This is a test of a sample file using Google Docs and Microsoft Skydrive. Interesting way to post info and I will be using it for some stuff in the future.
After looking at this I have a lot of files I'm planning to share. This makes it pretty simple. I'm thinking I like google docs better since my other stuff is there but Skydrive isn't bad.
Monday, April 30, 2012
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
How will Urban Meyer's system affect recruiting?
One thing that I've been wondering about is how will Urban's offensive scheme affect our recruiting. To get an idea I decided to look at the past. The schedule recaps Letters of Intent signed by Coaches Tressel and Meyer during their tenures at Ohio State and Florida. It then shows a % breakdown by postion and then extrapolates to an 85 man roster:
Ohio State
LOI
%
85 x %
OL
23
12.8%
10.9
RB
15
8.3%
7.1
FB
3
1.7%
1.4
WR
17
9.4%
8.0
QB
10
5.6%
4.7
TE
10
5.6%
4.7
DT
14
7.8%
6.6
DE
18
10.0%
8.5
LB
25
13.9%
11.8
CB
23
12.8%
10.9
S
18
10.0%
8.5
P
1
0.6%
0.5
K
3
1.7%
1.4
180
Florida
LOI
%
+/-
85 x %
+/-
OL
18
15.8%
3.0%
13.4
2.6
RB
8
7.0%
-1.3%
6.0
-1.1
FB
1
0.9%
-0.8%
0.7
-0.7
WR
15
13.2%
3.7%
11.2
3.2
QB
5
4.4%
-1.2%
3.7
-1.0
TE
5
4.4%
-1.2%
3.7
-1.0
DT
10
8.8%
1.0%
7.5
0.8
DE
10
8.8%
-1.2%
7.5
-1.0
LB
16
14.0%
0.1%
11.9
0.1
CB
12
10.5%
-2.3%
8.9
-1.9
S
12
10.5%
0.5%
8.9
0.4
P
1
0.9%
0.3%
0.7
0.3
K
1
0.9%
-0.8%
0.7
-0.7
114
There are a few things that stick out:
Ohio State
LOI
%
85 x %
OL
23
12.8%
10.9
RB
15
8.3%
7.1
FB
3
1.7%
1.4
WR
17
9.4%
8.0
QB
10
5.6%
4.7
TE
10
5.6%
4.7
DT
14
7.8%
6.6
DE
18
10.0%
8.5
LB
25
13.9%
11.8
CB
23
12.8%
10.9
S
18
10.0%
8.5
P
1
0.6%
0.5
K
3
1.7%
1.4
180
Florida
LOI
%
+/-
85 x %
+/-
OL
18
15.8%
3.0%
13.4
2.6
RB
8
7.0%
-1.3%
6.0
-1.1
FB
1
0.9%
-0.8%
0.7
-0.7
WR
15
13.2%
3.7%
11.2
3.2
QB
5
4.4%
-1.2%
3.7
-1.0
TE
5
4.4%
-1.2%
3.7
-1.0
DT
10
8.8%
1.0%
7.5
0.8
DE
10
8.8%
-1.2%
7.5
-1.0
LB
16
14.0%
0.1%
11.9
0.1
CB
12
10.5%
-2.3%
8.9
-1.9
S
12
10.5%
0.5%
8.9
0.4
P
1
0.9%
0.3%
0.7
0.3
K
1
0.9%
-0.8%
0.7
-0.7
114
There are a few things that stick out:
- Surprisingly, Urban has 2.6 more offensive linemen which if he continues this practice will make many Buckeye fans happy. Lack of experienced linemen was a continued compliant during the Tressel era.
- Given the switch to an offense more reliant on 4+wide receiver sets, Urban recruited 1.1 less running back but 3.2 more wide receivers.
- Fullbacks (-0.7) and blocking tight ends (-1.0) are somewhat interchangeable in Urban's scheme meaning we will recruit less specialty players in these two areas.
- Defense is surprisingly similar with the exception of cornerback where Urban had about 9 on the roster where JT had 11. This is most likely due to Coach Tressel's love of special teams.
Urban had 38.8 on offense and 44.7 on defense. Coach Tress had 36.8 and 46.3. Teams usually carry more defensive players due to special teams but one thing I do know that Urban did move some offensive players to defense if when they arrived they struggled to be a good fit to his scheme. For example, Joe Haden came in as a wide receiver and left early as a cornerback.
