Great Night for the Basketball Buckeyes

Tonight was the NBA, which for many years was extremely boring as David Stern called the names of unknown high school preps and foreign born players. But in the first draft after the league instituted an eligibility rule, there were plenty of recognizable players in this deep pool. Much of the attention was focused on who would go #1 to Portland. Nation Player of the Year Kevin Durant received a great deal of support, especially from Bill Simmons. The Sports Guy spent much of the year on his knees in front of the Texas freshman, who reportedly couldn't bench 185 at his Orlando workout. Yet Simmons calls him the surest thing since Michael Jordan; his Durant love-fest was so nauseating, it makes me year for his Brady/Patriots columns.

The Trail Blazers made the right choice, selecting Ohio State's Greg Oden. Oden immediately becomes one of the best centers in the league. Even without a polished offensive game, his defense is game-altering, and he's a steady rebounder. Simmons claims Durant is the one with the huge upside, but Oden is going to shock some folks who think that this season's one-armed man impression from The Fugitive was indicative of his real game.

The great news kept coming for Ohio State, as PG Mike Conley was selected #4 by the Memphis Grizzlies. Conley has long played in Oden's shadow, so it will nice for him to establish a name on his own. Buckeye fans know how often he carried the team during last year's Final Four run. I was rooting for him to fall to Milwaukee, pairing him with All-Star guard Michael Redd. But I hear Memphis is a nice town with good barbeque and Peabody, so now I have an excuse to visit.

The third member of the Thad Five to declare was Daequan Cook. The highly touted wing player had an up-and-down year with the Buckeyes, starting out on fire but struggling much of the second half. With upperclassmen like Ron Lewis, Jamar Butler and Ivan Harris playing well, Coach Thad Matta couldn't afford to let Cook work his way through some shooting woes. Cook had lottery potential if he returned, but luckily got guaranteed money as the #22 pick. Philadelphia immediately shipped him to Miami for Jason Smith and cash.

Closing thought: I still hate Joakim Noah. But I surprised he eschewed his My Little Pony Tail for a poofy, full-on teenage girl look.

Ohio State's Vegas Vacation

The Ohio State side of this blog has been on hiatus for a few days, spending money like there's no tomorrow in Las Vegas. But we're back and gearing up for the spring game this Saturday. Virtually all of Ohio State's top recruiting targets will be in attendance, and we'll have updates on the players making big moves this spring.

Much has been made of the draft status of Greg Oden, Mike Conley and Daequan Cook. The three freshmen are debating whether to enter the draft after their freshmen year, and they seem poised to at least declare themselves eligible. While the loss of all three would be disappointing, remember that 9 elite recruits are headed to Columbus over the next 2 seasons, so the cupboard isn't exactly bare.

For now, we'll leave with this excerpt from Gary Parrish of CBS Sportsline. He talks about all that Ohio State accomplished last year, and wonders whether schools like UVA would trade all they have for such a season:

"The Cavaliers not only missed the NCAA Tournament title game this season, the Cavaliers have missed the NCAA Tournament title game every season in the history of seasons. So, in some regard Ohio State's freshman class accomplished more in one year than Virginia has accomplished in 100-plus years of organized basketball."

Mourning Over

In case you were preoccupied with baseball's opening day, Ohio State lost the NCAA Men's basketball national championship on Monday to Florida, 84-75. In a nutshell, Florida guards were deadly from beyond the arc, hitting 10 of 18. Ohio State lived and died by the three all season, and their shooters picked the biggest stage to fall flat. The Buckeyes hit just 4 of 23 shots, 2 of which came after the game was already decided. It's been widely discussed that this is Florida's second consecutive men's title, with a BCS football title sandwiched in between. The latter two wins came at the hands of Ohio State.

A few random thoughts...

Greg Oden played his best game of the season, finishing with. He looked like a man possessed, a man out to prove the doubters, and worst of all, a man who knew this was his last college game. He finished with 25 points, 12 rebounds and 4 blocks.

