OSU Basketball: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

November 25, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Today we are going to recap The Ohio State University men’s basketball teams first 4 games of the year. I have appropriately titled this breakdown, The Good, The Bad and the Ugly. I have chosen this for many reasons, Most namely, the inconsistency of the team thus far. Here is the breakdown.

The Good

– 4-0. The best result that can happen in any game is a win. So having a perfect season thus far, even though we are only 4 games in, has to be a positive.

– Big Road win. Beating a team many considered the favorite to win the Big East at their home court is also a plus. Regardless of the Big East’s prominence taking a bit of a hit with expansions, this win will be looked at come seeding time at the NCAA tourney.

– Shannon Scott. After being put into the starting lineup in order to create a formidable backcourt, Scott has provided a huge spark on both ends of the court. He is the leading scorer on the team at 12.5 points a game as well as being second on the team in both assists and steals.

– Marc Loving. College Basketball has always proved a tough transition for a true freshman, regardless of the talent level. Loving has proved that he belongs at a big time program and has provided some much needed energy off the bench. When watching Loving, you get the sense you are watching a future All Big Ten team blossom.

– Defense. Holding your opponents to 51.5 points a game and 34.4% from the field will win you almost any contest. Sure the schedule isn’t the toughest but this is still tough to do at any level.

The Bad

– LaQuinton Ross. 4 Games into the season is hardly a barometer for the entire season but it would be hard to call Ross’ start to the year anything less than a disappointment. He is averaging 7 points per game, good for 6th on the team and 22.5 minutes per game, good for 5th best. While much was expected a Ross, he is under performing so much so that Matta has made him sit on the bench for 15+ minutes on two separate occasions. It appears he just needs to find his shot and gain a little confidence. Matta appears to be doing everything he can to “wake up” Ross and I have confidence he will find his game again.

– Slow starts. It seems that the Buckeyes have had trouble getting the scoring going in the first half. Against Marquette, it took a last second 3 from Loving to get their first half score to 19. Against American, getting to the free throw was the only thing buoying them to a first half lead as they only made 5 field goals. I believe that most of this has to do with the new foul rules making it hard for the Buckeyes to get in a flow. Once they get properly adjusted, they’ll be fine.

The Ugly

– There is no other way to say this, but shooting 28.6% from 3-point range is downright ugly. As mentioned before, it could have something to do with the new foul rules, but most of the looks Ohio State is getting from long distance, are good looks. 4 games in, no one should be worried. Matta knows how to get his team to score.

As you can see, there are way more positives than negatives so far this season. There is still a long way to go as well as lots of time to improve.

Filed Under: College Basketball, Ohio State Basketball

Thad Matta lands his BIG man

November 8, 2013 by Leave a Comment

basketball_icon4star_recruit_iconThe 2014 class for the Ohio State mens Basketball team has been one of the best ever for OSU. Thad Matta and his coaches have worked relentlessly to fill up this huge class. They landed a five star guy in D’Angelo Russell and 3 other 4 star recruits that made the class one of the largest and highest ranked in recent memory. Already ranked as one of the top 3 classes the addition of a big man to the class seemed to never work out. Time after time they had guys pick other schools over OSU. Coach Matta didnt hang his head he went to work and finally last night landed the big man he was chasing.

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Payton Dastrup announced his commitment at his High School and it was first reported online by his father via twitter…

Payton Dastrup is a 6’9″ 230 lbs 4 star PF/C from Mesa, Arizona. Payton is a big kid with a smooth shooting touch who can play inside or out and will no doubt stretch defenses in college. He is not your prototypical B1G big man but is a more athletic guy who can play several positions for Coach Matta. The one thing OSU fans will have to understand is that Payton will be going on a 2 year mission while he serves a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormon). He is set to go as soon as he graduates and will not return until the 2016 season. Coach Matta understood this and agreed to extend a scholarship offer which Payton gladly accepted. 247sports ranks him a 4 star and the 110th best player in the country. Rivals ranks him a 4 star and the 100th best recruit in the nation. Scout ranks him a 4 star and the 18th best Center in the country. ESPN ranks him a 4 star and the 98th best player in the country.