No doubt recruiting philosoply is going to be affected by Urban's arrival and the transition might be a little messy as when combined with the scholarship reduction he might be having some tough conversations with a few players over the summer to make room for next year's class. I'll probably cover that in a future post.
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
A new take on paying college football players
For the last few years the topic of paying college football players keeps popping up. A sane way to reward college football players for their participation. While many would argue that the cost of an education is more than adequate compensation, it really isn't close when you look at the facts.
I was reminded of this when I was reading an article the other day that there is a push that Major League Soccer pay local club teams money for similar to what happens in the Premier League in England. If you aren't familiar with the concept, in soccer (or football if you prefer) leagues are loosely aligned and the best teams are the ones with the most money. Over time it was determined that it wasn't fair for a rich team in the Premier league to take a player from a lower English league without compensasion of some sort and so the idea of a "transfer fee" was introduced.
I was reminded of this when I was reading an article the other day that there is a push that Major League Soccer pay local club teams money for similar to what happens in the Premier League in England. If you aren't familiar with the concept, in soccer (or football if you prefer) leagues are loosely aligned and the best teams are the ones with the most money. Over time it was determined that it wasn't fair for a rich team in the Premier league to take a player from a lower English league without compensasion of some sort and so the idea of a "transfer fee" was introduced.
Sunday, April 15, 2012
Urban Myth about redshirting
Ohio State under Jim Tressel redshirted about half his players which is the same that Urban Meyer did at Florida.
Urban's comment is saying that he never purposely recruits projects or players he expects to redshirt. His exact quote was:
In your experience, and understanding every player is different, how long does it take players with that talent level to make an impact on the field?
UM: We're going to rotate them right away. We don't redshirt here at Ohio State. We're changing that up. We're going to have the culture out here that there's no redshirting. If you don't play here, it's because you're not good enough. It's not because we're holding you back. We're going to recruit the kind of player where we want them on the field right now. That's the approach we took at Florida, and it's the approach we're going to take here.He said that so recruits know he expects them to play immediately and if they don't make it it's because of a combination of inexperience and effort. If they do perform they won't get lost behind an upperclassman. It helps recruiting because all high school seniors think they are ready for college football and they all want to go where they have a chance to play immediately. Urban is also telling upperclassmen that any preferential treatment they get is earned every day.
None of this means that Urban doesn't redshirt. He does it as much as anyone.
Monday, April 9, 2012
Urban Meyer hit piece by Sporting News brings up some interesting questions
Today the Sporting News' Matt Hayes released an article that was a virtual smackdown of the new Buckeye coach mostly about his time at the University of Florida. My issue with most of the article is that much of it uses unnamed sources but for the purposes of this post I'm going to trust that everything in it is true. Frankly it would surprise me if it weren't true as the Sporting News doesn't usually publish unsubstantiated rumors as it is an actual news organization as opposed to a blog or website like TMZ. Just because we don't know the sources doesn't mean they don't exist as I'd have to assume the editor at SN reviewed it extensively before releasing the article.
Facts as presented:
It's a bit of a double standard but it does touch on some of the harsh realities in college football. If it is all true it provides a bit of an insight into Urban Meyer. From the article he seems when he arrived at Florida that he was an inexperienced manager who choose to treat his players as adults rather than as children and got burned as a result. He's also not above using any means necessary to recruit a player including harsh truths. Finally, he's willing to manage his roster to make room for underachieving players.
That's it.
Three months of investigation and that's the result. If Charles Robinson spent 3 months on a story there would be jail time involved. At best this story raises some questions about using NFL players to help recruiting as nothing else is close to a violation.
Ohio State knew what it was getting when we hired Urban Meyer. He seems to have addressed any personal issues with player accountability and though perhaps has gone a bit overboard my guess he is currently setting expectations. One thing is for sure and that is he's no Jim Tressel in regards to player interests. Tressel went to an extreme in focusing on a recruit's character then tried to sign the best football players out of that bunch. Meyer will recruit the best players but won't hesitate to drop a kid if the negatives outweigh the positives. While this might cause some uncomfortable moments in the coming years, I'm ok with it because that's the reality in college football these days. All you need to do is look at the NCAA's response to oversigning and you know what is important to the people that run the sport.
Winning is king and for Ohio State, there is no better choice than Urban Meyer. A year removed from the problems at Florida he's no doubt learned some lessons and now is energized to retake the football world by storm. I expect this won't be the last of these types of articles because no one writes them when you are losing.
