Turner Named OSU Male Athlete of the Year
June 17, 2010 10:300 am EST

Evan Turner, the consensus national player of the year in men’s basketball, has been named the 2009-10 Ohio State Male Athlete of the Year, the department of athletics announced.  Turner swept the 2010 college basketball season player of the year awards after claiming the Naismith Trophy and John R. Wooden Award, as well as the USBWA, Associated Press and NABC POY awards. The junior guard also was the Big Ten Player of the Year and the Most Outstanding Player at the annual Big Ten Tournament, which the Buckeyes captured with a win over Minnesota.

Turner moves on to the ballot for the Big Ten’s Jesse Owens Athlete of the Year award. Softball senior Sam Marder was named the Buckeyes’ female athlete of the year Wednesday.

Ohio State Male Athletes of the Year
1982 Art Schlichter, Football
1983 Chris Perry, Golf
1984 John Frank, Football
1985 Robert Playter, Gymnastics
1986 Mike Lanese, Football
1987 Butch Reynolds, Track/Field
1988 Chris Spielman, Football
1989 Joe Greene, Track/Field
1990 Mike Rancanelli, Gymnastics
1991 Jim Jackson, Basketball
1992 Jim Jackson, Basketball
1993 Chris Nelloms, Track/Field
1994 Chris Sanders, Track/Field
1995 Blaine Wilson, Gymnastics
1996 * Eddie George, Football
1997 * Blaine Wilson, Gymnastics
1998 Hugo Boisvert, Hockey
1999 Scoonie Penn, Basketball
2000 Jamie Natalie, Gymnastics
2001 Jamie Natalie, Gymnastics
2002 Raj Bhavsar, Gymnastics
2003 Craig Krenzel, Football
2004 Dan Taylor, Track/Field
2005 Mike Nugent, Football
2006 A.J. Hawk, Football
2007 Troy Smith, Football
2008 Andras Horanyi,  Fencing
2009 J Jaggers, Wrestling
2010 Evan Turner, Basketball

 

Turner Wins 2010 Wooden Award
April 10, 2010 9:00 am EST

As reported on CBS College Sports Network last night, Evan Turner won the 2010 John R. Wooden Award as the college basketball player of the year.  Blake Griffin, last year’s winner, made the announcement and presented Turner with the Wooden Award trophy.

Balloting by more than 1,000 members of the media and college basketball experts was conducted through the weekend of the Elite Eight. Voters selected 10 players for the John R. Wooden Award All American team from the 27 student-athletes listed on the ballot, and ranked them from 1 to 10.  Voters were asked to take into account performance during the regular season and postseason, as well as a player’s character and academic record. All players on the ballot were certified as maintaining a cumulative 2.0 GPA at their current school, including the most recent semester.

Turner had 3,715 points, followed by John Wall of Kentucky with 3,331 and Syracuse’s Wesley Johnson with 1,871. Turner joins a distinguished group of Wooden Award winners, including Michael Jordan (North Carolina), Ralph Sampson (Virginia), Tim Duncan (Wake Forest), Kevin Durant (Texas) and Larry Bird (Indiana State). Turner is the first Ohio State player to win the Award; Greg Oden was a finalist in 2007.

 

Turner Adds Naismith Award to his Trophy Shelf
April 5, 2010 8:30 pm EST

Ohio State junior Evan Turner has made the most of his third season in a Buckeye uniform.  It seems there is little doubt he would come back for his senior season.  Sunday night, he became the first Ohio State basketball player to win the Naismith Trophy, given annually since 1969 by the Atlanta Tipoff Club to the player of the year in college basketball.  Turner received the award during the National Association of Basketball Coaches’ awards show at which he also was honored as the NABC’s Division I player of the year.

The Naismith and NABC honors were the fourth and fifth player of the year awards for Turner.   He has also won awards from The Sporting News, Associated Press and U.S. Basketball Writers Association.  He is also a finalist for the Wooden Award to be announced Friday.

