Buckeye Basketball is really good.

Let me start this post out by saying this I LOVE EVAN TURNER. Now having said that I want to go into a bit of a diatribe. Things I don’t miss about having Evan Turner on the OSU basketball team include the following.

1. His annoying voice.
2. His annoying facial expressions.
3. The way everyone on last years team stood around and watched and waited for ET to do everything on the court.

That is all I don’t miss about ET and honestly it is a very small list of things and the list of things I do miss about having ET on the team is longer than the ObamaCare papers.

Why am I talking about ET you may be asking yourself right now when this post is about the 2010 Men’s OSU basketball team? It is to just a way for me to delve into my thoughts on this years team vs. say last year’s one man show.

The 2010 Ohio State team is just that a complete team with a deeper bench and more talent than last year’s team. This is a team that is 10-0 now after just dismantling a South Carolina team that nearly beat Michigan State earlier in the year and was their only blemish. OSU has their fair share of cupcake wins but also a sweep of Florida and Florida State in Florida no less so far. They are playing well as a team and seem to all compliment each other nicely. There are no ball hogs (except when DeShaun Thomas is on the floor).

Jared Sullinger was all that was advertised and then some he had a 30 point and 19 rebound game today and that isn’t even his best stat effort in his first 10 games as a college player.

David Lighty is the heart and soul of the team and a defensive guru who can score and play 4 positions on both offense and defense.

Jon Diebler is nearly automatic from behind the arc.

William Buford is playing really well but I think he looks out of place when he is playing the point guard spot.

Dallas Lauderdale is still an enigma to me he is a giant who can’t hit a layup and often gets out rebounded by smaller guys but he has played better lately.

The bench is mostly Aaron Craft a true point guard and a true freshman who is playing great but most famous for helping to get Bruce Pearl suspended and Tennessee on NCAA probation. DeShaun Thomas is another true freshman who is a pure scorer and every time he touches the ball he is shooting it from all over the court. He is good but may need to be reigned in a bit and reminded this is a team sport.

The thing that impresses me most is this team lost a national player of the year in ET after last year and I really think this team is far better than they were last year. Turner may have been one of the best players we ever had but that was a problem with the rest of the team enjoying the ride while watching him be a superstar. This year’s team is more balanced and better prepared to step up and be a part of a winning team. It has been a while since I truly thought we had a Championship caliber team but I think this may just very well be that team if we can stay healthy and remain a cohesive team all year long.

So you tell me: which is the better team in your mind the 2009 OSU team with All-Everything Evan Turner or the 2010 OSU team with Jared Sullinger?

Comments

  1. No question that this year’s team is better. If we play smaller teams, we would have Craft on the floor and having a true PG makes a world of difference than the turnover prone ET. Sully is a beast. I hope he stays another year.

    Only criticism is that we need to use our bench a little more in case anybody goes down and in preparation for next year. Losses can and will happen, but we have to develop the guys on our bench by getting them game experience.

    I cannot state how excited I am about this team though. Team can ball.

  2. Also need to use bench if our starters get in foul trouble in the tourney. These preseason games are the time when the bench should be used the most.

  3. I agree Matt C I would like to see more of Jordan Siebert and Lenzelle Smith.

  4. In related news, Evan Turner didn’t play a second last night. He could very well still be playing for Ohio State.

  5. Justin Smith says

    In related news, he’s also averaging 24 minutes per game, was drafted second, and making 4.6 million dollars a year in base salary. Why would he need to stay?

  6. Seems odd that anyone would be annoyed by ET’s voice, especially if they knew the source of his speech patterns…about his braces, etc. The dude’s lucky to be able to talk at all.

  7. I always thought et spoke quite well for a freshman. In all his interviews he sounded sincere and seemed to always say yes sir or yes mam. Couldn’t ask much more for a buckeye representative …shifty eyes @ pryor

  8. @ Brian- I said I was annoyed with his voice not his speech…. He has a weird voice that hurts my ears.

    @ Gravey- I have never heard anything about his issues do share and provide some links if you can so I can read up on it thanks.

  9. This team is loaded.

    I do hate that they start Buford at the point. William Buford is not Evan Turner. Not even close. He doesn’t have the ability to handle the basketball that a true point guard has. He is a turnover machine waiting to happen.

    He is better suited on the wing as a 2. He can shoot fairly well and can certainly fill up the iron.

    I predict that Craft will be the full time point guard mid way through the Big Ten season.

  10. I will also say that Lauderdale’s role on the team is defense and rebounding.

    He is averaging 2.5 blocks a game, good for 26th in the country. He also changes a TON of shots and helps Ohio State maintain a rank of 24th when it comes to opponent shooting percentage.

    And while Lauderdale doesn’t score a ton of points, he does contribute with some THUNDEROUS dunks off rebounds, nice passes and ally-oops.

    He has the best shooting percentage on the team and is 2nd on the team in rebounding.

    On a team that has a ton of players that can shoot from the outside and some guy named Sullinger, Lauderdale certainly has a role on this team.

  11. I just grow tired of seeing Lauderdale get out rebounded by smaller players. With his size and stature he should be dominating on the boards. I dont expect or want him to be a scorer as I have seen him miss many easy lay-ups lol. My problem with him is he seems out of place on this team of really good players. I am all for having role players but they have to excel at their role. I guess what I want is him to be more like Ken Johnson lol.

    As for Craft who will they bench to put him in the starting line-up? Lauderdale? I cant see the other 4 being bench players this year.

  12. Lauderdale is what he is.Defense and rebounding. That is what you get with him. Sure, his rebounding could be better, but then again I’ve watched Shaq get outrebounded by smaller, quicker players. It happens.

    The bottom line is he is helping Ohio State win basketball games. And he is doing it with his defense.

    As for Craft, he will replace Lauderdale.

    1-Craft
    2-Buford
    3-Diebler
    4-Lighty
    5-Sullinger

    Basically going with a 3 guard set, while interchanging and matching up as needed.

    The bottom line is Buford cannot be the primary ball handler(that’s what she said).

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