Eleven Warriors

What Does it Mean to be a "Fan"?

This guy is a real Cavs fan.

Now that I have lured you in with a funny picture, I have a deeper question that has been on my mind (the title does kind of give it away). Above my desk at work I have various posters and pennants of my favorite teams, Cleveland Cavaliers included. When someone new walks near my desk and notices said posters, they almost always ask "Are you still a Cavs fan?" I was so surprised by this the first time it was asked that I almost didn't know what to say. Of course I am, why wouldn't I be a Cavs fan? "Well, Lebron is gone and they are going to be pretty bad now" is the response I most often get when I defend my choice of NBA teams (I PROMISE, this is not an article about Lebron, trust me).

By now, I get pretty annoyed when somebody asks me that question. I do not have a bunch of Lebron posters on that wall to indicate that he is my favorite player (there are no Lebron images allowed in that office). In fact, there are exactly zero player-specific pictures, just images and logos of the teams. This has got me to thinking, does the average, casual sports fan follow teams, or follow players?

 

I used to think that people had favorite teams, that they were somehow connected to, and that you cheered for the players on that team because, well, they were on that team. It never really occurred to me that it was the exact opposite for some people, that they had favorite players and they cheered for the team those athletes just happened to be playing for at any given time. I grew up watching the Indians win division title after division title, and playoff series after playoff series, only to come up short on the biggest stage (twice). There were players on those teams that I loved to watch play, that I idolized as a young boy. As it goes in sports, the team had to rebuild eventually, and all of those players eventually left. But I didn't become a Phillies fan because Jim Thome went there, or an Atlanta Braves fan because Kenny Lofton got traded. It was always about (cliché warning) the name on the front of the jersey, not the name on the back.

 

The same goes for the Cavs. When the team moved Dajuan Wagner Ricky Davis Luke Jackson ....

 

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originally posted on Inside The Shoe

Ohio State head football coach Jim Tressel notched his 99th win last Saturday against Illinois. That means that Ohio State's next victory (lookin' at you, Indiana) will make The Senator only the 3rd coach in Buckeye history to reach the 100 win milestone, joining Woody Hayes and John Cooper as the only other members of that club. Tressel has his fans and detractors, but nobody can say he has not been successful during his tenure. Whether you are in love with Tressel-ball (as I am) or you cringe when you see the "Run, Run, Pass" offense that is so often employed by Ohio State, Jim Tressel is approaching legendary status as an Ohio State coach, and I think it is time to take a look back on his career and some of his accomplishments, and to show some appreciation for the man that reminded us what it is like to beat Michigan.

John Cooper was let go after a loss in the Outback Bowl to an unranked South Carolina team following the 2000 season, and the search for the next coach of this storied program began. If memory serves me correctly, there were two names that were being talked about as final candidates; Tressel, and Minnesota Golden Gophers coach Glen Mason (Tressel detractors, look me in the eyes and say you would rather have hired Mason). Mason had some success with the Gophers, but Tressel had been leading an elite 1-AA team, winning 4 National Titles and losing the title game twice in 12 years. People were skeptical about whether he could succeed at the highest level in college sports, at a program that demanded nothing but the best. However, after all butguaranteeing a victory over scUM that year, he instantly won over the hearts of Buckeye fans everywhere.

After losing in an Outback Bowl rematch with the Gamecocks his first year, the epic run that we are currently in the midsts of began. A championship that nobodyexpected his second year left many Ohio State fans with memories of a lifetime. He followed that performance with a Fiesta Bowl win over a very talented Kansas State team led by Bill Schneider. The next season was Tress's only down year with Ohio State, as the team finished tied for 5th in the Big Ten, but still beat Oklahoma State in the Alamo Bowl, and left fans with hope for the next season, which ended with stomping of Notre Dame and Brady Quinn in the Fiesta Bowl. The 2006 version of Ohio State football was maybe the most talented team ever, but they were run off the field by Florida.

