#4 Ohio State 87, Walsh University 62 (Final)

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Canton

Walsh, Ohio State took positives from exhibition

Tuesday, November 7, 2006

Walsh?s Derek Chappell is fouled by Ohio State?s Daequan Cook on the way to the basket in the first half Sunday at Columbus during the Buckeyes? 87-62 exhibition victory.

By CHRIS BEAVEN

repository sports wRITER

COLUMBUS Both the Walsh University and Ohio State men?s basketball teams left Value City Arena feeling as if they made strides Sunday.
Ohio State won the exhibition game, 87-62. It was the final tuneup for each team before opening the regular season this weekend.
Ohio State head coach Thad Matta said his team showed improvement in some areas from its first exhibition, an 80-57 win over Findlay last week.
?Offensively, we did a better job of setting guys up and making the extra pass,? Matta said. ?Defensively, I thought we were a little more active.?
The Buckeyes open the season Friday at home against Virginia Military Institute. For Walsh, this was its first and only exhibition before starting the season with two road games this weekend.
?We outrebounded Ohio State by 10,? Walsh head coach Jeff Young said. ?But we had way too many turnovers (25). We had six or seven travels in the first half and that?s kind of uncharacteristic of us.?
Bright spots for Ohio State included strong play from its two most experienced players ? guards Jamar Butler (15 points, six assists) and Ron Lewis (21 points, 9-for-12 shooting). Also impressive were some of the team?s new faces.
Freshman wing David Lighty made 4 of 5 3-point shots and scored 13 points to go with five steals. Junior college transfer Othello Hunter, a 6-9 center, had 12 points and eight rebounds. Freshman point guard Mike Conley Jr. showed his ability to penetrate and create, with 11 points, nine assists and no turnovers.
Ohio State had 22 assists overall on its 32 made field goals.
?We did run our offense a lot better,? Conley said. ?We didn?t rush through ... all the options we had.?
But Matta said Ohio State needs to be more cohesive defensively and do a better job on the boards. The Buckeyes should be bolstered in both areas in January, when 7-foot freshman Greg Oden returns. The two-time national high school player of the year is recovering from surgery on his right wrist.
Walsh will benefit from the return of one of its key players once the season is underway, too ? guard Jason Hicks. He has just one semester of eligibilty left and will use it in the second semester.
His absence obviously played a part in Walsh?s 25 turnovers. OSU?s quickness also was a factor, and the Cavaliers never settled in consistently on offense. A tough afternoon shooting 3-pointers (4-for-20) did not help matters.
But the Cavaliers did have their share of highlights.
The impressive rebounding performance was led by 5-foot-10 junior guard Brandon Weems. He grabbed 12. Center Adam Lesch added nine. Forwards Eder Araujo and Derek Chappell led in scoring with 19 and 17 points, respectively.
Walsh, winners of 54 games the last two years, begins its season Friday on the road and Saturday against Houghton and Daemen, respectively.
?I?m just happy this game is over with,? Weems said. ?It was something that was kind of hanging over us with all the hype and extra things that went with it. It?s nice now to get down to business for the season. We proved we could be a good team, but we have a lot of work to do.?
All in all, though, Young loved that his players and program got the experience of playing at Ohio State.
?We were able to bring about 1,500 Walsh fans here and play against a team like Ohio State that some people think is No. 4 in the country,? Young said. ?We?ve played other Division Is before, but I don?t think we?ve ever played a game of this magnitude before. It?s something they will remember for the rest of their lives.?

WALSH IN THE BIG TIME Walsh was 1-2 all-time against NCAA Division I teams entering Sunday. Walsh last played a Division I team during the 1994-95 season, losing 70-68 at Detroit Mercy. The Cavaliers also lost at Evansville, 88-56, the previous season. They beat St. Bonaventure, 75-68, on the road during the 1992-93 season.
BANGED UP Weems left the arena on crutches after rolling his ankle early in the second half. He remained in the game until the final minute and he said it stiffened up on him once he left the floor.
FAMILIAR FACE GlenOak High School star Kosta Koufos, a 7-foot-2 senior, took in Sunday?s game. Koufos verbally committed to OSU over the summer. The first day of the fall signing period is Wednesday.
RUNNING BUCKS Ohio State was at its best when it got in transition. Not only did the Buckeyes finish at the rim with dunks and layups, they also got open 3-point shots in their secondary break. Ohio State had a 24-2 edge in fastbreak points. ?We ran a lot better,? Conley said. ?Transition-wise we got a lot of easy baskets by pushing the ball and taking advantage of our speed and athleticism.?
Reach Repository sports writer Chris Beaven at (330) 580-8345 or e-mail:
[email protected]

 

[Ttown]

The questions I have concern the inside. We might lose a few games because of available players. Twigs has got to be a presence on both sides of the ball and Hunter looks capable. We don't know yet just how good he can be, but he does show a lot of promise.

