Eleven Warriors

Yesterday, Alex took a look at how the 2010 team, with the stellar recruiting class on the way, might stack up and while things look promising long-term, the united projected to take the court this winter should be pretty damn good in their own right.

Before we get into what the lineup might look like, let's try to establish some assumptions about who is staying and who is leaving early. Mullens is gone -- you can argue with whether he's ready or not all day, but we can't fault him for wanting to take care of his family. Though Matta thinks an extra year could be worth as much as $8 million and Rick Pitino seems to agree, I would be shocked if didn't enter the draft.

While BJ may get drafted on talent alone, Evan Turner seems to be the opposite. Already accomplished, having just come off a sophomore season in which he contended for Big Ten POY honors, he would likely be a lottery pick if he elected to enter the NBA draft.

A few weeks ago, news broke that he was returning for his junior season and many of you were rightfully skeptical. Since then, he's done nothing but reiterate that, including immediately after the loss to Siena. There's still the tiniest of lingering doubts, but we're counting him back.

Same for William Buford. He has a shot you want to make love to, but until he learns to play defense and handle the ball a little better, he'll be shredding nets in Columbus instead of the NBA.

So, assuming the departure of Mullens and the return of Turner and Buford, the 2009 Buckeyes could have something they haven't had in a long time - experience and depth. Returning from a squad that finished 22-11 and earned an eight seed in the NCAA tournament are 90% of the minutes, 84% of the points, 85% of the rebounds, 98% of the assists and 92% of the steals.

And though there are no incoming recruits on the books for next year, the Buckeyes do see the return of one important component as well as potentially two other solid contributors. David Lighty will be a redshirt junior and is the lone connection to the tournament finals run of Oden and Co. The staff gushed about his leadership heading into last season and with another year of experience (albeit watching, studying) under his belt, he could be a two-way force. 2009 will also see the return of Nikola Kecman from season-ending injury as well as our first glimpse of seven-foot transfer Zisis Sarikopoulos.

So, what would the lineup look like?

Warts and all, I think PJ Hill starts the season at point guard. There may be room for a JUCO PG, but indications are anything gained from Mullens/Crater will be put toward 2010. There's a chance Walter Offutt steals some minutes at the point and we could also see a situation where Turner runs the point again, but Hill will improve. Whether he's able to create off the dribble is doubtful, but he will get better at the small things

Junior Jon Diebler will start at the two. He played nearly 37 minutes per game this season and you would have had to have been blind not to notice the improvements he made on defense. While some say he could only drain a three when unguarded, consider that he couldn't even hit those his freshman season. He will be a weapon next season.

Turner is a no-brainer at wing. We all know what he can do and next season he'll be doing all of that, only a bit better. He needs to work on his turnovers, but he could be ready to record only the 2nd triple-double in Buckeye basketball history.

Lighty returns to fill the four and though he may be a bit undersized at this spot, his versatility and defense more than make up for this. Do you think having him on the floor late in the game would have helped against Siena?

Lauderdale is your center and although he had more than his share of cringe-worthy moments this season, he'll improve as well. He may never get to his level, but Terence Dials was not exactly a dominant player in his first couple of years at Ohio State, either. He'll need to improve on his rebounding and toughness, but those can be addressed.

Looking towards the bench, you have the reigning Big Ten Freshman of the Year in Buford coming in to spell Diebler or Turner, Simmons and Offutt providing depth in the backcourt and Kecman, Sarikopoulos and Madsen backing up the bigs.

The lack of a true point guard still scares the hell out of us, as does the team's seeming hatred of rebounding, but you can't argue with some of the firepower outlined above. The Big Ten has a lot of young talent, so winning a conference title will be a challenge, but who knows, Titus may even have a chance to break out of Club Trillion in a couple of early season blowouts.

What about you? Who do you see starting?

The basketball Buckeyes may have disappointed many of the Scarlet and Gray faithful this year, but the one good thing that came out of this past weekend was that the future of the program is looking bright. While Evan Turner and P.J. Hill continued to struggle with the Siena press, Jared Sullinger and the rest of his future Buckeye teammates have been taking care of business, giving Buckeye Nation a glimpse of what could be in the future.

