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2012-13 Men's Basketball (B1G Tourney Champs, NCAA Elite Eight)

NateG;2136880; said:
Now that I've had a few days to pass. Anyone have opinions on the lineup and depth that we could have going forward?

Craft
Smith Jr.
Thompson
Ross
Williams

Is what I'd like to see next season, given these players show signs of improvement. If Thomas sticks around, I think this team has as good a shot for a return trip to the Final Four as anyone.

EDIT: Accidently put 6 up. :lol:
 
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PG - Craft
SG - Smith Jr.
SF - L. Ross
PF - Thomas
C - Williams

Ravenal and Thompson off the bench just like they did this year. I don't like pandering to players, but Ross is good enough to start, and if he doesn't start there will be issues.

The nice thing about Ross starting is it replaces outside shooting Buford provided. Ross is actually a much purer shooter so he'll help stretch defenses. I could potentially see some issues with Thomas and Ross having to share the ball. At least with Sully and Thomas you had more of an inisde out approach. I'm excited about LaQuinton though...this is a guy Scoonie Penn played with in the off-season and said he couldn't be guarded. The skill is there.

I love Thompson, Shannon Scott, Ravenal, and Weatherspoon off the bench. A year seasoned and ready to contribute substantial minutes.

Will be interesting to see what happens with Sibert....
 
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billmac91;2136886; said:
PG - Craft
SG - Smith Jr.
SF - L. Ross
PF - Thomas
C - Williams

Ravenal and Thompson off the bench just like they did this year. I don't like pandering to players, but Ross is good enough to start, and if he doesn't start there will be issues.

The nice thing about Ross starting is it replaces outside shooting Buford provided. Ross is actually a much purer shooter so he'll help stretch defenses. I could potentially see some issues with Thomas and Ross having to share the ball. At least with Sully and Thomas you had more of an inisde out approach. I'm excited about LaQuinton though...this is a guy Scoonie Penn played with in the off-season and said he couldn't be guarded. The skill is there.

I love Thompson, Shannon Scott, Ravenal, and Weatherspoon off the bench. A year seasoned and ready to contribute substantial minutes.

Will be interesting to see what happens with Sibert....
I guess I don't understand all of the love for Ross and the not so much love for Thompson. I know there has been quite a bit of talk regarding his shooting ability but I have never heard the fact that he cannot be guarded. Just because he is an excellent shooter does not mean that he is an excellent ballhandler and, in a way, that is what you are saying when you quote Scoonie. Also, what types of issues are you referring to if Ross does not start.

Thompson has shown a pretty nice 15' jump shot and I think if he works on his shot and ballhandling he would look very nice opposite Thomas. You cannot replace his athleticism and defensive abilities not to mention his rebounding abilities just because of his athleticism. I do not know if Ross brings the same abilities to the table.

I guess it is nice that we only have to discuss one position. With regard to Sibert, he is saying that he is staying but 22 is hinting that someone else might be going to Dayton if they do not run out of scholarships first. I do not know if he was referring to Spoon or if they are still in the running for Sibert .
 
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I guess I don't understand all of the love for Ross and the not so much love for Thompson.

This.

When I think of the more memorable plays that occurred on court this year Thompson owned a disproportional number. He is easily the best athlete on this team. After a year in the program he will compete next season to be the best player.

Folks say they like him off the bench. I liked Craft off the bench as a Frosh too. I didn't want that from him this season or from Thompson next.

The return of Thomas creates a bit of a PT problem. Nice problem to have.

This year nobody off the bench averaged more than 11 minutes per game. I think that spoke to disparity of experience and ability to play man D more than disparity of talent. Folks may say - "Well, that's how Matt does it". Not so. Three years ago we had 7 players average 20 or more minutes with an 8th checking in at 17 minutes.

It is all about the D. In past years Matta has been forced into a zone due to lack of experience or solid players who can play man. If he can play man five deep I think he would prefer that over playing zone 8 deep.

If Ross can play D Matta will get him on the court. I don't see that being ahead of Thompson.

JMHO
 
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I see our lineup next year looking like this:

PG- Craft
SG- Smith
SG- Thompson
PF- Thomas
C- Williams

If those are our starters, I think we are better on D than we were this year, which is scary.

I think that Scott will back up Craft at point, Ross will be the primary back up at the 2/3/4 spots, and Ravenel will be the backup at the 4/5 spots. Would expect Ross to see 25+ minutes a game, as I think we will need his offense with that starting five.
 
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LitlBuck;2137966; said:
I guess I don't understand all of the love for Ross and the not so much love for Thompson.
We love the man who can score. Q can; Sam not so much, except for the rare alley-oop monster dunk. He knows the Mason's handshake all too well.

Doesn't mean Sam can't develop a jump shot, but more PT kind of demands that he do so.
 
