Diebler Goes To the Trail Blazers
June 23, 2011 11:45 pm EST

Greg Oden was selected by Portland in the 2007 draft.  Lets hope that Diebler is able to play more minutes there.  This was the first time in four years that an OSU player was not selected in the first round but Jon Diebler’s cellphone rang just as the 51st overall pick in the NBA draft was about to be announced on the television.  It was his agent.

And just as his agent said hello, so did the Portland Trail Blazers last night, taking the Big Ten’s career three-point field goal leader from Ohio State with the 21st pick of the second round.

“I was shocked. I was just sitting there and everybody kind of yelled it,” Diebler said last night from his family’s vacation home on Lake Erie, where he watched the draft with them and his new wife, Caitlin, and her family. They were married June 16.

“It’s just an exciting moment. It’s an opportunity to go out to Portland. I guess I get to go hang out with Greg for a little bit.”

Diebler and former OSU teammate David Lighty were projected to go late in the second round in some mock drafts in the days leading up to the draft.  Lighty was not drafted despite his reputation as a tough, high-character player who could guard multiple positions. Now he and another former OSU teammate, Dallas Lauderdale, will have to try the free-agent route into an NBA training camp, whenever they open.

Ohio State did not have a player selected in the first round of the draft for the first time in five years, although freshman Jared Sullinger was projected as a top-10 pick had he not decided to return for his sophomore year.  Six Buckeyes were selected in the first round of the past four drafts: Oden first, Mike Conley Jr. fourth and Daequan Cook 21st in 2007, Kosta Koufos 23rd in 2008, B.J. Mullens 24th in 2009 and Evan Turner second last year.

 

OSU Dispatch George Mason, Head to Sweet Sixteen
March 20, 2011 7:30 pm EST

Now the 2011 NCAA tournament can begin for the Buckeyes.  They have moved past the warm-up games, the dance will now begin for them in New Jersey this Friday against perennial powerhouse Kentucky.

Earlier in the day, Lighty, Diebler and Dallas Lauderdale received their diplomas. They had to skip Sunday’s winter commencement ceremony in Columbus to face George Mason, and the trio posed at midcourt for photos after the morning shootaround wearing their caps.

Once the game was tipped, the Patriots had absolutely no chance.  David Lighty made all seven of his 3-pointers and scored 25 points, Sullinger added 18 after informing one of George Mason’s players “it’s over” and top-seeded Ohio State made 16 3s to advance in the NCAA tournament with a jaw-dropping 98-66 win Sunday.

With thousands of fans chanting “O-H-I-O” at every opportunity, the Buckeyes (34-2) took apart the Patriots (27-7), who were hoping to repeat their magic from five years ago where they reached the final four.  Ohio State destroyed any upset plans and moved closer to its first national title since 1960. The Buckeyes will meet Kentucky (27-8) in the East regional semifinals Friday in Newark, N.J. Ohio State is 5-0 in NCAA tournament matchups with the Wildcats.

William Buford scored 18 and freshman guard Aaron Craft had 15 assists for Ohio State.

Early on, the Patriots weren’t fazed and came right at Ohio State. They opened with an 11-2 run capped by a basket from Ryan Pearson, a junior from New York who started jawing with Sullinger. Ohio State’s laid-back big man took exception to a few of Pearson’s words and responded with a prediction.

“It’s over, yo,” he said, waving his hands.

The Buckeyes closed the first half by outscoring the Patriots 50-15, unleashing every weapon in their overstocked offensive arsenal. They scored on backboard-quaking dunks. They made nine 3-pointers. They dropped floaters, layups and shots from every angle.  Lighty, the fifth-year senior from Cleveland who was on OSU’s national runner-up team with Greg Oden and Michael Conley in 2007, made all five 3s and scored 17 points during the opening half of his final college game in Ohio. Sullinger chipped in with 13 and Diebler nine.

There was still a second half to be played and Ohio State showed the Patriots no mercy. The Buckeyes made seven more 3-pointers and finished 16 of 26 from behind the arc. In the closing minutes, coach Thad Matta cleared his bench, allowing OSU’s seldom-used reserves to get a taste of tourney action.