While the Class of 2009 has no recruits coming in (yet), because no scholarships were available to hand out before the season, Thad Matta already has verbal commitments from five members of the Class of 2010. These players aren't your average high school stars either, as the class includes four of ESPN/Scout Inc.'s Top 50 players in the class, including the nation's #1 ranked player in Columbus Northland's Jared Sullinger, the brother of former Buckeye captain J.J. Sullinger.

The younger Sullinger is joined in the class by Cincinnati Princeton SG Jordan Sibert (#42), Ft. Wayne (IN) Bishop Luers SF DeShaun Thomas (#6), Zion-Benton Township (IL) G Lenzelle Smith Jr. (#45), and Cleveland Benedictine SG Cameron Wright (NR). While the class is good enough as it currently stands, the staff is still looking to add another player, with the targets being Dayton Jefferson C Adreian Payne (#28) and Oak Hill Academy (VA) PG Pe'Shon Howard (#60), among others.

Sullinger is a prototypical big man, and at 6-8/250 has learned to dominate the high school game on the blocks. He's very explosive for a kid of his size and has continually shown the ability to take over a game. He is the consensus number one player in the class across all recruiting services and as a junior should continue to develop as a player over the next year and a half before he gets to Columbus.

Sibert, who plays with Sullinger on the All-Ohio Red AAU team, stands at 6-3/185. He is a slasher who is great at getting to the hoop and plays well above the rim, but defenders shouldn't sleep on his perimeter game either, although this area will need to improve at the college level. He, like Sullinger, has lead his high school team to the state semi-finals with his big game performances and clutch scoring, and will get to play in his future arena this weekend.

DeShaun Thomas was offered early by the Bucks and committed early as well, but backed off his early pledge to check out some other schools. After being recruited by Indiana, Duke, Purdue, and others, Thomas confirmed OSU was the place for him, and Thad and the staff were certainly all smiles to get this athletic forward who stands at 6-7/225. Thomas has drawn comparisons to LeBron James and has an outside game to accompany his ability to take the ball to the hoop. Thomas is averaging 30.1 ppg as a junior according to Max Preps, and should also continue to improve his game before coming to campus.

At 6-5/220, Lenzelle Smith Jr. is a combo guard who is most likely to start off at the point for the Bucks. Smith's size is certainly an advantage, especially on the boards, but he is also an excellent passer. Smith will need to work on his outside shooting before coming to college, but has the potential to be an excellent one or two guard for Thad Matta, as he is a smart player who can attack the basket as good as anyone in the nation.

Cameron Wright was another player who was offered early by the Bucks, but is not as highly touted as the other members of his class. Wright, who measures 6-4/195, is an athletic player who excels on the wing. Cameron will need to improve his shooting consistency to get significant playing time as a freshman, but he is a solid defender who uses his length to his advantage. He is a player who can surprise some people at the next level and should be a nice compliment to the players already on the roster.

The newest version of the "Thad 5" won't be coming into Columbus without any bullets already in the gun though. Sophomores Dallas Lauderdale and Jon Diebler should be well seasoned seniors by the time these prospects come to Columbus, and with the red-shirt he will receive from sitting out this year, David Lighty should return for the 2010-2011 season as a fifth year senior captain. Nikola Kecman, Walter Offutt, and Zisis Sarikopoulos should still be around as well, while William Buford and Evan Turner will most likely not hang around to see Jared & Co. take over 'The Schott'.

Seeing as a Final Four run is likely not in the cards for next season, the roster is certainly shaping up to be a serious contender the following year. With the combination of veteran leadership and the young talent coming in the class of 2010, Thad Matta will be fully loaded to make a run similar to that of two seasons ago. A starting line-up of Lauderdale, Sullinger, Lighty, Diebler, and Offutt or Smith, with Thomas, Sibert, Sarikopoulos, Kecman, Wright, and possibly another top tier talent from the class of 2010 coming off the bench is a Buckeye hoops fan's dream and there will be no excuses if that team does not get it done come March of 2011. The loss against Siena on Saturday night still lingers, but looking to the future, there is certainly light at the end of the tunnel.

So, we're still smarting from that Friday night heartbreak. Wondering how the rebound numbers could be true and why Ronald Moore wasn't bear-hugged as soon as he caught the ball with time ticking away in overtime.

