Eleven Warriors

I remember last year I started to think Brady Hoke looked like Flounder from the movie Animal House. He does. But Flounder may actually be a little too clean and well-groomed for a true Hoke comparison.

After recently watching the classic movie Dirty Work, (starring Norm MacDonald), it's now apparent Brady Hoke could be a twin brother of Artie Lange. Not sure if anyone has mentioned this before...but the resemblance is uncanny. Artie Hoke.

"Ohio Ohio Ohio Ohio Ohio Ohio Ohio Ohio Ohio Ohio Ohio Ohio Ohio Ohio Ohio Ohio Ohio"

Dear 11W Community,

As you know we have been running the Respect the Basement Fundraiser for a while now and are winding down towards the end come April 1. We have done an outstanding job and we appreciate everyone's help thus far, but we are so close yet so far from achieving our goal to hire a beat writer.

We realized on National Signing Day that we would have hit our goal if every single person that visited 11W that day donated just $1 to the cause, so we thought, why not actually try designating a day where each person to visit this site donates $1. Assuming people get paid either weekly, bi-weekly, or the 1st and 15th of every month, we thought that next Friday, March 16 would be a good day as most of our readers that have jobs will get paid around then. 

Obviously this is completely optional, but we are fully committed to keeping this site as it is, with free content. To bring you the best free Ohio State content on the web, we need your help in bringing 11W to the next level and if you can spare just one single dollar on March 16 towards the fundraiser, it would be greatly appreciated. Of course, you don't have to ONLY donate $1 and can give more if you can afford it, but please know every penny helps here and $1 per person will go a long way.

If you have any questions, please feel free to drop them in the comment section below. Please spread the word and help us reach our goal of hiring a beat writer by the spring game.

Thanks,

11W Staff

Jekyll and Hyde

The 2011-12 edition of Ohio State basketball has been nothing short of a comparison to one of the many high flyin’ roller coasters at Cedar Point Amusement Park.  Its peaks, valleys, twists, turns, and even loops have made for one wild ride.  In reality, there are about 325 other Division I basketball programs that wish they could compare themselves to our Buckeyes, but I thought this was a good time to air out some thoughts and some feelings that have been heard around Buckeye Nation.  This Buckeye team has two faces: “Jekyll” (the prettiest and perhaps the best looking in the country that every day you have to do a double take and look twice) and “Hyde” (your uglier, not as desirable team that once was).

“Jekyll” (The Pretty One):
This team emerged after the under eight minute timeout in the first half of the Florida game early in the season. This “face” was most noticeable throughout the entire Duke game on Nov. 29. “Jekyll” is what the national media had predicted for the Buckeyes during the pre-season and pre-conference play, labeling the Scarlet and Gray as a national title contender. “Jekyll” has shown up in games this season and one can only hope this side of the Buckeyes shows up in the NCAA Tournament starting this Thursday.

The Starting Roster:
G Aaron Craft  6.5 PPG  5.8 APG  1.2 TO
G William Buford  19.1 PPG  3.3 APG  44% FG%
G Lenzelle Smith  8.9 PPG  6.9 RPG 
F Deshaun Thomas 15.5 PPG 2.2 APG  4.4 RPG
F Jared Sullinger  17.7 PPG 9.7 RPG  1.9 TO  76.7% FT

*Taken from the majority of Buckeye games not including games listed below (for Hyde), also not including out of conference cupcakes
This face is noticeably and incredibly more efficient.  All the statistics reflect the name of the face and, when Ohio State is playing at this level, if it can beat practically any team in the field of 68. This is the team that we want to show up on Thursday, Saturday and for the following two weekends, because most know that this side of Coach Thad Matta’s squad could advance to the Final Four in New Orleans. This team is exceedingly solid on all facets; it rebounds better than any team out there, and has a chance to make an incredible run.  You can even take a look at basketball stat gurus Ken Pomeroy and Jeff Sagarin.  These guys know their numbers and the numbers don’t lie.  Each has OSU ranked second overall due to its incredible efficiency
Take it for what it is worth, but if “Jekyll” shows up for the NCAA Tournament, Ohio State could be raising another banner in Value City Arena.
 