Another championship game failure followed, although I don't blame Tressel, or even any

of the players (except Austin Spitler) for that game. Ohio State was very good that year, but there was some drop off after losing Troy Smith (amongst others) and a loss in the second to last game against Illinois dropped the Buckeyes to 7th in the BCS with only two weeks left in the season, plus conference championship games. Well wouldn't you know it, in the coming weeks Oregon, Oklahoma, Arizona State, LSU, Kansas, West Virginia, and Missouri all lost while ranked ahead of us in the BCS, vaulting the Buckeyes back into first place. Had either Missouri or West Virginia won their last game, I am sure Ohio State would have been victorious in the BCS Title Game. But the way it worked out, a Buckeye team that should have been in the Rose Bowl was placed in the biggest game of them all because of the incompetencies of others (namely Rich Rod's West Virginia team. Yes, my hate for him began all the way back here).

This is when people really started dogging on Ohio State, and especially Tressel. But the team bounced back with a strong next season and a very, very good showing against heavy favorite Texas in the Fiesta Bowl (Tempe loves them some Buckeyes). Last year, the Scarlet and Gray trounced the fastest team ever (if you listen to Mark May) in the Rose Bowl, setting up another run at the Championship, which the team is still in position to play for.

I don't just admire Coach Tressel for his on the field accomplishments, either. As the Wall Street Journal points out, he teaches a class at Ohio State, during football season. The class is aimed at teaching students how to become coaches. It is not just a class for football players to get an easy 'A'. He requires people taking his class to attend high school practices in the area,

preparing scouting reports, and design a work out regimen for a specific position. Tressel is also very active with charities, supporting members of the military, Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Central Ohio, and many others.  To learn more about Coach Tressel and his charities, visit his website, www.coachtressel.com.

And, as far as his coaching record is concerned, he currently boasts a 99-21 record at Ohio State, with a 60-13 Big Ten record and 5 wins against 4 losses in bowl games (4-3 in BCS games). Most importantly, he is 8-1 against Michigan, with 6 straight wins. At 57, he has some years left in him, too.

Whether it is his play calling that drives up mad, his refusal to let young, talented players on the field over veterans, or his ability to give half hour press conferences and leave you more confused than you were before they started, James Patrick Tressel is an Ohio boy through and through, whose dream job was the lead this team onto the field. He has done so with more success than other coach in history save one, and for that (no matter if you love him or want him gone) he deserves your gratitude. Thank you, Jim Tressel, for you dedication to the Ohio State football team, to the University, and to the surrounding community. Here's hoping you get that next championship (or two).

Nobody wants it more than you, Jim.

Today's profile will be about my sleeper pick for most important player in this recruiting class, Mr. Aaron Craft. For those of you who don't know, Aaron Craft is a 6'2", 190 pound point guard out of Findaly, OH. Yes, that is correct, I said point guard. And that is exactly what has me so excited about seeing him play. Ohio State has not had a true point guard since the days of Jamar Butler (no, P.J. Hill doesn't count). Rumors had Lenzelle Smith ahead of Craft at the point, but Smith is suffering from a wrist injury, and may miss the start of the season. While that is unfortunate, Smith is described as a combo guard, and Craft a true point guard. 

As I said, it has been some time since a true point guard has graced the floors of Value City Arena. Not to take anything at all away from Evan Turner. The man was vital to the success of the team last year (and the year before), but even the most biased Buckeye fan has to admit that at times ball-handling was not his strength. One must wonder if having a player that could have brought the ball up the floor and let Turner roam free would have made the offense more explosive. A local professional team, once led by a traitorous, cowardly quitter recently suffered the same problem; The most talented offensive player on the court, the one you want to always be able to pass it to in order to get out of trouble, already had the ball in his hand 90% of the time. 

