Ramon Sessions and Baron Davis: A Changing of the Guard?
March 9, 2011Jim Tressel Flawed, Not Broken
March 9, 2011I will fully admit I am completely in the tank for College Basketball. The NCAA Tournament is my Mardi Gras. Its a completely different sport to me than the NBA, despite the rules being the same. Everyone hops on the bandwagon for March Madness, but this year, this town in particular should be paying more attention than ever.
I fancy myself as a member of the College Basketball elite. It certainly helps being a graduate of the University of Kansas, but I grew up loving the sport. I watch more games than any normal human being should (much to my wife’s chagrin). I can look at the landscape of college basketball without bias.
Don’t believe me? Here’s a tip for you – I don’t care what the draw is, my beloved Kansas Jayhawks will not win the National Title. In fact, I’m worried about them getting to the Final Four. We’ve got a major hole in the worst possible position – Point Guard – and still haven’t set a stable rotation. My friends tell me I’m crazy that I nitpick a 29-2 team, but this is what I see.
You know what else I see? A team down I-71 that is the favorite to win the National Championship. While Jim Tressel is attempting to stave off napalming his reputation, Thad Matta has a juggernaut with a championship feel to it.
The Buckeye Basketball team will always be the the Danny Devito to the Buckeye Football team’s Arnold Schwarzenegger (if you don’t get the reference, Google “Twins.”). However, this is the time to climb on board if you haven’t been paying attention. There is so much to like about this team.
Come NCAA Tournament time, you want to be able to lean on your core group. Matta has never been big into going to deep into a bench in years past, and this year is no difference. However, the 2011 version of the Buckeyes essentially have seven starters, reminiscent of the 2008 Kansas team that won the title. Everyone has and knows their role.
SF David Lighty is the steady veteran leader and best defensive player in the Big Ten (sorry Jajuan Johnson of Purdue, by Lighty was ROBBED of B10 Defense Player of the Year). PF Jared Sullinger is the star and center of the offensive attack who opens things up for the deep shooters. C Dallas Lauderdale is the enforcer who does the little things on the glass and in the post. Combo Guard William Buford is the Sullinger of the perimeter, defenses must respect his all around offensive game. Big Ten Three Point king SG Jon Diebler is the assassin that can stick it from anywhere and has to be accounted for at all times. SF Deshawn Thomas is instant offense off the bench. PG Aaron Craft is the heady glue guy who rarely makes a mistake with the ball in his hands and facilitates the offense to a T.
On top of all of that, the 29-2 Scarlet and Gray are led by one of the best in the business, the highly underrated Thad Matta. He kills it on the recruiting trail, in the locker room, and on the court.
Best of all for all Ohio State fans, its essentially a lock that the Buckeyes will play their first two NCAA Tournament games next Friday and Sunday right here in Cleveland, at Quicken Loans Arena. If that isn’t a home court advantage, I don’t know what is. (Plenty of seats will be available by the way at WFNY Tickets.)
Again, I have no bias one way towards Ohio State. but I just love what I see. If ever a Buckeye team was built for postseason success, its this one.
The time is now to get on board of you aren’t already.
5 Comments
Totally agree with this article. March Madness is my nirvana. Take a couple days off work, watch games on tv, go to the games and just enjoy basketball the way it’s supposed to be played.
And I don’t know how Johnson could’ve won DPOY. In the about 5 games of Purdue’s I’ve watched this year, I didn’t see him do anything spectacular on defense. He may have led the league in blocks, but that can’t really be enough to win the award. Oh well.
You are kidding me about Lighty. Look at the stats for Johnson vs. Lighty in what you would consider Defensive minded stats.
Johnson
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/player/profile?playerId=36150
Lighty
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/player/profile?playerId=31546
Come on now…
You have to actually watch the nuance of the game to pick the best defender, not just sportscenter highlights. Lighty should have slapped the floor more or taken more charges I guess.
I am anxiously watching the seed and draw that Notre Dame gets. That is another team that can slow it down, grind it out, or go high octane with some shooters. It could definitely be an ND-OSU final depending on the draws.
That said, this year, both those teams could lose before Houston very easily.
5K… just about any team could seem like they’d get to the finals, then lose in the 2nd or 3rd round. It’s so wide open this year. Which scares me, since OSU almost always lets me down, lol.
I agree Lyon, but some teams are more “disaster proof” than others and I think OSU and ND are 2 of those teams.