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Canton

6/23/06

Walsh to face ‘Thad 5’

Friday, June 23, 2006

By JOSH WEIR


NORTH CANTON - The Walsh University men’s basketball team will get an up-close look at the much-hyped “Thad 5.”

The Cavaliers have worked out an exhibition game with Ohio State during the first week of November at Value City Arena, according to Walsh Head Coach Jeff Young. The exact date and time will be finalized in the coming weeks.

The game should be the debut for OSU Coach Thad Matta’s heralded recruiting class, led by two-time Gatorade National High School Player of the Year Greg Oden.

The 7-footer from Indianapolis’ Lawrence North High School will be joined in Columbus by Dayton Dunbar’s Daequan Cook, Villa Angela-St. Joseph’s David Lighty, junior college transfer Othello Hunter and Oden’s high school teammate Mike Conley.

The Buckeyes also return starting point guard Jamar Butler and key reserves Ron Lewis and Ivan Harris from last year’s outright Big Ten Conference champions.

Although final details are still being worked out, the game promises to be a financial boon for Walsh. But that’s not the main reason for matching up with the Buckeyes, said Young.

“This has more to do with our program, having a chance to play in that atmosphere,” said Young, who coached the Cavaliers to the 2005 Division II NAIA national title. “It will help with recruiting, and this is something the guys deserve. They’ve worked hard.”

Led by senior point guard Jason Hicks and junior sharpshooter Corey Jones, Walsh returns all its starters and six of its top eight from last year’s team, which was ousted in the quarterfinals of the national tournament. Hicks, an NAIA honorable mention All-American, led the Cavaliers in scoring (13.8) and assists (4.9).

“I’ve been telling them for awhile that this was a possibility,” said Young, “and they were always like, ‘Yeah, come on.’ But they were excited when they found out we were going down there.”

Oden’s status for the early stages of Ohio State’s season is in question after his recent wrist surgery, which doctors have said could take up to six months to rehab. Young expects Oden to be ready once early November rolls around.

Young has worked with Matta and OSU assistant Dan Peters for two years on making the game a reality. Peters coached at Walsh in the 1980s and is a Central Catholic High School graduate. Young has also come to know Matta pretty well by taking his coaching staff to OSU practices and through Matta’s recruiting of GlenOak High School 7-footer Kosta Koufos, who committed to Ohio State in late May.
The game is expected to be a sellout, with Walsh getting a limited amount of tickets. Contact Young at (330) 490-7020 for more information. Reach Repository sports writer Josh Weir at (330) 580-8426 or e-mail:

josh.weir@cantonrep.com