060321-Pc-E5-0400.jpg
DARRON CUMMINGS | ASSOCIATED PRESS Ron Lewis, left, celebrating Ohio State’s victory over Indiana with teammates, is a logical candidate to fill the leadership gap.
The four seniors who played their last game for the Ohio State men’s basketball team Sunday were credited by coach Thad Matta for laying the foundation for his program. What they laid was a blueprint for how much hard work, role-playing and unselfishness can mean to a team that doesn’t have the most talent. It meant an outright Big Ten championship.
Matta will have more talent to work with next season. The "Thad Five" recruiting class has been rated second-best in the nation by talent scouts and includes an NBA-ready 7-footer in center Greg Oden. Whether that translates into more success in 2007 remains to be seen.
Oden will have an effect, especially on defense, but who will go out of his area to rebound like Terence Dials and J.J. Sullinger did down the stretch of the Big Ten season? Who will get in the passing lanes and dive onto scorer’s tables for loose balls like Je’Kel Foster did? Is there another power forward on the roster to lend the offense the threepoint shooting threat and two-to-one assist-to-turnover ratio Matt Sylvester did?
Here are five more questions:
1. Who starts next season ?

If one thing has become clear in Matta’s tenure, it is that defense gets you on the floor. So write in Oden and Jamar Butler’s names. Ron Lewis has an edge on one wing because of his experience, a proven ability to get to the basket and an improving threepoint stroke, but he needs to tighten his defense. Sylvester Mayes, if he sticks around, and freshmen Mike Conley, Daequan Cook and David Lighty will compete for the third guard spot. Cook might be the most talented, but Conley might have the best basketball IQ and Lighty without a doubt has the best Big Ten frame of the three. A Conley-Butler tandem is not out of the question because of Butler’s ability to shoot the three.
2. Who’s the fifth starter ?

There might not be an answer until after the season is under way. Candidates abound, but whether anyone can handle the inside-outside responsibilities the position entails in Matta’s system is uncertain. Matt Terwilliger has the shooting range and toughness to rebound but hasn’t guarded away from the basket. Brayden Bell showed a nice outside shooting touch but little else in 33 minutes this season. Ivan Harris can shoot and improved his defense enough to possibly handle the position but hasn’t added a rebounding component. Junior-college transfer Othello Hunter is said to be a late bloomer whose athletic potential intrigues Matta. But some juniorcollege transfers (Foster) make the jump to Division I better than others (Mayes), so OSU fans will have to wait and see which category Hunter falls in.
3. What happened to Mayes this season ?

Rumors abound, but the only reason given for him playing two mop-up minutes against Purdue the last 13 games of the season was because Matta didn’t trust him in tight games, which the Buckeyes were in about every night they played. Mayes would help himself, and the team, if he harnesses his natural ability and becomes more disciplined and dependable.
4. Who fills the leadership void left by the four seniors ?

The only returning starter is Butler, a strong, silent type who leads by his play. He came out of his shell more as his role expanded the second half of the season, however, and might be more comfortable asserting himself as a leader with Foster gone. Lewis is a logical candidate as the only senior seemingly sure to start.
The X factor might be Conley if he comes in and claims a major role. He’ll only be a freshman but, like Scoonie Penn did, has Pied Piper intangibles that influence teammates to follow him. Just ask Oden.
5. How good will the Buckeyes be ?

None of Matta’s teams has ever finished shy of 20 wins, so use that as a benchmark. But then think about how much experience meant to the success of this season’s team and how much inexperience will be in next year’s rotation. And then consider that the Fab Five at Michigan never won a Big Ten title. And then put off answering this question until the end of January, because until then, the only answer is, ‘Who knows?’.
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06/07 lineup, rotation, and expectations

Greetings! Ohio State Basketball is alive and well......

06/07 starting lineup (with comments):
pg - (jr) 6'1 1/2 Jamar Butler (Mistake free and efficient. Butler needs to be more aggresive going to the basket but is fast becoming a top notch pg)
sg - (sr) Ronald Lewis 6'3 (great scorer, needs to defend, he and Oden will be our leading scorers)
sf -(fr) Daequan Cook 6'5 (IMHO, very close to being best HS player in the nation. Makes everyone better and is a smaller LeBron James style player)
pf -(jr) Othello Hunter (6'9 shot blocking rebounder. Is said to be able to stroke the 3 if need be. Nice compliment to Oden and will help us to avoid being man handled...ala GeorgeTown. Terwillerger could actually be here and Hunter could be Oden's backup.)
C -(fr) 7'0 Greg Oden (I see him as a 15ppg, 9rpg guy as a freshman, but his defensive presence is what will change this team a ton.)

