Tuesday Skull Session

By Danny on March 6, 2012 at 6:00 am
106 Comments

Good morning Buckeye faithful and welcome to your Tuesday Skull Session.

Today should be a great morning. William Buford's shot catapulted Ohio State from mediocrity back into relevancy. All of the Buckeyes' problems can't be solved by one game-winning shot, no matter how beautiful it was, but things are looking up on the hardwood.

However, I'm talking about the football team's "anti-gay" issues. Maybe people are overreacting to this issue of lavender colored shirts. I understand the point that colors shouldn't be related to a person's sexuality.

But there's more to this issue than the color being used to degrade players who are underperforming. Players reportedly referred to these jerseys as the "queer shirt." Whether or not these jerseys were meant to compare players to homosexuals, that was the message that ultimately stuck with some players.

This is not the way you groom football players into men. Granted, I don't know nearly as much about the situation as some, but from what I've heard nothing has been positive about this situation. The lavender shirts are disappearing and an apology was issued, so hopefully we can put these events behind the program.

This incident is just the tip of the ice berg for a society which has made it very difficult to be a homosexual and an athlete. I'm not here to try and tell you how to feel or get out my soapbox and rant for an hour about the topic. All I ask is that you respect the way some people in the gay community felt about the issues which occurred within the football program.

Tolerance starts with people understanding one another. Go Bucks.

CRAFTSMANSHIP. Aaron Craft was named the Big Ten's Defensive Player of the Year for this past season.

While Craft has had a very up and down season in his first year as a starting point guard for Thad Matta's team, there's no question about how much he has improved defensively. What he lacks as an offensive player, he truly makes up for in his ability to pester and annoy perimeter players.

Craft ended up ranking twelfth in the country in steals this season with 75 total steals and 2.4 per game. Every week, Craft was there to lock down some of the country's top offensive talents.

What's going to be the biggest factor moving forward for the talented guard out of Findlay, Ohio is finding his groove on offense. Craft has always been viewed as a pure guard who would rather make the pass than score. However, the point guard is evolving into a position which demands much more scoring from the perimeter.

I can't see Craft ever being a guy who's going to put up major offensive numbers, but he's so quick, talented, and smart with the basketball that I find it hard to believe he can't be a more productive player on offense. We all know he has the talent defensively and it would appear the sky is the limit on that side of the court.

MEYER INTERVIEW. Head football coach Urban Meyer sat down with Doug Lesmerises to discuss the current state of the Buckeyes, the Big Ten, and the SEC.

Meyer stated that he won't know if his team is where he wants it to be until spring after he's had more time with them. He did mention, though, that the offense may be an early concern for him.

"There are some positions that are glaringly weak right now, that I don't know about. I hope they are better. I worry about the quality of offensive skill, and quantity," Meyer said to Lesmerises.

Meyer also commented on how there is an emerging rivalry between the Big Ten and SEC and that the Big Ten is the conference which is gaining momentum.

"Do we want to win six straight national championships? Absolutely, yes we do. Do we want to improve our recruiting so we have more teams in the top 20, in the top 10? Of course," he said. "The SEC is always going to be great, but I think the Big Ten is going to be real strong."

Meyer also mentioned how the Big Ten and Ohio State will get stronger because of recruiting.

"I just see the recruiting, some of the recruiting going on. I can speak for our team -- I think we've got some pretty good players here."

It's really refreshing to hear the Meyer is not just thinking about OSU's success, but also the Big Ten's success as a conference. It also pretty evident that he doesn't just want to only to be as good as SEC teams, but be better. Hopefully, the Buckeyes are able to rise to that level of success.

He's got you covered.

PURDUE? I'm positive everyone can remember the feeling of complete helplessness after Ohio State lost to Purdue last season. I can still replay that extra point kick coming back to haunt the Buckeyes' stagnant offense.

While OSU won't be in contention for the B1G Leaders Division next season, Brian Bennett of ESPN believes the Boilermakers might be able to win the division. Bennett cites the fact that both Wisconsin and Penn State will be on the road versus Purdue and that Ohio State is out of the title picture due to NCAA sanctions.

Purdue did manage to finish 7-6 last season and win a bowl game so they are riding a bit of momentum. But I think it's far too early to view Purdue as a contender. Danny Hope's squad is still going to have to play some difficult teams this season and the Leaders Division will still be competitive.

BUCKEYE HOOPS. The Buckeyes end the 2012 regular season ranked #7 in the coaches poll. More importantly, though, Ohio State will be ranked #3 in the Big Ten tournament behind #1 Michigan State and #2 Michigan.

OSU will play their first game on Friday against either Purdue or Nebraska. If they survive round one, the Buckeyes will play either Michigan, Northwestern, or Minnesota.

Realistically, the Buckeyes' path to victory will most likely have to go through Purdue, Michigan, and Michigan State. Certainly a difficult path, but this is why they play the game. Isn't that right, Mr. Buford?

LOS LINKS. Buckeyes on ice... Not looking bright at Syracuse... VCU gets into the upset spirit early... Rutgers' coaching staff is vanishing... You know you want to see it again.

 

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