Men's Basketball Buckeye Tidbits 2006-2007 Season

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Dispatch

Tuesday, November 07, 2006

Tuesday, November 07, 2006

Tuesday, November 07, 2006

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Dispatch

Hot hoops team might lead to cold shoulder for Jackets

Tuesday, November 07, 2006


BOB HUNTER

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Columbus has always been a fair-weather college basketball town.
When Ohio State is very, very good, this place goes very, very bonkers. When the Buckeyes are merely OK ? not bad, mind you, but just OK ? they might as well be playing in Brisbane, Australia. A lot of people with Clark Kellogg and Jim Jackson autographs in their scrapbooks don?t care at all.
This isn?t a lot different from most places, but it is different. Through the years, there have been wider swings between success and failure at Ohio State than at most places, so the unevenness in interest has been easy to spot.
The Buckeyes are supposed to be very, very
good this season, so basketball tickets have been flying off the shelves and again carry a certain cachet. The Big Ten games are all sold out ? a first since the team moved into the 19,000-seat Schottenstein Center ? and most, if not all, of the nonconference games might end up the same way.
This frantic ticket-buying is even more incredible given the ongoing success of the topranked Ohio State football team. This city has always been a place where basketball and/or hockey interest is lackluster until the OSU-Michigan football game is over. It might creep up a little during seasons when the football Buckeyes are bad; during seasons such as this one, when OSU is 10-0, the other sports are truly regarded as "other" sports. They are treated with the same annoyance as one of those recorded campaign phone calls ("My distinguished opponent used to be a Taliban terrorist") from a desperate congressman.
The Blue Jackets have to endure this natural rudeness longer than local basketball teams because the season starts a month earlier. Because the NHL franchise is so new and there is no track record of success to go by, it?s impossible to know whether hockey, as a pro sport, could someday alter the familiar equation.
What we do know is that in less than two weeks, OSU football will fade into the background for about a month ? well, it will be about as unobtrusive as a 400-pound gorilla can be, anyway ? and an all-out battle for the hearts, eyes and wallets of central Ohio sports fans will be fiercely waged.
Currently, it looks like a war between the United States (basketball) and Costa Rica (hockey). The OSU men?s team is ranked No. 4 in the Associated Press preseason poll, and coach Thad Matta isn?t shying away from Final Four talk. The Blue Jackets, meanwhile, are 4-7-1, attendance is dwindling and probably half the fans want to see everybody from team president and general manager Doug MacLean all the way down to the guy who drives the Zamboni fired.
It?s an 82-game season, so it?s definitely not too late to reverse this. A four-game winning streak could quickly alter perceptions of the team and regain the confidence of the serious fans back before a lot of the casual ones have even noticed that the Jackets got off to another one of their patented terrible starts.
But if it doesn?t happen soon and if the OSU men turn out to be as good as advertised ? two perfectly reasonable "ifs" ? the result could be an ugly scenario for the Blue Jackets.
With Matta now under contract until the next Ice Age, OSU basketball appears ready to take off. Ohio State is one of the few schools that has always looked as if it could become one of the nation?s perennial basketball powers (Duke, Kentucky, Kansas, North Carolina, etc.) if it could just hire and keep the right coach. Matta looks like he might be that guy.
There is no question Columbus is big enough to support both a good basketball team and a good hockey team. Whether it is willing to maintain interest in both a great basketball team and a perennially bad hockey team is open to question.
If the Blue Jackets don?t start winning, we might find out soon. The OSU men have their season opener Friday night.

Bob Hunter is a sports columnist for The Dispatch
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bhunter@dispatch.com

[osugrad21]

DDN

2006-07 Ohio State basketball season preview


By Mark Gokavi
Staff Writer

Tuesday, November 07, 2006

Unless you live under a rock, you know the Ohio State men's basketball team will be without freshman center Greg Oden probably until the Big Ten season because of an injured right wrist. The 7-footer from Indianapolis Lawrence North was the consensus high school player of the year in 2005-06.
That leaves the Buckeyes a little undersized with 6-foot-8 center Matt Terwilliger, 6-9 junior college transfer forward Othello Hunter and 6-7 forward Ivan Harris, who is more of an outside shooter than inside banger.