Facts as presented:
- While recruiting him earlier this year, Meyer told told Stefon Diggs that he wouldn’t let his son go to Florida because of significant character issues in the Florida locker room.
- Florida’s downfall began at the height of Meyer’s success—the 2008 national championship season. Three seasons of enabling and pandering to elite players—what Meyer’s players called his “Circle of Trust”—began to tear away at what he’d put together.
- According to multiple sources, the three players—all critical factors in Florida’s rise under Meyer—failed drug tests for marijuana and were sitting out as part of standard university punishment. By publicly stating the three were injured and not being disciplined, former players say, Meyer was creating a divide between the haves and have-nots on the team.
- Just how prevalent was the drug use among Meyer’s players? A source told Sporting News that Patriots coach Bill Belichick spoke to the current Florida team this offseason, and addressed the issue and how it impacts NFL careers. His message was, in essence, don’t be like those guys,” a source said.
- After the 2008 season, Thomas says he was told he had to “move on” because he wasn’t in the team’s plans for 2009. “I told (Meyer) I was on track to graduate, I wasn’t a problem and I did everything I was supposed to do—I just had a knee injury,” Thomas said. “I told them I wasn’t leaving, and if they tried to force me to leave, I was going to tell everyone everything." The next day, Thomas says he was given a medical hardship letter by position coach Chuck Heater stating Thomas had an injury that would prohibit him from playing football.
- Wisconsin accused Meyer and his staff of using former Ohio State NFL players to call high school recruits. Wisconsin also accused Meyer and his staff of bumping into offensive lineman Kyle Dodson, who was committed to the Badgers but eventually flipped and signed with the Buckeyes.
It's a bit of a double standard but it does touch on some of the harsh realities in college football. If it is all true it provides a bit of an insight into Urban Meyer. From the article he seems when he arrived at Florida that he was an inexperienced manager who choose to treat his players as adults rather than as children and got burned as a result. He's also not above using any means necessary to recruit a player including harsh truths. Finally, he's willing to manage his roster to make room for underachieving players.
That's it.
Three months of investigation and that's the result. If Charles Robinson spent 3 months on a story there would be jail time involved. At best this story raises some questions about using NFL players to help recruiting as nothing else is close to a violation.
Ohio State knew what it was getting when we hired Urban Meyer. He seems to have addressed any personal issues with player accountability and though perhaps has gone a bit overboard my guess he is currently setting expectations. One thing is for sure and that is he's no Jim Tressel in regards to player interests. Tressel went to an extreme in focusing on a recruit's character then tried to sign the best football players out of that bunch. Meyer will recruit the best players but won't hesitate to drop a kid if the negatives outweigh the positives. While this might cause some uncomfortable moments in the coming years, I'm ok with it because that's the reality in college football these days. All you need to do is look at the NCAA's response to oversigning and you know what is important to the people that run the sport.
Winning is king and for Ohio State, there is no better choice than Urban Meyer. A year removed from the problems at Florida he's no doubt learned some lessons and now is energized to retake the football world by storm. I expect this won't be the last of these types of articles because no one writes them when you are losing.
Friday, April 6, 2012
Thomas coming back!!!
Ohio State just released a statement that Deshaun Thomas is coming back next year. This is definitely the right move for him and I am planning a detailed post on why in the future. For now I spent some time putting together my new projections for next years team:
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Where are the points for the Basketball Bucks next season?
This season the team was pretty much dominated by 5 players and right now it appears we will be losing the first 3.
Player
G
Min
PPG
RPG
APG
SPG
BPG
TPG
Jared Sullinger
37
30.4
17.5
9.2
1.2
1.2
1.1
1.9
Deshaun Thomas
39
31.4
15.9
5.4
0.9
0.4
0.2
1.2
William Buford
39
33.8
14.5
5.0
2.7
0.8
0.2
2.2
Aaron Craft
39
32.2
8.8
3.2
4.6
2.5
0.2
2.2
Lenzelle Smith, Jr.
39
25.4
6.8
4.6
2.0
0.9
0.1
1.2
Others
48.4
12.1
7.6
3.2
1.5
1.4
3.1
75.6
35.0
14.6
7.3
3.2
11.8
These players represent 63% of the points and 56% of the rebounds this season which has many fans questioning whether we can replicate it in 2012-3.