“Hyde” (the much uglier, just above average Joe):
This team premiered on New Year’s Eve at Indiana, specifically at the 10:38 mark in the first half.  Jared Sullinger picked up his second foul and was forced to watch the rest of the first half from the visitor’s bench.  That was when the nation was first introduced to Buckeye basketball’s “Hyde” side.

The Starting Roster:
G Aaron Craft 7.5 PPG  3.5 APG  3.5 TO
G William Buford  8.8 PPG  1.1 APG  3 RPG  21% FG%
G Lenzelle Smith 10.5 PPG  1.5 APG  6 RPG
F Deshaun Thomas 16.5 PPG  .9APG  4.1 RPG
F Jared Sullinger 16.1 PPG  9.0 RPG 5.5 TO 62% FT

*Actual Stats from a sample of “Hyde” games including  the second half of @IU, @ Illinois, Wisconsin, MSU at home, and @ Michigan

Do not let Sullinger’s statistics deceive anyone.  In games where the Buckeyes’ “Hyde” team shows up, Sullinger carries himself as well as the guy who hasn’t gotten his Snicker fix.  Sullinger turns the ball over at more than double his normal rate and shoots substantially worse from the line.  He complains to the referees and whines like he is entitled to the whistle.  The Michigan State game at the Schott was a prime example of this Sullinger.  Sullinger was abused by MSU bigs Adrien Payne and Derrick Nix, neither of which is as talented as the Buckeye sophomore.  Sullinger finished with 17 points and 16 rebounds, but shot just 5-of-15 from the floor and committed an abysmal 10 turnovers. He was also very noticeably complaining to the referees on every possession.
William Buford first showed up in the Kentucky game last year in the tournament and made several more appearances during these “Hyde” games in the ’11-12 campaign.  In fact, many believe he is the captain and main contributor to team Buckeye “Hyde.” During these games, Buford shoots a miserable 21 percent from the field and even worse from 3.  In some cases, he refuses to even show up and becomes non-existent (refer to @ Indiana before taking a horrible last ditch shot for the loss).

Even the Buckeyes’ heart-throb, Aaron Craft, has his woes on team “Hyde”.  Craft tends to dribble with his head down, causing him to turn the ball over at a higher rate (3.5 Turnovers in these games).  It is most likely due to the fact that his “Hyde” teammates have no interest in getting the ball and Sullinger is usually swamped with fouls at this point.  Craft is forced to score himself, something he is not yet efficient at doing, but nevertheless has to in these situations.  He often picks up unnecessary fouls trying to create baskets for his team in these situations.  Although it is nice to see assertive scoring efforts from Craft, it is definitely not in the Buckeyes game plan.

Lenzelle Smith and Deshaun Thomas are the only two players that actually prosper offensively from “Face A”.  Smith averages about four points more per game and Deshaun takes 3.5 more shots than average, but remains as efficient.  However, this duo will not win big games for the Buckeyes alone.
Team “Hyde” had even caused Matta to play the team the tape from the Duke game at the start of the season.  Even Coach longed for the return of Buckeye basketball “Jekyll”. 
Conclusion: “Hyde” is still a solid team, but not strong enough to get past the Sweet 16 or even Gonzaga or West Virginia in the third round, for that matter. “Hyde” will continue to struggle down the stretch, blow big leads, and lose big games.  Buckeye fans have seen “Hyde ” way too many times in the second half of the season and can only hope that “Hyde” does not show up come tourney time.  We can only hope for the Dr. Jekyll Buckeyes..

Ohio state is a #2 seed.  History says #2 seeds only have a 96.2% chance of victory.  Tasting victory a mere 104 times out of 108 opportunities.  Ok, you can smell the sarcasm... but #15 seeds have won 4 times.

#15 Seeds are never feared, they are the unwanted, the untalented, and the overmatched.  But it has happened. 

OSU's chances of losing are slim to none... BUT IT HAS HAPPENED BEFORE.

It's so rare that we can take a stroll down memory lane and see what actually went right for the four lucky number 15's.  You'll learn more about the lucky #15 seeds than you ever needed to know.