You can follow Payton Dastrup by clicking @PDastrup

Filed Under: College Basketball, Ohio State Basketball Tagged With:

OSU Basketball: A look at the Guards

November 5, 2013 by 2 Comments

My favorite sports is starting and I couldn’t be more excited to be writing about it this year. I have a love for football and anything Scarlet and Gray but I truly have a passion for basketball and March Madness is my favorite time of year. The last two years I was able to watch all of the games being unemployed but since I finally have a job it looks like this year I’ll be missing some until I can catch up on them on DVR haha. Anyways enough about me and lets talk Buckeye basketball specifically the guards that will be playing for Ohio State this season.

First player I will discuss with you is someone you might have heard of. He is 6 ft 2 inches tall and will be playing his final season for the Buckeyes. Wow that was hard to say. Aaron Craft who is one of the best defensive guards in the nation will be leading the Buckeyes into the 2013-2014 season.

Craft currently isn’t the major offensive threat but he does average 10 points per game, hes a decent passer averaging 4.6 assists per game and has a knack for getting some rebounds averaging almost 4 a game.

Aaron’s strength is his defense and his hustle and man is he good at it. He can take an opponent’s best guard out of rhythm and make him have a long night. Craft averages 2.1 steals per game but will have to adjust his game defensively because the NCAA has put into place the Hand Check Rule. He is definitely athletic enough and smart enough to overcome this obstacle. During an off season camp it was reported that Craft was doing a great job shut down the Cleveland Cavaliers point guard Kyrie Irving:

For those of you that don’t know who Kyrie is well lets just say you are about to hear more and more of him he is going to be one of the best point guards in the NBA and Aaron Mr. Shutdown Craft made him realize that he thinks Craft can play in the NBA.

Craft has proven this last season in the NCAA tournament he isn’t shy from taking the last shot and nailing it or dishing it off to a teammate to win the game. This is the guy you want on your team when the game is close and it is so much fun watching him play for a purist like myself its a thing of beauty.

Next Guard on the roster is 6 foot 1 inch Shannon Scott. Scott is a junior who is another defensive gem for the Buckeyes.

Scott who is a junior is averaging close to 5 points and 4 assists per game.

Neither Scott nor Craft are flashy offensive players they are very good at defense and when Craft needs a breather Scott is great at filling in for Craft and the Buckeyes defense doesnt loose a step for their backcourt.

Lenzelle Smith Jr is a senior also this season, the 6 foot 4 inch guard has been improving his game. The hard work he has been doing really showed up in the NCAA Tournament last year with Smith avearaging 17.5 points per game. During the regular season he averaged 9.2. Smith’s game has continued to improve each and every year so look for another jump this year, he has the ability to hit the three or take it inside and “throw the hammer down”.

Smith is also very good on defense and an excellent rebounder probably one of the best rebounding guards in the B1G.

Fan favorite Amedeo Della Valle is looking to be more involved for the Buckeyes this year. Look for the 6 foot 5 sophomore to get a lot more playing time and making his presence known.

Over the summer, Della Valle starred for his home country, Italy, in the Under-20 European Championships. In the event, which took place in Tallinn, Estonia, Della Valle led the Italians to the gold metal at the event. After averaging 13 ppg and 3.7 rpg, he was named the tournament’s most valuable player. In the fourth quarter of the championship game he took over scoring 13 points and a 3 to seal the victory.

The last upper classman to discuss at the guard position is walk on Andrew Goldstein. The 6 foot 3 junior will get to play this season after having to sit last year due to his transfer. o be honest couldn’t find much on him other than he was a pretty good high school player so it will be interesting to see what he brings to the table this year for the Buckeyes.