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LitlBuck;2137966; said:
I guess I don't understand all of the love for Ross and the not so much love for Thompson. I know there has been quite a bit of talk regarding his shooting ability but I have never heard the fact that he cannot be guarded. Just because he is an excellent shooter does not mean that he is an excellent ballhandler and, in a way, that is what you are saying when you quote Scoonie. Also, what types of issues are you referring to if Ross does not start.

Thompson has shown a pretty nice 15' jump shot and I think if he works on his shot and ballhandling he would look very nice opposite Thomas. You cannot replace his athleticism and defensive abilities not to mention his rebounding abilities just because of his athleticism. I do not know if Ross brings the same abilities to the table.

I guess it is nice that we only have to discuss one position. With regard to Sibert, he is saying that he is staying but 22 is hinting that someone else might be going to Dayton if they do not run out of scholarships first. I do not know if he was referring to Spoon or if they are still in the running for Sibert .

LaQuinton came to tOSU thinking he was a one and done player...no debate about that.

If you told Q right now he will be coming off the bench in 2013, he would leave the program before you could finish the sentence. Those are the facts.

Why Q didn't get much PT this year is up for debate (defensive issues, coming in late, etc.) But as a scorer and playmaker, outside of DeShaun Thomas, no one else is close.

Scoonie made comments in the off-season about Q being an absolute beast offensively, and being able to contribute as soon as he became eligible..unfortunately it didn't work out that way, but with a full off-season and pre-season practice under his belt, I just don't see any way Q isn't in the starting line-up come 2013.

Also, if you start Thompson, you just lack way too much outside shooting potential. The ability to clog the lane and force outside shots will be awful. I know Lenzelle found his stroke late this year, but it really isn't something you want to rely on as a deep threat come 2013. I just don't see enough scoring if Craft, Smith Jr, Thompson, Thomas, and Williams are on the court together. It would be way too much pressure on DeShaun to get points....

I think Thompson, Scott, and Ravenal will be excellent bench players. It'd be nice for J.D. to stick around, but he may be a transfer option as well.

Next years team will be very talented, but will be interesting to see how everything shakes out.
 
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We love the man who can score.

And the BIG championship trophy loves the team that can play D.


That said, why do folks insist on writing off offensive players based on their Frosh stats. Even at that Thompson hit 47% from the field this season versus Ross' 33% (albeit in very limited time). Yet everyone is in love with the Russian mail-order bride.

As a HS senior Ross averaged 23.3 ppg and hit 52% from the field. The life changing three point percentage everyone is so excited about was 38%.

Thompson averaged 17.6 ppg and shot 57% from the field. 28% from three - but he can get to the hoop.

I have seen both play. I am open to Ross getting a chance and wowing me. But Thompson has already done that. He is a Freshman. His offense will improve.
 
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The question wasn't whether Thompson could, or even would, improve. I think he will. The question was why the love for Q, and it's because he has been a proven scorer at every level he's played until now.

Defense wins championships - assuming you also can put the ball in the hole every now and then. And it's true that a high-scoring team with no D can't be champions.

For the record, I think Sam Thompson is one of the better freshman defenders I've seen in scarlet and gray. Great athleticism, great attitude, great effort.
 
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MaxBuck;2138100; said:
The question wasn't whether Thompson could, or even would, improve. I think he will. The question was why the love for Q, and it's because he has been a proven scorer at every level he's played until now.

Defense wins championships - assuming you also can put the ball in the hole every now and then. And it's true that a high-scoring team with no D can't be champions.

For the record, I think Sam Thompson is one of the better freshman defenders I've seen in scarlet and gray. Great athleticism, great attitude, great effort.

It's because of his great attitude, I think Sam comes off the bench. There is just no way Q comes off the bench next year and is a happy player/teammate.

That’s an intriguing thought. Penn was in the gym with Ross last summer when the 6-foot-8 guard quickly distinguished himself from Ohio State’s other incoming freshmen in one of the country’s top 10 recruiting classes.
“I remember he was playing against Leon Rodgers and George Reese, (older) guys,” Penn said, “and what stuck out in my mind was that when someone went at him and scored, he didn’t act like a freshman kid out of high school who was like, ‘Oh, OK.’ He came right back at you. I was like, ‘OK, this kid is something special.’ He has that ‘it’ factor you look for.”
Ross was doing that to professional basketball players and impressing Scoonie...I know he didn't get burn this year, but there are reasons for that. Next year is his opportunity to shine and then leave for the league. I like Sam, especially his defense, but I believe Sam will be spelling Lenzelle and LaQuinton at the 2 and 3 and getting about 20 mins a game off the bench.

There were known risks when Q came to Ohio State (grades, attitude, 1 & done mentality). But Thad took the risk based on this kids talent (he was the #1 rated player for his age for about 2 years before he started his high school campaign tour). IMO, you have an elite talent, and likely for 1 year. I'm going to assume this kid gets a lot of burn next year otherwise it has a high combustibility rate.
 
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