Eleven Warriors

Desperate for depth at the point next season, Ohio State is bringing in freshman juco transfer P.J. Hill to help Jamar Butler run the offense. The move comes as somewhat of a surprise however there's no question the Buckeyes are thin at the PG spot. According to The Dispatch, Buckeye assistant coach John Groce watched Hill play just last weekend at a juco camp in Tulsa.

I haven't uncovered much info on the 6'2", 165 pounder but I can share that he helped lead his Midland College Chaparral basketball team to the 2007 NJCAA Championship. On the season, Hill averaged 6.6 pts, 2.8 rebounds and 2.6 assists. Hill went the juco route after not receiving a D-1 scholarship offer out of high school. It's hard to imagine Hill having a huge impact but it's worth a flyer to bring him in to bridge the gap to PG Noopy Crater's arrival in 2008. The move also keeps Matta from possibly having to play Evan Turner out of position as a PG backup versus his natural spot on the wing. It's worth noting that if Matta was willing to give up a scholarship in '08 and '09 for a juco transfer then he must see something in Hill.

David Lighty and his USA teammates moved to 6-0 after beating France 87-82 last night in the U19 FIBA World Championship in the tourist hotbed of Serbia. The victory clinched a #1 seed in the medal quarterfinals and a match up against #4 Argentina (3-3) on Friday. A member of the starting five, Lighty played 31 minutes producing 6 points and 5 boards and continued to impress head coach Jerry Wainwright who called Lighty the best defensive player in the tournament.

Of course, Buckeye fans already know D-Light can be a defensive stopper. From my standpoint, the greater benefit of Lighty's participation in this tournament is the extra gametime needed for him to develop offensively. Next year's Buckeye squad will need 10+ ppg from Lighty to challenge for the conference title considering the top two returning point producers are Jamar Butler (8.5 ppg) and Othello Hunter (5.7). The good news is that Lighty is capable of producing on offense as evidenced by his 19 point performance in Monday's 90-81 win over Lithuania. D-Light was on fire hitting all 8 of his shots including two from downtown. Hopefully, we'll see more of this agressiveness as medal play begins so he returns to Columbus with the confidence to look for his shot with greater frequency in the absence of Oden, Conley and Cook.

For those of you out there with an iPhone, 11W can now be enjoyed in all its 320 pixel glory. Simply click on over to http://www.elevenwarriors.com/iphone. More goodness to come on this front at a later date.

Hungry? We are, too. Unfortunately, we're still counting down the days until fall camp begins and there aren't any meaty Buckeye news items out there worthy of taking a bite. As a result, I've prepared a Sunday brunch of the various stories worth a sentence or two.

First up, the Sunday Morning QB has his early assessment of this year's football Buckeyes complete with a few cool YouTube's you may not have seen yet. SMQ doesn't really make any concrete predictions but like most I've read, he thinks an 8-0 start is highly likely and a 10 win season very realistic. What about you? Have you decided on this year's record yet?

Did you see SI.com's recent list of the Top 10 College Sports Venues? The 'Shoe failed to earn a spot but don't take this list too seriously considering the Charles River finished 9th as the host of the largest annual rowing competition in the world. Sweet.

Moving on to hoops, the NBA Summer League ends today with both Ron Lewis and Mike Conley in action. In 5 games, Conley is averaging 11.4 points, 5.2 assists, and 3.0 rebounds. He has struggled from the field (36% FG) and committed a few too many turnovers (2.6 per game) but the Grizzly brass remain sold on Conley's ability to thrive in the NBA. Lewis, on the other hand, is averaging just 17 minutes in three games and has struggled with his shot. He's shooting 21% from the floor and a mason-esque 11% from deep leading to a 5.3 ppg average. He'll have his last shot to impress the Rockets at 8:30pm tonight against the Clippers.

Daequan Cook's Miami Heat ended summer league play Friday night with a 63-57 win over the Magic. Daequan hit just 1 of 8 shots from the field making him 15 of 53 (28%) for the week but he did manage to hit 42% (8-19) of his threes. The Miami-Herald also reported Cook signed a shoe deal with Adidas last Thursday.

Finally, Greg Oden updated his blog after attending the Wednesday taping of the ESPY's which air tonight on the WWL. It sounds like the big fella spent most of the night with a chubby after meeting Playmate's Kendra Wilkinson and Sarah Underwood. Too bad he can longer play "tonsil-hockey" after successful surgery to remove the breathing blockers on Saturday. Sam Alipour has a funny Q&A with Oden that's worth a look.