The Buckeyes are still on a path where, if they can keep winning, they may face Kentucky, North Carolina, Duke and Kansas.  Not a bad path to prove their dominance.

 

Coach Ryan Will Get the Chance to “Deal With It” One More Time
March 7, 2011 7:00 pm EST

The Big Ten Network has announced the OSU-Wisconsin game will be re-aired on BTN Monday, March 14th, at 6:00 pm.  This will be especially great for those of us that missed the first seven minutes of the game while watching the Indiana State-Missouri  State finish.  I wonder how many tv sets will be tuned in for this in Madison.

 

Buckeyes Earn Big Ten Title – #1 Seed in Conference Tournament
March 6, 2011 6:30 pm EST

Senior Jon Diebler lived up to his “3-bler” nickname again by hitting 7 of 8 shots behind the arc while scoring 27 points, as Ohio State (29-2, 16-2) set NCAA Division I records by making 14 of 15 3-pointers (93.3 percent) and hitting 14 in a row after missing the first attempt.

Freshman Jared Sullinger had 22 points just weeks after accusing a Wisconsin fan of spitting in his face as he left the floor at the Kohl Center. He had told several people that he not only wanted to beat the Badgers, but that he wanted to beat them by 50 points.  They were not to far from that with the 93-65 victory over Wisconsin. (23-7, 13-5).   Or as the Buckeye fans were saying to Coach Bo Ryan, ‘Deal with it”.

The win gives the Buckeyes an outright Big Ten conference title and the #1 seed in the Big Ten tournament which starts Thursday.  They hope to repeat the title sweep they accomplished after the 2006-07 season.

Ohio State finished undefeated at home (20-0) for the second time in the past 20 seasons, and the first time since the 2006-07 season.  Their 29 wins are tied for the second-most in a season, behind 2006-07, when they lost in the NCAA title game.

 

Bucks Roar as Lions Snore in 82-61 OSU Win
March 1, 2011 11:00 pm EST

The Buckeyes roll into Happy Valley as the number 1 team in the country and rolled out with a 82-61 victory over Penn State.  The win gives Ohio State at least a tie for the Big Ten regular season title and sets up the showdown Sunday against the Wisconsin Badgers.

Jon Diebler had career highs of 30 points and 10 3-pointers, going 5 of 6 from behind the arc in the first half as the Buckeyes (28-2, 15-2) built a 15-point lead and never let up. Freshman center Jared Sullinger managed a double double with 10 points and 10 rebounds and William Buford added 21 points as Penn State (15-13, 8-9) was never really in the game.

Senior Talor Battle scored 18 points in his final regular-season home game for Penn State.  The Nittany Lions fell short of an upset that could have improved their fading NCAA tournament chances. There was so much anticipation on campus, the game drew 15,403 fans — the sixth-largest crowd in the 15-year history of the Jordan Center — and a record student turnout of more than 6,000.  Instead they got to watch Ohio State dissect Penn State’s defense with ease in ascending to another Big Ten crown.

The win gives Ohio State 15 straight wins over Penn State.  This is the longest winning streak of any Big Ten team over another conference foe.

The Buckeyes’ win was the first road win by a #1 ranked team in the Coaches’ poll since February 6th, when Ohio State won at Minnesota. Since then, Ohio State lost at Wisconsin, Kansas lost at Kansas State and Duke lost at Virginia Tech while ranked #1.

 

Buford’s First Half and Lighty’s Second Half Defeat Illini
February 22, 2011 9:45 pm EST

William Buford had 17 of his points in the first half and David Lighty took over in the second half as the Buckeyes dominate Illinois in the Schott 89-70.  During one 3-minute sequence, Lighty scored all 13 of Ohio State’s points, while the Illini only scored two, and defensively managed three steals.  The Illini scored 11 of the first 13 points of the second half to pull within 49-43 before Lighty took over.

Illinois responded with an 8-0 run to narrow the gap to 62-53.

Lighty then fed substitute forward Deshaun Thomas, caught in a recent shooting slump, for a 3-pointer. Seconds later, Lighty missed a jumper and Thomas fought off a defender for the rebound and converted it into a three-point play for a 68-53 lead.  Between them, Lighty and Thomas accounted for all 19 Ohio State points over a span of 7½ minutes.

