Men's Basketball Buckeye Tidbits 2007-08 Season

[crazybuckfan40]

I first want to start off the post by saying what a great season this was, there were reports of players being unhappy, but by seasons end Thad really brought this team together and it was a great mix of Upperclassmen and freshmen.

As we look ahead to next year there are really 3 main concerns right now...

1. Of Oden, Conley, and Cook who will go pro...As of now I feel that only Oden will leave. There is a small chance that all 3 leave and a small chance that all 3 come back. I truly believe that everyone thinks Conley will be back, Greg has not decided yet, but he has a lot on his plate, and we have heard the rumors about Cook all season, but in terms of being ready to leave I just don't see.

2. Matta - I don't see any way that he goes to UK, but there have been rumors and the such, so it is always something to think about until UK hires a coach...

3. Groce - He has been Matta's wing man since Matta has started coaching, and I do know that he was offered a job last year, not sure by who as he didnt let that info out, but he is on the short list of great young assistant coaches, and I wouldnt be suprised to see him leave this offseason. I think there is a chance that Butler could come after him now that their coach is at Iowa.

With all that said we have a ton of talent coming back and coming in even if and of Oden, Cook, Conley leave...

Once again we will have to mesh a group of upperclassmen with incoming freshmen, but this time the upperclassmen will have more experience with it and we will have some guys that were thru the same situation last year that will be able to help out the younger guys...

The backcourt unless Oden Stays is going to be a big time stregth. No reason we can't say that it isnt the best backcourt in America unless Afflalo doesnt go pro at UCLA. Conley will be the best PG in America next year. He has come into his own, he dribbles in the lane, finds the open guys, and just does a helluva job at the Point. He is your true pg, and with another offseason of getting bigger, and improving that jumper, he is going to be leathel.

Then we have Butler who at times throughout his career has struggled, but at times I do believe that Matta has held him back alil, but next year as we have seen with seniors under Matta the reins will be fully off and he will improve his game. I think that he struggled this year with playing off the ball and not getting as many shots off the dribble as he has known his whole life. Some have cocerns about stamina and I can see that, but he will come into next season in even better shape, and will step up and be a leader along with Conley.

At the 3 I do believe that we will see Cook stay and he will put himself back in the talk of great SG/SF discussion of college bball. I really have no idea what happened, as early in the season he was just so smooth doing everything with ease, hit every shot he was throwing up. I don't know if it was the injuries(calf, finger), confidence, or what it was, but he has more ability and could be a 30 point scorer if he was the focal point of an offense...I don't see any reason why he doesnt have multiple 20 pt game next year and put up around 16 pts/game.

At the 4 I do believe that we will see Hunter start here. He has improved tremendously all season and he is one of those kids that lives in the gym. He has the ability and probably even moreso next year to step out and hit the jumper like Harris did this year, but he also has the ability to play in the post. He is long and and with some added weight can be a game changing type defender on the defensive end.

At the 5, just b/c that is what we have to call it we will see KK, unless of course Oden stays. He will have his growing pains, but he has a ton of ability and he and Hunter could switch positions at any time...He is the also the type of kid that will work all summer, hopefully in the weight room and he while not a game changer like Oden on the defensive end, has the size to alter shots and be a huge mismatch problem on the offensive end of the floor.

That leaves us Twig, Lighty, Madsen, Lauderdale, Wallace, Turner, Diebler on the bench.

We have seen Twig and what he brings to the table, the occasional jumper, and the will to go out there and give it everything he has. He will do his all to improve as much as he can over the offseason and will lead by example and voice as it will be his last year.

Lighy also has that will, he is always one of the first in the gym out there shooting around. I think by next year we will see a much improved 3 point shooter, and he has the ability to guard anyone in the country and lock them down. Lighty is going to be one of those guys that just continues to develop and will be a very very good player by the time he leaves.

At this point I don't know alot about Madsen. All I know is he is the type of kid that will give you the effort, he plays the same type of game as Hunter, Twig that will step out and hit the jumper and try and mix it up inside...He hasnt played in a game in 2 years as he redshirted and now sat out due to the transfer. Not sure how much Pt will be there for him next year, but it is nice to have that size to bring off the bench if need be.

Lauderdale, Turner, Wallace, and Diebler - These are the other 4 guys coming in next year.

It will be hard for Lauderdale unless he improves his game to see much more than mop up minutes, with the guys that we have ahead of him. He could see some minutes, if there is a big banger inside tearing us up, but hopefully he just improves and gets better, b/c he is another one of them just athletically gifted kids that will get better and better.

Turner - I think that he could find some minutes, especially if he can consistently hit the jumper. I think that he will be the 3rd guy to man the PG behind Conley and Butler, but he could play any of the wing spots. He is a long athletic guy that have really taken over the college game. If he can hit the weights, maybe not next year, with the backcourt already loaded, but the year after he will make his name known.

Diebler - Everyone knows the story, and everyone will be wanting him off the bench everytime we are struggling shooting from behind the arc. His shot is what could get him on the floor, but he will have to proof that he is able to defend and has the streghth to play. I think he the same as Turner will see some minutes next year, but the backcourt is just loaded.

