May 18, 2013

NCAA Tournament: Statement on Ohio State-Iowa State charge

March 24, 2013 by 7 Comments

The NCAA has released an official statement on the controversial charge call from the end of today’s Ohio State-Iowa State third round game in Dayton.

Here is the response from John Adams, NCAA National Coordinator of Men’s Basketball Officiating, that was sent out to the media this afternoon:

“I spoke with the official, and he determined the defender established legal guarding position outside the restricted area prior to the offensive player leaving the floor to start his shot. When asked, the official said he did not see the defender’s foot over the restricted area line. By rule, this is not a reviewable play.”

Moments after this supposed charge was taken by Aaron Craft, he nailed a three-pointer that sent the Buckeyes to the Sweet 16 in Los Angeles. Our friends at SB Nation have an excellent review as well of the detailed nuances behind this NCAA decision.

[Related: Animated: Aaron Craft sends Ohio State to the Sweet 16]

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Big Ten Basketball – The Bizarro World

February 8, 2013 by 1 Comment

Tyler GriffeyIn case you have been all football all the time and have not paid the least bit of attention to what is going on in College Basketball so far, your old friend and College Hoops Honk is here to get you up to speed with the best conference in America.

My man @ClevTA (a must-follow on Twitter) said it best last night – Big Ten Basketball is the bizarro Big Ten Football right now. We watched all fall as mediocre team after mediocre team played boring, uninspiring football. Yes, your Ohio State Buckeyes came out undefeated under Urban Meyer, but even the most ardent OSU supporter would tell you this was far from a National Title type team. The next best thing in the league was probably either a Michigan team that was throttled by Alabama, scored nine points against a Nebraska team that allowed 70 to Wisconsin in the Big Ten title game, and needed a miracle bomb with less than a minute to go to force OT with Northwestern at home. An argument could be made for four loss Penn State as well, but two of those losses were at home to Ohio (not Ohio State, Ohio) and a bad Virginia team.

The bottom line – in the glorious history of the Big Ten conference, 2012 was as bad of a season as the league has ever had. [Read more...]

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NCAA Basketball News: Ohio State Revises Coach Thad Matta’s Contract

January 21, 2013 by Leave a Comment

While this season has been a bit of an up and down year for the Ohio State men’s basketball team, their head coach Thad Matta is still being rewarded with a revised contract that sees a boost to his annual salary. According to Rusty Miller of the Associated Press, the new contract will see him receive a 10% bump to his salary (bringing him to over $3.2 million per year) including academic bonuses.

Additionally, the contract also revises some language regarding NCAA violations. The contract now requires Matta to report anyone who “may potentially have violated NCAA rules”. The new wording is presumed to be an effort by OSU to avoid some of the ambiguities that made negotiations with Jim Tressel a little trickier in the wake of the email coverup scandal that ultimately cost the coach his job.

Thad Matta is now under contract with Ohio State through July 2019.

[Related: Meltdown In Game’s Final Minute Spoils Deshaun Thomas Show]

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Braxton Miller finishes 5th in Heisman voting

December 8, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Ohio State sophomore quarterback Braxton Miller finished 5th in the voting for this year’s Heisman Trophy. The star of Ohio State’s undefeated team received three first place votes.

Texas A&M redshirt freshman quartback Johnny Manzel won the award, collecting 456 first place votes. Manzel is the first “freshman” to win the award.

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OSU LB Storm Klein Arrested

July 7, 2012 by 5 Comments

Ohio State senior linebacker Storm Klein was arrested Friday evening in Columbus on charges of domestic violence and assault.

Klein, who has started 10 games for the Buckeyes and a potential starter, remains innocent until proven guilty of course. But his arrest marks already the 3rd arrest for Buckeye players since Urban Meyer’s arrival.

The Buckeye coach came to Columbus with a reputation for having players with legal issues at Florida and while he didn’t recruit any of the players who have been arrested, this certainly isn’t going to sit well with the coach. If the charges stick, expect Klein to be made into an example by Meyer.

No details or comments have been released by Ohio State at this time.