Turner joins incoming player, Jared Sullinger, who won the high school version of the Naismith award.

According to Bob Baptist reporting in the Columbus Dispatch, Turner said that he plans to announce by next Monday whether he will return to Ohio State for his senior season or enter the NBA draft, in which he is projected as a top-three pick. He must withdraw from his Spring classes by next Monday for the program to avoid a potential Academic Progress Rate penalty.

 

Buckeyes Season Ends in St Louis
March 26, 2010 10:45 pm EST

Ohio State went farther in the tournament this year, than last but in the end they are like 64 other teams that end their season with a loss.   Shooting 30% from the field in the second half due to the Tennessee’s defense, Ohio State loses 76-73 to the Volunteers in a semifinal of the NCAA Midwest Regional in the Edward Jones Dome.

Evan Turner scored 31 points, 21 in the second half, to lead Ohio State (29-8), the No.2 seed in the region.  But it may have been his turnovers late in the game that prevented the Buckeyes from moving forward in the dance.  He did have two shots to tie the score in the final seconds, but a three-pointer from the left corner glanced short off the rim and, after a rebound, his second-chance shot from the top of the key was blocked by Prince.  The block appeared clean, although Turner’s grimace as he fell to the floor indicated he felt otherwise.

“They didn’t call it,” he said, “so I guess it wasn’t a foul.”  From my seat in the 10th row behind the bench, I had to agree with Turner.

Turner received little support from his teammates, who combined to score only 10 points in the second half.  Taking advantage of the Buckeyes’ interior defense and a size mismatch with Lighty, Wayne Chism scored 18 of his 22 points in the second half to lead Tennessee (28-8), the No.6 seed, into the regional championship game Sunday against Michigan State.

Down 68-63, Ohio State rallied to twice take the lead, 70-68 on a three-pointer by Lighty with 2:16 left and 73-72 on a three by Turner with 41.5 seconds left.  A rebound basket by Brian Williams regained the lead for Tennessee with 31 seconds to play, and Matta chose to play on without calling a timeout.  Turner’s hard drive into a congested lane resulted in a missed layup with 17 seconds left. Kyle Madsen rebounded, but his shuffle pass to Turner was intercepted by Tennessee guard Bobby Maze, who made two free throws for a three-point lead with 12.9 seconds left.

 

Buckeyes Advance to St Louis and the Sweet 16
March 21, 2010 4:45 pm EST

It was a very rough start both from the OSU turnovers, and the Georgia Tech fouls in the first half.  Yet the Buckeyes found a way to overcome all that to defeat the Yellow Jackets 75-66 in Milwaukee.  Ohio State will face sixth-seeded Tennessee on Friday night in St. Louis in a Midwest Regional semifinal.

All American Evan Turner shook off one of the worst shooting nights of his career by coming within an assist and a rebound of his third triple-double of the season in the OSU victory.  Turner finished with a game-high 24 points. Jon Diebler added 20 points for the Buckeyes (29-7) and David Lighty had 18.

ACC Freshman of the Year Derrick Favors, who played just 5 minutes in the first half after picking up two quick fouls, keyed an 11-0 run that cut Ohio State’s lead to 65-61 with 1:47 to play. Turner made two free throws, and Lighty converted both of his after an intentional foul and the Yellow Jackets (23-13) never threatened again.

A 3-pointer by Lighty sparked a 14-2 run that gave the Buckeyes a 46-32 lead with 12:47 left. A layup by Favors got the Yellow Jackets within 52-43 with 9:15 to play, but Buford followed his own shot and tapped home the rebound, and the Buckeyes were off and running again.

Turner and the Buckeyes got off to a slow start, missing seven of their first nine shots. Georgia Tech seemed to take a cue from UC Santa Barbara, which bumped and hounded Turner into nine points on just 2-of-13 shooting Friday night. Two Yellow Jackets were glued to Turner every time he brought the ball up the court, with top defender Iman Shumpert — Turner’s backcourtmate in junior high — all over him.