So, the video above, featuring highlights from 8 year-old Cody Paul, star of the 15-0 Pop Warner Los Alimitos Griffins is kind of blowing up right now. Word on the street is that USC and Pete Caroll already have a silent verbal out of the kid, but it's not too late for the Vest to get in on the act.

Greg Oden finally sheds a little light on perhaps the most famous photo of him that is floating around the intarwebs. In an interview with Miss Gossip of the Fanhouse conducted at the Gatorade Player of the Year awards, he revealed that the picture is from a party during his sophomore or junior year of high school-- even taking offense to the fact that it was featured on Drunk Athlete:

"Drunk Athlete? I wasn't drunk. I was perfectly sober. She was just.. backing up really good."

And:

"It was actually a dress. It just rolled up."

Link to the complete video.

HBO Readying God's Gift to Moving Pictures
Pfef's got the goods on a new HBO documentary about the Ohio State-Michigan rivalry. Set to air Tuesday, November 13th, a mere four days before The Game, the documentary will be HBO's first foray into the college football realm. Featuring Bo's last major interview, this should be a real treat for fans of both sides. I'm a little stumped as to how they could just now be getting around to making a college football documentary, but if their previous sports documentaries are an indicator, HBO will not disappoint.

If a Tie Was a Great Victory, What is 5-1?
It looks all but certain that Gordon Gee will be returning as president of the university. This is certainly something of a coup for Ohio State as Gee is an academic's academic and seemed to be a great fit at Vanderbilt. The recent strides that Ohio State has taken to improve it's academic standing and reputation were surely pivotal in his decision, and let's face it -- the school is flush with cash from successful athletics programs in which to further educational and research offerings. He's also sure to get along great with the vest and we look forward to many, many vest/bow tie photo-ops.

Adidas Sales Expected to Plummet in Ohio
Michigan has signed a new eight year deal with Adidas that will cover all sports and comes to the astounding sum of $7.5m annually. We inch closer to the Crips vs. Bloods showdown. Rival shoe deals!

We rarely talk baseball, but with the Midsummer Classic taking place and all, we couldn't resist the chance to relive some classic Pete Rose quotes. The following quotes, culled from two separate Playboy interviews, are quintessential Rose. They are featured in the The Playboy Interviews: They Played the Game, a book we picked up to add to the Dexter Manley wing of the 11W library. Just sit back and picture the legendary hick sporting a satin ball cap complete with the admiral spinach.

The opening salvo of the 1979 interview:

PLAYBOY: Who's the best player in major-league baseball?
ROSE: I am.

And what kind of bad-ass doesn't remember how old they were when they left the v-ranks:

PLAYBOY: When did you first get involved with girls?
ROSE: What are you asking, when did I get my first piece of ass? Is that what you're asking?
PLAYBOY: Not exactly, but that's a good start.
ROSE: I don't remember specifically what day it was or how old I was. I'm no different than any other kid.

Which is nicely followed up with this sequence:

PLAYBOY: What kind of women do you like?
ROSE: Just, I guess, I like class.

And:

PLAYBOY: Do you like pretty women around you?
ROSE: Oh, yeah. I like women with pretty legs. Pretty legs and pretty mouths.

On money:

PLAYBOY: How has your lifestyle changed?
ROSE: None. Hasn't changed at all.
PLAYBOY: Nothing? Still buy the same clothes?
ROSE: My wife still shops at Kmart.
PLAYBOY: You have a Rolls-Royce.

Pete, we salute you.

After much talk about his hackadaisical summer league debut, Greg Oden faired a little better in today's 72-68 loss to the Dallas Mavericks. The big fella totaled 13 points, 5 boards and 5 blocks but still managed to rack up 9 fouls. Admittedly, I have yet to see the games since I refuse to pay for NBA.TV but I tend to agree with Jason Quick's assertion that Oden is comitting many fouls due to fatigue from his whirlwind tour beginning in the weeks leading up to the draft. He has spent countless hours in the air and in front of microphones but much fewer hours in the weight room and on the basketball court. Oden's summer league performance to date seems to mirror his early games in Scarlet and Gray as he slowly got into game shape. So, fear not Buckeye/Blazer fans, Oden will be ready to go when things get started in November.

In case you missed it, Oden was recently named the official spokesman and cover boy for College Hoops 2K8. No word yet on whether or not gamers can earn points towards alternate jerseys, wristbands and toe rings.