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OSU’s Jared Sullinger Not Invited to NBA Draft Green Room

June 25, 2012 by 9 Comments

This is not hyperbole right now. I’m not sure Ohio State has had a player with higher character than Jared Sullinger since Thad Matta took over. First round draft picks rarely need sympathy, nor to be hyped up, and it’s tough to feel bad for a guy who is about to be very rich playing the game he loves.

Never the less, things keep going bad for Sullinger. The latest comes from ESPN’s Andy Katz who reported that the NBA did not invite Sullinger to the NBA Draft Green Room. The distinct priviledge, normally reserved for the top 10-15 prospects, was once an inevitability for Sullinger. However, after the crushing blow of having doctors red flag him for his back issues, Sullinger’s stock has been in a free fall.

Surely being in the green room, while not the most important thing in the world, was a long time dream of Sullinger’s. Now that dream will never be realized, as he will be stuck on the outside looking in. Sullinger, who made the decision to return for his sophomore year rather than face an NBA lockout, was a likely top 5 pick last year. The decision to come back likely cost Sullinger at least 10 draft slots and millions of dollars over the lifetime of his rookie contract. Hopefully the experience and lessons learned from the extra year of seasoning will allow Sullinger to eventually make up the difference. Because, really, this could not have happened to a nicer guy who deserves it less.

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Ohio State Wins ESPN’s Lawsuit Over Public Records

June 19, 2012 by 5 Comments

If you recall a while back, we talked a little bit about the ESPN lawsuit they brought against the Ohio State administration. The basis of the case is that when the Jim Tressel scandal broke, ESPN’s Tom Farrey made repeated requests for information from the University, citing Ohio’s Open Records Laws.

While OSU did turn over much of what Farrey and ESPN requested, some items were withheld by the University with the school arguing that turning over the records would violate FERPA’s student privacy protection guidelines. ESPN wasn’t satisfied with that answer, and took it to the courts to try to get the documents handed over to them.

It was an interesting case with some fairly serious ramifications no matter which way the courts decided. After several months of arguments, the court has reached it’s decision:

The court on Tuesday unanimously ruled that for the most part Ohio State properly shielded records as either protected by federal privacy laws or attorney-client privilege.

The court said in a few cases Ohio State must remove certain names from documents which it then must provide ESPN.

The court also denied ESPN’s request for attorney fees.

This is a big decision, not just for Ohio State, but for all public Universities with high profile athletic departments. While many media outlets were aligning with ESPN in the case, several educational institutions were siding with Ohio State. By upholding Ohio State’s right to protect the privacy of its students, a precedent has been set for similar future cases with other schools.

[Related: ESPN v Ohio State: The Lawsuit and What It Means]

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Ohio State Lands 4-Star QB Prospect JT Barrett

April 18, 2012 by 11 Comments

Urban Meyer has landed yet another highly thought of 4-star recruit. JT Barrett, the 7th ranked QB prospect in the country out of Wichita Falls, Texas, confirmed Wednesday afternoon that he will be a Buckeye, according to Scout.com’s Bill Greene.

Barrett is a QB very much in the mold of Braxton Miller. Though Barrett is smaller than Miller, Barrett seems to fit the mold of what Urban Meyer wants to do with Ohio State’s offense. He is agile enough to keep plays alive with his feet and operate plays in space, but he also has the ability to stand in the pocket and make good throws. The very definition of a dual threat QB.

[Scout.com: Barrett Goes to the Buckeyes]

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Jared Sullinger turning pro after sophomore season

April 4, 2012 by 10 Comments

After a move the surprised a few people in returning to Ohio State for his sophomore season, Jared Sullinger has decided to make himself available in the NBA draft.

Sullinger and Buckeyes coach Thad Matta are expected to appear at a news conference at 2:15 p.m. ET Wednesday at Value City Arena, on the Ohio State campus.

Short of winning the whole thing, it is hard to argue with Sullinger’s resumé for the NBA. Sullinger nearly averaged a double double in back-to-back years for Ohio State while playing over 30 minutes per game.

What remains to be seen is what path Sullinger’s NBA career will take as a 6’9″ power forward who seems somewhat undersized at times. When WFNY has discussed the topic, scenarios from LSU’s Glen Davis, to Duke’s Elton Brand and Carlos Boozer have all come up as potential NBA ceilings. There is little doubt though that Sullinger probably would have gone higher in last year’s draft than he will in the upcoming one, but we’ll see.