Until then, the Buckeyes probably will try to mask their weaknesses (size, interior defense, help-side defense, rebounding, bench depth) by playing to their strengths and the other "Thad Five" newcomers in Dunbar's Daequan Cook, guard Mike Conley, forward David Lighty and Hunter.
OSU will take ? and make ? a bunch of 3-point shots. Jamar Butler, Ron Lewis, Harris, Cook, Lighty and Conley can fire from distance. Even Terwilliger has shown he can knock down the occasional triple.
The Buckeyes can play small ball, running with speedy point guards such as Butler and Conley.
Shooting percentages and assists should be high as long as turnovers don't cause problems. At least eight players could be starters on most college teams.
BUCKEYES BY THE NUMBERS
1 ? Ohio State was picked to finish tops in the Big Ten, despite just one returning starter.
4 ? McDonald's All-Americans on OSU's roster (Ivan Harris, Daequan Cook, Greg Oden, Mike Conley).
2-10 ? Range of OSU's national ranking by most national publications and experts.
14 ? Number of national TV games, including matchups against North Carolina and national-champion Florida.
27.2 ? Combined scoring averages of returners Ron Lewis, Jamar Butler, Ivan Harris and Matt Terwilliger.
SEASON STORYLINES
Undersized early: Minus 7-foot freshman center Greg Oden, how will the undersized young Bucks respond to a challenging early schedule that includes road games at North Carolina and defending national champion Florida?
How good is Oden? When Oden suits up, will he live up to the hype of freshman legends such as Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson or Patrick Ewing? If he does, will he dominate and lead OSU to a Big Ten title and/or the Final Four?
Eyes on the NBA: No matter how the season's story is written, how many of the "Thad Five" will return? They'll all be NBA draft-eligible after the season, including Dunbar's Daequan Cook, whose steady play could be a key.
2 PLAYERS YOU KNOW NOW
Junior G Jamar Butler averaged 10.1 points per game last season as a starter. The Lima Shawnee product was second in the Big Ten with a 2.5 assist/turnover ratio. His role could change with so many young shooters available. His knowledge of the Big Ten is invaluable.
Senior G Ron Lewis is OSU's leading returning scorer (11.2 points per game) despite being a sixth man. The senior co-captain (along with Butler) is a legitimate scorer who needs polish on the defensive end. He has scored in double figures in 58 of 92 college games.
2 PLAYERS YOU WILL KNOW IN JANUARY
Freshman C Greg Oden has an NBA-ready body and, even better, the right temperament. He's a thinker but can reach down deep for a mean streak. What would make one of the best center prospects even better? How about being ambidextrous? With his right hand immobilized much of the time since his June surgery, Oden's been practicing left-handed shots.
Junior F Othello Hunter will face taller and more experienced post players until Oden's return. He'll get some help from Matt Terwilliger, but may not have to win the inside battles. If the Bucks can hold their own in the paint, the guards can outscore opponents. In the exhibitions, Hunter showed flashes of the shot-blocking and moves that made him so sought-after.
ABOUT THE COACH
Thad Matta, 39, has made a major impact in Columbus, going 46-18 in his first two seasons with the Buckeyes. OSU won the Big Ten regular-season title last season. The Illinois native has the fifth-most Division I wins of any coach through six seasons. His 148 wins have come at Butler (24), Xavier (78) and OSU (46). Assistants: John Groce, Alan Major, Dan Peters.
TICKET INFORMATION
No tickets are available for any Big Ten home games. There are select tickets available for the season-opening Black Coaches Association Classic and home games against San Francisco, Youngstown State, Valparaiso, Cleveland State, Iowa State and Coppin State.
Call (800) GO-BUCKS for information.
To buy tickets online, go to ohiostatebuckeyes.cstv.com or various ticket brokers.

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

TheLantern

No. 4 Buckeye men
By Chris Patrick

With the preseason complete, the time is fast approaching for the ballyhooed Ohio State men's basketball team to take the floor. Here is a look at the Buckeyes' schedule, which begins on Friday, broken down by degree of difficulty.

Lay-ups - The games the Buckeyes should win even if shorthanded or on an off night.

VMI - Nov. 10: Duggar Baucom's Keydets led the Big South in turnovers last season, committing more than 18 per contest. Giving the talent-laden Buckeyes extra possessions will be a "no-no" in the opening contest of the SportsTime Ohio Black Coaches Association Classic.

Third STO BCA Classic opponent (Kent State, South Dakota State, IUPUI, or Alabama A&M) - Nov. 12: This game will likely be for the tournament championship. Expect Ohio State to breeze by either a Kent State squad that lost its top three scorers from last year's MAC championship team or IUPUI, still reeling from a late-season collapse that cost it an NCAA tournament berth in 2006.

