Young Buckeyes Have a Special Look
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Yes, it’s still very early in the college basketball season. It’s a time for many college basketball coaches where wins mean everything, yet they still mean nothing. For Ohio State Coach Thad Matta, it was time for him to unveil his new crop of freshman, maybe the best crop in the Ohio State basketball history. The Buckeyes cruised to a 107-69 victory over Virginia Military Institute in the first round of the BCA Classic at Value City Arena in Columbus, Ohio last night.
Again it’s still too early to speak, but the class that Matta has assembled is very special. Special enough to even make some of the most avid college football fans in the country take notice. In the background of a football program who is sitting in the No. 1 spot in the country lurks a squad who may be able to dominate the Big Ten without major contributions from its upperclassmen.
Daquan Cook, the 6-5 McDonald’s All-American guard out of Dunbar High in Dayton, Ohio, led all scorers with 22 points and nine rebounds. As marvelous as Cook played and as well as he displayed his skills, he is not even a starter on this Buckeye squad. Freshman starting point guard Mike Conley Jr. maybe one of the most sound and athletic freshman point guards that I have seen in a long time at the college level. He may still need some work on his jump shot, but his poise, explosiveness and ability to run a team was remarkable.
David Lighty, who was supposed to be the most unheralded of the freshman class, started and had 11 points on 4-5 from the field.
Yes, we must take into account that this was run and gun basketball at its finest. The VMI Keydets try to get up as many shots as possible. When asked about their shot attempts, Coach Duggar Baucom cleared up his team’s intentions quickly. One reporter asked if he was comfortable with his team taking 47 three-point shots.
“Our goal is 50”, replied Baucom.
There was some shaky play at times. The Buckeyes did turn the ball over 26 times, but this is to be expected early in the season from all teams.
Last but not least, we have to remember that Greg Oden still has yet to grace the court for OSU. Oden may be the most recognizable figure on campus, even with Troy Smith, Ted Ginn and the rest of the OSU football team walking around campus. Oden may be the best center in the country, and he hasn’t even taken a shot yet.
I bumped into Oden a day before the Buckeyes opening game. He still had a cast on his wrist. I asked the big fella how the wrist was coming along.
“Fine Sir, thanks for asking,” he replied.
He called me “Sir”. That’s when I realized, although he is a 7-0 man-child on the court, he is still a youngster, as are all of Ohio State’s freshmen. Watching them play on Friday, you could not have convinced me that they were freshman. It had to be a hoax.
I will reiterate again, it’s early in the season. And of course, playing against VMI is not the same as playing against Indiana, Wisconsin, Michigan or Illinois, but it wasn’t about who they played, it was how they played. They played like seasoned veterans with the confidence and swagger of college All-Americans. But then again, they are All-Americans, so playing with that swagger is all they know. I guess it’s like the old saying goes, if ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
I am not saying they are the best team in the country, but I have played and watched basketball for enough years to say they are one of the best. Trying to get some attention as a team on Ohio State’s campus, a campus of die hard Buckeye football addicts, may be one of the most difficult things that many of these freshman may have faced in their lives, and yet they are close to almost accomplishing that now.
Ohio State’s football team may be on its way to a national championship. It’s not unfathomable to say that the Buckeye basketball team may also have a shot. If you can’t beat them, join them.
Baucom asked at the press conference after the game yesterday, “Hey is there a football game here next week?” He was referring to the Buckeyes’ battle against Michigan next Saturday to claim the No 1 spot in the country.
One reporter jokingly replied, “We don’t pay any attention to that. This is a basketball school.”
My question would be, is that really a joke?