Georgia Tech went back in front with a 3-pointer by Brian Oliver and a layup by Lawal, but Turner answered with a driving layup, Lighty made a 3 and Turner tipped in his own miss. Sheehan tied the game on a three-point play, but Lighty scored on a thunderous dunk off a pass from Turner.

Michigan State defeated another ACC team, Maryland, to also advance to St Louis.

 

OHIO STATE BIG TEN CHAMPS!
March 14, 2010 5:30 pm EST

Ohio State removed all doubt about their place in the NCAA tournament by winning the Big Ten tournament.  After defeating Minnesota 90-61, about the only thing Coach Matta did wrong was waiting so long to bring in the substitutes.

The Gophers had a nice run in the tournament overall, defeating Michigan State and Purdue in consecutive nights, but they didn’t have another upset left in the tank and fell apart midway through the second half of the 2010 Big Ten Championship game.  Evan Turner didn’t need late-game heroics this time.  OSU’s junior point guard had 31 points and 11 rebounds to lead Ohio State in the victory.

Turner hit a 37-foot shot at the buzzer to beat Michigan in the quarterfinals, then scored 12 of his 31 points after regulation in a double-overtime win over Illinois in the semifinals. On Sunday, he set the tournament record for points in a championship game.

Ohio State (27-7) made nine 3-pointers in the second half to pull away after leading by just three points at halftime. David Lighty scored 20 points and Jon Diebler added 19 for the Buckeyes, who tied the record for largest victory margin in a Big Ten tournament game.  Turner did a little bit of everything. He made four 3-pointers and several acrobatic layups, and had six assists. After one layup, during which he was fouled, Ohio State fans started chanting M-V-P. He averaged 27.7 points, 8.0 rebounds and 6.7 assists in the tournament.

Minnesota (21-13) had won four straight games and seven of nine, but struggled defensively for the first time in the tournament. The Golden Gophers held their first three opponents to combined 36 percent shooting in the tournament, and had locked down Purdue in a 69-42 victory on Saturday. Ohio State shot 58 percent on Sunday.

The Buckeyes opened the second half with an 8-0 run. Three-pointers by Turner and Buford helped Ohio State take a 41-30 lead.
Minnesota responded with a 7-0 spurt, highlighted by a 3-pointer by Joseph, to trim Ohio State’s lead to 41-37 just over 4 minutes into the second half.  Turner hit another 3-pointer, then Lighty made consecutive layups to push the Buckeyes’ lead back to 11 points midway through the second half, and the game was over.

 

Buckeyes Win Over Spartans Keep them in the Big Ten Race
February 21, 2010 3:00 pm EST

Evan Turner scored 20 points as Ohio State won 74-67 win over #11 Michigan State.  William Buford added 17 points for the Buckeyes (21-7, 11-4 Big Ten), who pulled into a second-place tie with Michigan State in the conference.  It was the 10th win in their last 11 Big Ten games for the Buckeyes after starting 1-3 in conference play.  Conversely Michigan State is just 2-4 in Big Ten play after starting 9-0.  The win keeps title hopes live, both teams trail Purdue by a half-game in the conference standings.

Ohio State quieted the Breslin Center crowd with a big run midway through the first half to grab a 23-12 lead. Buford had nine points in the first 12 minutes, while Dallas Lauderdale had three dunks.  Turner, battling cold and flulike symptoms, made only one of his first eight shots and scored just four points in the first half. But his teammates helped out and the Buckeyes took a 39-26 halftime lead.

Just imagine what this team might accomplish if Coach Matta would play more than 6 players.

 

Ohio State Blowout Illini in 72-53
February 14, 2010 4:00 pm EST

The Ohio State men’s basketball team remains tied for first place in the conference as the defeat Illinois 72-53 in Champaign.  The schedule sets up nicely now for the Buckeyes as they face Purdue and Michigan State in their next two games.  The outcome of those contests will go a long way in determining who will win the Big Ten title.

