OSU's Lewis steps up defense to complete his game
Saturday, December 02, 2006
Doug Lesmerises
Plain Dealer Reporter
Columbus -- Ron Lewis heard about what Dick Vitale said. That between the bouts of hyping the coming Greg Oden Era at Ohio State, the eardrum-piercing voice of ESPN college basketball fell in love with Lewis during the Buckeyes' 98-89 loss to North Carolina on Wednesday night.
In scoring 30 points on 11-of-16 shooting, the senior guard seized upon the speed of the game, and when OSU's four freshmen occasionally found themselves looking for answers in the Dean Dome, Lewis was happy to grab the basketball, solve the problem and get Dickie V going.
"Those are the times when you have to make plays," Lewis said Friday, before heading to another practice to prep for today's game at Value City Arena with Valparaiso. "You have to step up and be a leader and take charge, and sometimes in those instances, I did."
Lewis had his best scoring night as a Buckeye, though he reached 30 four times during his two seasons at Bowling Green before he transferred to Columbus. Ohio State coach Thad Matta, less prone to hyperbole, paused before complimenting Lewis' offensive effort, though he admitted the game was tailor-made for his long-range jumper and slash-to-the-basket set of skills.
Matta quickly moved the conversation toward defense and a missed assignment by Lewis that led to a Carolina 3-pointer with the shot clock running down.
It's clear Matta is asking for more than 30 points from one of the two seniors on his roster.
Early in the season, Matta had taken to calling Lewis "PT" for his part-time work on defense. From a 4 out of 10 on the defensive end, Matta said Lewis has worked up to an 8 out of 10. Remembering three backdoor passes Lewis deflected against Eastern Kentucky two weeks ago, Matta shook his head.
"That wasn't happening last year, I know that," Matta said. "Those were layups."
"I know he's looking at that all the time," Lewis said, "and he probably doesn't say anything all the time, but it's up to me to have that mind-set every day in practice and on every play to play hard on defense."
On the offensive end, Lewis' game is all there. He leads the Buckeyes in scoring at 18.9 points per game and is making 57 percent of his shots and 45 percent of his 3-pointers. The team's third-leading scoring last season, at 11.2 points per game in a balanced Buckeye offense, he's scoring more without straining.
Lewis and freshman Daequan Cook, averaging 17.3 points, form an explosive tandem able to score from anywhere on the floor. Even when Oden returns, the 7-footer is expected to dominate more on the defensive end, so the Buckeyes still will need Lewis to put the ball in the basket.
That won't be a problem.
But Matta needs that and them some.
"He's shown he can shoot it, he can drive it, his passing is getting better, I think defensively he's getting better," Matta said. "It would frustrate me if I didn't seem him improving [defensively]. The ultimate goal by January is for him to be 10 out of 10."
What will Vitale say if that happens?
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