Jon Diebler had 13 points, Aaron Craft 12 and Jared Sullinger 12 points and 11 rebounds for the Buckeyes (26-2, 13-2), who had lost two of three after winning their first 25 games.

Ohio State shot 53 percent from the field to end Illinois’ string of 37 consecutive games holding an opponent under 50 percent. The last team to reach 50 percent was also Ohio State, which shot 53.1 against the Illini on Feb. 14, 2010.  The Buckeyes had just three turnovers — they forced 16 turnovers, including getting nine steals.

Mike Davis scored 18 points, Mike Tisdale 14 and Jereme Richmond 11 for Illinois (17-11, 7-8), in dire need of more wins to make the NCAA tournament field. Demetri McCamey, the 12th-leading scorer in the Big Ten at 14.5 points a game, did not start for the Illini but finished with 15 points and six assists.  Illinois has lost 8 of their last 12 games.

Ohio State had only a token practice on Monday. The players were aware of what was at stake.

“Obviously, as a team we don’t like to lose,” Sullinger said. “Basically we wanted to just bounce back and start another win streak.”

 

Wisconsin Once Again Badgers Buckeyes
February 12, 2011 4:30 pm EST

The success both Jim Tressel and Thad Matta have experienced at Ohio State gives them a lot in common.  Today you can add one more thing they have in common.  They came into Madison this season undefeated and #1 in the country and left with their first loss of the year.

Jordan Taylor and Wisconsin found themselves in a huge hole but  shattered the Buckeyes’ chase at an undefeated season.  Taylor scored 21 of his 27 points in the second half, rallying Wisconsin from a 15-point deficit to beat No. 1 Ohio State 71-67.

Wisconsin (19-5, 9-3) topped a Number 1 opponent for the first time since 1962, when it was also Ohio State. The Badgers joined Florida as the only programs to knock off the same No. 1 school in both football and men’s basketball in the same academic year. The Gators also beat Ohio State in both sports in 2006-07.

William Buford scored 21 points for Ohio State (24-1, 11-1). Freshman Jared Sullinger made an easy layup to push the Buckeyes’ lead to 47-32 with 13:21 left, setting the stage for the comeback.

“We got a good, old piece of humble pie, so we’re back hungry,” Sullinger said. “This team wants to get back and practice tonight — unfortunately, we can’t due to NCAA rules.”

Sullinger scored 19 points and had 12 rebounds, for the Buckeyes, whom coach Thad Matta said has bigger objectives ahead than an unbeaten season.  Wisconsin was sharp from beyond the arc, hitting 12 of 24 3-pointers to key the upset, but it sure didn’t look like the Badgers would be close after falling behind big.

The Buckeyes, who wore black “3407” patches on the two-year anniversary of the crash of Continental Connection Flight 3407 that killed everyone on board, including Ohio State video coordinator Kevin Kuwik’s girlfriend, maintained their composure in the noisy environment over the opening minutes.

About 10 minutes before introductions, the Kohl Center crowd was whipped into a frenzy when highlights of the Badgers’ win over Ohio State in football were shown followed by the message “Let’s Take Down No. 1 Again.” The honorary coach was John Erickson, who led Wisconsin’s 1962 squad to its only other win over a top-ranked opponent.

Fans rushed the court that day in March. Forty-nine years later, they did again.

This is the eighth time a school has beaten the No. 1 team in both football and basketball in the same season.

 

Another Big Road Win For Buckeyes
February 6, 2011 4:15 pm EST

Seth Davis continues to predict OSU will not go undefeated, which of course is not much of a stretch since no team has accomplished this feat since the 1976 Indiana Hoosiers.  If he wants to impress me, at least tell me what game they are going to lose.

One more game, and a road game at that, is in the books and OSU is still perfect.  David Lighty scored 19 points, Sullinger had 18 points and 13 rebounds, William Buford and Jon Diebler made three 3-pointers apiece as the #1 Buckeyes beat Minnesota 82-69.  All five Ohio State starters scored in double figures.