Ohio State used a steady diet of 3-pointers, most of them from Diebler, to take an early 21-10 lead before finishing off Illinois 72-53.  The Buckeyes were 11 of 22 from 3-point range, including a 6-for-11 performance from Diebler, who led Ohio State with 18 points. Lighty hit a trio of 3-pointers and scored 17.

The Buckeyes (20-6, 10-3) held onto a piece of first place in the Big Ten, along with Michigan State. They’ve won nine in a row in the conference and six straight overall.  Illinois (17-9, 9-4) lost for the first time in six games and fell a game behind the conference leaders. The Illini took the court Saturday after back-to-back wins over Michigan State and Wisconsin that put them back in the Big Ten title chase.

A single free throw from Turner with 17:40 to play in the first half started the Buckeyes on that 18-6 run that gave them a 21-10 lead. Diebler ended the run with a 3-pointer — his second during that span — and the Buckeyes hit five of six shots from the field.  From there, the Buckeyes coasted into halftime with a 36-20 lead.

Demetri McCamey led Illinois with nine points, seven short of his average.  The much talked-about matchup between high school teammates McCamey and Turner turned into, for the most part, Turner’s show. Both went to St. Joseph High School in Bellwood, a Chicago suburb.  Turner’s 16 points came mostly in the second half, but eight of his 11 rebounds were in the first 20 minutes and were a big piece of why the Buckeyes led by 16 at the half.

Illinois closed within 14 on a short bucket from D.J. Richardson with 14:05 to play, but Diebler answered 15 seconds later with another 3 to extend the Buckeyes’ lead to 46-29.  Ohio State never looked back.

The victory was the 20th win of the season, making the tenth straight year he was won at least 20 games in his career.

Bucks Beat the Gophers but the Real Show was at Halftime
January 31, 2010 4:00 pm EST
they retired Gary Bradds number and sat his family in the upper deck of the Schottenstien Center.  It was definitely a touch of class including recognizing the coach of the 1960 team, Fred Taylor.  Former player Bobby Knight (above) introduced the accomplishments of the coach and the unveiling of the new banner in the rafters.  The only thing that could have made this better is if it had been done in St John’s Arena.

 

OSU Defeats Wisconsin the Second Time Around
January 16, 2010 11:00 pm EST

There was an excellent Big Ten basketball game tonight at the Schott, I only wish the refs had seen it.  Evan Turner did not play in the first game against Wisconsin this season and two quick fouls took him out of the first half tonight.  Those two fouls along with several other calls had the fans and Coach Matta a bit upset.  Fortunately it did not cost them the game.  David Lighty helped Ohio State weather Evan Turner’s foul trouble, scoring 18 points to lead the Buckeyes in a 60-51 victory over the Badgers.

Turner had 15 points despite finishing with four fouls, and William Buford added 12 rebounds for the Buckeyes (13-5, 3-3 Big Ten), who have righted themselves after losing three of four to start conference play while Turner was coming back from broken bones in his back.

Trevon Hughes had 18 points and Jason Bohannon 10 for the Badgers (14-4, 4-2), who struggled all night to find an inside presence on offense. They were playing their second game without second-leading scorer (15.4 ppg) and leading rebounder (6.2 rpg) Jon Leuer, who fractured his left wrist a week ago.

The Buckeyes, who won at No. 6 Purdue 70-66 on Tuesday night, improved to 11-0 at home this season and 4-3 against ranked opponents — or 4-1 when Turner is in the lineup. He missed more than a month of the season, during which the Buckeyes went 3-3. One of those losses was a humiliating 65-43 rout at Wisconsin on New Year’s Eve.

One of the keys to the rematch was that even with Turner — averaging 18.8 points, 10.2 rebounds and 5 assists a game — sitting out the final 14 minutes of the first half in foul trouble, the Buckeyes were able to turn a 10-9 deficit into a 12-point halftime lead.

