Tuesday Skull Session

By Danny on April 3, 2012 at 6:00 am
40 Comments

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

As you may have heard, Ohio State lost a rather large sporting event last weekend. It's been a few days now, but it's still hard to fathom that this team will be forced to settle for a Final Four appearance. Thanks a lot, Mark Titus.

There's still a lot of confusion and frustration after the loss. On Saturday night, the frustration came out. Students on 15th and Summit burned away their pain with a lawn fire that glimmered pretty bright until the cops shut it down.

In hindsight, I'm sure the starters of the fire realized it was a poor reaction, but at the time it must've felt right. This team meant so much to a lot of people, and to upperclassmen students, it was their last real chance to be at school and see one of our major sports teams hoist a national title banner up into the rafters.

On Sunday, and maybe even Monday for some, the hang over was extra strong. But you can't pout forever. At the end of the day, this is still the greatest university in country. I would've rather lost a national title every year here and endured the pain than witness a title at some other school.

This is Ohio State and we will be back again. Whether it's the Final Four or any other national title for any other sport, we will be back again.

Let's get moving:

 

WAITING AND WISHING. With every college basketball season's end, the questions of "who's staying?" and "who's going?" always arise.

The two big question marks are Jared Sullinger and Deshaun Thomas, as both of their NBA draft stocks may never be higher than they are right now. Additionally, William Buford has played his final game as a Buckeye because this was his senior season. So if the Buckeyes' best two offensive players leave, what will the starting line up look like next season?

The back court should have plenty of continuity, with both Aaron Craft and Lenzelle Smith, Jr. returning. The front court is where things get tricky. Replacing three of the best scorers in the NCAA is no easy task, especially seeing as Thad Matta gave very little playing time to his bench this season.

One name I hope sneaks into the starting lineup is LaQuinton Ross. The 6-8 forward out of Jackson, Mississippi showed spurts of talent in what very little playing time he received. He's a very lengthy player who also has some slashing ability to get to the rim. If he works hard this offseason, I don't think it would be shocking to see him get big minutes next season.

Another freshman who showed promise was Sam Thompson who had some impressive dunks in the beginning of the season. It's clear the forward has tons of athletic ability, but he needs to show that he can have a more consistent, all-around game if he hopes to replace one of the big three.

Finally, it comes down to center where Evan Ravenel and Amir Williams are two interesting names that come up. I really want to see Williams win this position battle because he showed he can play lockdown defense in the NCAA tournament. He also has great height, which is something Sully struggled with due to the fact he's more of a power forward than a center. His weakness is his offensive game which still needs tons of work.

Hopefully, though, these are all just meaningless thoughts and both Deshaun and Sully return. Wouldn't that be nice?

MILLER TIME. The third practice of the the spring for Ohio State's football team sounded promising from the perspective of Ohio State offensive coordinator Tom Herman.

Herman, in his first year at Ohio State, is trying to work with new head coach Urban Meyer to try and turn around a Buckeye offense that looked miserable last night. And Herman knows the key to unlocking this offense is the Buckeyes' quarterback, Braxton Miller.

“The quarterback on a football team has to lead 10 guys, and offensive football may be the most-dependent area of all organized sports, because 10 guys can do their job perfectly, and one guy cannot, and you have an unsuccessful play,” Herman said. “That guy who has the ball in his hands on every single snap has to be the go-to guy.”

Braxton Miller knows that this is going to be a difficult year for him. There is so much new information he must learn from Urban Meyer's system, but he also must grow as a leader as well. Last year, as a freshman, it must've been difficult for Miller to command a group of upperclassmen when he had so little experience himself.

“I’m getting a little vocal with that, and since my first year has gone past, I’m getting better, communicating better with the team,” Miller said.

Last year, Miller came into a strange situation with NCAA violations looming and uncertainty at the head coach position, but now he must step up to the plate and prove he can take Meyer's team to the next level.

Live, on-the-scene reporting from 11W.

BUFORD? BUFORD? A recent article from The Lantern tries to examine the career of one William Buford. The article makes the point that while Buford did many great things at Ohio State, he was never "great."

In the article, Michael Perriat explains how Buford's constant inconsistency will forever label him as one of the stranger players to play at OSU. His legacy is somewhat of a mystery because he does hold many records and has helped turn Buckeye basketball into a more successful program, and yet he simply lacks the big moment that could define his career.

Buford probably would've gone down as one of the greatest Buckeyes in history with a nation championship title, but because of his rocky season and lack of a title, he will forever be remembered as "very, very good," not "great."

While I really want to disagree with this article because Buford really has done so much for this team, it is true that I can't see him leaving behind a legacy as one of the greatest players at Ohio State.

I want to remember Buford as the guy who came up clutch and hit that fade away jumper to give the Buckeyes a win at Michigan State, but then you think about how rocky he was this season and realize how different a player he was this year compared to last year.

Either way, I wish Buford the best of luck. Even though he might not be one of the greats, he did do plenty of good while he was here, and I'll miss that.

THE BROW LEADS KENTUCKY TO THE TITLE. The Kentucky Wildcats are your 2012 NCAA basketball national champions. The young squad coached by John Calipari defeated Kansas 67-59 in a game which Kentucky pretty much dominated throughout the majority of the matchup.

Kentucky is a star-studded team and it's no surprise to see this much talent win a national title. Many people have been saying, however, that Kansas did Ohio State a favor by beating the Buckeyes so they wouldn't have to get spanked by the Wildcats. I just think that's a disappointing attitude, but it's not like it matters anyway, I guess.

Congratulations to Kentucky, though. I'm sure last night was all about the unibrow in New Orleans and Kentucky. However, throughout the rest of the world, it's still strange as can be. 

LOS LINKS. The Buckeyes come home... Ohio State blaming themselves?... A look at the intensity of day four at spring practice... Box score from the NCAA title game last night... Kentucky police gave their warning.

 

40 Comments
View 40 Comments