May 22, 2013

NCAA tourney primer with Kirk and TD – WFNY Podcast – 2013-03-20

March 20, 2013 by Leave a Comment

WFNY Podcast LogoThe connection was a bit bad for a few moments as we all tried to figure out who was talking next, but it all got smoothed out pretty quickly. Kirk and TD are two of the more passionate NCAA hoops fans on the site and they wanted to lay out some storylines for the tourney.

  • Quick talk about Phil Dawson’s departure
  • TD and Kirk talk about Ohio State’s number 2 seeding
  • TD talks about Kansas and their draw
  • Which regions are the most brutal?
  • What are the most entertaining opening round games?
  • TD’s final four prediction
  • Kirk’s final four prediction
  • TD and his recommendation / final words on Ubaldo Jimenez

[Read more...]

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NCAA Tournament: Ohio State’s Path To Atlanta

March 18, 2013 by 12 Comments

Deshaun ThomasRejoice Ohio State fans. Not only is your team playing its best basketball at the right time, but the NCAA Tournament committee rewarded them with perhaps its best draw in years. Fresh off of their Big Ten Tournament Championship in Chicago, Thad Matta’s Buckeyes are riding high right into the greatest event in all of American sports.

It is amazing to think about how far this Ohio State team has come when you look back at their midseason swoon. This was a team that was throttled at Illinois by 19 in January and destroyed at Wisconsin by 22 in February, in the midst of losing three of four. However, since that debacle in Madison, the Bucks have won eight straight, six of those coming against NCAA Tournament teams, including a road win over #1 seed Indiana.

The Buckeyes are peaking. With a stroke of magic, they were sent out West with a path to the Final Four as good as anyone has. As many of you know, I am Kansas graduate and I would gladly give up our number one seed for the two seed in the West with Ohio State’s draw.  [Read more...]

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While We’re Waiting…Kyrie earns respect, OSU/Wisc, Bourn notes

February 17, 2013 by 5 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.

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“”This weekend was just basically about earning everybody’s respect and getting a chance for people to see me who don’t usually see me,” Irving said. “We’re not nationally televised. This weekend is to show my face to the fans and get everybody in the league acclimated to my face.” [Ingram/USAToday] [Read more...]

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ESPN: Ohio State’s Deshaun Thomas needs help

January 9, 2013 by 2 Comments

In his quest to discuss the most over-worked and over-relient players in NCAA Division I men’s basketball, Basketball Prospectus’ John Gasaway has Ohio State’s Deshaun Thomas front and center.

Gasaway, in a piece penned for ESPN.com, states that while Thomas’ growth over the last three years has been nothing short of brilliant, the way That Matta lives and dies by the 6-foot-7-inch forward is everything but.

Let’s get the obvious choice out of the way at the top, shall we? The arc charted by Thomas in his three seasons at OSU has been remarkable. Not only did the McDonald’s All-American come off the bench as a freshman, he actually didn’t come off the bench all that much, averaging just 14 minutes a game. Now look: Thomas is always on the floor, and he takes 32 percent of the offense’s shots during those abundant minutes.

At least when LaQuinton Ross is in the game Thomas has a partner in assertive shooting, but Ross averages just 19 minutes per contest. We’ve seen that a rotation of Thomas, a half-timer like Ross and six additional role players has not been very effective.

In the losses to Kansas and Illinois, Ohio State scored just 0.83 points per possession. Granted, that’s an extreme number that won’t recur. The Jayhawks aren’t exactly chopped liver on D, and on paper, this is still a pretty good OSU offense. But against top competition — the kind the Buckeyes will see quite often in Big Ten play — this offense is questionable because Thomas can’t do it all by himself.

Past Thomas, Matta’s rotation is filled with players who are efficient in the narrow sense, but one or two of those guys — whether it’s Aaron Craft, Lenzelle Smith Jr. or someone else — need to be efficient while carrying a bigger chunk of the offense.

The knock on Thomas over his Freshman season was his willingness (and desire) to take every shot imaginable. Unfortunately, given the position the Buckeyes are currently in, it is Thomas who is now counted on to do just that. Thomas is, per ESPN’s Chad Ford, currently the 65th-ranked prospect for the 2013 NBA Draft.