Last but not least is the freshman Kam Williams. The 6 foot 2 4 star recruit out of Baltimore Maryland. The knock on this kid is he is to skinny and needs to put on some weight. Hopefully since he made the right choice coming to Ohio State he will be able to bulk up in their new multi-million dollar facility and learn how to play defense from the best that are in front of him this season.

Its going to be another exciting year for the Buckeyes and the guard play is just one of the key components needed for another deep run into the tourney and the Scarlet and Gray have the talent to be able to do that. This is an extremely hard working team and their hard work will hopefully be rewarded this season.

Filed Under: Ohio State Basketball Tagged With: , , , ,

OSU Basketball: A look at the Forwards

November 4, 2013 by Leave a Comment

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LaQuinton Ross shoes are pretty big, but the shoes he is about to step into are even bigger. One of the main storylines we are going to look at for at the Forward position this year is that of Ross trying to fill the huge void left by 2012-13 Big Ten scoring champ, Deshaun Thomas. Thomas was selected in the second round of the 2013 draft by the San Antonio Spurs and leaves behind his 19.8 points, 5.9 rebounds and 35.4 minutes a game. Ross showed he is plenty capable of stepping into the premier scoring role for the Buckeyes, highlighted by his game winning 3 pointer as time expired against Arizona in the Sweet 16. In addition to that, Ross averaged 8.3 points per game and 2.9 rebounds per game while only averaging 16.9 minutes a game. Expectations will be high for Ross coming into the year based on his averaging the 4th highest points on the team while only getting the 6th most minutes and coming in off the bench. Ross will be counted on to take Thomas’ spot in the lineup this year. Like Thomas before him, Ross can score with his back to the basket in the post, shoot the 3 and create his own shot off the dribble. Perhaps one being left handed and the other being right handed is the only real difference between these two scorers.

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In addition to Ross, another Forward expected to contribute mightily to the team’s success is Slam….err, I mean Sam Thompson. Known for his ability to rise above any defender and throw down some unbelievable dunks, Sam came on strong towards the end of the year as a serious scoring threat. In fact, Thompson led the Buckeyes in 3 point percentage at 40.4 % for the year. He is going to be counted on to expand on his 2012-13 stats of 7.8 points a game and 3.5 rebounds a game. Thompson started all 37 games last year and is expected to be a constant starter on this squad as well.

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Also expecting to contribute as a Forward for the 2013-14 Ohio State Buckeyes is incoming freshman Marc Loving out of Toledo St Johns. Hoping to follow in fellow Toledoans Neshaun Coleman and Jimmy Jackson’s footsteps from Toledo to Columbus is the 6-7 215 pounder. He was the Associated Press player of the year in the state of Ohio in both 2012 and 2013 as well as a 2013 Parade All American and a 4 star recruit per most prep basketball sites. He averaged 21.3 points and 8.2 rebounds a game as a senior. Going into the season, Loving is expected to see some action as a reserve backing up either Thompson or Ross provided he can pick up the defensive schemes Matta has been so accustomed to using.

Filed Under: Ohio State Basketball Tagged With: , ,

Three Yards and a Cloud of Links

November 2, 2013 by Leave a Comment

OSU LogoThree Yards and a Cloud of Links is Men of the Scarlet and Gray’s newly renamed, semi-regular curated look at items that would interest the casual and hard-core Ohio State fan. These include news items, interesting blog posts and the occasional meme you’ve probably already seen. It’s all here and it’s all for you. Have a tip that should be included in the next TYAACOL? Drop us a line at motsag@gmail.com or through our Contact Page.

NOT JUST A FOOSBALL SCHOOL: While we are very much in the thick of a fantastic football campaign, basketball is just around the corner, and on Thursday the AP released its preseason Top 25, with Ohio State checking in at 11 and with the Big Ten sporting four teams in the Top 20 (Michigan State, Michigan and Wisconsin).