Enjoy :)

The Pioneer:

Until something is accomplished, it is thought to be a mere impossibility.  For years radio was considered a wireless morse code transmitter and nothing more.  Yeah, it let the Titanic tell the Carpathia it struck a 'berg, but there were no 9th callers.  Then a little unknown, Edwin Armstrong, came along and showed RCA what is now modern FM radio.  He never made any money off the idea (RCA made a crapload) and Armstrong, much like the second round fate of all #15 seeds, plunged to his death a penniless pathetic has-been.  Here is the Edwin Armstrong version of the #15 seeds.

1991: (15) Richmond 73, (2) Syracuse 69

Dick Tarrant's Richmond Spiders were famous giant killers: in 1984, Richmond downed Charles Barkley and Auburn; four years later, defending champ Indiana got caught up in their web. The '91 upset of Syracuse, however, was Richmond's greatest hit. The Spiders became the first 15-seed to down a number two seed. More importantly, it was the first year that CBS had the rights to the opening round of the tournament. Richmond shocked the world, in prime time, on network television, and CBS has paid the NCAA billions to keep every game on its airwaves since.

The CopyCats:

Richmond set the tone for the nobodies, it was only a matter of time before other unrecognizable craps refused to go down without a fight (until the 2nd round).  Speaking of crap, since when did/does Santa Clara have a basketball team?

And here's a nice Jeopardy question: This state contains the campus of Coppin State.  What is Maryland?  Coppin State not only won, but by a baker's dozen.  A feat so amazing, you get to see their picture... ehh

1993: (15) Santa Clara 64, (2) Arizona 61

In one of the biggest upsets since the National Collegiate Athletic Association basketball tournament began seeding its teams in 1979, unranked and unheralded Santa Clara stunned Arizona, 64-61, tonight in the first round of the West Regional.

The Broncos (19-11), champions of the West Coast Conference and seeded 15th among the regional's 16 teams, fell behind by 13 points in the second half before mounting an improbable comeback. It was only the second time that a 15th-seeded team had won a game since the tournament field was expanded to 64 teams in 1985.

1997: (15) Coppin State 78, (2) South Carolina 65

No tradition, no chance. Coppin State never had won a game in the NCAA tournament
and, with a first-round pairing against mighty South Carolina, it didn't look like that was about to change.

Do you believe in miracles?

This game wasn't expected to be close, and it wasn't.

``We didn't even know it was South Carolina out there,'' said Reggie Welch, who had 15 rebounds as the Eagles held a 41-30 rebounding edge. ``We kept on getting confidence, and before you knew it, we were up. We took it five minutes at a time — there's five minutes, there's five more.''  Before they knew it, the Gamecocks' time was up, eliminated by a team whose last previous game against a big-name Division I team was a 36-point loss at Illinois.

Last in the Lineage:

It's been a while since a #2 seed looked like a number two.  I was a freshman at tOSU getting free drinks at Quarters because my 6'4" floormate Omar was the bouncer.  Wait, was that really 11 years ago?  Now I'm living in L.A., married to a beach blonde, addicted to rogaine, Quarters is now the site of Buffalo Wild Wings, and Steve Belasari is probably their head chef.  Anyway, the last time this happened, kids still knew what 'Please be kind, rewind' meant.

2001: (15) Hampton 58, (2) Iowa State 57

Some homecoming for Larry Eustachy. His team came out flat, the fans cheered for his opponent and Iowa State became another first-round upset victim.

Tarvis Williams flipped in a 4-footer in the lane with 6.9 seconds remaining as 15th-seeded Hampton stunned second-seeded Iowa State 58-57 in the NCAA West Region on Thursday night.

Williams took a feed from Marseilles Brown and moved the Pirates (25-6) into tournament history as the fourth 15th seed to beat a No. 2 seed since the tournament expanded to 16 seeds per region in 1985.