[Related: Craft-tastic! Buckeye Point Guard Returns To Form In West Lafayette]

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Buckeyes Get Blasted By Illini, Have Identity Crisis

January 6, 2013 by 1 Comment

Thirteen points for about the first 14 minutes of the game. 11 first half turnovers and 16 points off those turnovers for the opponent. Out-rebounded by 10 against a team who was severely out-rebounded in their last few games. The Ohio State Buckeyes went into Champaign yesterday afternoon in their first real Big Ten test and got absolutely flattened by former OSU assistant and OU head coach John Groce 74-55. It wasn’t just the blowout that was disheartening, but the affirmation that the Buckeyes are going to struggle to score enough points against not just the teams like Duke and Kansas but the top half of the gauntlet Big Ten conference.

I expected this to be a tough game for the Buckeyes. Perhaps, I even expected them to drop this one, but it was the way they essentially failed to compete in their first high-profile weekend game on the Big Ten slate that has me questioning a lot. Sure, the Buckeyes went through two extended scoring droughts in this game (scoring 13 points in the first 13:50 of the first half and 6 points in the first 9:45 of the second half), but it was their carelessness with the basketball and porous and uncharacteristic defense that has me scratching my head currently. [Read more...]

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WFNY Top 10 Cleveland Sports Stories of 2012: #10 Buckeyes March To Final Four in New Orleans

December 24, 2012 by 8 Comments

2012 was one crazy year in the wild wacky world of Cleveland Sports. Some would tell you 2012 was as bad as it has ever been here. As the year comes to a close, like we have done the last four 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.

10. The Ohio State Buckeyes Reach the Final Four

I’ll always remember the 2012 Ohio State Buckeyes as an immensely talented team that had all the tools to go the distance and nearly did so. Your tenth biggest story of the year is Thad Matta leading the Buckeyes to their second Final Four under him and the 11th in school history. The Buckeyes got there by capturing a number two seed after a 25-6 regular season that included a share of the Big Ten regular season title with Michigan and Michigan State. They also reached the Big Ten Championship game, falling to Michigan State in their third matchup of the season 68-64 after having beaten them in East Lansing just seven days prior to claim their share of the conference crown.

The Buckeyes dispatched of 15th seeded Loyola Maryland in the tourney opener with relative ease 78-59. Deshaun Thomas led the team in scoring with a career-high 31 points, the start of what would be a magical tournament for both Deshaun and the Bucks.

The next day, I had this to say:
[Read more...]

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WFNY Podcast – 2012-12-21 – TD and Kirk talk Kansas vs. Ohio State and college vs. NBA

December 21, 2012 by Leave a Comment

I got to hang out, drink some decaf and just moderate this badboy. TD is a Kansas grad, Kirk is an Ohio State grad, and they’ll both be attending the matchup this Saturday between the Buckeyes and Jayhawks in Columbus. So, we got everyone on the line and talked about the matchup. Then I started poking the bear to figure out if the regular season in college basketball is worthless and how it compares to the NBA.

  • Ohio State’s early returns and what it means for this Saturday
  • The Buckeyes’ depth and how deep Matta’s rotation goes this year
  • Kansas’ roster and rotation
  • The first real road test for Kansas this season
  • How meaningful is the college regular season?
  • The Final Four, while entertaining, does it really crown the best basketball team?
  • Does it render the regular season useless?
  • Bigtime college matchups vs. TNT and other national NBA matchups
  • Making TD an NBA fan again by drafting Kansas players :-)
  • Grudge Match

[Read more...]

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Ohio State Basketball Will Play In Aircraft Carrier Game

May 26, 2012 by 2 Comments

The Ohio State men’s and women’s basketball teams will play in the second Carrier Classic this fall in Charleston, South Carolina. The first game took place this past November on Veterans Day, with North Carolina and Michigan State playing aboard the USS Carl Vinson in San Diego. Now it appears the Buckeyes have been tabbed to play in the second game, which will be on the USS Yorktown docked in Charleston.

According to Bob Baptist, both the men’s and women’s teams will play in a doubleheader on November 9th. The men’s team is finalizing the details for a game against Marquette, while the women’s team is set to play Notre Dame. The Connecticut men’s team was initially reported as commitments for the unique event, but apparently that fell through and the Buckeyes became a possibility. Thad Matta spoke with Baptist about the amazing opportunity:

“Obviously, we are excited,” men’s coach Thad Matta said. “This is a rare opportunity for our student-athletes. We are honored to play before the men and women who protect our country.”