We’ll be kicking off our basketball coverage next week and the Buckeyes tip off against Morgan State at noon on November 9th (coincidentally the football team’s second bye week). The real tests start a few days later, against the OU Bobcats.

SPEAKING OF BASKETBALL: It looks like Ohio State will partake in a fantastic “preseason” tournament next year with North Carolina, UCLA, and Kentucky.

BLITZKRIEG: Sometimes a coach goes and says something and validates the hundreds of knuckledraggers who have been screaming at the top of the lungs (to their 25 Twitter followers, too) that Ryan Shazier needs to be blitzing more! Well, Urban may just agree with you:

We did have some conversation, because I think Ryan Shazier is one of the best blitzers in America. And he doesn’t blitz very much.

Shazier seems to be ok with a little glimmer of hope of more blitzing:

“I’m blitzing as much as the coaches want me to, and I’m going to try to get there every time,” Shazier said. “If the coaches want to keep sending me, I’m going to keep going.

“Whatever the team needs me to do, I’ll do. I love blitzing, and the coaching staff is starting to realize that I like blitzing and we’re going to start being more aggressive, sending more people.”

How can you not like this kid?!

LOOK AT THESE RUMORS, SURROUNDING ME EVERY DAY: Much to the chagrin of everyone I follow on Twitter, Gene Smith publicly refuted the rumor that he had interviewed (or was going to interview) for the vacant Athletic Director at the University of Texas:

I know Smith royally botched the Tressel/Tatgate situation, but he’s run a fairly tight ship, all things considered.

B1G SPEED: Remember Butch Reynolds, Coach Tressel’s speed coach of the mid-2000’s? Well, he’s got his eye on MotSaG favorite Dontre Wilson. Reynolds says, “Wilson’s “turnover” (stride rate) is remarkable.”

In other words, he’s real fast.

Dontre hasn’t got loose yet (on a long scoring run). If he does, he really could jet. He could take it home. He could let everyone see that pick up and down. If he strides out like that, he’ll open a lot of NFL guys’ eyes too.

I think he’s already opened most of ours.

Filed Under: Ohio State Basketball, Ohio State Football

MotSaG Reader’s Digest for August 25, 2013

August 25, 2013 by Leave a Comment

4star_recruit_iconOSU FootballThis time next week, we’ll be doing this basking in the glory of the first week of the college football. But until then, it’s just more talking about things like previews and preseason polls and recruits and as much stuff we can do to pass the time until kick-off gets here on Saturday the 31st.

Recruiting

This week Thad Matta added another five-star recruit in Mickey Mitchell, younger brother of The Abusement Park, freshman Mike Mitchell. This youngster is special and getting him in the fold early is a gigantic accomplishment by Thad Matta. Thad’s next few classes are coming together nicely and the basketball team is clearly in good hands for the foreseeable future.

Our recruiting analysts continue to introduce Buckeye Nation to a host of Buckeye hopefuls. Andrew spoke with 2015 OT Gabe Megginson while Dylan chatted with 2016 CB Patrice Rene and 2015 LB Nick Conner.

Jeremiah talked with 2015 OLB Charles Carter Jr. and 2015 DE Hjalte Froholdt (gesundheit!).

Football

We’ve been pumping out season previews the past week or so, and we’ll be reviewing those early next week, so we don’t have a lot of football to recap here, but we did receive news that Najee Murray is no longer with Ohio State.

Things happen and we hope that Najee is able to right his own personal ship and get on with his football life.

Coming up

It’s football week! We are less than a week away. So that’s what’s coming up: Ohio State Football!!!

Filed Under: College Football Recruiting, Ohio State Basketball, Ohio State Football

Mickey Mitchell Joins Buckeye Nation

August 22, 2013 by Leave a Comment

5star_recruit_iconbasketball_iconThad Matta is absolutely KILLING it on the recruiting trail right now. His 2013 and 2014 classes are excellent and his 2015 class is already on par to beat both of them with the talent he is landing. This newest commit is the brother of Freshman linebacker stud Mike “The Abusement Park_” Mitchell. Both brothers came to Ohio State as 5 star recruits and luckily for OSU fans there is another brother who may be better then both of them in the 2016 class.

