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.
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