Sparty @ Ohio State, 2/23/16, ESPN

[scarletmike]

I'd swear Valentine has been there for a decade.

So this is how everyone else in the conference felt about Craft?

 

[MaxBuck]

 

[RB07OSU]

Yay NIT?

Hopefully we make it to the NIT? Not sure what the criteria is to get in the NIT other than not being in the tourney, but if there is any criteria at all, it might be debatable. This team is probably the worst I have seen at OSU since I have been alive when considering the talent versus the actual output. I am only 27 but that is an honest assessment, not a knee-jerk reaction. I see some future hope but for this year, there is just zero chance. Hopefully this is a learning year that we develop talent.

 

[greyscarlet]

and that's the rest of the story.

This game summarized the entire season. The first half hanging in there on the scoreboard with few glimmers of hope as to how a win could surface. The second half shows how much of a house of cards it was.

Tate is the man on this team. Hopefully Tate's omission shines a light on effort and these guys put the work in over the offseason. If we pull two more wins out for the season I'd be surprised, BTT NIT or otherwise.

The announcers were dead on about the schedule, beef it up and let the team go up against the best. I wouldn't want to go to a team where half the season is a practice.

 

[DaveyBoy]

Hopefully we make it to the NIT? Not sure what the criteria is to get in the NIT other than not being in the tourney, but if there is any criteria at all, it might be debatable. This team is probably the worst I have seen at OSU since I have been alive when considering the talent versus the actual output. I am only 27 but that is an honest assessment, not a knee-jerk reaction. I see some future hope but for this year, there is just zero chance. Hopefully this is a learning year that we develop talent.

While this year is bad, no year can top 1981 for underwhelming performances. OSU finished 14-13 and missed the NCAA , obviously, with a roster full of future NBA players:

Clark Kellogg
Herb Williams
Jim smith
Tony Campbell
Granville waiters

Truly remarkable

 

[buckeyesin07]

Tate is the man on this team. Hopefully Tate's omission shines a light on effort and these guys put the work in over the offseason. If we pull two more wins out for the season I'd be surprised, BTT NIT or otherwise.

Agreed. I hate to say it, but if there's one thing this team's lacking, it's mental toughness (and without Tate, that's even more the case). These next two games could be ugly, like at Indiana/at Maryland ugly.

The announcers were dead on about the schedule, beef it up and let the team go up against the best. I wouldn't want to go to a team where half the season is a practice.

Funny part is that this year, relative to years past, the schedule actually looked pretty tough, at least when those games were scheduled. We had Virginia at home, at UConn, and each of Memphis and Kentucky on a neutral floor. Virginia and UK panned out, but UConn and Memphis had disappointing years. Still, going into the season, this year's non-conference slate looked much more formidable than any I remember in the past decade or so.

 

[greyscarlet]

Funny part is that this year, relative to years past, the schedule actually looked pretty tough.

I concur but I'm also left thinking in the land of the blind the one eyed man is king.

 

[ArmyVet83]

I think our own expectations for this team set us up for disappointment. This is a very young team that does not have a true identity (not a shutdown defensive team, not an offensive juggernaut or lights-out-shooting team).The team as a whole has played better since the beginning of the season and they will improve between now and the beginning of next season. The big questions are who steps up next year? Will Lyle return for his sophomore season? Will OSU sign another '16 recruit? If so, who? How will the '16 recruits fit with the current team? Will there be any changes on the coaching staff or any changes in the coaching philosophy? The last couple of years, there is something missing, especially with the quality of shooting /shooters on this team.

Losing Tate hurts with depth and leadership but at this juncture of the season it's moot. At best they are NIT bound but it does give the staff a chance to see who steps up with Tate out. This team is a work-in-progress with talent. Can the coaches bring them together as a team is what I want to know.

 

[NFBuck]

Maybe I'm in the minority, but I don't see a team playing below its potential; I see a team meeting it. I just don't think we're all that talented, to be frank. I've been saying for a while now that I think Matta's recruiting has fallen off significantly the past few years, and I think this is the result...a team that can look good at times, but lacks the overall talent to really compete for any sustained period of time.

Maybe some of these guys improve a good bit next year...I sure hope they do; but who is the Terrance Dials on this team? The Oden or Conley? The Villain? The Sullinger? Craft? I don't even see a Koufos or LQ Ross. I see a roster of complimentary players that don't really seem to compliment each other all that well. This is the same team as last year minus the superstar one-and-done, and it looks the same next year to me.