And then the Buckeye wrestling team fell just short¹ in its bid to knock off Iowa for the national championship Saturday night, constituting yet another runner-up finish for an athletic department that seems to be collecting way too many of those over the course of the past three years.

So what do you do when life hands you athletic lemons? You turn to your neighbor up north and their hillbilly coach. The image above represents a post to Twitter (or, as the hipsters call it, a Tweet) submitted by Rodriguez after the Wolverines basketball team had just finished knocking off 7th-seeded Clemson in the opening round of the NCAA tournament.

"Rich is just watched a great win..."

Spoken just like Bo or Lloyd would have.

Now, I realize that these are 140 characters or less and often sent via mobile devices, but if Pete Carroll can practice proper grammar, then surely a Michigan man must be able to do the same, right?

¹ Tom Ryan has the program going in the right direction and if he pulls a Tressel and locks down the talent in the state of Ohio, it's over.

The weaknesses that have haunted them all year, were once again major factors in Ohio State losing their opening round game 74-72, to Siena in double overtime.

The taller Buckeyes allowed 23 offensive rebounds and 19 second chance points to a team that measured 6'9" and 6'6" across the front.

The Buckeyes also tied a season high with 20 turnovers, as the lack of great point guard play was evident when the Saints changed defenses on a consistent basis. I appreciate the energy and improvement PJ Hill has brought to this team all year, but with Simmons failing to show up, he was forced to play 40 minutes and that simply is not good. Thank you Mrs. Crater.

I am not going to rehash the entire game, we all watched in disbelief as the Buckeyes lost for just the 2nd time this year when leading with 5:00 left. I am still too sick to discuss specific flows of the game, knowing that Ohio State should have dominated this team if everyone would have shown up.

26 points, 28 rebounds compared to 18 points and freaking 8 boards, those are the numbers for the opposing front courts. Flopping Ryan Rossiter and Alex Franklin out hustled MullenDale all night, gaining an edge on the offensive glass, 13-1. For me, this was the most frustrating aspect of the evening, there is no excuse as to why the Saints dominated in the paint.

This BJ Mullens to the NBA talk has become a complete joke to me. I understand the situation BJ and his family come from, but if they seriously had his best interest in mind, they would advise him to stay for another year. Lee Caryer of Bucknuts put it best last week.

Athletic, 7-0 guys are hard to find; when they learn how to post-up, catch the ball in traffic, move their feet in order to make the defender move his, make a strong move and take a reliable shot, rebound consistently, intimidate on defense, pass to open teammates and a few dozen other things, they can become legends. As they learn they can help their team win games. Now, B.J. has none of those skills. He can dunk the ball if his opponent is much smaller, has forgotten to defend, or has switched to guard Evan Turner on penetration. That is the entire resume, without using the word potential (famously defined by former Texas football coach Darrell Royal as “you ain’t done it yet”).

Mullens has so much to learn yet and sitting at the end of an NBA bench will stunt his growth as a player and potentially send him on his way to a disappointing career. His totals in the post-season, 27 points and 14 rebounds or less than 7 and 4 per game.

Evan Turner was again the best player on the court, but he had little help from his teammates. Turner lead all scorers with 25 and flirted with his first triple-double, registering 9 boards and 8 assists. I know some analyst and fans feel ET has held the ball too much recently, but he has no choice. He started the game with 2 points and 4 assists, then realized his teammates weren't going to give him much help and he had to take over the scoring on his own. If he stays and the consistent help arrives, there is no doubt we will be watching an All-American season next year.

Diebler was ice cold from outside making only 2 of 11 attempts from downtown. It still baffles me that he refuses to give a pump fake and drive to the basket if his stroke is a little off. He attempted only 5 shots from inside the arc and 2 free throws in 4 post-season games.

Unfortunately, William Buford was hurt by foul trouble most of the game and it affected his shooting to the tune of 4 of 12 overall and 1 of 5 from deep, his worst percentage in over a month. He contributed only 3 boards and 0 assists in 39 minutes.

Credit has to be given to Fran McCaffery and his coaching staff. They changed defenses at least three different times in the first half, slowing OSU's offense to a crawl for the final 10 minutes. They took advantage of sloppy ball handling by the Bucks and continued to confuse the young guards with changes and pressure throughout the game.