Oden's buddy Mike Conley came off the bench to tally 12 points, 5 rebounds and zero turnovers in an 86-77 Memphis victory over the Chinese National Team this past Friday night. When asked if he was nervous, Conley reminded a reporter he has played in a few big games in his young career:

"I wasn't really nervous. The last game I played was in front of 30,000 people," Conley said with a smile in reference to the NCAA championship game Ohio State played in last March.

Good point, Mike.

Back on the college front, David Lighty had his best game yet for Team USA with 11 points, 6 rebounds and 2 steals in a 86-72 victory over the Global Games All-Americans saturday night in Dallas. Lightly saw 26 minutes of action in his first start as Team USA (4-0) won the Global Games gold medal. The Americans head to Serbia for the 2007 FIBA U19 World Championship set to begin July 12th.

A while back we covered the Horseshoe Mural Project, an amazing transformation of one man's basement into pretty much the most awesome place we can imagine on earth. At the time of our last writing, the mural was still a work in progress. Recently, the final intricate touches have been added and a new video is making the YouTube rounds. Now known as The Best Damn Room in the Land, the level of detail is simply amazing. From the press box, to the retired numbers to the state troopers standing high above C deck, everything is there. I honestly expected to see the team run out onto the field when the camera panned in on the south stands tunnels.

We caught up with the man behind the magic, Duane "Dewey" Richard and he was kind enough to answer a few of our questions:

11W: That is some incredible work. Can you tell us a little bit about your background in terms of art training?
DR: Art has been a part of me since I was born, I've always enjoyed drawing and painting and making things come to life. When I was 4,my Grandmother contacted an art professor at Wilmington College's to see if I could take art lessons from him. For the next four years, I'd sit in with college students and work on whatever projects they were working on. Later, Columbus College of Art & Design and School of Advertising Art in Dayton were two schools that taught me the basics -- computer graphics and such, but my career as a mural artist has just sort of happened. I've been a full time mural artist for the past six years now and in those 6 years I've never painted anything quite as grand as the Horseshoe mural.

11W: What other types of Buckeye-related art have you produced?
DR: I have painted Brutus on several corn hole boards, some rec rooms, etc. I painted a 2ft x 3ft canvas painting of Woody Hayes's face for a customer, but nothing like Horseshoe mural.

11W: How were you contacted to do this project?
DR: The Doctor who hired me to paint the mural, works in the same town I live in (Wilmington, Ohio). He just happened to be talking to someone about painting the mural in his basement, and they said I know just the guy. I don't advertise, so word of mouth is the best form. It travels quickly!

11W: How long did it take to complete the mural?
DR: The mural took almost a year, but that is only because I had other projects to work on during that time. If I hadn't had other projects going on, it would have taken me about 5 months to complete. If I ever paint another one, it'll go a lot quicker. I've learned the do's and don'ts when it comes to a mural of this magnitude.

11W: What were some of your bigger challenges producing the mural?
DR: The biggest challenge was trying to paint something that is virtually a circle and trying to paint that inside a room that is a square. The press box was a huge pain to paint -- there are 100's of little windows. Painting all the people was pretty intense.

11W: What's next?
DR: Both Cincinnati News TV Stations have contacted me to come up and interview the doctor and I and film the room I've received 100's and 100's of emails from Buckeye fans wanting the Horseshoe painted in their house. So someday, somewhere i'll be painting another one for someone. Although the next one I paint I'd like to take pictures from ground level to get a different perspective of the inside of the stadium. This mural was painted as if you were standing on C Deck.

11W: And finally a bonus question. What is your favorite recent Buckeye memory?
DR: Since the 1950's my Grandparents have had OSU season tickets So once a year I'll take my buddies and go to a game and have a blast! I always like getting there around 8am, it makes for a FUN day. One memory I have of relating to OSU is that my Aunt and Uncle were very good friends with Max and Mila Schlichter. So growing up I got to meet Art Schlichter a couple of times. That was cool!

From the sound of it, Dewey will be pretty booked going forward, but if you have a burning urge to turn that old Chevette you've had your eye on into a Buckeye helmet, you can reach him via email:

Duane "Dewey" Richard - muralartist1@yahoo.com

Big thanks to Dewey, but before we cut out, we wanted to pass along the story behind an interesting photo he shared with us:

DR: I'm sending a picture of Art at the Scioto Downs Horse track. My father and uncle raised/raced horses in the 80's and guess who was always there sitting with them.. Art Schlichter. I really didn't know all about Art and what his problems were, because I was so young then but, as I got older and found out, I've come to appreciate what a classic picture this is.

Indeed..