jcollingsworth
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What If Lebron Had Been A Buckeye?
jcollingsworth via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
I must confess I love fantasy pieces. I am not necessarily speaking of ‘Star Wars’ and space adventures or some of the gothic stuff, or even comic books. I am speaking of sports fantasy. Every year I envision the Buckeyes winning the National Title in football, basketball (Men’s and Women’s), rugby, track and field… and the list goes on. Unfortunately such quests fall short most often and it leaves me sad momentarily before I recognize that the fine line of creativity swung my mind into that burdensome arena called ‘make-believe.’
I have written a couple pieces for tBBC that have satisfied my fantasy cravings – there was the vision of the Buckeyes repeating as the National Champions in Football for 2015. Then there was the Tebow piece (I apologize for that) … now I have the craving again. After The Cavaliers’ ended Cleveland’s long suffering (52 years without a sports championship) and LeBron exhibited his superiority in a game with exceptional talent – now standing as the King of the World; I found myself drifting – arriving back into the 2003-04 season. There was a player for The Ohio State University – certainly a one-and-done – named LeBron James.
LeBron’s freshmen year would have been 2003-04. That year the Buckeyes finished 14-16 under Head Coach Jim O’Brien. With LeBron on the roster losses in that year to San Francisco (76-65), San Diego State (83-61), and Texas Tech (80-72) and Conference play with a record of 6-10 would not have been.
LeBron would have been at forward. He would have most likely bumped out Matt Sylvester who as a sophomore in this season averaged 3.1 points per game with a 1.4 rebounding average per game. Velimir Radinovic at seven-foot – certainly would be at center, averaging 10.3 points per game and snagging an average of six boards per game. Other compliments would certainly have been big man sophomore Terence Dials at the other forward position who at 6-9 had 10.4 points per game with a 6.6 rebounding average per game. JJ Sullinger was also in his sophomore year along with Matt Sylvester (perhaps serving as the sixth man). Ivan Harris was also on the team – and leading scorer Tony Stockman was there too (13.6 per game).
During his rookie season in the NBA, LeBron averaged 20.9 points per game against professional athletes, most of which were considerably older than him. It would have been insane to witness what he would have been capable of doing in one year against less-talented college basketball players. The depleted talent pool – I can only imagine would have had him in the 26.0 to 28.4 points per game range.
Looking over the 2003-04 Buckeye schedule and the results I see the Buckeyes record with LeBron improving from the gloomy 14-16 that it was to 24-6. By reviewing the schedule and the final results of the season I used a rather unscientific method to determine a LeBron presence for the Buckeyes. If he averaged 24 or 25 points per game – in some games adding more – in others less – and with a deduction of what Matt Sylvester attributed in those losses I came up with an extra ten games in the winning column – seven of which were Big Ten games. I did take a little extra liberty for the January 10th game against Penn State who beat the pants off the Buckeyes 64-47. I simply do not see the Nittany Lions beating a LeBron Buckeye squad. So with my mathematical virtuoso-license approach, as I previously mentioned, the Buckeyes would have been 24-6 overall and 13-3 in Conference. They would have been ranked high – for certain, and the NCAA’s? We can only imagine!
Even without ever officially playing for the Ohio State Buckeyes, LeBron James has made his presence felt at the university. For years, the Buckeye basketball team wore uniforms that were branded by LeBron’s Nike division. He has his own locker in the Ohio State basketball locker room, which is huge tool for recruiting. King James has been seen cheering court side at the 2011 Duke vs. Ohio State basketball game with his buddy Dwayne Wade, and on the sideline at many big Buckeye football games, most recently the National Championship of 2014. A partner in the Beats by Dre headphone company, LeBron gave each player on the Buckeye football team their own pair as a gift before the title game. Not to worry! He had his legal team make “sure” there was no NCAA violation in his gift giving.
The whole notion that if the one-and-done rule had been enacted just one year before would have resulted in LeBron James wearing a Scarlet and Gray uniform is both alluring and a wonderful fantasy. The year just “may” have been as I have dreamed in that devious “what-if” journey. At this stage (2016) it would only be bragging rights that the King was a Buckeye; because right now he is unquestionably the King of the World.
His return to Cleveland is what fantasy stories are all about and winning the title that he promised is what makes the fairy-tale so commanding … and as a Knicks fan I can only look on in my awe-struck ways with a tinge of jealousy. But all the same, I am happy for Cleveland.
On to my next project … The Movie … what shall we call it? King James? Perhaps!
You know no one can play LeBron like LeBron … so who do we get for Dan Gilbert? Do I hear Kevin Costner?
The post What If Lebron Had Been A Buckeye? appeared first on The Buckeye Battle Cry: Ohio State News and Commentary.
