Loss to Arizona muddies legacy of Ohio State's senior class

By Eric Seger on March 22, 2015 at 9:15 am
43 Comments

A day before their final home game, Ohio State’s seniors sat in the team interview room at the Schottenstein Center and cracked jokes, picked on each other and reflected on how quickly their four-year careers had come and gone.

Shannon Scott, Sam Thompson, Amir Williams and Trey McDonald shared stories of fruit snack thefts, broken bed frames and refusals to give back their teammate's favorite DVD.

They were loose, upbeat and frankly, amusing. It was a little odd to see initially, considering what waited on them the following day — a bonafide Final Four contender in Big Ten champion Wisconsin.

We all know that went — the Badgers ran Ohio State off the court March 8, 72-48.

The seniors left the arena with an awful taste in their mouth, but still held confidence they could get back to the Final Four a second time.

That’s right — it might not be easy to remember, but the class nearly sat atop the college basketball world as freshmen. As sophomores, they sprinted into the Elite Eight before falling to a gritty and experienced Wichita State team.

But their final two years at Ohio State didn’t go as planned. A second round exit a year ago at the hands of Dayton closed the book on an up-and-down season, and after slipping by VCU this past Thursday, the Buckeyes ran into the buzzsaw that was second-seeded Arizona Saturday afternoon.

They hung around a while thanks to Thad Matta springing a 2-3 zone on the Wildcats, but ultimately fell 73-58 to a far superior squad who has a legitimate shot at cutting down the nets in Indianapolis.

“It’s hard right now,” Scott said in the locker room following the loss. “It’s hard, really, just sitting back with all these guys you’ve been around with your whole life, or the past four years, and just saying it’s the end.”

It’s hard for any senior when their career is over. Four years is a long time for anyone to pour their heart and soul into something, especially a major college program where no one cares how much blood you shed, sweat you drip or tears you cry if it doesn’t translate to wins between the lines.

“We got a great group of guys, a great group of seniors,” star freshman D’Angelo Russell said.

“The biggest thing, and I told them, they represented this university for four years with great class. I’m very proud of them for all they’ve done for us.”– Thad Matta

Russell scored just nine points against the Wildcats, who threw long and athletic defenders at him all game, a big reason he finished 3-for-19 from the field. Scott and Thompson were the only Buckeyes in double figures, with 10 and 18 points, respectively, and while Russell tallied six assists and seven rebounds, Ohio State needed him to score more in order for it to have a chance at beating a quality team like Arizona.

It’s been that way all season.

“Everybody was just trying to get going, keep the pressure off of him,” Scott said of his superstar backcourt teammate, bringing to light what could be the biggest thing to take from the senior class.

Although at sometimes it might not have seemed like it, Scott, Thompson, McDonald and Williams tried their hardest. Sometimes, though, having the success that's expected just isn't in the cards.

“I kinda put it on them here the last couple weeks of the season. I thought they did a great job of responding,” Matta said. “The biggest thing, and I told them, they represented this university for four years with great class. I’m very proud of them for all they’ve done for us.”

The head coach implored that of his whole team Selection Sunday — no matter what happens in the tournament, play hard and do it with class.

He’s always spoke to the character and personalities the seniors brought into his program for four years. Being great people off the court doesn’t always mean wins on it, though.

That was never more evident these last two seasons at Ohio State, because while the seniors finish with 109 career victories, many will remember them for the inconsistencies and trying times of this season. Ohio State finished 24-11, but struggled mightily against quality teams away from home (see Louisville, North Carolina, Michigan State and finally Arizona). The class had to defer often to Russell, but if he wasn't at his best, neither were they.

None of the seniors foresaw an exit in the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament even after they got bludgeoned by Wisconsin in the regular season finale. The goal was to end the final year of their careers at the Final Four.

That won’t happen this season, but it wasn’t for a lack of trying from them. Scott and Thompson led the team in scoring while Russell struggled against Arizona. Williams and McDonald appeared more active than ever in the tournament.

That was obvious, even to two of the team’s most talented young players.

“I feel like honestly 1-through-12 of our players can look in the mirror and say we gave it our all,” Russell said. “Its hard when Monday comes around and we think we got practice at 3:30 p.m. like we’ve been doing, but there’s no practice. I just hope that everybody’s preparing for next year and preparing to be the best person they can be.”

Jae’Sean Tate added, “With all the seniors on the team, it’s win or go home and I just felt like we left it all out there. It’s just an emotional game for us. I’m proud of the whole team, the coaching staff.”

Maybe that’s what their lasting legacy will be — how in their final tournament, the four of them played as hard as they could to represent their university because that’s what their coach demanded. How, with an odd balance of four freshmen, a sophomore and a bulky senior class, they showed the young guys how to handle themselves in the future when the stakes are the highest and the lights shine brightest.

“We want to be a class that was thought to have left the program in better condition than we found it,” Thompson said the day before the Wisconsin loss. “Obviously, coach Matta had great success before we got here, we just want to continue that success and hopefully take it to the next level.”

It’s an unclear situation, and one that each and every Ohio State supporter is bound to hold a different opinion.

The four were instrumental in pushing Matta atop the program’s all-time wins list with 298, were great people off the court, but suffered double digit losses in each of their final two seasons. They faltered down the stretch both years when the team desperately needed them to excel.

There is one thing, though, that’s for sure: their time donning the Scarlet and Gray is officially finished.

“Everything that we worked for, I feel like we'd get rewarded at the end but it was sad to see them go down like this,” Russell said.

“I love these guys, man. I love our seniors, and I love this team. I’ll never forget it,” Tate said.

Scott was at a loss for words regarding the game — and his career’s — outcome, but he did want to make one thing clear.

“The whole Buckeye Nation has been unbelievable really for me. I appreciate all of that,” he said. “Just appreciate all the opportunities I got and I have nothing but love for everybody out there.”

43 Comments
View 43 Comments