Crucial mistakes down the stretch also hurt the Bucks. First, they made only 1 of their last 4 free throws in the final 80 seconds and didn't score a FG in the last 2:38. Second, the Bucks failed to get back on defense with 8 seconds left and Turner was forced to foul, putting Siena at the line with a chance to win it. Then at the end of the first overtime with OSU up 3, PJ Hill forgot to foul Ronald Moore in the backcourt, forcing him to the line instead of hitting the tying three pointer.

The only silver lining of this loss, we don't have to sit through a humiliating game against Louisville on Sunday. Can you imagine what their press and inside game would have done to this team? The loss will sting for a few days, but spring ball is right around the corner and according to the current poll, that is what will get most of us through the next few weeks.

#8 Ohio State 22-10, 10-8 Big Ten Roster | Schedule

March 20, 2009 9:40 PM ET - CBS —— UD Arena Dayton, OH

#9 Siena 26-7, 16-2 MAAC Roster | Schedule

Well, it wasn't pretty at times but Ohio State finds themselves back in the big dance after a season of ups and downs. Thad Matta's squad was able to overcome key personnel losses in David Lighty and Anthony Crater in addition to absorbing a holiday heel stomping at the hands of Chuggy Bear, a combined four losses to conference powers Michigan State and Illinois and a nasty streak in February in which they lost four of five in ugly fashion before eventually closing the season winning four of five to earn an eight seed.

The eight seed might have been a bit of a slight but the team seems content with it considering they get to play about an hour down 70 in the bustling metropolis of Dayton. Personally, I'd rather been shipped out west if it meant a six seed - anything to avoid a #1 or #2 seed in a potential second round match up.

Of course, none of that matters if the Buckeyes can't handle everybody's sleeper (oxymoron?), the Siena Saints. Anything can happen this time of year - that's why they call it March Madness - but I like the way the Buckeyes match up against the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) champs.

#	Name	PTS	REB	ASST	POS	#	Name	PTS	REB	ASST
4	P.J. Hill	3.0	1.4	1.8	G	25	Ronald Moore	8.8	3.5	6.3
33	Jon Diebler	11.4	3.5	2.5	G	41	Kenny Hasbrouck	14.8	3.2	2.9
21	Evan Turner	17.1	7.0	3.8	F	23	Edwin Ubiles	14.6	4.8	2.2
44	William Buford	11.3	3.7	1.1	F	42	Alex Franklin	13.6	7.3	0.8
52	Dallas Lauderdale	4.6	3.6	0.2	C	22	Ryan Rossiter	10.0	7.8	1.3

Opponent

Siena is soaking up plenty of love from the experts based on the fact they return virtually everyone from last year's squad that finished 23-12 including a first round 21 point fisting of #4 seed Vanderbilt that saw the Saints place five in double figures including a 30 point effort from their star 6'3" guard Kenny Hasbrouck.

Hasbrouck returned this year to lead the team in scoring and capture league POY honors and he's got another strong supporting cast including three other double figure scorers and a true point guard in Ronald Moore (6.3 assists/game).

Limiting Hasbrouck will obviously be a huge key to victory and I think that's a very reasonable task considering he isn't exactly accurate (42% FG) and is more of a slasher than a spot up shooter. He has connected on 36% of his triple tries but the OSU zone could prove effective in limiting his penetration. If he does get in the lane, fouling might not be the worst option based on his 67% mark from the stripe.

Even if Hasbrouck is held in check, the top of the OSU zone will need to stay in front of Moore. The good news is if Moore does break down the defense, Siena shoots just 33% from deep as a team and they rank in the bottom 15% nationally hitting only 5.2 triples per contest. Hansbrouck and Clarence Jackson (33%) serve as the primary deep threats but unless it's another one of those nights where one guy shoots way above his season performance (ie. Bawinkel, Roth, et al), I like Ohio State's chances.

Inside, Siena sports just one player in the regular rotation over 6'7" in the form of 6'9", 227 lb. Ryan Rossiter. The sophomore has put up decent numbers but his build makes me think Mullens and Lauderdale should be able to hold their own in the paint if they decide to show up.