[Related: Jayhawks end OSU's NCAA journey]

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The Sweet Sixteen and the NBA Draft: Cuse, OSU, Marquette, and Baylor

March 22, 2012 by 5 Comments

With the Sweet 16 upon us and the end of the NBA season rapidly approaching (didn’t it seem like this season last like a month?), this will be your (and NBA scouts for that matter) last few chances to see some of the top prospects play real competition. I have never been a “workout” guy. I go by what I see on the court.

With 16 teams left, I thought it would be a good time to take a look into who is left in terms of NBA prospects the Cavaliers could be interested in with four draft picks this June (two first rounders and two second rounders). If the season ended today, the Cavs would have the eighth worst record in the NBA. So unless they essentially end up losing out the rest of the way, they will be picking somewhere between sixth and ninth with their first selection.

The first part of this series, we looked at the #1 Kentucky Wildcats. We followed with the UNC Tar Heels.  This piece will focus on the prospects of Syracuse, Ohio State, Marquette, and Baylor. [Read more...]

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Sullinger: “I was focusing on other stuff besides the basketball team”

February 29, 2012 by 1 Comment

The Ohio State men’s basketball team has certainly been struggling as of late, and perhaps the biggest reason has been the wildly inconsistent and unproductive play of star big man Jared Sullinger. Going into this season, Sullinger was on virtually everyone’s short list of national player of the year candidates. Now the talk is about how much damage Sullinger has done to his draft prospects this season.

It’s been a mind scratching season for Sullinger, the coaches, and fans and observers alike. Some have wondered if there’s an internal chemistry problem that is eating away at this team. But according to Sullinger, he’s just allowed himself to be too distracted as of late. Per Ari Wasserman of Scout.com:

It’s not one thing that’s been bothering Jared Sullinger, who admitted Tuesday that he hasn’t been playing his normal brand of basketball. It is the sum multiple small things that has had the sophomore All-American distracted.
And that could turn into one big problem for the No. 10 Ohio State basketball. Sullinger acknowledged that while offering an explanation for why he’s been playing noticeably different.

“It is just the little stuff,” Sullinger said. “It is just me letting the refs get to me, or letting everything on the outside get to me and it letting it creep in. I was focusing on other stuff besides the basketball team and what this team needs me to do to win basketball games.”

That may not be the only factor that has caused the Buckeyes (23-6, 11-5 Big Ten) to lose three of their last five games while slipping out of the race for the Big Ten Championship, but head coach Thad Matta most certainly knows the impact of not having Sullinger completely focused.

“I don’t know,” Matta replied when asked about his big man’s focus following the team’s 63-60 loss to Wisconsin on Sunday. “He was battling a cold, but he’s played with a lot worse than that. I know this: When Jared’s playing his best basketball, he’s engaged and into it.”

Sullinger and the Buckeyes return to the court tonight against Northwestern. It will be interesting to see whether the focus is back for the Buckeye big man.

[Related: Wisconsin Wears Out Buckeyes, Sends OSU Into Complete Meltdown]

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Michigan Strikes Back at Ohio State in Recruiting War

February 20, 2012 by 36 Comments

It’s not just a rivalry on the football field. Perhaps the greatest rivalry in college football, the disgust and animosity these two states feel for one another permeates all aspects of life. If an Ohio State fan beats a Michigan fan in a coin toss, said Buckeye will feel the almost the same level of pride and joy that is felt on those cold November afternoons when the scarlet and gray came out victorious. Almost.

But where the battle between these two great Universities is quickly heating up the fastest is on the recruiting trail. And it’s a battle that could potentially have implications for The Game.

Not much known about Brady Hoke when he accepted the Michigan, but Hoke has wisely leaned on his Ohio roots to build connections with Ohio high school coaches. In his own way, Hoke is developing a tenacious reputation as a recruiter himself. He is showing no fear of Urban Meyer and seems to be content to go toe to toe with the new man in charge in Columbus.  [Read more...]

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Ohio State Lands First 5-Star Commitment For Class of 2013

January 31, 2012 by 12 Comments

Middletown's Jalin Marshall

Urban Meyer just doesn’t stop landing recruits. This is a period of recruiting unlike anything else I’ve ever seen before. It feels like hardly a week goes by without Meyer bringing in yet another 4 or 5 star recruit. National Signing Day for 2012 is coming up tomorrow, but that’s not stopping Meyer from already securing playmakers for 2013.