Eastern Kentucky - Nov. 17: The Colonels will have to make sure they don't look past this game, which is sandwiched between East Tennessee State and Kenyon on the schedule. Jeff Neubauer's team just doesn't have the firepower as EKU lost its top three scorers from 2005-2006.

Eastern Kentucky - Nov. 17: The Colonels will have to make sure they don't look past this game, which is sandwiched between East Tennessee State and Kenyon on the schedule. Jeff Neubauer's team just doesn't have the firepower as EKU lost its top three scorers from 2005-2006.

San Francisco - Nov. 20: As Rick Pitino might say: Bill Russell and K.C. Jones won't be walking through the door to help the Dons in this one.

Youngstown State - Nov. 24: Unless senior guard Quin Humphrey plans on tripling his scoring average from a year ago when the Penguins face OSU at Nationwide Arena, YSU fans who make the three-hour drive will end up rooting for the Buckeyes by half-time.

Valparaiso - Dec. 2: The days of Bryce Drew leading the cinderella Crusaders in the NCAA Tournament seem like a long-lost memory. Eight years will feel like an eternity as Drew's father, Homer, watches his Valpo squad - minus its top five scorers from a year ago - get run out of the Schottenstein Center by the scarlet and gray.

Cleveland State - Dec. 9: Gary Waters, formerly of Kent State and Rutgers , has a plan to turn the once proud program around. But it is not a five-week plan - the Buckeyes will roll in this one.

Iowa State - Dec. 19: Same story, different team. First-year coach Greg McDermott has credibility in recruiting and building a program after his time at Northern Iowa , but the Cyclones lost last year's starting backcourt to the NBA. This will be a rebuilding year in Ames as well.

Coppin State - Dec. 30: The Eagles started 0-12 last season. If they are still winless by the time they come to Columbus for their 12th game of the year, history will repeat itself. But at least the Baltimore school still has a coach with one of the coolest names - Fang Mitchell.

Northwestern - Jan. 17: Vedran Vukusic led the Big Ten in scoring last year despite coach Bill Carmody's low-scoring, Princeton-style offense. Nevertheless, the depth of the Buckeyes - unbeaten against Northwestern in Columbus since 1977 - should overwhelm the Wildcats.

@ Northwestern - Jan. 24: The last time the Buckeyes lost in Evanston was a little more recent, in 1998 - the first season of the Jim O'Brien era. Do not expect that to happen this year as Northwestern will again be a conference doormat.

@ Purdue - Jan. 31: The Boilermakers' training staff could have been confused for a triage unit last season, but Purdue is returning 10 players in 2006-2007. Still, OSU shouldn't be too concerned with a trip to Mackey Arena this year.

Purdue - Feb. 10: Matt Painter will be relying on seniors David Teague and Carl Landry to step up and help the Boilermakers avoid a fourth-straight losing season in the Big Ten. The cause isn't getting any help - Purdue drew the Buckeyes twice this year.

@ Penn State - Feb. 14: Ed DeChellis' bunch will include four returning starters and a squad of players that have all cycled through his system. The Nittany Lions future is looking up, just not in February.

@ Minnesota - Feb. 18: The players that racked up three-quarters of the starts and two-thirds of the points for the Golden Gophers last year are gone. Dan Monson has restocked his roster with JUCO transfers and freshmen, but that class doesn't hold a candle to Ohio State 's.

Penn State - Feb. 21: A bad week will just get worse for PSU, when the Lions head to Columbus to close out the season series.

Jumpers - These games will be a bit harder, but are very winnable games for OSU.

Second STO BCA Classic opponent (Loyola-Chicago or Princeton) - Nov. 11: Look for the Buckeyes to run into Loyola-Chicago, in what could be their toughest game of the tournament. Six-foot-7 Blake Schilb has played all positions but center for the Ramblers, but predominantly finds himself as the point guard, presenting a possible match-up issue for the Buckeyes. Nevertheless, anticipate OSU making it past this one.

Indiana - Jan. 2: Kelvin Sampson will be making his Big Ten coaching debut in this one, but it probably won't be very memorable. A healthy D.J. White gives the Hoosiers a presence down low they missed last year, but Sampson will be depending on an incoming player to step up and rescue an average backcourt. This early in the season, it is not too likely - which is good for the Buckeyes.