"Quite clearly, 11W has filled an unmet need for Buckeyes fans by abandoning milquetoast, sanitized commentary for real talk without forsaking quality or sanity"

That line echos in my head ... and like the day that Howard Stern hangs up his headphones and stops doing his live show, I cannot shake the thought of how I might feel when 11W closes up shop or something forces a change that will negatively impact what it is today.  I've not always been a registered forum troll but I have been reading the site long enough to have a great fondness for the unique angle that 11W and their contributing staff present to the interweb-surfing Buckeye Nation.  With requisite homage paid to said platform, on to the challenge.

For every Ohio State victory in this year's NCAA Basketball tournament, I will donate up to $100 per win.  When Coach Matta and team puts a beating on Loyola University Thursday, I donate.  Then again this weekend, I donate.  God forbid the team runs the table and bring home all the fake ribbons and the title, I drop up to six hundred in all.

What is this "up to" nonsense?

Where's the challenge if I just dish out a c-note for every win?  That is where you come in.  You donate a buck for each win, I donate a buck for each win.  You donate ten, I donate ten.  Raise your hand right now if you see a patten.  I will total up everyone's donations and match that amount for up to $100 each game.  If you would like to participate, all you have to do is make your donation and in the MEMO field say BUCKEYEFANATIC, March Madness Challenge or something equally as clever.

If you need any convincing, you should review the Top 10 Reasons to Respect the Basement and in the process, learn how you can play the most epic April Fool's Joke on our neighbor to the north.  Je te verrais plus tard Michigan!

EDITED:  forgot the link to scUM April Fool's joke.

The first round matchups for schools that are seeded #1 or #2 tend to give us a glimpse at a smaller school that may not be on our radar for the other eleven months out of the year, and Ohio State’s game against the Loyola (MD) Greyhounds on Friday night is no exception.  Unless you’re a diehard MAAC fan, a relative of a student, alumnus, or faculty member, or just have a passion for all things Maryland, I’m assuming you’re like me and need some more information about the Greyhounds.

Loyola University (Maryland) is located in Baltimore, was founded in 1852, and has a student population of just under 4000.  To my knowledge, this will be just the Greyhounds’ second appearance in the Big Dance (1994), so with nothing to lose, they aren’t simply arriving in Pittsburgh on Thursday night to shake hands and play dead.  Loyola is coming off of a four game win streak, including a solid run through the MAAC Tournament.  They may need to work through the rust, as they won’t have played a game for ten full days before OSU meets them this week.

Instead of more vague facts about Loyola (Ex. – You could fit the capacity crowd from a Greyhounds’ home game inside of Value City Arena approximately nine times over), Scarlet and Game is going to give you our best breakdown of the on-court matchups that you’ll see in this game.

#1 Guard (RJ Williams vs. Aaron Craft)

RJ Williams (#12, 5’8″, 155 lbs) will have the unenviable task of bringing the ball up the court for the Greyhounds and going up against the best on-ball defender in the country, Aaron Craft.  To be fair, that would be a tall order for any point guard in the nation, as Craft has been able to cause the best to look silly at times.  Case in point, Trey Burke, the Big Ten’s Co-Freshman of the Year, averages 2.8 turnovers per game, but in three meetings with Craft, has turned the ball over sixteen times.  What makes this individual matchup even more lopsided in OSU’s favor is the six inch height advantage that OSU’s resident Rubik’s cube expert will have over Williams.

I never thought I’d type this sentence, but Craft is averaging twice as many points per game as Williams (8.6 to 4 ppg).  In fact, Aaron has RJ topped in nearly every significant category, although Williams has been better in protecting the ball than Craft, averaging only 1.5 turnovers per game.  I’m going to go out on a pretty sturdy limb, however, and predict that Williams will at least double that on Thursday.  This battle, without a doubt, belongs to OSU’s First Team Academic All-American, Aaron Craft.

#2 Guard (Dylon Cormier/Justin Drummond vs. Lenzelle Smith, Jr.)

Dylon Cormier (#3, 6’2″, 176 lbs) has been inconsistent in his scoring for the Greyhounds lately, but will most likely have to be a factor if the team wants to scare Ohio State on Thursday.  Cormier will have the scoring advantage over Lenzelle Smith, Jr., but that shouldn’t come as a biggest surprise, since LSJ only puts up six points on about five shots per outing.  Dylon may be in for a bit of a shock, however, as Lenzelle is not your typical #2 guard.  Many would argue that, despite being two inches shorted than Buford, Smith is actually the #3 guard/small forward of the group.