Joakim Noah, the object of much ire from fans this season, was essentially useless. He finished with 8 points and 3 rebounds, but was plagued with foul trouble the entire game. He went from a possible #1 pick to a mediocre lottery option. I hope he enjoyed all of that lousy dancing, screaming and chest-pounding this season.

Despite the persistent rumors and the dazzling play during the tournament, PG Mike Conley Jr. publicly confirmed that he's coming back to Columbus next season. Of course, he has until April 29 to change his mind. if he does choose to return (assuming Oden leaves) Ohio State should be a pre-season top 10 team again. They lose clutch guard Ron Lewis and forward Ivan Harris to graduation, but the cupboard is stocked again.

These are the 8 players you'll see in rotation to start the season. Madsen is a transfer from Vanderbilt that spent the season practicing against Oden. Koufos is a 7'0" center from Canton, Ohio. He's a McDonald's All-American rated as the top 15 players in the entire 2007 class. Should Conley leave, Butler would slide back to point guard, where he played as a sophomore.

G - Mike Conley
G - Jamar Butler
G/F - Daequan Cook, David Lighty
F - Othello Hunter, Kyle Madsen
C - Kosta Koufos, Matt Terwilliger

The rest of the incoming class, along with their Rivals.com ratings.

G Jon Diebler (OH) #15 shooting guard, #59 overall
F Evan Turner (IL) #13 small forward, #46 overall
F Eric Wallace (VA) #31 small forward, #110 overall
C Dallas Lauderdale (OH) #10 center, #106 overall

More on the Ohio State basketball jugernaut in the days to follow. We'll also resume our breakdown of Ohio State football on Friday.

My Little Pony's Last Ride

It has been a long while since an Ohio State football or basketball team went into a big game as a decided underdog. The basketball team has lost just three games this season, at UNC, at Florida, and at Wisconsin. While they certainly were not favored in any of those games, the line wasn't very large either. Further, Oden missed the first game and was in just fifth game when Ohio State visited thr Gators. The Buckeyes avenged the Wisconsin loss twice later this season, once in Columbus and again in the Big Ten Tournament championship.

As for the football team, last year's 12-1 team was favored in every single game. That included the shocking BCS title game when Florida routed the rather flat (footed) Buckeyes. Even during the 2005 season, Ohio State lost just two games to Texas and at Penn State. The line (and general consensus) prior to these games was that the teams were closely matched, and both games were decided by a score or less.

So Buckeyes fans find themselves in a strange position this evening...we're expected to lose. It seem too cruel to that Ohio State could lose both championships to the same school in the same year. It would be especially painful, given the obnoxious nature of Joakim Noah, Corey Brewer and the rabid Florida fans. As ESPN.com's Pat Forde wrote, Noah is NOT a beloved player. So watch him scream, whine at fouls and pound his chest is nauseating. Brewer doesn't seem much better, but this blog hasn't yet gone R-Rated so I'll keep those insults to myself. For anyone you thinking I'm a bitter Buckeye, that's not the case. Mostly. I have no problem with Horfor, Green and Humphery, who generally go about their business while mauling teams. I just don't like loud uppity players. You know, unless their on my team and I can make excuses for them.

We've seen Florida's A game. They have the hardware and the experience. Logic may dictate that you're not going to beat the defending champ, who browbeat you by 26 this season, on a court they won the SEC championship on.

But we haven't seen Ohio State's best game yet. We haven't seen Oden unleashed, free from foul trouble, blocking shots and rattling the rim with dunks for 30 minutes. If this happends, Ohio State's trio of three point assassins will have plenty of room to knock down shots and equalize Green and Humphery. We're just getting to see David Lighty gain confidence and start shutting down players on offense. And Mike Conley has already shown that he simply does not know how to lose. Logic may say that Florida is better, but Ohio State is a young, talented team that is just putting it all together. It needs to happen right now. Oden, and probably Conley, will not be back for a mulligan in 2008.