This got me to wondering how next year's team would look if this does happen and so I created a spreadsheet and using each players play per minute this season I extrapolated next year's results based on how many minutes I expect each player to contribute next year.
MIN
PPG
RPG
APG
SPG
BPG
TPG
Aaron Craft
35
9.6
3.5
5.0
2.7
0.2
2.4
Shannon Scott
25
2.8
2.6
4.0
0.8
0.2
1.1
Lenzelle Smith, Jr.
25
6.7
4.5
2.0
0.9
0.1
1.2
Sam Thompson
20
4.0
2.1
1.3
0.7
0.8
1.0
LaQuinton Ross
25
12.8
2.6
0.6
0.5
-
1.2
J.D. Weatherspoon
25
12.1
4.6
0.8
1.1
0.8
1.3
Amir Williams
25
6.4
8.0
0.4
-
3.0
1.9
Evan Ravenel
15
5.0
3.2
0.4
0.5
0.3
1.0
Trey McDonald
5
0.3
0.9
0.2
0.2
-
0.5
200
59.7
31.9
14.8
7.3
5.5
11.6
As you can see most of the statistical categories are similar with the notable exception of blocks and points (hence the understandable concern). The thing is every basketball game has a set number of possessions and the Buckeye tooks 1.38 field goal attempts per minute in 2011-2. Using the stats below equates to about 1.15 field goal attempts per minute, a reduction of about 20%. That's because players that weren't named Sullinger, Buford, or Thomas weren't supposed to shoot this season. Next season that won't be the case and many players will be called on to shoot more often. If anything I expect next year's team to shoot more because it is more athletic. I made a few adjustments to the shots per minute to get it closer to the 1.38 of this year's team while adjusting the field goal percentage to better represent their new role. Here's the results:
MIN
PPG
RPG
APG
SPG
BPG
TPG
Aaron Craft
35
12.7
3.5
5.0
2.7
0.2
2.4
Shannon Scott
25
5.7
2.6
4.0
0.8
0.2
1.1
Lenzelle Smith, Jr.
25
8.5
4.5
2.0
0.9
0.1
1.2
Sam Thompson
20
4.8
2.6
1.3
0.7
0.8
1.0
LaQuinton Ross
25
14.3
3.3
0.6
0.5
-
1.2
J.D. Weatherspoon
25
12.6
5.0
0.8
1.1
0.8
1.3
Amir Williams
25
10.7
8.0
0.4
-
3.0
1.9
Evan Ravenel
15
5.9
3.2
0.4
0.5
0.3
1.0
Trey McDonald
5
0.7
0.9
0.2
0.2
-
0.5
200
75.8
33.5
14.8
7.3
5.5
11.6
This seems to be a better representation of what we can expect next year for the Buckeyes to succeed. The keys are:
Player
G
Min
PPG
RPG
APG
SPG
BPG
TPG
Jared Sullinger
37
30.4
17.5
9.2
1.2
1.2
1.1
1.9
Deshaun Thomas
39
31.4
15.9
5.4
0.9
0.4
0.2
1.2
William Buford
39
33.8
14.5
5.0
2.7
0.8
0.2
2.2
Aaron Craft
39
32.2
8.8
3.2
4.6
2.5
0.2
2.2
Lenzelle Smith, Jr.
39
25.4
6.8
4.6
2.0
0.9
0.1
1.2
Others
48.4
12.1
7.6
3.2
1.5
1.4
3.1
75.6
35.0
14.6
7.3
3.2
11.8
These players represent 63% of the points and 56% of the rebounds this season which has many fans questioning whether we can replicate it in 2012-3.
This got me to wondering how next year's team would look if this does happen and so I created a spreadsheet and using each players play per minute this season I extrapolated next year's results based on how many minutes I expect each player to contribute next year.
MIN
PPG
RPG
APG
SPG
BPG
TPG
Aaron Craft
35
9.6
3.5
5.0
2.7
0.2
2.4
Shannon Scott
25
2.8
2.6
4.0
0.8
0.2
1.1
Lenzelle Smith, Jr.
