ScriptOhio
Everybody is somebody else's weirdo.
Nice article (that's really worth reading) on a past head coach:
www.elevenwarriors.com
As the final weekend of the 2024 NCAA Tournament begins, we take a look back at Harold Olsen, Ohio State’s longest-tenured basketball coach ever and the first to lead the Buckeyes to sustained success.
After guiding Ohio State to a 53-46 drubbing over heavily favored Northwestern to clinch the Big Ten championship in 1946, the triumphant Harold G. “Oley” Olsen told reporters that his squad performed at “near perfection” and that he “was never any prouder of any ball club I’ve been connected with.”
It was arguably Ohio State’s greatest hardcourt victory to that point and it happened in front of an overflow crowd of 22,822 in the old Chicago Stadium, the largest crowd ever to watch a basketball game at the time. It secured an unprecedented third consecutive bid to the NCAA tournament for OSU and capped what was unquestionably the most successful three-year run in Buckeye basketball history to that point.
Olsen called the upset the “highlight” of his coaching career. And then, as classes began in the fall, Oley abruptly resigned from a job that he’d held for 24 years.
Olsen took what had been a markedly mediocre program and built it into a nationally respected enterprise. Yet, despite a reputation that made him a part of the charter class of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame alongside some of the game’s greatest luminaries, Olsen’s name is all but forgotten from Ohio State’s hardcourt lore.
Olsen was hired in 1923 to transform Ohio State into a consistent contender. Buckeye cagers struggled during their first decade in the Big Ten, where they managed to win only 34 of their 103 games.
He was a two-time all-conference player at Wisconsin and led the Badgers to two conference championships. He was a disciple of coach Walter Meanwell, whose innovative concepts set basketball in motion in a way it hadn’t ever been before. In the “Wisconsin System,” players moved in criss-crossing patterns using screens to open the floor. As a coach, Olsen’s Ohio State teams posted a .570 winning percentage using the same offense.
The 5’8” Miner led the Buckeyes to their first conference title in 1925. Local scribes dubbed him “the Chic Harley of Buckeye basketball” after overflow crowds filled the Fairgrounds Coliseum to watch OSU’s first All-American cager.
Ohio State became more competitive under Olsen, and his teams excelled when he had a roster laden with gifted athletes. If one of those athletes was a talented center, the Buckeyes were competing for championship rings.
The 1925 team was bolstered by a dominant big man named Harold “Cookie” Cunningham. A native of Mount Vernon, Cunningham was such a gifted athlete that he played both basketball and football professionally after leaving OSU.
The career of Wilmer “Bill” Hosket, Sr. may best illustrate how much better Oley’s teams fared with a top-notch man in the pivot. The Buckeyes thrived when the Dayton Stivers product was in the starting quintet. Unfortunately, eligibility issues cut short both his sophomore and senior seasons and those teams finished 9-9 and 8-12. During the 1932-33 season, his junior year, he was able to overcome his academic struggles and the Buckeyes finished 17-3 and won the Big Ten crown.
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Harold G. Olsen
Born: May 12, 1895
Coached at Ohio State: 1922 thru 1946
en.wikipedia.org
In 1922, Olsen followed George Trautman as head coach of the Ohio State University. In 24 years he guided the Buckeyes to a 259–197 record, as well as five Big Ten championships (1925, 1933, 1939, 1944, 1946). He served as a chair on the NCAA Basketball Committee. Olsen helped initiate the 10-second rule in 1937, which requires teams to advance the ball over the center line within 10 seconds of gaining possession. In 1939, Olsen spearheaded efforts to create the NCAA postseason national playoffs, now known as the NCAA tournament, one that could compete with the National Invitational Tournament, which started play in 1938 with games hosted at Madison Square Garden in New York. The first NCAA tournament in 1939 saw Northwestern University host eight teams. Oregon beat Ohio State to become the first tournament champion in a format that has expanded several times to go with its popularity as the premier tournament for college basketball.