 

[OhioState001]

I think our own expectations for this team set us up for disappointment. This is a very young team that does not have a true identity (not a shutdown defensive team, not an offensive juggernaut or lights-out-shooting team).The team as a whole has played better since the beginning of the season and they will improve between now and the beginning of next season. The big questions are who steps up next year? Will Lyle return for his sophomore season? Will OSU sign another '16 recruit? If so, who? How will the '16 recruits fit with the current team? Will there be any changes on the coaching staff or any changes in the coaching philosophy? The last couple of years, there is something missing, especially with the quality of shooting /shooters on this team.

Losing Tate hurts with depth and leadership but at this juncture of the season it's moot. At best they are NIT bound but it does give the staff a chance to see who steps up with Tate out. This team is a work-in-progress with talent. Can the coaches bring them together as a team is what I want to know.

I don't see how Lyle leaves unless he wants to join Ross, Thomas, and ADV in Europe.

 

[ScriptOhio]

Maybe I'm in the minority, but I don't see a team playing below its potential; I see a team meeting it. I just don't think we're all that talented, to be frank. I've been saying for a while now that I think Matta's recruiting has fallen off significantly the past few years, and I think this is the result...a team that can look good at times, but lacks the overall talent to really compete for any sustained period of time.

Maybe some of these guys improve a good bit next year...I sure hope they do; but who is the Terrance Dials on this team? The Oden or Conley? The Villain? The Sullinger? Craft? I don't even see a Koufos or LQ Ross. I see a roster of complimentary players that don't really seem to compliment each other all that well. This is the same team as last year minus the superstar one-and-done, and it looks the same next year to me.

Maybe Parcell's quote applies here too:

 

[Systems_id]

I still think this is just a young team. On paper this team is arguably more talented than a lot of the teams in the B1G, save for probably Indiana. They just aren't Kentucky one-and-done talent like Matta was routinely pulling in. Hell even the Evan Turner class took two years to really get it going.

 

[buckeyesin07]

Maybe some of these guys improve a good bit next year...I sure hope they do; but who is the Terrance Dials on this team? The Oden or Conley? The Villain? The Sullinger? Craft? I don't even see a Koufos or LQ Ross. I see a roster of complimentary players that don't really seem to compliment each other all that well. This is the same team as last year minus the superstar one-and-done, and it looks the same next year to me.

Some of the stuff Lyle does--particularly the passing and getting to the hoop--is pro stuff. He can be a star, IMO. He just needs to improve his shot a bit, become more consistent overall, and cut down on the bad turnovers.

Otherwise, I agree with you--KBD seems like he has the tools, with the length, height, and skill, that he could be a superstar, but here he is at the end of his sophomore year, and while he's solid, he's far from a star; Loving is what he is--a guy who has a ton of talent (like Evan Turner talent), but probably never will lose his seemingly indifferent approach to the game that is his biggest enemy; Tate is basically maxed out at this point--I don't know how we could expect more from a guy who is 6'3" (and he probably never will develop a great jumpshot); and Giddens has the athleticism, but is still really, really raw--with a lot of work, maybe he develops into a Roy Hibbert--someone who comes in very raw and is able, after four years in the program, to work on his game to improve it substantially.

 

[NFBuck]

I still think this is just a young team. On paper this team is arguably more talented than a lot of the teams in the B1G, save for probably Indiana. They just aren't Kentucky one-and-done talent like Matta was routinely pulling in. Hell even the Evan Turner class took two years to really get it going.

That's what we have to hope for. But I'm not sure about the talent comment. Lyle has some potential, but will he ever meet it, or will he always be a guy that has skill, but can't harness it? You would hope to see improvement as the season has gone on, but to me he doesn't look much better than he did in November. Who else? Tate is a glue guy, a heart guy, but I don't see him as a major "talent." I doubt he sees as much playing time at MSU or Indiana, or even Purdue or Iowa. Giddens looks like a good defensive big man, but his offensive game needs a lot of work. Maybe one or both of Loving or KBD take a step forward, but they're both wildly inconsistent, and Loving is running out of time. Kam can shoot, but defense is an afterthought, and that will always limit his minutes. Harris is a smaller Shannon Scott to me. Mitchell is an athlete, but needs a lot of work to be a legitimate B1G basketball player.

That's a lot of question marks. If we had seen some consistent improvement over the season, I'd be a little more optimistic, but we really haven't. They'll look great for a game or two, then go out and play a couple of clunkers. And it's team wide. I can't point to really any single guy and say "yeah, he's gotten better as the year has gone on." That's worrisome and leads me to believe it's one of two things, neither of which are particularly encouraging--talent or coaching.

 

[wigmon]

Should still be able to pick up an easy one in the Big Ten Tourney as all the good teams get byes now.

Might come down to winning one in the NIT to get to 20.

Assuming we lose the next 2 games, we'll most likely be the 8 seed in the BTT and play the 9 seed in our first game. The 9 seed is still open, but likely to be Neb, NW or PSU. Without Tate, I don't think any of those would be an easy win.