25
6.7
4.5
2.0
0.9
0.1
1.2
Sam Thompson
20
4.0
2.1
1.3
0.7
0.8
1.0
LaQuinton Ross
25
12.8
2.6
0.6
0.5
-
1.2
J.D. Weatherspoon
25
12.1
4.6
0.8
1.1
0.8
1.3
Amir Williams
25
6.4
8.0
0.4
-
3.0
1.9
Evan Ravenel
15
5.0
3.2
0.4
0.5
0.3
1.0
Trey McDonald
5
0.3
0.9
0.2
0.2
-
0.5
200
59.7
31.9
14.8
7.3
5.5
11.6
As you can see most of the statistical categories are similar with the notable exception of blocks and points (hence the understandable concern). The thing is every basketball game has a set number of possessions and the Buckeye tooks 1.38 field goal attempts per minute in 2011-2. Using the stats below equates to about 1.15 field goal attempts per minute, a reduction of about 20%. That's because players that weren't named Sullinger, Buford, or Thomas weren't supposed to shoot this season. Next season that won't be the case and many players will be called on to shoot more often. If anything I expect next year's team to shoot more because it is more athletic. I made a few adjustments to the shots per minute to get it closer to the 1.38 of this year's team while adjusting the field goal percentage to better represent their new role. Here's the results:
MIN
PPG
RPG
APG
SPG
BPG
TPG
Aaron Craft
35
12.7
3.5
5.0
2.7
0.2
2.4
Shannon Scott
25
5.7
2.6
4.0
0.8
0.2
1.1
Lenzelle Smith, Jr.
25
8.5
4.5
2.0
0.9
0.1
1.2
Sam Thompson
20
4.8
2.6
1.3
0.7
0.8
1.0
LaQuinton Ross
25
14.3
3.3
0.6
0.5
-
1.2
J.D. Weatherspoon
25
12.6
5.0
0.8
1.1
0.8
1.3
Amir Williams
25
10.7
8.0
0.4
-
3.0
1.9
Evan Ravenel
15
5.9
3.2
0.4
0.5
0.3
1.0
Trey McDonald
5
0.7
0.9
0.2
0.2
-
0.5
200
75.8
33.5
14.8
7.3
5.5
11.6
This seems to be a better representation of what we can expect next year for the Buckeyes to succeed. The keys are:
- Craft has to improve his outside shot and be a threat on the offensive side.
- Sam Thompson needs to get stronger to help on rebounds and on offensive.
- LaQuinton Ross needs to be as good as advertised. Our year might dependant on this.
- JD Weatherspoon is the other wildcard. We know he can make spectacular dunks and hopefully his rebounding and ability to make 10 footers next year is just as dynamic.
- Amir Williams needs to get stronger and be a beast on the boards. His shot blocking ability will make the Buckeyes defense better next year if he can dominate the defensive glass.
Of course this assumes that Thomas won't return and that Matta won't find a last minute recruit for next year. Even if that happens I feel pretty good about next year's team. If Thomas returns the biggest problem will be finding minutes to keep the bench happy as everyone's PPG will go down by about 30%. Either way it should be fun.
Assuming Thomas doesn't come back, it will be interesting to check back in a year and see how close my guesses are to the final results.
Sunday, April 1, 2012
Turn out the lights, the party's over (NOT!)
Last night, Ohio State lost a heartbreaker in the Final Four to the Kansas Jayhawks. It was a game that Ohio State dominated early then lost their shooting touch and slowly allowed Kansas to get back in the game. Kansas was only on top after the first score making it 2-0, then fell behind and only passed the Buckeyes with two minutes remaining. This was a game the Buckeyes certainly could have won but Deshaun Thomas' foul troubles and poor shooting down the stretch doomed them. I'm sure many Buckeye fans will blame the refs, blame Matta coach and blame individual players. That's not fair because the Ohio State players represented their school like champions only to get a little rattled by a talented Kansas squad and at the end the scoreboard read Jayhawks 64, Buckeyes 62.
As you can imagine many Buckeye fans are ready to jump off a cliff. No one feels worse than the players and now is the time to celebrate the team. It would have been nice to hang a championship banner but they should be proud to be able to hang a Final Four banner in the rafters of the Schott. Every tournament 68 teams have dream and only 1 can go away happy. They made it to the last 4 and although I'm sure it is slight consolation today in twenty years they will look back on this season with justifiable pride.
One thing that pessimist do after a loss like this is say things like "Next years team will be lucky to make the NIT!" Comments like that are stupid but they are instigated on by the rumors that a few players are leaving early and others are transferring. I thought I'd look at the Buckeyes roster and give a few thoughts about how I think they will do next year.