Died: October 29, 1953
Harold Olsen Built Ohio State Basketball Into A Contender During His 24-Year Tenure As Buckeyes’ Coach
Harold Olsen coached Ohio State for 24 years and is a charter member of the Basketball Hall of Fame yet has become a largely forgotten name in OSU basketball lore.
HAROLD OLSEN BUILT OHIO STATE BASKETBALL INTO A CONTENDER DURING HIS 24-YEAR TENURE AS BUCKEYES’ COACH
As the final weekend of the 2024 NCAA Tournament begins, we take a look back at Harold Olsen, Ohio State’s longest-tenured basketball coach ever and the first to lead the Buckeyes to sustained success.
After guiding Ohio State to a 53-46 drubbing over heavily favored Northwestern to clinch the Big Ten championship in 1946, the triumphant Harold G. “Oley” Olsen told reporters that his squad performed at “near perfection” and that he “was never any prouder of any ball club I’ve been connected with.”
It was arguably Ohio State’s greatest hardcourt victory to that point and it happened in front of an overflow crowd of 22,822 in the old Chicago Stadium, the largest crowd ever to watch a basketball game at the time. It secured an unprecedented third consecutive bid to the NCAA tournament for OSU and capped what was unquestionably the most successful three-year run in Buckeye basketball history to that point.
Olsen called the upset the “highlight” of his coaching career. And then, as classes began in the fall, Oley abruptly resigned from a job that he’d held for 24 years.
Olsen took what had been a markedly mediocre program and built it into a nationally respected enterprise. Yet, despite a reputation that made him a part of the charter class of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame alongside some of the game’s greatest luminaries, Olsen’s name is all but forgotten from Ohio State’s hardcourt lore.
Olsen was hired in 1923 to transform Ohio State into a consistent contender. Buckeye cagers struggled during their first decade in the Big Ten, where they managed to win only 34 of their 103 games.
He was a two-time all-conference player at Wisconsin and led the Badgers to two conference championships. He was a disciple of coach Walter Meanwell, whose innovative concepts set basketball in motion in a way it hadn’t ever been before. In the “Wisconsin System,” players moved in criss-crossing patterns using screens to open the floor. As a coach, Olsen’s Ohio State teams posted a .570 winning percentage using the same offense.
TALENT EVALUATOR
Columbus Dispatch sports editor Russ Needham said Olsen’s greatest gift was “recognizing latent talent in a flash, and the added skill of developing it to the utmost.” Needham pointed to Mel Shaw and Johnny Miner, two players who were cut during tryouts under Olsen’s predecessor. Shaw was “discovered” during spring open-gym workouts Olsen had introduced. Miner caught Oley’s eye while playing in an intramural game in the old Armory.
The 5’8” Miner led the Buckeyes to their first conference title in 1925. Local scribes dubbed him “the Chic Harley of Buckeye basketball” after overflow crowds filled the Fairgrounds Coliseum to watch OSU’s first All-American cager.
Ohio State became more competitive under Olsen, and his teams excelled when he had a roster laden with gifted athletes. If one of those athletes was a talented center, the Buckeyes were competing for championship rings.
The 1925 team was bolstered by a dominant big man named Harold “Cookie” Cunningham. A native of Mount Vernon, Cunningham was such a gifted athlete that he played both basketball and football professionally after leaving OSU.
The career of Wilmer “Bill” Hosket, Sr. may best illustrate how much better Oley’s teams fared with a top-notch man in the pivot. The Buckeyes thrived when the Dayton Stivers product was in the starting quintet. Unfortunately, eligibility issues cut short both his sophomore and senior seasons and those teams finished 9-9 and 8-12. During the 1932-33 season, his junior year, he was able to overcome his academic struggles and the Buckeyes finished 17-3 and won the Big Ten crown.
.
.
.
continued
Harold G. Olsen
Born: May 12, 1895
Coached at Ohio State: 1922 thru 1946
Harold Olsen - Wikipedia
Died: October 29, 1953