Continue reading...
jcollingsworth via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
I must confess I love fantasy pieces. I am not necessarily speaking of ‘Star Wars’ and space adventures or some of the gothic stuff, or even comic books. I am speaking of sports fantasy. Every year I envision the Buckeyes winning the National Title in football, basketball (Men’s and Women’s), rugby, track and field… and the list goes on. Unfortunately such quests fall short most often and it leaves me sad momentarily before I recognize that the fine line of creativity swung my mind into that burdensome arena called ‘make-believe.’
I have written a couple pieces for tBBC that have satisfied my fantasy cravings – there was the vision of the Buckeyes repeating as the National Champions in Football for 2015. Then there was the Tebow piece (I apologize for that) … now I have the craving again. After The Cavaliers’ ended Cleveland’s long suffering (52 years without a sports championship) and LeBron exhibited his superiority in a game with exceptional talent – now standing as the King of the World; I found myself drifting – arriving back into the 2003-04 season. There was a player for The Ohio State University – certainly a one-and-done – named LeBron James.
LeBron’s freshmen year would have been 2003-04. That year the Buckeyes finished 14-16 under Head Coach Jim O’Brien. With LeBron on the roster losses in that year to San Francisco (76-65), San Diego State (83-61), and Texas Tech (80-72) and Conference play with a record of 6-10 would not have been.
LeBron would have been at forward. He would have most likely bumped out Matt Sylvester who as a sophomore in this season averaged 3.1 points per game with a 1.4 rebounding average per game. Velimir Radinovic at seven-foot – certainly would be at center, averaging 10.3 points per game and snagging an average of six boards per game. Other compliments would certainly have been big man sophomore Terence Dials at the other forward position who at 6-9 had 10.4 points per game with a 6.6 rebounding average per game. JJ Sullinger was also in his sophomore year along with Matt Sylvester (perhaps serving as the sixth man). Ivan Harris was also on the team – and leading scorer Tony Stockman was there too (13.6 per game).
During his rookie season in the NBA, LeBron averaged 20.9 points per game against professional athletes, most of which were considerably older than him. It would have been insane to witness what he would have been capable of doing in one year against less-talented college basketball players. The depleted talent pool – I can only imagine would have had him in the 26.0 to 28.4 points per game range.
Looking over the 2003-04 Buckeye schedule and the results I see the Buckeyes record with LeBron improving from the gloomy 14-16 that it was to 24-6. By reviewing the schedule and the final results of the season I used a rather unscientific method to determine a LeBron presence for the Buckeyes. If he averaged 24 or 25 points per game – in some games adding more – in others less – and with a deduction of what Matt Sylvester attributed in those losses I came up with an extra ten games in the winning column – seven of which were Big Ten games. I did take a little extra liberty for the January 10th game against Penn State who beat the pants off the Buckeyes 64-47. I simply do not see the Nittany Lions beating a LeBron Buckeye squad. So with my mathematical virtuoso-license approach, as I previously mentioned, the Buckeyes would have been 24-6 overall and 13-3 in Conference. They would have been ranked high – for certain, and the NCAA’s? We can only imagine!
Even without ever officially playing for the Ohio State Buckeyes, LeBron James has made his presence felt at the university. For years, the Buckeye basketball team wore uniforms that were branded by LeBron’s Nike division. He has his own locker in the Ohio State basketball locker room, which is huge tool for recruiting. King James has been seen cheering court side at the 2011 Duke vs. Ohio State basketball game with his buddy Dwayne Wade, and on the sideline at many big Buckeye football games, most recently the National Championship of 2014. A partner in the Beats by Dre headphone company, LeBron gave each player on the Buckeye football team their own pair as a gift before the title game. Not to worry! He had his legal team make “sure” there was no NCAA violation in his gift giving.
The whole notion that if the one-and-done rule had been enacted just one year before would have resulted in LeBron James wearing a Scarlet and Gray uniform is both alluring and a wonderful fantasy. The year just “may” have been as I have dreamed in that devious “what-if” journey. At this stage (2016) it would only be bragging rights that the King was a Buckeye; because right now he is unquestionably the King of the World.
His return to Cleveland is what fantasy stories are all about and winning the title that he promised is what makes the fairy-tale so commanding … and as a Knicks fan I can only look on in my awe-struck ways with a tinge of jealousy. But all the same, I am happy for Cleveland.
On to my next project … The Movie … what shall we call it? King James? Perhaps!
You know no one can play LeBron like LeBron … so who do we get for Dan Gilbert? Do I hear Kevin Costner?
The post What If Lebron Had Been A Buckeye? appeared first on The Buckeye Battle Cry: Ohio State News and Commentary.
Continue reading...