Smith Jr., like most Matta system starters, plays a very aggressive on-ball defense, and his reach and two inch height advantage, as well as the 25 pounds that he has on Cormier, could reduce this Loyola guard’s output down from 13.1 ppg.  Don’t be surprised to see Justin Drummond (#2) in this position too, as he gets almost 25 minutes on the court, and offers a bit more size (6’4″, 190 lbs).  Either way, I think that Drummond + Cormier will combine for between 20 and 25 points, compared to Smith Jr.’s six to ten.  This will probably be the Greyhounds’ most successful position on Thursday, so I’ll make some Baltimore natives happy and give them the edge on this one.

#3 Guard (Robert Olson vs. William Buford)

This matchup will be interesting to see, as it will have the best deep ball shooter from Loyola going heads up against Ohio State’s sharpshooter, William Buford.  Robert Olson (#25, 6’4″, 191 lbs) averages just 11.2 points per game, but has attempted and made more three pointers than any other Greyhound baller on the roster.  His three-ball shooting percentage is just over 44%, but he has made it easy to compare to Buford in this category, as both have amazingly attempted the same amount of threes this season (147).  Of those 147, Olson has made 13 more than Buford, so it’s obvious that he should be a major concern.  If there is one aspect of the game that quickly evens out a #2 versus #15 matchup, it’s having a hot shooter from behind the arc.

William Buford has been streaky for most of his senior season, but with all due respect to Olson, Willy B has been streaky against some of the best teams in the country.  Olson’s four point performance against the Marist Red Foxes, by comparison, makes Buford’s four point showing against #1 seed Michigan State back in February seem a bit easier to swallow.  Advantage = William Buford.

#4 Forward (Erik Etherly vs. Deshaun Thomas)

For yet another game, Deshaun Thomas will be lined up against a team’s best scoring threat.  Erik Etherly (#24, 6’7″, 219 lbs) is averaging 13.5 points per performance, and has the ability to bang underneath and pop out for a mid-range jumper.  Etherly also leads his team in rebounding, with just under eight boards per game, but I’m guessing that he has not faced too many offensive rebounding freaks like Thomas in his career.  On top of that, it’s tough to tell if Etherly is 100% healthy, due to back related issues from carrying his team through the MAAC Tournament.

Although both players will line up equal in height, Thomas’ athletic ability should give him the advantage in this matchup.  On top of that, the “X Factor” has really progressed on both ends of the court in the second half of the season, and will likely test Etherly’s defensive talents early and often.  In this battle of scorers, I have to lean towards Indiana’s third leading all-time scorer in high school history, Deshaun Thomas.

#5 Forward (Shane Walker vs. Jared Sullinger)

Set up anyone against Sullinger in the paint, and few will walk away with better numbers than this Northland High School grad.  Give him someone who is only averaging six rebounds per game in a mid-major conference, and Jared should eat him alive.  Compound that with a loss in the Big Ten Tournament’s final game, one that obviously angered OSU’s All-American, and you have a recipe for a first round party in the paint.

Sullinger has the advantage in points, rebounds, weight, booty, and talent.  Other than that, this should be a good matchup.  I tried to hold back on this one and be fair, but if you saw the look on Jared’s face after the loss to Michigan State on Sunday, then you know that Shane Walker (#5, 6'10", 222 lbs) is in for a rude awakening at approximately 9:50pm on Thursday night.  Advantage = Sullinger.

Overall Prediction: Obviously, based on the matchups above, I am giving this one to the Buckeyes.  There have certainly been easier #15 seeds to go against, and Loyola worries me a bit, but the Bucks’ talent should prevail in this one.

OSU  84 – Loyola (MD) 65

Follow me on Twitter @ScarletandGame or @AJBorland

When the dust had settled last month and the 2012 recruiting classes had been established, it was clear that Ohio State and M*chigan had separated themselves from the rest of the Big Ten.  Based on Scout.com’s rankings, OSU and UM finished 3rd and 4th in the country, respectively, and the next closest B1G team was Michigan State at #38.  The rankings can prove to be slightly inaccurate as the years progress and players improve or peak, but it has been proven that the better your recruits, the better your chances of winning it all.  As Ron Burgundy said, “It’s science.”