First it was Cam Burrow committing last week, now Middletown freak athlete Jalin Marshall has decided to become the 2nd member of the 2013 class and the first 5-star recruit for that class. Marshall, the top recruit in the state of Ohio for 2013 may not have been a surprise, as his long time desire to be a Buckeye was a poorly kept secret, but never the less, this is a huge get for Urban Meyer and the Buckeyes.

Scout.com’s Bill Greene has the story: [Read more...]

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Ohio State Lands Commitment From 4-Star DB Armani Reeves

January 30, 2012 by 8 Comments

Sunday night, while Cavs fans were still basking in the joy of Kyrie Irving’s game winner over Boston, 4-star defensive back prospect Armani Reeves from West Roxbury, Massachussetts tweeted that he was going to announce his collegiate destination on Twitter.

Reeves, a potential impact player in the secondary, something the Buckeyes desperately needed, was said to be down to OSU and Michigan, with many recruiting insiders feeling like Michigan had gained a slight lead over the Buckeyes for his services. This would have been a bit of a blow to OSU’s recruiting momentum under Urban Meyer. An impact player at a position of need going to the rivals is always a bitter pill. But alas, in the end, Reeves took to Twitter to announce he was joining the Buckeyes.

From Eleven Warriors:

At the end of the day, Reeves (5-10/185) took the opportunity to come play in Columbus, where his skills are needed after the departures of Derjuan Gambrell and Dominic Clarke at the corner back position. He joins Najee Murray as the only two corners in this class, and will likely compete for the final spot in the two deep right away (Travis Howard, Bradley Roby, and Doran Grant likely have the first three).

The commitment of Reeves is a big one for the staff, as it filled a position of need and kept a very good player away from rivals Michigan and Penn State. With corner back depth being an issue these days, expect to see Reeves on the field from day one, either locking down receivers or on special teams. The Buckeyes continue to compile a very good recruiting class under Urban Meyer and only have a few slots left before things fill up.

The Buckeyes are still waiting to hear from Kyle Dodson, Devonte Neal, Stefon Diggs, and Jamal Marcus as we head to National Signing Day this Wednesday. The Buckeyes are currently holding the #3 ranked recruiting class (according to Scout.com) and if they hit on all 4 remaining players, they could move as high as #2.

 

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WFNY Top 10 Cleveland Stories of 2011: #2 Ohio State Hires Urban Meyer

December 29, 2011 by 17 Comments

As the year comes to a close, like we have done the last three years, WFNY will take a look at what we view to be the 10 biggest sports stories affecting our local sports scene. Each day through the rest of the year, we will be counting down from ten to one. We started with #10 – The Colt Concussion, next was #9 -Key Cavalier Wins. We broke down the Baron Davis Trade and talked some Tribe at #7. Kirk was on the Pat Shurmur hire for #6. We stuck with that Browns theme and discussed the big draft day deal involving Julio Jones and Phil Taylor (#5). We went back to the Red, White, and Blue with #4, the Ubaldo Jimenez trade. Yesterday TD touched on the Cavaliers winning the draft lottery and picking Kyrie Irving at #3. Today, it’s time to talk about the moment Ohio State was saved from falling off the cliff.

#2: The Ohio State University Hires Urban Meyer as Head Football Coach [Read more...]

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Urban Meyer Hangs On To Star Recruit Brionte Dunn, Looks to Keep Building Class of 2012

December 14, 2011 by 28 Comments

If you think back to Memorial Weekend, The Ohio State University football team was reaching the culmination of the darkest time in recent history. You’d have to go back to Woody Hayes’ unfortunate punch and resulting termination to find a more stunning end to such a successful period of OSU football.

With Jim Tressel being pushed aside despite the University’s administration previously proclaiming their full support of the coach, with the potential for more violations to surface in the fallout, with the heavy cloud of NCAA sanctions hanging overhead, with the daunting challenge of dealing with multiple suspensions to star players. All of these things were weighing heavily on the program.

So to think that Ohio State could have anything close to resembling hope, forget optimism, before the end of 2011 would be something of a miracle. [Read more...]