Iowa - Jan. 10: Steve Alford is over the sting of not getting the job at his Alma Mater, Indiana, but his roster may not be. The Hawkeyes lost four of their six top performers from a year ago. Also, you can through Iowa's unbeaten record at Carver-Hawkeye Arena last year out the window - this game is being played at the Schott.

Michigan State - Jan. 27: After losing a trio of players to the NBA, the Spartans are left with no significant senior on the roster. Nevertheless, no opponent can overlook a Tom Izzo-coached team. Michigan State has made four Final Four appearances - including winning the national championship in 2000 - in the last eight years. Yet, if the Buckeyes can shut down up-and-coming point guard Drew Neitzel, the scarlet and gray could roll in this one.

Michigan - Feb. 6: This is about the point in the season where the Wolverines stumbled a year ago, dropping six of their last eight contests. OSU will be glad to help send their archrivals on its way to another such finish. Another example of the Buckeyes' depth, OSU should be able to match-up well with first-team All-Big Ten guard Daniel Horton. Additionally, the Ann Arbor faithful will be counting on guard/forward Lester Abram to have an injury-free season, something that has not happened the last two years.

Three-Pointers - These games will answer if all the hype surrounding this year's squad is justified. Too many losses here and OSU becomes just another preseason favorite that everybody got wrong.

Vs. Cincinnati - Dec. 16: After having to leave Columbus and the state of Ohio once in a month-and-a-half, it is ironic that OSU will have to travel to Indianapolis, Ind. to play Cincinnati. With the long-time Bob Huggins/Andy Kennedy regime gone, new Bearcats coach Mick Cronin is hoping to get a fresh start. The man who led Murray State to two NCAA tournament appearances in three years had help, as only one player who saw significant action remained from last year's squad.

Anything can happen in rivalry games, especially after waiting this long - this will be the first meeting between the two schools since OSU fell to Cincinnati in the 1962 national title game. This game is a wide open shot from behind the arc for the Buckeyes, so to speak.

@ Illinois - Jan. 6: After losing the heart and soul of the team - Dee Brown and James Augustine - to the NBA, it will be interesting to see who will step up for Bruce Weber in Champaign. This one could end up being a shoot-out as the Illini still have senior Rich McBride and sophomore Jamar Smith who both shot over 40 percent from behind the arc a year ago. OSU has won back-to-back games against Illinois - including a one-point win over the previously unbeaten Illini on the last day of the 2004-2005 regular season.

Tennessee - Jan. 13: Before embarking on the final 13 games of the Big Ten schedule, the Buckeyes will step out of conference to host orange sport coat-clad Bruce Pearl and the Volunteers. Tennessee won the East division of the SEC last year over the likes of Florida and Kentucky, but will be relying on its recruiting class to support Wooden Award candidate Chris Lofton.

@ Michigan State - Feb. 3: You can never overlook a Tom Izzo-coached team. Sound repetitive? Well, it bears repeating, especially when playing Izzo's Spartans at the Breslin Center. MSU has won over 91 percent of its games in East Lansing over the last nine campaigns and will help keep the Buckeyes sharp in the "lay-up"-laden segment of the Big Ten schedule.

Wisconsin - Feb. 25: OSU handed the Badgers their first conference loss of the season last year and this season it might be no different. As opposed to the meeting earlier in Madison (see below), the Buckeyes will enjoy the advantages of playing their home finale and having almost a full season for the newcomers to gel with the holdovers.

@ Michigan - March 3: March Madness begins with a trip to Ann Arbor to close out the regular season. Tommy Amaker's team is a bit of an unknown now, but by the 30th game of the year, the scarlet and gray should know what they need to do to take down "Big Blue."

Half-Court Shots - This final trio of games will not make or break the Buckeyes' season, but this is where postseason seeds are earned or lost.

@ North Carolina - Nov. 29: With this being the seventh contest on the OSU schedule, the Buckeyes will likely have worked out any early season kinks and be ready to make their first road trip of the year. Unfortunately, the journey will land them in the "Dean Dome" in Chapel Hill to face-off against the No. 2 Tar Heels.

UNC sophomore forward Tyler Hansbrough, a preseason front-runner for national player of the year honors, will be joined by what is believed by many to be the only recruiting class superior to Thad Matta's bunch.

A year after Roy Williams' 2005 championship team was decimated by the NBA Draft, it somehow made a strong run to the postseason once more, before becoming the second victim of last year's cinderella team. Now with increased depth, it is scary to think what the powder blue-clad cagers can do this season.