The largest — and loudest — Ohio State home crowd of the season was on hand, the number buoyed by the sale of $10 tickets two hours before the game.

 

Buckeyes Upset #6 Purdue on the Road
January 12, 2010 9:00 pm EST

Evan Turner scored 23 of his career-high 32 points in the second half, and Ohio State rallied from a 13-point deficit to beat No. 6 Purdue 70-66 on Tuesday night.  Turner scored 14 of Ohio State’s final 18 points. He also had nine rebounds in his third game back since missing a month with a fracture in his back.  Unlike the loss to the Gophers, Turner did not have to carry the full load himself.  William Buford had 19 points and seven rebounds for the Buckeyes (12-5, 2-3 Big Ten).  Another loss might have put them out of the conference race.

Robbie Hummel scored 29 of his career-high 35 points in the first half for Purdue (14-2, 2-2). He tied a school-record with eight 3-pointers and had 10 rebounds.

OSU returns home Saturday to face the Badgers for the second time this season.

 

2009-10 Schedule Released
September 15, 2009 9:00 am EST

The schedule for the 2009-10 Bucks is now available.  We still do not have a time for the first Exhibition game, but that should be announced later this week.  The quick look at the last the schedule
Wed, Nov 04   Walsh (Exh.)  Columbus, Ohio    TBA
Mon, Nov 09   Alcorn State  Columbus, Ohio    7:00 pm  BTN  (2K Sports Classic Coaches vs. Cancer)
Thu, Nov 12   James Madison  Columbus, Ohio    7:00 pm  BTN
Thu, Nov 19   North Carolina  at New York, NY    9:30 pm  ESPN2
Fri, Nov 20   California/Syracuse  at New York, NY    TBA   ESPN2
Tue, Nov 24   Lipscomb  Columbus, Ohio    7:00 pm  BTN
Sat, Nov 28   St. Francis  Columbus, Ohio    1:30 pm BTN
Wed, Dec 02   Florida State  Columbus, Ohio    9:30 pm  ESPN2  (Big Ten/ACC Challenge)
Sat, Dec 05   Eastern Michigan  Columbus, Ohio    12:00 pm  ESPNU
Sat, Dec 12   Butler  at Indianapolis, Ind.    12:00 pm  ESPN
Wed, Dec 16   Presbyterian  Columbus, Ohio    7:00 pm  BTN
Sat, Dec 19   Delaware State  Columbus, Ohio    4:00 pm  ESPNU
Tue, Dec 22   Cleveland State  Columbus, Ohio    8:30 pm  BTN
Thu, Dec 31   Wisconsin  at Madison, Wisc.    2:00 pm  ESPN 2
Sun, Jan 03   Michigan  at Ann Arbor, Mich.    4:30 pm  BTN
Wed, Jan 06   Indiana  Columbus, Ohio    8:30 pm  BTN
Sat, Jan 09   Minnesota   at Minneapolis, Minn.    3:30 pm  BTN
Tue, Jan 12   Purdue   at West Lafayette, Ind.    7:00 pm  ESPN
Sat, Jan 16   Wisconsin  Columbus, Ohio    8:00 pm  BTN
Tue, Jan 19   Northwestern  Columbus, Ohio    7:00 pm  BTN
Sat, Jan 23   West Virginia  at Morgantown, WV    2:00 pm  CBS
Wed, Jan 27   Iowa   at Iowa City, Iowa    8:30 pm  BTN
Sun, Jan 31   Minnesota   Columbus, Ohio    1:00 pm  CBS
Wed, Feb 03   Penn State   Columbus, Ohio    6:30 pm  BTN
Sun, Feb 07   Iowa   Columbus, Ohio    12:00 pm  BTN
Wed, Feb 10   Indiana   at Bloomington, Ind.    6:30 pm  BTN
Sun, Feb 14   Illinois  at Champaign, Ill.    1:00 pm  CBS
Wed, Feb 17   Purdue  Columbus, Ohio    6:30 pm  BTN
Sat, Feb 21   Michigan St @ East Lansing, Mich.  CBS
Wed, Feb 24   Penn State   at University Park, Penn.    6:30 pm  BTN
Sat, Feb 27   Michigan   Columbus, Ohio    ESPN, BTN/CBS
Wed, Mar 03   Illinois   Columbus, Ohio    TBA  BTN
Thu, Mar 11 –  Sun, Mar 14   Big Ten Tournament *  at Big Ten Tournament    TBA    TBA

