11-28-2005, 08:10 AM
|
 |
Everything we do is dictated by motive
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Join Date: Apr 2004
Posts: 31,377
Points: 296,592.59
Bank: 15,792.65
Total Points: 312,385.23
|
|
link
11/28/05
Quote:
Dials displays his artistry in the paint for Buckeyes
Sunday, November 27, 2005
Doug Lesmerises
Plain Dealer Reporter
-- Illinois swept through the Big Ten last season with an unguardable three-guard trio of Deron Williams, Dee Brown and Luther Head, Exhibit A in the argument that success in college basketball starts on the perimeter.
But not every coach believes that. Not every team is shaped that way. For Ohio State this season, once again, the discussion has to start inside with Terence Dials.
"When you have post guys, they change the whole game because you have to double-team them," said Indiana's Mike Davis, one coach who would take a dominant post player over perimeter strength. "Dials . . . I think he's one of the best in the country."
As the Buckeyes went 20-12 last season, Dials led the way with 15.9 points and 7.9 rebounds per game, including 21 points and eight rebounds as Ohio State handed Illinois its first loss after a 29-0 start.
A second-team All-Big Ten selection, the 6-9, 260-pound Dials is back on a Buckeye team that lost only Tony Stockman from its top six scorers and added offensive pop with transfers Ron Lewis and Sylvester Mayes.
The Buckeyes weren't shy about hoisting 3-pointers last year, but second-year coach Thad Matta prefers not to depend on 3-point shots.
Off to an 2-0 start that included a late collapse in an overtime win over Butler, this team is far from perfect. Matta will continue to educate his players in his ways. This was the first time he was able to work with the Buckeyes through a complete off-season.
Even when everything's not working, Matta would like his teams to be a pain for opponents, and that's what they were last season.
"The team they have coming back this year is very dangerous," Iowa coach Steve Alford said. "They were as difficult a team to play against as we played all year, and we played a schedule that included all four Final Four teams. They do a great job of playing hard, and Dials was an awfully big key.
"They did a good job of putting Dials in a system where he was going to get touches. They have a good perimeter game, and when you have that presence that can give you inside-outside, I think that makes a big difference."
The Buckeyes know what they have. Dials has the ability to overwhelm the opposition, but in a set offense that can still look clunky, Ohio State doesn't always take advantage of what Dials can do, and Dials sometimes doesn't do it himself. But there will still be nights where he can do damage almost by accident.
"I thought Terence did a good job of using his size," Matta said after Tuesday night's win over Butler, "but we took some bad shots where I felt we could have let him go to work. We took some shots where nobody got to the boards, and the definition of a bad shot is if your teammates don't think you're shooting it."
You won't see Dials taking many bad shots. Last season, he shot 57.4 percent from the field.
"Terence is a premier player down inside," senior forward J.J. Sullinger said. "Not too many people do well against him. He's big and strong and he can finish, so it's definitely a big thing to have on your side."
Next season, that presence in the post will be taken up by super freshman Greg Oden, the 7-footer who's the top recruit in the country. Bring up Ohio State basketball to most fans, coaches or players that are part of the Big Ten, and it doesn't take long for Matta's stunning five-man 2006 recruiting class to come up.
In just his second year in the league, Matta has opened a lot of eyes.
"Thad seemed to do a good enough job last year coaching and did a good enough job this year recruiting," Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said. "I'm sure not going to feel sorry for Thad right now."
There's no reason he should. Though the best times for Ohio State basketball are ahead, right now isn't too bad. The Buckeyes will still make their share of mistakes. They aren't going to stand out in a deep league that features eight teams with legitimate NCAA Tournament aspirations.
But they'll once again be a pain to play. And no one will be a bigger pain for opponents than Dials.
|
|
Dials Wants Focus On This Basketball Season
Linear Mode