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[Read more…]

Filed Under: College Basketball, Ohio State Basketball Tagged With:

MotSaG Reader’s Digest for August 11, 2013

August 11, 2013 by Leave a Comment

4star_recruit_iconOSU LogoOSU FootballThe MotSaG Reader’s Digest is just that — a quick glance at the past week of content here at Men of the Scarlet and Gray. This will give you a chance to catch up on anything you may have missed during the course of the week. This isn’t everything we posted this week, so we always encourage everyone to subscribe to our feed, sign up for email alerts or simply check the website on a regular basis.

Recruiting

Jeremiah and Dylan (two of the newest Crystal Ballers at 247Sports) broke down the remaining targets for the 2014 recruiting class and tried to predict who would end up a Buckeye and who wouldn’t. It’s a well researched post and definitely worth your time for the read.

Dylan spoke with 2014 WR Johnnie Dixon and 2015 QB Brandon Wimbush

Jeremiah was able to chat with 2015 LB Adonis Thomas, 2015 RB Chris Warren, and 2015 CB Jamel Dean

Chris K took a look at Jahlil Okafor, the excellent center out of Illinois, a consensus top prospect and a target being pursued by Thad Matta.

Football


Camp opened this week, which means we’ll get to see honest-to-goodness real news about the football team, not just bad news (well, except for this bad news). But before we get to that, we also had opportunity to celebrate a former Buckeye Footballer as Cris Carter was rightfully inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Ronnie looked at the possibility of a rather interesting defensive formation that Ohio State may deploy to counter the spread attack, the 3-2-6.

The package allows defenses to put more defensive backs on the field to deal with a multitude of athletes in passing situations. It also puts more speed on the field for the defense.

Jason’s post on Depth Perception asks the question, “how do we objectively determine which conference is the best?”

It seems like we shouldn’t have to even discuss this, but after the allegations against Johnny Manziel, every top tier program made sure they came clean with anything that involved their star players and anything that even had the look of impropriety. Everyone, be cool: Braxton Miller is in the clear.

Coming up

The rest of the Best of the B1G, #5 through the coveted #1. We’ll also start looking at positional previews of the team for the upcoming season as we slowly approach kick off, less than three weeks away.

Filed Under: College Football Recruiting, Ohio State Basketball, Ohio State Football

Jahlil Okafor: The last piece of the 2014 puzzle?

August 9, 2013 by 1 Comment

5star_recruit_iconbasketball_iconOhio State basketball Head Coach Thad Matta is trying to finish his 2014 recruiting class with a proverbial slam dunk. Matta is trying to rock the recruiting world not only in the Big Ten, but also the national landscape. His number one target is none other than the top big man in the country. After all, he has been known to recruit a few highly touted big men such as Kosta Koufos, BJ Mullens and most notably, Greg Oden.

Arguably the number one overall prospect by all recruiting services is Jahlil Okafor. Okafor is a 6-10, 270 lb Center who hails from Chicago, IL (Whitney Young). This is the same high school current Buckeye Sam Thompson attended. In my mind, Thompson will have no bearing on where Okafor will choose to attend school. Most of that could be because they are separated by three years.

Okafor has great length and a phenomenal frame to work with. His tremendous athleticism for a big man as well as his good grades, make him the face of USA Basketball for the next generation. He’s competed on the USA National team and won Gold Medals the last three summers. Okafor has lived up to the lofty expectations on a global stage.

Okafor recently trimmed his list of potential schools down to 8. Those schools include, Arizona, Baylor, Kentucky, Duke, Illinois, Michigan State, Kansas and Ohio State. Visits to Baylor (August 30) and Kentucky (September 9) are already set. The other three visits are still up in the air. He’s also indicated he would like to decide before his senior basketball season begins. While Okafor hasn’t tipped his hand on a potential landing spot, there have been rumors he’d like to team up with fellow 2014 point guard and USA National Team teammate Tyus Jones.