Wallace - Honestly I have no idea here. I have seen his video and boy can he dunk. He is athletic, but I really don't know what else he brings, not b/c he doesnt bring anything else, just b/c of lack of knowledge. He has the ability to be a lock down defender with his long athletic frame and be a slasher on the offensive end. It will be intersting to see what he shows when he comes in. I wouldnt be suprised to see them maybe try and redshirt him, if they feel that he isnt going to see alot of minutes, but I also wouldnt be suprised to see him really suprise some people, just b/c we don't know a lot about him and he played at Hargrave where they are all talented, so it was hard to see the floor.

So with all that said, if Oden, Conley, and Cook all come back, there is no one in America that is not saying we arent the favorite next year...But even if Oden leaves we still have a great chance as college is really about the backcourt due to there not being a lot of great big men that stay more than 1 year. We are loaded in the backcourt and we will once again be a very good defensive team, with Butler, Lighty, and Conley, and Cook did pick his D up as the year went on. Then you have some very athletic big men that can play guys on the perimeter and also in the post. Our only weakness defensively could be overall girth and big strong guys could hurt us down low, but hopefully we will be able to step out on offense and take them type of players out of their element on defense.

It will also be great with all the versatility we will have to be able to go small and put Lighty at the 4...We have guys that can play 2 or 3 or even 4 positions, so we will not be limited and we have depth, so guys will hopefully not get worn down...

It will once again be fun to watch the news guys mesh with the guys already here and who gets the minutes...Also there should be some more talent in the big ten next year and hopefully we schedule some more big time OOC matchups like we did this year, but we want some of them at home this year...

[LitlBuck]

Too long for me to give it its proper do.

I do not see Matta leaving because I see Donovan going to Kentucky.


I am also in the minority in that I do not see Oden leaving.

However, see the John Groce thread regarding the Butler job.

I will say that depending on who plays the 5 I really can't see Hunter getting extended minutes as the 4 position.

With regards to all your other points, I am in almost total agreement.

[graveyard.roses]

Good [censored]. I'm just looking forward to seeing if Oden and Cook return. I never saw Cook in the early season when he was exploding for 20 point games, so my opinion of him is just based on what I've seen--which is that he is a poor man's Ron Lewis. I just haven't been impressed, and I couldn't imagine the NBA taking him, right now. He has a lot of room for improvement.

Mike has shown that he has things he needs to work on, also. He's a great defender and a great decision maker and driver, but I think he could use some more work on ball handling and that maybe he can pick up a mid-range jumpshot.

Hunter needs to work more on his game this summer. If he improves, I wish Matta would give him some more touches down low.

I like the height that the squad brings in next year. Lewis will be a big loss. Down the stretch, when the team was improving, it was largely due to him and the versatility that he gave the team--being one of the few guards that could drive and shoot consistently. I'm not really sweating the departure of Harris. He was probably the most consistant 3 point shooter that the team had, but besides that, he was limited. Congrats to him for what he brought to the team, though.

Matta is a great coach and I'm glad he's here in Columbus.

[buckeyeboy]

Good writeup, cb40. Here's my take:

Conley stays. As much as he dominated the tournament, I began to think that he might go pro. But then hearing both him and his dad say he's staying, I believe it. His stock is pretty high right now, but it still could go a lot higher.

Cook stays. He just had way too much of a downturn at the end of the year for there to be any buzz about him. It hurts me to say it, but if he did enter this year's draft, I could see him going undrafted, which would be a shame b/c I think he has incredible pro potential. I just think he still needs a year or two to develop his skills.

Oden goes. This is a really close call, and I obviously would love nothing more than to see him play college ball again this year. All along there's been talk about how Oden isn't the typical college basketball player in that he wants to jump immediately to the NBA and how he loves being a college student. However, he absolutely dominated last night and showed he's more than ready to take his game to the next level. He will undoubtedly be the #1 pick if he enters the draft--that's kind of hard to pass up.

Matta stays. He's building something special here, and he has all the resources a coach could ever want. I don't see him going to Kentucky where their delusional fans have ridiculous expectations.

Groce goes. If he's offered the Butler job, which I think he will be, I can't see him staying. He'll be missed.

[LitlBuck]

Originally Posted by graveyard.roses

Good [censored]. I'm just looking forward to seeing if Oden and Cook return. I never saw Cook in the early season when he was exploding for 20 point games, so my opinion of him is just based on what I've seen--which is that he is a poor man's Ron Lewis. I just haven't been impressed, and I couldn't imagine the NBA taking him, right now. He has a lot of room for improvement..

You have not seen the real Cook. He is not a "poor man's" Lewis. He had problems this year but has significant NBA potential. You might want to check out his thread in the Basketball Recruiting forum.

[buckeyeboy]

Does anyone know the deadline for declaring for the NBA draft?

[LitlBuck]

Originally Posted by buckeyeboy

Does anyone know the deadline for declaring for the NBA draft?

April 28

[buckeyeboy]

Originally Posted by LitlBuck

April 28

Thanks, LB.