Turner's biggest strength, in my opinion, was his ability to drive past whoever was guarding him, collapse the defense, and pass to an open or cutting teammate. The problem with this (and I know I am nit-picking) is that you had the best player on your team giving up the ball. Now, let your minds wander, and envision what it would be like to have a pure passer/distributor handling the ball, with Deibler, Buford, Lighty, and Sullinger roaming the court. This allows the most talented player (be it Sully or Buford or whoever you feel it is) to be given the ball instead of giving it up. Follow? 

Anyway, so I love point guards. Aaron averaged 26.7 points, 7.7 boards, and 6.5 assists per game his senior year at Liberty Benton, connecting on 43% of his three point attempts and 85% of his free throws. He also played quarterback and free safety for the football team (basketball translation: Court Vision). His ESPN recruiting write up praises not only his passing skills, but his on the ball defense as well. His stats seem to back that up, as he recorded 3.2 steals per game. Class valedictorian, he originally committed to Tennessee. A picture of him and two other recruits at Bruce Pearls house when Craft was a junior was a major piece of incriminating evidence in the ongoing NCAA investigation into that program (You will get no sympathy from me, Bruce Pearl!). 

To further drill home how important having a pure distributor is, especially in the NCAA Tournament, let's look some previous Tourny Champs. Last season, Duke had Jon Scheyer. Scheyer was not the best player on the team, but he played one position: point guard. A four year starter, he was a competent scorer and outside shooter who had an Assist to Turnover ratio greater than 3.0 his senior year. Before that, North Carolina won with Ty Lawson at the helm. Anyone care to argue Ty Lawson was not an exceptional college point guard? Didn't think so. Year before that, Kansas had Mario Chalmers, and their opponent, Memphis, had Derrick Rose. I know that all those teams had a lot of other talent, but there are always teams that have loads of talent and a lot of different positions (see: Ohio State, last season). The team that goes all the way and wins the Championship, however, always has a solid, pure point guard running the show. 

Looking for a video on Aaron Craft? Look no further: we've got you covered. The video is not so much a highlight video, but listen to him give his interview around the 0:40 mark. Is it wrong to be this excited about a guy who could either be a starter or be the 3rd man off the bench? Either way, with every player profile I write, I get more excited for the havoc this team is about to rain down on the rest of the Big Ten. As always, your questions and comments are greatly appreciated. Go Buckeyes.

It has been awhile, but the next installment of our series detailing Ohio State's new additions to the basketball team is finally up. Before I get into this article, I do want to mention that Ohio State already has three commits for the 2011. Since these guys are just beginning their senior seasons in high school, I won't go into their stats. But I will say this: All three players (LaQuinton Ross, Shannon Scott, and Sam Thompson) are 4 Star, ESPNU 100 recruits.

Thad Matta is burning up the recruiting trails again, and legally (looking at you, Calipari). The guy is simply one of the top coaches in the country, and I don't think I would take anybody over him right now. I know what argument some fans will make..."John Calipari has vacated more Final Fours than most coaches will ever get to." This is true, and call me old fashioned, but I love a guy who runs a clean program and does nothing but win. It wasn't long ago that Jim O'brien ran this program into the ground, committed some violations himself, and then sued the school. So appreciate Coach Matta while he is here.

On to today's target, Deshaun Thomas. Thomas is the second highest rated recruit in this class behind Jared Sullinger. He is a McDonald's All American, a 5 Star ESPNU Top 100 player, and 12th overall ranked recruit in the country. Hailing from Fort Wayne, IN, Thomas spurned the likes of Indiana, Purdue, Michigan State, and Duke to come and play for the Buckeyes. Bottom line: While everyone in this class will be overlooked by Sullinger, Deshaun Thomas would be a starter on all but maybe 10 teams in the country. One of those 10 teams happens to be the Buckeyes, however, as they return all but one starter from last year and bring the #2 overall recruiting class.
 

Soon to be Buckeye. 
 

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This article was written by, and is still posted on, Inside The Shoe.