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While We’re Waiting…Buckeyes Fall To Kansas, Griffin III Wins Heisman

December 11, 2011 by 3 Comments

While We’re Waiting serves as the early morning gathering of WFNY-esque information for your viewing pleasure. Have something you think we should see? Send it to our tips email at tips@waitingfornextyear.com.

Sullinger sits out as Buckeyes fall to Jayhawks: “Even with Jared Sullinger it was going to be a tall order to walk into Allen Fieldhouse and end a 46 non-conference game winning streak.

Without him, the Buckeyes simply couldn’t create enough good looks at the offensive end and gave up far too many at the other end as Kansas took down the Buckeyes 78-67 this afternoon in Lawrence.

Ohio State never led in the game but trailed by just four at 62-58 with 5:39 to play following a 10-3 run sparked by William Buford. WB couldn’t throw it in the ocean in the opening 20 minutes (1/7 FG, 4 pts) but caught fire early in the second half scoring 14 of 19 Ohio State points during one stretch as the Buckeyes inched toward a possible upset.

It wasn’t meant to be however as Kansas closed out the game with a 16-9 run behind 10 points from Thomas Robinson as he abused Amir Williams and to a lesser extend Evan Ravenel at a time when the Buckeyes had to have defensive stops. Robinson led the Jayhawks with 21 points and seven boards behind the huge 2nd half that saw him pour in 14 points along with all seven of his boards.

Buford’s 21 points (8/23, 17 pts in 2H) paced the Buckeye attack with DeShaun Thomas adding 19 points (7/14 FG, 3/7 3FG) and five boards.”  [Eleven Warriors / Chris Lauderback] [Read more...]

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Ohio State Lands Top Recruit in Ohio, Adolphus Washington

November 22, 2011 by 21 Comments

It’s been a tumultuous time for Ohio State football, and questions continue to linger over the future, but on Tuesday the Buckeyes received some outstanding news on the recruiting front.

Adolphus Washington, the 6’-6”, 240 pound defensive end from Taft High School in Cincinnati announced that he will be attending The Ohio State University next season. Washington is the #1 recruit overall in the state of Ohio per Scout.com and he is the #3 DE in the country. Scout.com also has him ranked as the #1 player in the Midwest.

Being able to secure the top player in Ohio is a major accomplishment for the Ohio State staff. As mentioned, the Buckeyes are facing a lot of questions right now. They are still waiting to hear from the NCAA on potential additional sanctions, their coaching situation is still up in the air and by all accounts there will be a different coaching staff next year. [Read more...]

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NCAA Completes Ohio State Investigation, OSU Imposes More Sanctions

November 10, 2011 by 18 Comments

When The Ohio State University went through the scandal with former coach Jim Tressel, the hope of the University and its athletic department was that firing Jim Tressel and self-imposing probation plus forfeiting the last season would be enough.

For a while, it looked like that might be the case when the NCAA’s Committee on Infractions delivered OSU a positive letter in response to their investigation into the Notice of Allegations.

All of that changed when the news of the Bobby DiGeronimo booster scandal rocked the program. The NCAA essentially slammed the brakes on their investigation and delivered OSU a supplemental Notice of Allegations. [Read more...]

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Ohio State, Basketball School?

October 7, 2011 by 6 Comments

On June 8, 2004, The Ohio State University gave men’s basketball coach Jim O’Brien a letter informing him of his immediate termination. At the time, this seemed like an unfathomable dark period in Ohio State’s basketball history.

After all, Jim O’Brien had overseen what many felt was an overwhelmingly successful period in the school’s up and down history. After going 8-22 (1-15 in the Big Ten) his first season in Columbus, O’Brien helped turn the program around immediately. He brought in Scoonie Penn to join Michael Redd and Ken Johnson on a team that went 27-9 and ultimately made a trip to the NCAA Final Four.

In the 21 years before O’Brien’s arrival, the University went through a more or less mediocre period of time. The Buckeyes made the NCAA tournament 8 times and only won the Big Ten twice in that period. It seemed like after the success of coaches like Harold Olsen and Fred Taylor, that the best OSU could hope for was the occasional NCAA appearance, with the Big Ten Championship as the real prize. [Read more...]

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