Graduating
William Buford - Goodbye WillyB. Buckeye fans had a love/hate relationship with you and you leave school as the 3rd all time scorer. This season your leadership was more important than your play on the court and you will be missed. I hope you find the success in the NBA that the experts have always predicted for you.
NBA Bound
Jared Sullinger - Last season Jared Sullinger surprised everyone by announcing he was coming back this year. In hindsight it was a bad move financially and I'm sure he's doubly disappointed as he really wanted an NCAA championship before he moved on. While there is a chance he might stay, the injury issues he faced in December and his falling draft stock are indications that the smart move is to go now rather than later. You could argue that by staying next year he could improve his status by show scouts how he can play the 4 but the NBA drafts more on potential than results. It would be risky for him to do this which is why he will turn pro.
Deshaun Thomas - We've always known that Thomas wasn't going to play 4 years and it's always felt it would only be a matter of time before he'd explode onto the national scene and leave early. He did that during the NCAA tournament and many are now predicting his exit. The last draft projection I saw had him projected as the 58th pick but I'd be shocked if he hasn't snuck into the first round. I do think he'd be better served to come back next season as he'd be the focus of the team and have a good chance to average 20 points a night. It would be hard for teams to overlook him especially if he continues to make strides on the defensive end which would more than likely make him a lottery pick. I wish him well no matter what he decides.
Transfers
Jordan Sibert - At the beginning of the season Sibert was expected to be a starter and fill the role of outside shooter and defensive stopper. As the season progressed he struggled to the 3 and was eventually phased out by the improving Lenzelle Smith. Sibert hasn't seen any playing time in two months and will like leave. I hope he stays as if he can find his stroke, he has a chance to play significant minutes though that is not likely to happen.
JD Weatherspoon - Weatherspoon has tweeted off and on all year that he's unhappy with his role on the team. After last night's game he made a few more cryptic posts and it seems like he's going elsewhere. This seems short sighted to me as if Ohio State's power forward/center leave there's a huge opportunity for him but he appears to feel that he's been mistreated and wants out. I hope he and Coach Matta can work through it but who knows if it is possible.
Aftermath
Buckeye fans on the forums are bemoaning last night's game and looking at the above seeing that we will only have 8 scholarship players on the team. They are:
Aaron Craft G
Lenzelle Smith G
Shannon Scott G
Laquinton Ross F
Sam Thompson F
Evan Ravenel F
Trey McDonald C
Amir Williams C
Even assuming the worst is true I really like the lineup of
C Williams/Ravenel
F Ravenel/Ross
G/F Smith/Thompson/Ross
G Smith/Scott
G Craft/Scott
The obvious weak spot in this line is at power forward. If Deshaun comes back he would be a perfect fit at the 4. If Weatherspoon took a hard look at this line up he'd that if Thomas does go pro there is no place he'd have a better opportunity to showcase his skills than at Ohio State.
Even if neither of them stay, I like this team. Amir is a shot blocking center that is growing into his body and started to look dominant in stretches this season. Ross supposedly has NBA talent as a shooter on the wing and reports from practice is that he became a leader as the season progressed. Scott was a lot more comfortable and I thought he actually ran the point better than Craft by season's end (excluding defense which is Craft's forte). All three players were ranked in the top 15 last year and should fill in nicely. Add to that a year older/wiser Craft/Smith/Thompson and you have a pretty good team with a very short bench.
One other thing to consider is because the Buckeyes only had 1 senior they have only be recruiting one player. Matta is no dummy though and I'm sure he's realized for a while that he might lose 5 players. Of course he can't say that publicly so Buckeye fans assume our recruiting possibilities are limited. Behind the scenes it wouldn't surprise me if Matta has been lining up recruits once the 4 in question make their decisions. If that happens expect to see 2-3 top 50 players suddenly show interest in the Buckeyes. That's because kids around the country know that Matta is a good coach and has a knack for getting players into the "show".
In the end, I'm sad we lost, grateful for this year's players, and hopeful for the future. With Coach Matta anything is possible.
As you can imagine many Buckeye fans are ready to jump off a cliff. No one feels worse than the players and now is the time to celebrate the team. It would have been nice to hang a championship banner but they should be proud to be able to hang a Final Four banner in the rafters of the Schott. Every tournament 68 teams have dream and only 1 can go away happy. They made it to the last 4 and although I'm sure it is slight consolation today in twenty years they will look back on this season with justifiable pride.