A few other Siena bits that might bode well for the Buckeyes include:

• Hasbrouck is coming off a painful calf cramp / injury suffered in a semi-final win over Fairfield and he still wasn't 100% in their 77-70 conference championship win over Niagara. He also shoots just 67% from the stripe and lost in the glory of his 30 point outburst against Vandy last year is he shot only 8/21. In two games against the second best team in the MAAC (Niagara), he shot a combined 10/41.
• In Siena's seven losses, Hasbrouck averaged only 9.7 points on 26% shooting versus a season clip of 14.8.
• While the Saints were perfect at home (17-0), they were just 9-7 away from the friendly confines.
• Only Rossiter (78%) shoots better than 66% from the stripe.

Buckeye Breakdown:

I'd like to think Ohio State will have somewhat of a home court advantage but considering only 550 tickets were given to the university, I'm not certain it will be as partisan as some might expect. Still, the short bus ride should be an advantage.

On the court, the Buckeye zone could be effective against a team that hasn't faced much zone this season in a conference that likes to get up and down the floor at a pace not consistently seen in the Big Ten. As discussed, the key might be containing Moore off the bounce forcing Siena to settle for outside shots.

Considering Siena would prefer to run, I'm inclined to believe Thad won't feature much press, maybe just some token pressure, to limit the slashing of Ubiles and Hasbrouck.

Offensively, it will be up to Hill-mons to handle ball pressure until Evan Turner seizes the point midway through the second half. With the knowledge Siena allows an average of 70 points per game including 90+ outbursts from the likes of Rider (90) and Niagara (100) and over 80 points to teams like Marist and Fairfield, it's possible Siena will extend their defense in hopes of accelerating the game's pace.

Ohio State's preferences should be to run when it's there but generally focus on driving the lane, creating opportunities in space for Turner, and not forget about the size advantage down low. I know Mullens has earned a spot in Matta's doghouse the last three games, averaging just 13 minutes a night compared to nearly 24 minutes in the nine games prior, but if he can stay on the floor he could have a big night.

The season long quest for Turner-support is another obvious key. Jon Diebler's "recent streak of consistency" has produced double figures in four of the last five games and he's also connected on 10 of his last 20 attempts from distance. It will be interesting to see whether or not the pasty one can get enough open looks against the athletic Saints defenders to be a difference maker.

If Diebs isn't cooking then Wil Buford needs to pick up the slack. He's riding a nice two game stretch of his own hitting 11/17 shots (65%) with 13 boards. As much as he needs to contribute, he's got to pay attention to shot selection. Nobody loves Buford more than I do but sometimes he pulls the trigger early in the clock and I've seen too many karma-induced long rebounds leading to scores at the other end to think it's a good idea Friday night. Regardless, my gut tells me Buford will be on his game and emerge as Turner's top sidekick against the athletic Saints.

At the risk of sounding like a homer, I don't see Ohio State losing this game. That's not a slight of Siena or an attempt to suffer selective amnesia forgetting how the Buckeyes like to play to the level of their competition thanks to a lack of killer instinct. It's just that Siena doesn't appear to have a huge advantage in many areas where OSU struggles. We know the zone can hemorrhage threes...Siena shoots only 33% from deep. We know the Buckeyes lack depth...All five Sienna starters log at least 29 minutes per game. The game is a stone's throw from Columbus while Sienna is only 9-7 away from home...And who is their answer for Turner?

I know, I know...It's the dance so all bets are off. That's what makes this the best event in all of sports. Still, I say Ohio State by eight, 75-67.

Etc

• Verne Lundquist and my man Bill Raftery will call the action.
• OSU is 37-19 lifetime in the dance with nine Final Fours.
• Matta has nine straight 20 win seasons. He and Mark Few (10) are the only coaches to record at least 20 wins in every season over their careers.

Shortly after 12:20PM today, LSU and Butler will tip off in an 8/9 game that heralds the start of one of the best events in all of sport.

It's certainly not perfect. There will always be beefs about teams and conferences getting snubbed, the commercialization is a little over the top and that annual survey about lost workplace productivity is tiring and nothing more than a guess. Still, we love it and it's all the better when your team is in the field.

A sampling of the many reasons to tune in today:

• Will the Tar Heels hang a hundy on Radford?
• Can the Gophers spring the upset on Texas?
• Will Clemson do the world justice and lay a beat-down on Michigan?
• Does Akron spring the start of the Ohio school upset streak by taking down Gonzaga?