 

Canadian Trip Starts With Big Win
August 29, 2009 7:00 am EST

The last time the Buckeyes were on the court, they were on the short end of an NCAA first round game against Siena.  Last night, they started there recovery.  Playing three games in four nights, OSU started their Canadian tour with a 90-39 victory over the University of Windsor.

PJ Hill led the way with 18 points, 4 assists, 4 rebounds and two steals.  David Lighty, playing his first game since suffering a broken foot had 16 points.  Evan Turner added 13 points along with 8 rebounds and 6 assists.  The two teams will play again Saturday night.

 

Buckeyes Set to Play Exhibition Games in Canada
August 15, 2009 8:30 am EST

Ohio State’s Basketball team will get some extra practice time as they have been scheduled for 3 games in Canada.  The trip to Ontario will include games August 28th and 29th against the University of Windsor and August 31st against the University of Western Ontario.  All games will be in the St. Denis Centre on the Windsor campus, just across the border from Detroit.

The additional practice time will be especially nice for the two players coming off injuries, David Lightly and Nikola Kecman.  Unfortunately it does not appear the medical staff will clear Kecman in time to play in the exhibition games.  Kecman played only one game last season before suffering a torn ACL in his left knee.  He is expected to be ready for the start of preseason practice October 16th.

 

Mullens Sets Out to Prove us Wrong
July 24, 2009 10:00 pm EST

B.J. Mullens acknowledged after a recent pre-draft workout that a lot of people don’t think he’s ready for the NBA and that he’ll have to prove them wrong.  Count me in as one of those people.

We are talking about a player who started only two games his freshman year, and I can’t honestly look back on last season and pinpoint a game and say ‘This was a real breakout performance for BJ”.

I must not be alone because the experts who draft NBA players only picked him 24th, where he had been projected as high as top 15.  To add to the drop, he was then traded for the 25th pick.  If it was his goal to get drafted, he succeeded. If he wants to be a star, I don’t think this is the route he should have taken.  OSU had a team with no seniors so everyone would have been back.  If BJ can not compete with Dallas Lauderdale for more playing time, how can he complete for time in the NBA.

Mullens, a Columbus native, is the fifth player in the past three years to leave Ohio State after one season and be drafted in the first round. Greg Oden went first, Mike Conley Jr. fourth and Daequan Cook 21st in 2007, and Kosta Koufos 23rd last year.  But while Oden, Conley Jr. and Cook have been regulars, if not always starters, in their two years in the league, the prevailing opinion of Mullens, as it was with Koufos, is that he is a couple of years away from helping a team.

Had he stayed around another year or two, he may have improved his draft position, meaning more money.  As the 24th pick, he will be guaranteed a contract worth $933,500 next season, $1,003,500 his second year and $1,073,500 his third.  In comparison, the top pick in the draft, Blake Griffin of Oklahoma, will make $4.15 million as a rookie. Griffin played two seasons in college.

The bottom line is this.  Mullens never really made the transition from high school to college.  It will be even harder for him to jump to the NBA.  I can wish him the best at his new life stage but it will be interesting to see if he every gets any significant playing time as a professional. – Gregg

 

12 former Athletes Announced into the 2009 Ohio State Athletics Hall of Fame
June 24, 2009 8:15 pm EST

An Olympic gold medalist, Michael Redd, heads the class of 2009 inductees.  Redd. a three-time men’s basketball MVP and NBA standout with the Milwaukee Bucks who was a member of the gold-medal winning Team USA at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.  A Columbus native, a graduate of West High School, was the Big Ten freshman of the year in 1998 and helped lead OSU to the Final Four in 1999 before leaving for the 2000 NBA draft.