12_mu17_rings_okafor_jahlil_bioIf I had to pick a landing spot for Okafor and Jones, I’d pick Duke. Okafor’s AAU coach has publicly gone on record saying he thinks Duke leads for the package deal. If true, this could potentially be the best package deal by unrelated prospects from different states ever. Duke has also had a heavy presence at many of Okafor’s AAU games this summer. Mr. Okafor (Jahlil’s dad) said of Duke, “I have a good relationship with Coach K. I talk to him whenever he contacts me. He’s doing a good job of recruiting Jahlil. You know, Coach K, he’s a legend. He’s a good dude.” Many times, recruiting the parents or decision makers in a prospect’s life is just as important as recruiting the prospect.

As we all know, recruiting is a marathon and not a sprint. While it will definitely be an uphill battle, there is still time for Matta and company to make up ground this fall. Lets hope Okafor finds his way on campus one weekend this fall when the Ohio State football team is in town. The atmosphere and support shown could go a long way in the recruiting process for Okafor.

Filed Under: College Basketball, Ohio State Basketball Tagged With:

MotSaG Reader’s Digest for August 4, 2013

August 4, 2013 by Leave a Comment

4star_recruit_iconOSU LogoOSU FootballThe MotSaG Reader’s Digest is just that — a quick glance at the past week of content here at Men of the Scarlet and Gray. This will give you a chance to catch up on anything you may have missed during the course of the week. This isn’t everything we posted this week, so we always encourage everyone to subscribe to our feed, sign up for email alerts or simply check the website on a regular basis.

Site News

Not a lot to report on the Site News front. Jeremiah went on The Wake-up Call again to discuss the ramifications of the Carlos Hyde suspension and who needs to step up in Carlos’ absence.

Recruiting

The big news on the recruiting front was that Demetrius Knox became the latest addition to the 2014 recruiting class. As noted in Jeremiah’s post, “Knox brings to the OL a lot of speed and athleticism. He was once committed to Texas but decommitted months ago and right away he became a target for OSU and the fans.”

Jeremiah couldn’t help himself when Malik Hooker. I have a feeling this isn’t the last time Malik’s last name is used in a headline.

Jeremiah talked with class of 2015 Justin Hilliard. He was also able to discuss class of 2014 Chad Mavety’s recruitment. It’s a great read, as Chad is a Junior College transfer and has a unique perspective on the recruitment process.

Dylan spoke with the young WR recruit Teryn Savage. He also chatted with class of 2015 standout Eric Glover-Williams, 2014 ATH Noah Brown and class of 2015 QB Kelly Bryant.

Football

The week was mostly football-free, the calm before the opening of camp, but we did get the “good” news that Carlos Hyde would not be charged with any crime stemming from his incident at a club earlier this month. The surveillance video was inconclusive at best, but it still appears that Carlos did at least attempt to retaliate after being swiped at by a girl.

I say “good” news because this should have never been a situation that Carlos was in in the first place and he will still suffer through at least a three-game suspension.

In non-Carlos Hyde coverage, Josh too a look at the Buckeye’s non-conference schedule. While not as strong as it has been in the past, a couple of these non-conference games are no gimmes.

Basketball

Chris K looked at the incoming freshman to Thad Matta’s 2013-14 basketball class and they both look like they are going to have an impact immediately.

We haven’t covered women’s basketball much around these parts, but Shannon has a look at the new coach and what he’s bringing to the table.

Coming up

We’ve got more interviews, more of the top B1G football players, and we’ll begin our deep dive into previewing the team that Ohio State will be fielding this season, including some new formation looks on the defensive side of the ball.

Filed Under: College Football Recruiting, Ohio State Basketball, Ohio State Football
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