When Ohio State didn't show up against Florida in the National Championship game a few years back, experts and pundits everywhere lambasted the Big Ten's lack of speed. Apparently they thought that all 11 Big Ten schools only recruited big, slow, Midwestern farm boys so they could have an offense that runs up the middle and gains 3 yards at a time (and I say that only half jokingly as that appears to be what many people actually believed, and what Mark May still believes. Wow Mark May, classy). Even after all the big games flops in the past 3-4 years, I never felt Ohio State lost because of lack of speed. It felt that was a completely unintelligent analysis of what was occurring on the football field. After listening to Desmond Howard and Mark May emphatically pick Miami to win yesterday, with both citing Miami's speed as a problem for the oh-so-slow Buckeyes, I can't help but do my part to address and correct the common misconception that Ohio State, and the rest of the Big Ten, is simply too slow to compete with the SEC and other big name schools from the south.

First order of business: Prove the Big Ten has the same level of individual talent that the SEC, and southern "speed" schools in general, have. There is a very simple way to do this. I assume we can all agree that while the NFL often times drafts on future potential (resulting in busts), they do not usually draft players who simply do not have the physical tools needed to be successful at that level, i.e. quarterbacks who just have inherently weak or injury prone arms, or skill position players that are just too slow. Would it then surprise you to learn that Ohio State has produced the third most NFL draft picks of any school of all time, with 394? Would it surprise you further to see Michigan with the fifth most picks in history, or Penn State sitting at eighth? If that still does not surprise you, you are most likely a Big Ten fan. But even staunch Big Ten school supporters would not guess that Michigan State is 13th, Purdue is 18th, and Minnesota is 21st. The first SEC school does not show up on that list until seventh, and it is Tennessee. Florida is 11th, and Alabama is tied with Michigan State at 13th. To play devil's advocate, for a moment: These are historical lists. The Big Ten was dominate in the 50's and 60's, but recently, the SEC has been the best conference.
 

 

 

Well that comment won't get much argument from me. The SEC has dominated the BCS as of late, winning the last four national championships. But I am not talking about team accomplishments right now, that will happen in a couple of paragraphs. Rather, I am discussing whether Big Ten schools have the individual talent to match up with southern schools. And I would tend to agree that historical data is not the best way to prove that. So let's look at the NFL talent produced in the last decade only. Ohio State leads the way with 70 players drafted since 1999. That includes a record (which has since been tied) of 14 in one draft in 2004 . Again, to reiterate: In the past 10 years, Ohio State has had more players drafted by the NFL than Florida (55), Georgia (56), LSU (46), Tennessee (59), USC (56), and Miami, FL (65). Other Big Ten schools that rank high in the past decade include Michigan (48), Wisconsin (43), Purdue (32), Iowa (31), and future Big Ten member Nebraska (45). So the SEC has sent more players to the NFL recently than most of the Big Ten (albeit not by very much). But that is to be expected when you win four championships in a row. No other school has had as much success getting players to the NFL than the Buckeyes recently. Devil's advocate again: Sure, Ohio State has sent tons of players to the NFL recently, as has much of the Big Ten. But those are lineman and kickers, not skill position players.
 

 

That is a very astute observation. Big Ten schools do send many lineman and special teams players to the NFL. But Ohio State currently has 10 defensive backs and 7 wide receivers playing at the highest level. Those players include former Pro Bowl and former highest paid defensive player in history Nate Clements, Pro Bowler Antoine Winfield, Chris Gamble (with 24 career interceptions in only 6 years) and receivers Joey Galloway, Michael Jenkins, Anthony Gonzalez and Santonio Holmes. All players that have excelled at skill positions in the NFL.
 

 

Now that your brain is flooded with information about the high level of individual talent that has resided and currently resides in the Big Ten, I ask you this: Why has a league with so much talent, especially at skill positions, struggled against teams who boast speed as their biggest advantage? My answer to this question lies in schemes that are being run by all schools involved.