It will definitely be a cool way to start the college hoops season for a new-look Buckeyes team.

[Related: OSU Basketball: Sibert, Weatherspoon Transferring]

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Deshaun Thomas Announces Return to Ohio State Basketball Team

April 6, 2012 by 3 Comments

The Ohio State University formally announced today that forward Deshaun Thomas will return next year for his junior season for the men’s basketball team. Thomas, a 6-foot-7 starter, blossomed in February and March for the Buckeyes on the team’s path to the Final Four. He is expected to be a key offensive option for head coach Thad Matta next year after sophomore forward Jared Sullinger announced his departure for the NBA earlier this week.

Thomas averaged 15.9 points on 52 percent shooting with 5.4 rebounds in starting all 39 games this past season. He averaged 19.2 and 7.4 during the final 13 games of the season. However, he struggled with just 9 points and 4 rebounds in OSU’s national semifinal loss to Kansas on March 31, his first single-digit scoring game since a Feb. 11 loss to Michigan State.

Senior guard William Buford is the other notable departure from this year’s team. Also returning next season will be two other starters, guards Aaron Craft and Lenzelle Smith Jr. The Buckeyes are expected to begin the season ranked in the top 25, but likely not in the top 5.

Source: [Ohio State athletics]

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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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Buckeyes Have A Tough, But Navigable Road

March 14, 2012 by 2 Comments

They didn’t meet expectations in the regular season or in the conference tournament. They’ve accumulated seven losses and more close calls because of a lack of offensive consistency. This team lacks an identity at times, and their depth remains an issue. When they run up against someone that can guard Jared Sullinger 1-on-1, they’ll probably be going home. In the last two tournaments, Matta’s teams have failed to meet the expectations of their high seeds, and those teams had far more upperclassmen leadership. Their three-point shooting is streaky at best, and they do not get the ball into the post with enough regularity or ease. The Buckeyes won’t make it past the Sweet 16.

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This team is hitting its stride. They’ve won 4 out of the last 5, and they needed to execute in two straight games with late game heroics to gain a share of the Big Ten regular season conference crown. They have 7 wins against ranked teams. They’re hungry after missing out on the Big Ten Conference Tournament championship, and they’ve had to work a little harder for everything, an edge that other Matta top teams haven’t had. Few teams have a three-man scoring punch quite like Sullinger, Thomas, and Buford. They’re the most defensively efficient team in the nation, and they defend without fouling. As many shortcomings as they’ve had on offense, a lot of the frustration has come from not knowing who will be the go-to guy during their midseason identity crisis. They still rank 7th in offensive efficiency, and they now collectively know that their team will operate through Jared Sullinger. This team may just win it all.

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I figured I’d start with my two conflicting voices, as this is pretty much what’s been going on in my head not just since the bracket was unveiled, but in the weeks leading up to it when I contemplated how far I thought the Buckeyes could go in March Madness. I’ve been saying it almost since day one this season: this Ohio State team has the talent to win the national championship. As the season progressed, however, issues with consistency and leadership led me to believe the Bucks had too many holes on offense to put up six strong showings in a row. Somewhere along that line, William Buford was going to have a bad shooting night, and the Bucks would be going home. But, the recent run to a share of the Big Ten title and trip to the Big Ten Championship Game have gotten the team’s mind right and rekindled my hopes to a certain extent. [Read more...]

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The Buckeyes March Forecast: Cloudy

February 22, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Note before reading this…. I don’t consider last night’s thrashing of Illinois any indication of a Buckeye turnaround. The Illini are a sinking ship who are playing like they can’t wait for the season to be over.  

College Basketball starts in November. The National Championship Game in New Orleans is played on April 1st. It doesn’t seem long compared to the NBA, but the way teams evolve over the course of a season, you can make a case that it’s actually three seasons in one; Pre-conference, which is essentially November through the end of the year, Conference, which goes January through the first weekend in March, and Conference Tournament time, which gives every team in the country (not playing in the Ivy League) one more shot to get to the big dance in Mid-March.

Things change. Roles are defined. Rotations come together. Players step forward while others regress. Injuries take place. Some teams grow into prime contenders as the season moves into late February. I’m afraid that one team in particular had that championship look in the pre-conference season and into mid-January, but over the last month has moved in the wrong direction: the Ohio State Buckeyes. [Read more...]