Urban Meyer has taken some heat from other Big Ten babies coaches about his recruiting style, but without breaking any known rules or NCAA regulations, he was able to transform Ohio State’s 2012 class from an unranked unit, into one of the top classes in the country in just a matter of weeks.  Brady Hoke, similarly, was able to bring in M*chigan’s best recruiting class since the now overrated class of 2005, which at the time was ranked #2 in the nation.  Both coaches bring a tremendous amount of passion and love for their sport and school not only to the sidelines, but to the recruiting game as well.  It may be tough to compare their style of recruiting for the ’12 class, as Urban was on an abbreviated schedule and hit the high schools full force after his hiring, while Hoke was busy preparing his team for its first BCS game in roughly 100 years (that might not be factual).

Recruiting for next year’s 2013 class, on the other hand, is already underway, and has allowed us to see how these coaches attack the recruiting scene when given time to prepare and develop a strategy.  In my opinion, both are off to a great start, but they are also extremely different in their approaches to building their team and reeling in their players.  To make a comparison in styles, Urban Meyer appears to be using a fishing pole, while Hoke has thrown a net into the waters.  As I’ve taken a more in depth look at each coach’s current offers, a few interesting things have jumped out at me.

Urban Meyer

Meyer has verbalized offers to approximately 73 high school juniors, landing 5 of them so far.  Of his offers that are currently on the table, 4 of them have verbally committed to TSUN (Logan Tuley-Tillman, Dymonte Thomas, Wyatt Shallman, and Chris Fox).  That foursome consists of 2 offensive tackles, a fullback, and a safety from Ohio.  On the other side of the coin, UM had offered scholarships to 4 of OSU’s 5 commits, as well.

At this time, OSU’s 5 total commits out of this group of 73 include 4 Ohio natives, including the top in-state prospect at offensive line, cornerback, defensive line, and athlete.  The only player that has given his verbal from outside of Ohio is currently rated by Rivals.com as the top player in the state of New Jersey.  Despite 3 of our first 5 commits being on the defensive side of the ball, Meyer has only targeted 25 defenders so far, and the class will likely be leaning heavily toward the offense when it is said and done.

As you’ll see, both coaches’ last job is still very much a part of their current recruiting, as they are attempting to strike the same areas they once did while the waters are still hot luke warm.  Meyer has insisted that he will recruit the top players within Ohio’s borders, and his current commitments would certainly back that up, but you may be surprised to learn that Ohio isn’t where his search has directed him the most.  He and his staff have offered 10 players from Ohio, but have unloaded 14 offers to high schoolers in the Sunshine State (That’s Florida, not Colorado, for any Old School fans).  Obviously, Meyer feels that his 2 National Championships that he brought to the great retirement state might land him some of their top talents, and who can blame him?

Beyond Ohio and Florida, Urban has cast his line in a few specific locations multiple times, namely Texas (7), Georgia (6), New Jersey (6), and North Carolina (5).  From there, he has mostly thrown out individual scholarships to athletes in the midwestern states.  Ohio’s offers are extremely well balanced by position, but if you do a quick check through the remaining offers, it’s clear that Meyer is significantly biased towards Florida for his skill positions.  In fact, of his 14 Florida offers, 8 of them play either RB or WR.

In comparison to TSUN, Meyer has been fairly tight with his offers, but I would expect more to be extended over the summer, as the coaches get a chance to scout players at camps.  No matter where they come from or when they commit, the chances are Meyer’s recruits will continue to be highly ranked, seeing as 66 of the 73 offers made so far have been to players listed in ESPN’s Project Top 150.

Brady Hoke    

Brady Hoke and his staff have offered roughly 30 more players a scholarship than OSU’s coaching staff.  That is 40% more offers than their rivals down south, which is a fairly staggering number when comparing schools that will essentially be bringing in the same number of players.  M*chigan will most likely have a few more scholarships to offer, thanks to Tattoogate and a small senior class for OSU, but this clearly doesn’t account for the difference in the number of offers.