“He’s ecstatic, it’s a great honor,” said Wes Redd, Michael’s father.

 

Point Guard Makes Verbal Commitment to the Bucks
June 11, 2009 9:00 pm EST

Finally good news for the basketball team.  Instead of losing a point guard to the draft or transfer, they may have stolen one right out of the SEC.

Aaron Craft, a 6-foot-2, 187-pound point guard, was not a highly rated prospect when Tennessee coach Bruce Pearl saw enough to offer him a scholarship.  Then a couple of things happened. Freshman point guard Anthony Crater left Ohio State in December, putting the Buckeyes back in the hunt for a guard. Then Craft, a lockdown defender, raised his stock on the AAU circuit this spring by improving his offense.

Ohio State became interested. Craft became aware of the interest through Jared Sullinger, his teammate on the All-Ohio Red AAU team who committed to OSU. That set in motion behind-the-scenes maneuvering that ended with Craft rescinding his commitment to Tennessee on May 26 and making one to OSU coach Thad Matta during a visit to campus last Thursday.

Craft is the fifth recruit to commit to the class of 2010, joining Sullinger, of Northland; forward DeShaun Thomas of Fort Wayne, IN., and guards Jordan Sibert of Cincinnati Princeton and Lenzelle Smith of Zion, Ill. It is rated the best class in the country by Rivals.com and ESPN.com.

Craft was Division V offensive player of the year in football last year and quarterbacked Liberty-Benton to the state championship game. But he might not play football this season to spend more time getting ready to play as a freshman at Ohio State. He will be the only point guard on the roster in 2010-11.

 

OSU to Lose Two Scholarships
May 7, 2009 6:00 pm EST

The Ohio State men’s basketball team will lose two scholarships because of a deficient Academic Progress Rate score as per the NCAA announcement.  The penalty takes effect immediately, meaning Ohio State will have no additional scholarships available for next season.  This is not good.

Teams must have an APR over a four-year period of 925 — which translates roughly to a 50 percent graduation rate — to avert penalties. Ohio State’s APR for the past four years is 911.  How bad is that?  Over 70% of the schools in Division I have a better rating than Ohio State.  This is not good.

Ohio State’s APR took a hit because of the departures of several players to the NBA after their freshman seasons. The losses of Greg Oden and Kosta Koufos were particularly damaging because they withdrew from classes in the spring quarter — after the cutoff date that would have mitigated the consequences of their departures.  This was not good.

Ohio State could have appealed the two-scholarship penalty, but decided not to.

B.J. Mullens is the latest freshman to leave for the NBA, but sources said he left after winter quarter in good academic standing. For now, OSU is subject to taking an APR hit because of his early departure, but that can be appealed because he turned professional. Ohio State will lose a so-called retention point because of the transfer of freshman Anthony Crater.

In contrast, the football program has an APR of 968, which ranks in the 80th-90th percentile nationally. The football score is 26 points higher than last year.

 

Buckeye50 Basketball Page Returns for a 4th Season
April 15, 2009 10:00 pm EST

We know this is a football web site but we continue to effort to bring you more variety in our Buckeye coverage.  For the 4th year, we start our seasonal Buckeye50 Basketball page.  Welcome to the 2009-2010 page.  If we actually had players that hung around for their entire scholarship, we would recognizing individuals that have been around as long as our basketball pages.  Unfortunately, Coach Matta has lost 4 players to the first round of the draft in the past two seasons and BJ Mullens has presented his name to the NBA and will find out in June where he plays next.  We had 2,900 visitors to our BBall page in 2008-09 page and hope to exceed that mark this coming season.