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Buckeye Basketball Brief: Michigan State stands in Bucks’ way to Big Ten Title

February 14, 2012 by 2 Comments

On Saturday, the Buckeyes suffered through their worst offensive display in the Thad Matta era, shooting just 26% as they stumbled on their way to a 58-48 loss to the Michigan State Spartans at Value City Arena. With their home winning streak of 39 straight history, what the Buckeyes are doing offensively is increasingly fooling no one, and what they’re doing on defense is now being dissected. In short, despite their talent and potential, the cracks are starting to show, and the Bucks are in danger of coming away with nothing in the Big Ten hardware category.

Former walk-on cult hero Mark Titus provided great inside information at Grantland into Thad Matta’s strategy when it comes to defending the pick-and-roll, and if there’s anything to take away, it’s that the Buckeyes change it up an awful lot on the defensive end. It’s no wonder that the communication required, the personnel on those high ball screens changing, and the opponents’ scouting reports are all mashing together inside some of the Buckeyes’ heads. The true weak spot for the Buckeyes is the four spot, because Deshaun Thomas does not defend the ball screens particularly well, and when he gets in foul trouble, Evan Ravenel has an even more difficult time because he is often guarding a smaller, more perimeter-oriented player. [Read more...]

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Penn State No Match For Buckeyes On Their Home Floor

January 26, 2012 by Leave a Comment

With a Penn State team coming to Value City Arena sitting at the bottom of the conference at just 2-6, not having beat Ohio State in their last 16 tries, it would have been easy for OSU to look ahead to their showdown with co-Big Ten leader Michigan on Sunday afternoon. Instead, the Buckeyes continued their Midwest tour of lockdown defense as they stifled the Nittany Kitties, holding PSU to 31% shooting, on their way to a 78-54 demolition. While Penn State was in way over their head, the Buckeyes used this contest to work on some issues that have been plaguing them in the first half of the Big Ten slate.

For starters, the Bucks have struggled at times with breaking zone defenses, upon which opponents have increasingly relied. This has been mainly due to their step back in terms of three-point shooting prowess from last year. In the first half, though, it was an offensive coming out party for Aaron Craft, who instead used dribble penetration to slice through the Penn State 2-3 zone. The sophomore point attacked the foul line and the wings, the weak spots of a 2-3, scoring all 11 of his points in the first half as he made all four shots he attempted, including a 35-foot lob to Sam Thompson that turned into a made three-pointer. Another checkpoint for Craft is turnovers, and while the team had 13, Aaron was responsible for just one in 22 minutes. [Read more...]

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Mullens: If I Could Go Back, I Would’ve Transfered From Ohio State

January 20, 2012 by 8 Comments

To tell you the truth, if I could go back, I would’ve transfered out of Ohio State and went to Ohio [University]. The coach that I committed to [John Groce] left OSU and became head coach at OU. I truly believe, had I done that, I wou’dlve stayed in school for another year or so, but that’s not what happened. I don’t regret my decision. I’m a strong believer in ‘everything happens for a reason.’ God has put me where he wants me.

- Charlotte Bobcats center Byron (“BJ”) Mullens on his one-year stint with The Ohio State Buckeyes and head coach Thad Matta. After being acquired for a second-round draft pick, Mullens — drafted in the first round of the 2009 NBA Draft —  is in the midst of his best season as a professional, averaging 12.4 points and 5.4 rebounds in 23 minutes per game.

[Related: Ohio State, Basketball School?]

(Source: Trade Street Presents via Chris Littmann)

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Ohio State Buckeyes Move Up to #5 in the Polls

January 9, 2012 by Leave a Comment

When the polls were released last week, Ohio State’s men’s basketball team was 13-2, which was good enough to be ranked 7th in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll and 6th in the AP Top 25.  Two blowout wins against Nebraska (71-40) and Iowa (76-47) later and the Bucks moved to #5 in both polls.

In fact, the top five are unified in both polls for the time being.

  1. Syracuse
  2. Kentucky
  3. North Carolina
  4. Baylor
  5. Ohio State

The Buckeyes jumped Duke in the AP poll and both Duke and Missouri in the ESPN/USA Today poll.  Duke was hurt by a five point loss at the hands of Temple, while Missouri lost 75-59 to Kansas State.