Hoke is off to a hot start, due in large part to his aggressive strategy thus far.  He has certainly cast a wide net out early and been able to bring in a total of 14 players already.  Of his 14 commits, 4 turned down OSU offers to go to Ann Arbor.  The other 10, including 4 players from the state of Ohio, had not received an offer to come to Columbus in the fall of 2013.  10 of TSUN’s current commitments will be lined up on the offensive side of the ball, and they continue to exit the RichRod era and join the Hoke Era by bringing in more top offensive line recruits.  Hoke’s top two states, commitment-wise, are Ohio and M*chigan, tying with 5 each.  After that, he has a pair from Illinios, and individuals from Colorado and Pennsylvania.

Similar to Urban, Brady has not left his San Diego State (pronounced “Whale’s Vagina”) coaching/recruiting roots in the past.  He has extended offers to 9 players in the state of California, compared to just 1 by Urban Meyer and OSU.  On the other hand, whereas Meyer prefers the players in Florida, Hoke has only offered 3 players from the Jeb Bush state, but has a thing for the players in Texas.  I’m assuming this has more to do with him being able to swing by the Big Texan Steak Ranch and try the 72 ounce steak challenge, than the actual players, but I digress.  Regardless of the motive behind it, Hoke has handed out 12 offers to Texans.  Outside of Ohio (15 offers), Texas (12), and California (9), Hoke has continued tossing out scholarship offers like Mardi Gras candy.  He has at least 6 offers out to players in M*chigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Illinois and Virginia.

Sure, this is a lot of information to digest and take in, when all you really want to know is who OSU gets compared to who M*chigan gets, but I can’t get enough of this recruiting stuff!  To wrap it all up, Hoke has extended more scholarship offers, to date, than Michigan State and Wisconsin combined.  It’s tough to argue his strategy, though, seeing as he’s landed 14 players, including 11 potential Top 150 prospects (MSU and Wisconsin have 1 Top 150 player right now, combined).  Meyer, on the other hand, has been a bit more selective in his recruiting approach for 2013, but is still shooting 100% in bringing in Top 150 players.  If the 2012 and 2013 classes are any indication, this rivalry is only going to get better.

Follow me on Twitter @AJBorland or @ScarletandGame

Somebody please explain to me why this guy doesn't play? He adds length to the rotation at 6'8, He shoots the lights out from three point range, and he's thick enough at 225 pounds to help sully rebound underneath! It can't be a defensive problem.... anyone ever see Deshaun Thomas play defense? (who by the way is my favorite player) and it would be pretty easy to go offense defense with this guy and Lenzelle Smith! It seems like Kentucky and some of the other big name programs have no problem putting in their highly touted freshman talent and grooming them into a dominating (ugly if I might add) basketball team! What gives?

If you're a current business school student at the Ohio State Unversity Fisher College of Business and you are interested in a very flexible and fun internship with Eleven Warriors, log into FisherConnect and search for Job 19364.

All of the information on the internship that you need is contained in the job posting on FisherConnect, as only current Fisher students (undergraduate and graduate) are being considered. Having a marketing concentration a plus; loving the Buckeyes with an unhealthy proportion of your being is required.

Applications will be taken exclusively through the resume drop via Fisher.

Full disclosure: You will have to report to Ramzy (who has an MBA, so yes - there will be relevant and applicable bourbon business learnings). Still, apply at your own risk.

So, I'm a displaced Buckeye living in Los Angeles... Weather nice, beach view is nice, but damn do I miss CFB.

Anyway, heard on local Los Angeles sports radio that the same Yahoo! sports investigators that brought down Tressel are going public tomorrow with a story to bring down UCLA basketball.  It involves violations and drug abuse.

This may start a new standard for Ahtletic Directors everywhere: if Yahoo! Sports is on your campus... start shreddin' those file cabinets (or deletin' them emails)

Maybe, it's all wrong.  Maybe you all knew and I'm the last one to know.  Maybe I'm right...  Remember, before these things make the press, they make the rumor mill