Don’t Look Now, but Buckeye Hoops Start Tonight
Thad embarks on coaching another young team.While visions of revenge on the Illini dance in your head, the Buckeye hoopsters start their season tonight with a exhibition tilt against NAIA Division II Walsh University, who has already played three games.
The Cavaliers lost an exhibition game to Akron 83-81, but have won two regular season games by an average of 43 points. Thad Matta doesn’t have a senior on his team, so this could be an interesting contest. Perhaps that is why the BTN execs decided to spare us, airing the game only on webcast.
I personally think this Buckeye team can make it back to the dance, if they gel earlier than last year and a couple of go-to players emerge, starting with tonight. It may be tough to watch on your computer screen, but here are a few things to look for if you are able to catch the game.
1. Improvement from last year:
There is no doubt Evan Turner and Dallas Lauderdale are going to play key roles in any Buckeye success. Turner showed flashes of brilliance throughout his freshman season and was the only Buckeye picked for preseason honors this year. However, he had a bad habit of turning the ball over and with an expected increase in touches, Tuner has to take better care of the rock if OSU is to have success.
I think Dallas Lauderdale could be the key to Ohio State’s season. The sophomore banged against Kosta Koufos in practice last year and dominated BJ Mullins in the early going of camp this year. He won’t see the floor tonight due to injury, but he is on the verge of returning and will be ready to go in the opener next week, just in time to be the breakout player in the Big Ten, hopefully.
2. Point Guard Competition:
For the first time in three years, Ohio State has a question mark at point guard. I appreciate P.J. Hill’s effort, but OSU is in deep trouble if they have to rely on him to lead this team. The competition should be between JUCO transfer Jeremie Simmons and freshman Anthony, don’t call me Noopy, Crater.
Chris was impressed with both of them during the open practice, enjoying their contrasting styles and competitive nature. Simmons will look for his shot when available, but Crater is more of a distributor.
3. Will Mullens follow Diebler’s footsteps:
Jon Diebler’s shooting struggles from last year are well known and he came from a Division II school. BJ Mullins played in the same division and is rated by Rivals as the top player in the country. If Mullens can give Ohio State a legit inside presence and show the toughness it takes in the Big Ten, the driving lanes for Lighty and Turner should open up, creating an exciting team to watch.
4. Man defense vs. Match up zone:
Thad had to implement the deadly match up zone just three days before the regular season last year, due to the inability of the bigs to recover after a screen. This move forced OSU to mostly play a 3/4 court match up zone, which gave teams absolute fits and the Bucks finished in the top 10 in FG defense. I’m sure we will see man defense against Walsh, but tonight’s performance could determine which route Matta has to take.
5. Freshmen Impact:
Besides BJ Mullens and Crater, Thad brought in William Buford and Walter Offut, two wing players who will add depth to the Bucks rotation. Buford is a slashing scorer who should instantly help the offense, while Offut looks to be fully recovered from his knee injury last year, it just may take some time for him to get back on track.
Further previews can be found at The Ozone and Bucknuts, with rosters at the Dispatch.
Hopefully, out here in ACC country, I’ll be able to catch some games. Who do we have in the ACC /B10 Challenge?
Never mind. Miami on Dec 2nd… should be an easy win…
“Simmons will look for his shot when available, but Crater is more of a distributor.”
Just for clarification…by distributor do you mean like Cisco Foods distrubutes wholesale goods to restaurants, or distribution like TJ Downing gets off to high school kids?
Not to be an ass … love the site, but Diebler actually played high school basketball at the Div. II level. Yes, Upper Sandusky is Div. IV in football currently, but when Diebler was there he competed for two state titles at the Div. II level (won 2005, lost 2007). Buford lost in last year’s Div. II final. Those two (Diebler and Buford) were men amongst boys in the Northwest Ohio.
I don’t know if I’d call Miami an easy win. They’re supposed to be pretty good this year, preseason rank of 17.
buford is a lot like diebler? WONDERFUL.
Joescarlet-
I appreciate the correction, I was mistaken on the hoops classes. As much as I love basketball, I guess I still have football on the mind. It will be corrected within the post.
Thanks for ruining my string of 2 posts without a mistake though. LOL
We all have football on the brain, Corey. We’d better, with Illinois on the slate.
It’s too bad that Lauderdale won’t play tonight. I was eager to see his 7′ 4″ imitation of Plasticman all over the paint.
Great preview, Corey.
“Buckeyes’ 14-Straight Road Wins are Fresh”
I would like to point out that at every point Ohio State is about to set a record, we lose. Someone can do the research, but it seems to be that way. Good thing it’s 3 road games away.
Anyone watch the bball game tonight?
I hear Buford had 17 off the bench with Turner adding 17, Mullens 12, Madsen 11, Crater looked smooth was a quote I found on Cbssportsline but It was Walsh. I think I could score on Walsh.
Buford did blow up off of the bench, but Evan Turner is the shizzy. Completely out of hound, I say.
Get used to Turner’s stats: 17 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals.
The game hasn’t been archived yet on BTN.com, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it was up over the weekend, it sounds like it is worth watching.
I watched the game - it gave me a headache with all the herky jerkyness. It was like the blair witch project. Hopefully not so bad on the archive. I couldn’t stand that they would show the replay and then cut back to live action. Not sure how much press we were putting on. Evan Almighty was out of hound. Diebler doesn’t look like he’s changed much. Not sure about Mullins either. Crater (Noopy? whats that about?) looks compelling.
I figured the live streaming was not going to be very smooth. Unfortunately Adam, the BTN is famous for showing a replay and then breaking back into live coverage, it is their production kinks they are working out. I still enjoy every hoops game in HD though.
From what I’ve read, Crater has a Conley Jr. defensive mentality, which could be huge for this team. I like the contrasting styles the two point guards bring. I hope this wasn’t a fluke from Buford.
You don’t learn much from Walsh. Sounds like your dogging Mullens but its important to note this is very early in the year. Im sure with time if the team will feed Mullens down low he’ll be 15pts and 10 boards all year. That will be really good with all the outside scoring on this team. I just hope Thad doesn’t pull a Tressel and over think this much talent. Let them run!
Lots of interesting story lines on this team. Keep in mind that they are still very young, and they are going to be erratic until they find their groove. Get used to it. They are very fast though, and should be fun to watch. I like the idea of Crater leading the break, and Turner, Lighty or Buford filling the wings. Wow! If Mullens does get 15 & 10 most nights, and does the other things you expect a center to do (block shots, be a physical presence), then da Bucks could be a tough team to beat.