The upcoming schedule could prove to be difficult for the Buckeyes as they head to Illinois and are back home to host Indiana.  Illinois is currently 14-3 (3-1 Big Ten) while the Hoosiers are 15-1 (3-1 Big Ten.) Of course Indiana also handed the Buckeyes a pretty tough four point loss on December 31st in Bloomington.

 

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Buckeye Basketball Brief: Time for Thad to extend the bench

December 8, 2011 by 5 Comments

I’m far from the only person who thinks that Thad Matta should extend his bench. In fact, it’s a point that’s been discussed ad nauseaum by every analyst during the last two tourney runs and this season as well. However, the reason why I think Thad should play more Buckeyes might differ a little bit from popular opinion.

Last season, the Buckeyes were picked by many to win the NCAA Tournament. Regardless of whether or not people picked the Bucks, the common denominator was the sole identified weakness: depth. It’s not rocket science. With a lack of depth comes fatigue and the risk of foul trouble stinging that much more. Only while that was a constant risk for OSU, that was far from their downfall.

Does anyone honestly believe that depth played any significant role in the Buckeyes’ tournament loss last season to Kentucky? The Buckeyes ran into a young, talented Wildcat team that played one of their best games of the season. They matched up well with Ohio State (Josh Harrellson attacked Sullinger on the offensive end among other things), and as we’ve learned, the NCAA tournament is less about the best team winning and more about matchups, momentum, and a little bit of luck. Ohio State got a 2-for-16 shooting performance from William Buford and still had a shot in the air to win the game. In that game, Dallas Lauderdale logged five minutes and Deshaun Thomas played just three minutes. The rest was the unit of Craft, Diebler, Lighty, Buford, and Sullinger.

[Read more...]

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Buckeyes’ four-man attack crushes Duke in top five matchup

November 30, 2011 by 14 Comments

So much for flying under the radar. After being overshadowed by North Carolina and Kentucky in the early part of the season, the #2 Buckeyes made a bold statement on national television against the third ranked (fourth in the Coaches’ Poll) Blue Devils at The Schott. The quartet of Jared Sullinger, William Buford, Aaron Craft, and Deshaun Thomas combined for 76 points and shot just under 60% as the Buckeyes were unselfish and relentless in smashing the Dukies 85-63 to put everyone on notice that this team is a national title contender.

The key factor in this game was from the tip, the Buckeyes created matchup problems for Duke, they repeatedly exploited them, and they were patient and calculated in their approach while remaining aggressive and feeding off the crowd. So many times I’ve watched the basketball teams I follow be forced into altering not just their lineups but also what they do well in order to adjust to the other team’s style. It was refreshing to have the tables turned and see Duke have to try some different lineups to slow the Buckeyes down. [Read more...]

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Young Buckeyes top Gators and pass early season test

November 16, 2011 by 11 Comments

It wasn’t a polished performance, there were defensive lapses, offensive holes, and there wasn’t uninterrupted viewing on ESPN2, but what the third ranked Buckeyes did do last night was survive their first true early season test. The Bucks rallied after falling behind by 8 early in the first half to take a 18-point lead in the second half, led by William Buford’s shooting and closed out by Aaron Craft’s toughness, as Ohio State topped #8 Florida 81-74 to move to 2-0 on the season.

Things did not go OSU’s way at the outset. Gator junior forward Erik Murphy drilled three early three pointers and behind that effort, Florida led 14-6 six minutes in. The Bucks gave up 6 first half trey balls in all as their bigger lineup with either starter Deshaun Thomas or reserve Evan Ravenel had trouble closing out on shooters, allowing open looks.

On offense, the Buckeyes looked impatient and flustered. Ironically, no one played that part more at the outset than the lone senior Buford. At the same time, Buford both kept Ohio State in the game with his made jumpers and held them back from generating a true offensive flow to pull away from Florida. In my view, there’s almost no excuse for Sullinger not to touch the ball on every possession. When Buford gets it on the wing, he rarely find an open man and has the shoot-first mentality. However, Buford was the catalyst of the Buckeye run in the second half, scoring 9 points in less than four minutes and helping to extend the lead to its largest margin (18). William finished as the leading scorer with 21 points on 7-of-15 from the field, adding 6 boards and 3 assists. Ravenel added five straight points in that 27-14 run as well.

[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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