This installment of the Big Ten-ACC Challenge will be even more difficult for the Buckeyes - 2-7 all-time against North Carolina - as they will be without the services of headliner and first-team All-American center Greg Oden for at least another month.

@ Florida - Dec. 23: April 7, 2006 was almost as great a day as April 3 in Gainesville. Joakim Noah, Corey Brewer, and Al Horford each announced they would be returning to defend the NCAA title they had won four days earlier. This was very bad news for everyone else, including the Buckeyes. Still without Oden, OSU will head to Florida to compete on the championship floor transplanted from Indianapolis at the tune of about $70,000. With the all-around play of Billy Donovan's Gators, it will be money well spent.

@ Wisconsin - Jan. 9: The No. 9 Badgers are the only team other than Florida to return the players responsible for more than 90 percent of its scoring and rebounding last season. This includes senior forward Alando Tucker, who played in every minute while posting a double-double to push Wisconsin past the Buckeyes in Madison last season. Here, the Badger look-alike Bo Ryan and his team will give OSU its toughest test the second half of the season here.

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Telegraph-Forum

Prognosticators giving OSU too much credit
By Larry Phillips
T-F staff



COLUMBUS -- Doubters of Thad Matta are scarce these days. Ohio State obviously believes in its men's basketball coach. The university reworked his deal and both parties inked a pact Nov. 3 that runs through the 2014-15 season.

"Thad Matta has an extraordinary gift," OSU athletics director Gene Smith said. "His energy and enthusiasm are both tangible and contagious, and his results speak for themselves. He is a master coach." Matta was voted Big Ten coach of the year after guiding Ohio State to a conference title last winter. He's 46-18 through two seasons in Columbus, despite inheriting a program hit with NCAA probation.

Recruits are buying Matta stock, too. The OSU boss signed a dynamite freshman class spearheaded by 7-foot center Greg Oden, the nation's top high school player. Based on his defensive prowess, some call Oden a young Bill Russell. Others claim he's America's best center prospect since Shaquille O'Neal.
Daequan Cook, of Dayton, Cleveland's David Lighty, and Indianapolis point guard Mike Conley Jr., Oden's prep teammate, were also prep stars and AAU studs.
Perhaps some of that hype triggered belief in the pollsters as well. In the preseason rankings, Ohio State was voted No. 4 by the coaches in ESPN/USA Today, and No. 7 by the Associated Press.
For all the talent here, that's a head scratcher.
The Buckeyes lost four starters from a year ago, including Big Ten Player of the Year Terence Dials, who was a rebounding and defensive presence. He will be impossible to replace with Oden on the shelf as the season starts. A wrist injury that wasn't diagnosed until last spring might keep Oden out until January.
By then his teammates will have absorbed a brutal nonconference schedule. Trips to North Carolina and Florida, not to mention a neutral floor duel with Cincinnati precede the Big Ten slate.
In two preseason outings, Ohio State was outrebounded by Walsh and Findlay. The Buckeyes are a perimeter-oriented team. They'll struggle on the glass until Oden returns.
Junior point guard Jamar Butler is being moved to off-guard to make room for Conley. Butler is an outstanding defender and a vastly improved shooter who figures to average double figures again. However, both players are 6-1. The Buckeyes must count on quickness to overcome a size disparity in their backcourt.
The picture up front is similar. Senior swingman Ron Lewis could be Ohio State's leading scorer after a
solid season as sixth man. Lewis, Cook, and Lighty all are under 6-6. Rebounding is not a strength for any of them.
Junior Matt Terwilliger, a Troy product, and Springfield senior Ivan Harris both stand 6-9. Neither has the reputation or the body of a banger. Junior college transfer Othello Hunter is also in the 6-9 range, but the term project was coined for him.
Despite pollster opinions and future promise, raw talent won't compensate for size and lack of experience, especially early. It's impossible to measure what kind of impact Oden will have, or how healthy he'll be upon his return. Answers to both questions will determine how the Buckeyes fate.
Ohio State seems to be overrated early, perhaps vastly overrated. But long-term, maybe even by February, doubting Matta isn't just unpopular, it's unwise.
"Our time frame we envision now for our program is up to 2010," Matta said upon signing his new contract. "It's a relief to know I'll be here then."
lbphillips@nncogannett.com 419-521-7238