If the answers to the above turn out: meh, yes, yes, and yes, I know my weekend will be off to a good start.

Now, while some of you are fortunate enough to be able to watch the games as God intended (on a plasma with sodas and some snacks) those stuck at work aren't completely out of luck. The NCAA and CBS are making it easier and easier to catch the games online. This includes airing every game online and in HD and the handy widget you see to the right.

And if your network is blocking the games -- or worse yet, you're on the road, you could always spring for the iPhone app.

You have about six more hours to either enter a bracket, or if you already have a bracket, fill it out (looking at the approximately 5% of you that are empties) for the 11W Tournament Challenge.

The good news is we've finally settled on a prize package for the winner and we're giving the gift of reading. If you have the top entry when the dust settles, you'll receive one copy of each of the following books:

War As The Knew It and 1968: The Season that Saved Buckeye Football are already instant classics within Buckeye Nation and Weird Ohio is essential for those "my state is weirder than your state" arguments that seem to pop up oh, once every nine years or so.

Best of luck and the relevant bits, once more:

Group Name: Eleven Warriors
Password: outofhound
(Please no more than one entry per person)

BuckeyeChief scored link gold in the comments earlier with a set of bowling pins that Uni Watch's Paul Lukas says "are among the greatest uni-related projects I’ve ever seen."

Marshall has a set of pins that he originally used for a game called cat bowling (”It consisted of me keeping track of all the pins that they or I knock down in the studio on this homemade Baltimore-themed score sheet”). More recently, he’s given them a Big Ten paint job, with his alma mater serving as the fierce ball that plows into the hapless pins. You can see close-ups of each pin design here — they’re brilliant, although you may notice that Marshall has taken a few liberties with some of the uni designs. He provided a lengthy explanation for that, and also gave the rationale for each pin’s facial expression, all of which is so involved that I’ve chosen to give it its own separate page.

I got nothing. Just lust.

Word out of Cincinnati is that the Bengals are considering Beanie Wells with the 6th pick in the draft.

The Bengals have a need for a playmaker at the running back position behind starter Cedric Benson and Wells is scheduled to visit the organization in Cincinnati the first week of April.

While some Bengals fans will no doubt be thrilled with this news, the rest of us (and quite a few Cincinnati/Ohio State fans for that matter) are hoping he ends up just about anywhere but at Mike Brown's "franchise".

The bearer of this news is Carlos "Big C" Holmes of the Dayton Daily News, and he's been known to fluff a Buckeye or two in the past, so take the above report with a grain of salt, but we can certainly pray there's truth to his other assertion that Wells worked out for the Broncos yesterday. Beanie in Denver with that rushing culture could be a wonderful thing.

The blogger that never sleeps, ESPN's Adam Rittenberg, profiled five Big Ten assitants under the gun recently, and while he rightfully had Bollman at the top of the list, he's a little off with his view of how playcalling works in Columbus.

Bollman is a popular target for fan frustration regarding the Buckeyes' offense, though the criticism could be misguided. After all, head coach Jim Tressel calls the plays.

Um... Bollman does call the plays, but JT has veto rights, sir. And while the pain of not scoring an offensive touchdown in three games last season stings to no end, I must be getting a little soft in my age as I'm starting to wonder if that wasn't more of a function of breaking in a rookie quarterback with little passing experience combined with perhaps the worst offensive line group in the last 20 years at Ohio State. Then again, he's also the o-line coach, so...

After having plucked Duron Carter out of Florida's St. Thomas Aquinas, the Buckeyes are looking to add another Raider to the class of 2010. Newly minted five-star corner Lamarcus Joyner, regarded as one of the nation's top defensive backs, currently has the Buckeyes in his five -- even going so far as to proclaim Ohio State his leader at this point in time.

But then Deebo arrived on the scene.

Late last week, Joyner received an offer from USC and in his own words:

“This one, they came like Deebo and they just came and knocked it out. That’s USC. How can you not consider them? I thought I had a top five all figured out and they came and knocked Tennessee to the curb."

Probably not what Lane Kiffin wanted to hear, but getting Bryce Brown surely takes some of that sting away. The good news is that Joyner still has OSU at the top of his list with the Trojans checking in fourth, but it's chain-hiding time.