Backups:
pg - (fr) 6'1 Mike Conley (True pg, may not scpore much but is lightning fast and can defend the 1,2,and 3rd gaurd positions with tenacity.)
sg - (sr) 6'0 Sylvester Mayes (he is a big question mark and is doubtful for even being a buckeye next year. If he stays, Conley will relieve him of his pg duties and Mayes will be strictly a sg)
sf - (fr) 6'4 David Lighty (has rebound well from knee injury and is averaging a double double in HS "20/10". He and Cook will play some sg and sf)
pf - (sr) 6'8 Ivan Harris ( has excepted his role as a streaky, role playing shooter. He will sub at sf and pf, depending on the circumstance)
C - (jr) 6'9/6'10 Matt Terwillerger (Could start at pf but has more college experience at center. Athletic and willing to learn but needs to put the ball in the basket...SCORE!)
(?) (so) 6'10 Brayden Bell (his status is being rumored lately and could transfer but if he stays he will only get garbage time. He is a skilled bigman with a nice touch but the talent coming in has and will push him aside.)

Expectations:
This team is young and will take a few lumps early as we have a good schedule. We may travel to UCLA, we play Cincy on a neutral floor, and it's being reported that instead of playing Duke in the bigten/acc challenge, we will host the preseason #1 North Carolina Tarheels. We will win our 20 games will get 1st or 2nd in the bigten. Because of size and depth, I look for this team to finish stronger this the 05/06 team did. I say sweet16 is a worse case scenario and going all the way isn't out of our reach.

It is good being a buckeye right now!
 
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As we all know the size is what held us down this year.

Next year we are going to be able to have two guys 6'9'' or taller on the floor at all times.

You guys saw what Matta did with Foster, Butler, Twig as they improved dramatically from their first year under Matta to their second year.

I look for those type of leaps again from Butler and Twig, and then leaps from Harris, Lewis, and Bell and Mayes if he decides to stick it out.

Then the incoming guys are already as talented as most of the guys on the roster. They just don't have the experience of playing college ball.

The game is going to be so much easier for our guys next year with Oden there.

Couple examples.

Butler already plays great defense, but the times when he gets beat there is going to be a 7 footer ready to block his shot if he try to take it to the hole, which means the guy wont attack the rim as much leaving it easier for Butler to defend.

Entry passes to the big man, they are not always going to have to work and find the perfect angle, like they had to do alot with Dials this year, but as GTown did with the one pass that went all the way across the lane to Hibbert.

Also Oden will be able to grab rebounds that guys this year were not able to.

And as Dials did some this year, opening up the floor for 3 pt. shooters, Oden will do even more, b/c there is no one that will be able to guard him straight up and when the double team comes, Oden will be able to see the floor more just b/c of his height. That is one area where Dials seemed to struggle some times.

I also think Oden will be able to allow us to run more, as he can really get up and down the court for a guy his size and we will have a number of guys being able to push the ball up the court and find the open man.

I see the starters being:

Butler: I think he could put up about 10 double doubles next year with points and assists, b/c of the open floor game and then in the half court as well.

Lewis: He was the best player off the bench in the big ten this year, but he started two games so he couldnt win the 6th man award. He is going to improve drastacally under Matta and will probably be our leading scorer next year with around 16/game.

Cook: I think he wins this spot, he is a very smooth player, and even know he is going to need some work he is going to be very good out on the wing.

Twig: He really stepped his game up last year and is going to work on it even more this year. I know how much he worked last offseason, and I expect him to do the same. Don't be suprised if we see him knocking down 3 pointers next year. This will also give us antoher big guy on the defensive end.

Oden: Everything was said above.

Bench:

Hunter: I really hope he is as good as advertised, but you really never know what to expect with Juco's. If he is I think he will do a good job of giving Twig and Oden rest.

Harris: I think he will be the first off the bench, and as long as he improves his defense, he could get time at the 3 and 4. I think being a senior he will step up.

Bell: As long as he stays, I think he is going to improve more than ppl think. He has a great frame, and Matta is going to mold him over the summer into what he wants him to be. I think he will get some minutes, much like twig got this year.

Mayes: If he stays, I think he has very good potential to be the 6th man and really help us next year.

Conley: I think that if he comes and proves that he can play good solid defense and stay in front of his man, that he could get quite a few minutes and that we could move Jamar over to the 2 guard at times and he could give Butler rest too. He is going to be a very important piece if Mayes leaves.

Lighty: He has really came back strong from his knee injury, I just think right now that Cook, Lewis, Harris are all above him. He could see minutes, but I think he is really going to have to earn them. I see him kinda in the role that Twig and Bell have been the last couple years, where they just don't get the minutes.
 
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