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

We have no depth inside and until Oden returns, it will be a struggle rebounding, defensively and scoring in the paint.

 

[mooktarr]

We have no depth inside and until Oden returns, it will be a struggle rebounding, defensively and scoring in the paint.

I agree with that. We can only hope that Matta can work his magic until Oden can play. And he won't be 100% for a few games.

 

[jimotis4heisman]

We have no depth inside and until Oden returns, it will be a struggle rebounding, defensively and scoring in the paint.

in reality this all may be a giant blessing, if these kids want to compete in some of these early games they are gonna have play thier asses off doing all the little and difficult things, rebounding, defense etc. theyd be able to rely on one many a game like walsh, come caronlina, florida etc it will take a team effort.

that being said i agree junkie

 

[jimotis4heisman]

i missed the frist game, apparently this game had more flow and not as sloopy.

we saw lots of face gaurding and ball denial today.
lots of fronting in the post.
#14 was tall 7ft 4, wow.

cook looked to post up, showed a solid game, gambler on defense. picked up some really ticky tack stuff. needs to fit into the way the game is being officiated. in reality osu was in the bonus before the under 8 to, i believe it was 930 mark to be exact. you can see what the kid has. played 16 minutes and fouled out...

lighty nice spot up shot. played good defense. of the young guns today i was most impressed with his play. all around solid play on both ends of the floor. i believe he had five steals and didnt seem to gamble much off the ball.

conley you can see the kid has something special, hes quick and has good vision. he has things he needs to work on, has a tendency to bounce the ball once maybe twice two often before he makes his decscion. against a bigger quicker team this could spell trouble. didnt show me a great outside or midrange shot. seems to only attack the rim with his left hand no matter what, missed a few layups and bunnies due to refusing to use his proper hand (right hand) on the proper side (right side) of the basket. has a tendency not to get back on defense, and to float off the ball. makes his move left, tends to try to almost avoid going right. hes quick, very quick and runs the floor very well, he had some really great looks. you can see the kid can play. its growing, maturing and adjusting to a little faster game. it seems to be nitpicking, but 1 is very difficult to play and your weaknesses are out there for everyone to play.

hunter long, not as built as i had expected. had some nice moves for what had been described as a very raw player. hell play some five, but projects as a 4. tendency to leave his feet, will be exploited. great shot blocker, but needs to be smarter about when and where to go after the block.

butler shot very well from downtown 5 of 10, by my count he was 0 for 1 inside the arc. played solid, at this point you know what you are going to get out of the kid.

lewis has some highlight reels. still floats on defense, his footwork defensively will be exposed against a better opponent. he can attack the rim no question, his shot looks better.

harris shot was flat. defense looked better, still has to play with more passion and fire.

twig did not play much less than 15 minutes.

quick thoughts
that press was ugly. poorly executed.
outrebounded again, this time by 10.
gave up 15 second chance rebounds.
doubled up in second chance points 16 to 8.
points in the paint were essentially even 34 32 in favor of osu.
points of turnovers were a landslide in osu favor 29 to 9
and i believe osu only gave up one bucket on the break.

the rebounding worries me, some people here dont believe in rebounding, i think nearly all great teams hang their hat on it. the reality is walsh is a fine team, but they dont have the size, skill or athleticism of a wisc, needless to say a uf or unc.

i dont see this as the #4 team in the country. it is ultra early id project outsided the top 15 at best right now. that said it is early. this team is young and needs to take every chance to improve. lots of good things to take away from the game and nearly every player and the team as a whole have obvious weaknesses to work on.

just looking back at my first look of the season. its funny the first time i eyeballed this team what i saw..