Ohio State is used to being the juggernaut. It has been just over four years since Ohio State rolled in to a huge game with the underdog label. Too slow. Can't complete with the a more talented team, the defending national champions. No chance, the experts said. That Ohio State football team stunned the Miami Hurricanes and won the national championship. Does this year's basketball team have that magic?

4 hours and change till game time. Let's dance.

Florida Revisited

No blogging the last few days as Buckeye Nation was focused on the team's first official trip to the Final Four since 1968. Ohio State faced a Georgetown team that eliminated them in the second round the year before. The Hoyas also had a lot of momentum coming off a comeback win against North Carolina.

The game was billed as a battle of the big men, with 7 footers Roy Hibbert and Greg Oden set for titanic clash in the middle. But the expected matchup never really materialized, as Oden was again saddled with two early fouls and sat the entire first half. Hibbert likewise struggled to stay on the court, leaving for long stretches in both halves. That opened the door for freshman Mike Conley to take over the game, putting up 15 points, 6 assists and 5 rebounds. Big East player of the year Jeff Green was well defended and finished with just 9 points. OSU coach Thad Matta, who was criticized for some strategic decisions earlier in the tournament, used a combination of defenses to frustrate the Hoyas.

Now it's time the Buckeyes to take on defending champ Florida, who routed UCLA in the other semifinal. The Gators slammed the Buckeyes in December, 86-80. A loss would put the Buckeyes on the wrong side of a historic repeat; Florida would claim the firt back-to-back titles since Duke did it in the early 90's. Worse yet, Florida would end up defeatin Ohio State in both major college championships in less than four months.

1. Oden must stay out of foul trouble to defend Noah in Horford. If he can stay on the court he needs to hit those scary looking jump hooks;
2. Butler, Harris and Lewis must hit a good percentage of their threes - anything less that 40% is curtains;
3. On the other hand, if Lee Humphery is red-hot, OSU could be in trouble;
4. Conley has stepped up in the tournament and brought the Bucks to this point...he needs to play the game his life. No turnovers, hit the running floaters, and run the offense with precision.
5. If someone is shooting poorly, and that means Cook and Harris, don't wasted possessions taking low percentage shots;
6. OSU finally needs great defensive play from its interior reserves - Hunter and Terwilliger must give quality minutes to spell Oden against a deep Florida frontcourt;

Ohio State is not favored. They lack the depth and experience that Florida does. Referees or Humphery could doom them. But this game will be much closer than the December route in Gainesville. This entire tournament, Conley has shown he doesn't know how to lose. Oden has been productive in limited minutes. Lewis has become a clutch performer. And David Lighty has emerged as a versatile contributor. Logic would dictate a Gator pick, but this Florida team isn't perfect. They had bad stretches against Purdue and Butler. They lost to Vanderbilt, Florida State and badly to a Tennessee team that OSU beat twice. This game can be won.

It's been a long time since Ohio State entered a big game as a clear underdog. So let's strap in and hit this punk Florida team in the mouth a few times. An 'A' effort from Ohio State, with Oden on the court for 30+ mintues, WILL win this game. So let's finish the game.

Cardiac Kids Survive Again

Ohio State spotted Tennessee a 17 point halftime but roared back in the second half to win 85-84. Mike Conley Jr. hit the last of his 9 free throws for the winning margin. Despite foul trouble the entire game, Greg Oden blocked a desperation shot at the buzzer to seal the win. The Volunteers, led by Chris Lofton, were unreal from 3 point range. Ohio State received another sterling effort from Ron Lewis, who scored 25 points. Reserves Matt Terwilliger and David Lighty gave Coach Matta a strong effort on the defensive end. Both teams felt the officiating was slanted against them. Tennessee Coach Bruce Pearl whined at his press conference about the lack of free throws his team took, while Oden and Othello Hunter were saddled with fouls on a number of questionsable calls. Oden again received rough treatment in the post with little help from the refs to show for it.

Ohio State will take on Memphis on Saturday for a berth in the Final Four.