Gulp

 

 

Let's look at the games that helped spread the idea that Big Ten schools are slow. Ohio State was beaten handily by Florida, LSU, and USC in big non conference games (the second USC game and the Texas bowl game were close, great games that could have gone either way). The Ohio State defense was a 4-3 base, going to a nickel look on passing downs. This worked great for a long time. But against Florida, LSU and USC, it failed miserably. Florida ran a spread, and a great one. When they put multiple receiver sets in, Ohio State would go to the nickel or even dime packages. However, Florida had a running quarterback in Tebow, a fairly mobile quarterback in Chris Leak, and Percy Harvin, who could line up out wide or as a running back. Nickel and dime packages left the defense vulnerable to the run, which Tebow, Harvin, and Leak were able to take advantage of. After they were able to break some big plays, the defense had t0 guard against the pass while watching of scrambles by the backs. So in defenses with extra defensive backs, they were burned against the run. When stacking the box against the run, they were burned by the pass. Similar stories occur against LSU and USC (although USC didn't have a very mobile quarterback, the depth and talent they had at receiver and running back still made the offense very dynamic).
 

 

Fast forward to today, and the defense has adjusted by adding the Star position. The Star, for those that don't know, is a linebacker-safety hybrid, someone who can cover receivers while still being able to take on blockers and help stuff the run. Jermale Hines filled this role well, and now Tyler Moeller is taking it to a new level. The Star gives Ohio State Defensive Coordinator Jim Heacock more flexibility in what packages he calls and what personnel he puts on the field. The results have been nothing short of remarkable. Against Oregon, one of the country's best offenses last year, Ohio State was not a popular pick going into the game. Well, one of the country's best offenses got shut down in that game by a defense that was supposedly too slow. Next big game, against Miami, another team with lots of firepower on offense and defense. Their offense, too, was very limited. Most of their yards came after Ohio State had gone up by three scores and let them drive the field while melting valuable time of the clock in the fourth quarter, securing the win Tresselball style. While I won't give all the credit just to developing the Star position (Wisconsin also took it to Miami in the Champs Sports Bowl last year), it shows the creativity of the staff to adjust, and to get results.
 

See, we're not that bad!

 

 

Finally, one last test: head to head match ups. Per the Big Ten website, not including last season, over the last 5 year period and 10 year period, the Big Ten has played more bowl games against the SEC than any other conference. Over the last 10 years, the two powerhouse conferences have met 27 times in the post season, with the SEC holding a slight 14-13 edge. Over the last 5 years, the conferences have met in 13 bowl game, with a 7-6 advantage for the Big Ten. Including last season, two more bowl games pitted Big Ten against SEC; the Outback and Capital One Bowl, respectively. Auburn beat Northwestern in the Outback Bowl in overtime, and Penn State beat LSU in the Capital One Bowl. That means that over the last 6 years, the Big Ten holds an 8-7 advantage in head to head bowl games against the SEC, and over the lat 11 years the SEC has the edge 15-14. Not quite as lopsided as some major sports networks would have you believe.

 

***Interesting bonus stat: The SEC schools that have won the last 4 championships are coached by Les Miles, Urban Meyer, and Nick Saban. Miles was an assistant at Michigan for several years, Meyer was a graduate assistant at Ohio State, and Saban was head coach at Michigan State. You are welcome, SEC.***

 

The biggest conclusion I draw from this is that, while the best team in the SEC has been the best team in the country in the past 4 years, from top to bottom the Big Ten is right there with the SEC, and other conferences top teams are close to their top teams as well. Speed is not unique to southern schools, and the best coaches don't all reside and didn't all get started in the SEC, either. Hopefully, no matter what conference or team you root for, this article has left you better informed than when you arrived. Thanks for reading, I know it was lengthy, but it was something I have wanted to write/research for some time. Any thoughts, comments, questions, or concerns?