One thing that pessimist do after a loss like this is say things like "Next years team will be lucky to make the NIT!" Comments like that are stupid but they are instigated on by the rumors that a few players are leaving early and others are transferring. I thought I'd look at the Buckeyes roster and give a few thoughts about how I think they will do next year.
Graduating
William Buford - Goodbye WillyB. Buckeye fans had a love/hate relationship with you and you leave school as the 3rd all time scorer. This season your leadership was more important than your play on the court and you will be missed. I hope you find the success in the NBA that the experts have always predicted for you.
NBA Bound
Jared Sullinger - Last season Jared Sullinger surprised everyone by announcing he was coming back this year. In hindsight it was a bad move financially and I'm sure he's doubly disappointed as he really wanted an NCAA championship before he moved on. While there is a chance he might stay, the injury issues he faced in December and his falling draft stock are indications that the smart move is to go now rather than later. You could argue that by staying next year he could improve his status by show scouts how he can play the 4 but the NBA drafts more on potential than results. It would be risky for him to do this which is why he will turn pro.
Deshaun Thomas - We've always known that Thomas wasn't going to play 4 years and it's always felt it would only be a matter of time before he'd explode onto the national scene and leave early. He did that during the NCAA tournament and many are now predicting his exit. The last draft projection I saw had him projected as the 58th pick but I'd be shocked if he hasn't snuck into the first round. I do think he'd be better served to come back next season as he'd be the focus of the team and have a good chance to average 20 points a night. It would be hard for teams to overlook him especially if he continues to make strides on the defensive end which would more than likely make him a lottery pick. I wish him well no matter what he decides.
Transfers
Jordan Sibert - At the beginning of the season Sibert was expected to be a starter and fill the role of outside shooter and defensive stopper. As the season progressed he struggled to the 3 and was eventually phased out by the improving Lenzelle Smith. Sibert hasn't seen any playing time in two months and will like leave. I hope he stays as if he can find his stroke, he has a chance to play significant minutes though that is not likely to happen.
JD Weatherspoon - Weatherspoon has tweeted off and on all year that he's unhappy with his role on the team. After last night's game he made a few more cryptic posts and it seems like he's going elsewhere. This seems short sighted to me as if Ohio State's power forward/center leave there's a huge opportunity for him but he appears to feel that he's been mistreated and wants out. I hope he and Coach Matta can work through it but who knows if it is possible.
Aftermath
Buckeye fans on the forums are bemoaning last night's game and looking at the above seeing that we will only have 8 scholarship players on the team. They are:
Aaron Craft G
Lenzelle Smith G
Shannon Scott G
Laquinton Ross F
Sam Thompson F
Evan Ravenel F
Trey McDonald C
Amir Williams C
Even assuming the worst is true I really like the lineup of
C Williams/Ravenel
F Ravenel/Ross
G/F Smith/Thompson/Ross
G Smith/Scott
G Craft/Scott
The obvious weak spot in this line is at power forward. If Deshaun comes back he would be a perfect fit at the 4. If Weatherspoon took a hard look at this line up he'd that if Thomas does go pro there is no place he'd have a better opportunity to showcase his skills than at Ohio State.
Even if neither of them stay, I like this team. Amir is a shot blocking center that is growing into his body and started to look dominant in stretches this season. Ross supposedly has NBA talent as a shooter on the wing and reports from practice is that he became a leader as the season progressed. Scott was a lot more comfortable and I thought he actually ran the point better than Craft by season's end (excluding defense which is Craft's forte). All three players were ranked in the top 15 last year and should fill in nicely. Add to that a year older/wiser Craft/Smith/Thompson and you have a pretty good team with a very short bench.
One other thing to consider is because the Buckeyes only had 1 senior they have only be recruiting one player. Matta is no dummy though and I'm sure he's realized for a while that he might lose 5 players. Of course he can't say that publicly so Buckeye fans assume our recruiting possibilities are limited. Behind the scenes it wouldn't surprise me if Matta has been lining up recruits once the 4 in question make their decisions. If that happens expect to see 2-3 top 50 players suddenly show interest in the Buckeyes. That's because kids around the country know that Matta is a good coach and has a knack for getting players into the "show".
In the end, I'm sad we lost, grateful for this year's players, and hopeful for the future. With Coach Matta anything is possible.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)