Ohio State (24-0, 11-0) have won 12 straight conference road games, dating to last season.

“We’re never scared,” Sullinger said. “Even on the road, or at home, we just keep playing basketball. That’s what we do.”

The Gophers (16-7, 5-6) made a late rally to come within three points in a loss at Ohio State last month, but they had no such rally on their home court, down as much as 19 points at one time.  Part of this was due to Dallas Lauderdale’s 5 slam dunks in the second half.  Minnesota found out what every team OSU has faced has found out.  When you put multiple people on Sullinger, someone else is wide open.

The Buckeyes have also won 13 straight on the road overall and 12 straight road Big Ten games.

 

Sullinger Is the Boy Next Door
February 3, 2011 5:30 pm EST

In a sports world filled with the ills of scandal, payouts, and tattoos, it is refreshing to read about an athlete he plays by the rules and works to keep family values.  Jason King of Rivals.com wrote a very nice piece on Ohio State’s Jared Sullinger.  A nice read for all Buckeye fans.

 

Northwestern Gives a  Scare to the Buckeyes
January 29, 2011 8:00 pm EST

Northwestern misses a shot from half court and fall short on their upset bid.  Top-ranked Ohio State’s coach expected a difficult time against Northwestern, and that’s exactly what they got.  Yet they found a way to capture their 22nd straight victory, thanks to a late steal from veteran David Lighty and a tie-breaking free throw from freshman star Jared Sullinger to pull out a 58-57 victory over the short-handed and determined Wildcats.

Sullinger finished with 21 points and Aaron Craft had 13 points for Ohio State.  Leading by only two at the half, Ohio State (22-0, 9-0) pulled out to a 13-point lead in the second half with a 14-4 run.  But Northwestern came back behind senior guard Michael Thompson, who led the Wildcats with 16 point.

Ohio State’s Jon Diebler, No. 5 all-time in the Big Ten in 3-pointers made, hit one for his first basket of the game to put the Buckeyes in front 57-55.  Thompson then sailed through the lane and the 5-foot-10 guard floated the ball into the basket for a tie with 1:31 left.  After an Ohio State turnover and then a foul, Northwestern retained possession and tried to set up a go-ahead shot, but David Lighty stopped all that with a steal.  Northwestern (13-8, 3-7) fell to 0-16 all-time against top-ranked teams.

The Buckeyes, meanwhile, have now matched the second longest winning streak in school history.  In 2006-07, Ohio State also won 22 straight, counting tournament games, before losing in the NCAA championship game. The 1961-62 team was victorious in its first 22 games. The longest Buckeyes win streak was 32, spanning two seasons from 1959-60 (last five) to 1960-61 (first 27).

 

OSU Posts Second Big Win in 4 Days with Victory over Purdue
January 25, 2011 11:45 pm EST

The Buckeyes proved they deserved to be number 1, in spite of what Seth Davis thinks.  Ohio State’s thrashing of Purdue served as a statement to critics.

William Buford had 19 points, Jared Sullinger added 17 and the top-ranked Buckeyes played almost flawlessly in rolling past No. 12 Purdue 87-64.  Jon Diebler had 13 points and a career-high eight rebounds, Deshaun Thomas added 13 points, David Lighty scored 10 points and Aaron Craft had 11 points and six assists for Ohio State (21-0, 8-0), which ran its record to 62-4 all-time when atop the polls.

JaJuan Johnson had 22 points and E’Twaun Moore added 16 for the Boilermakers (17-4, 6-2).

Now 21-0, the Buckeyes remain one of two unbeaten Division I teams along with San Diego State.   The victory puts the Buckeyes up by two games in the Big Ten. After several close calls in conference play, they had yet to really blow out a team. They chose a high-profile game against a quality opponent to do just that.
Buckeyes Post Biggest Road Victory of Season in Win Over Illinois
January 22, 2011 3:00 pm EST

Illinois had revenge on their mind but came up empty handed.  Fans of the Orange and Blue had been camped out since 11:00pm the night before to get into the game.  The Illini wanted to revenge the loss to OSU back in 2004 when the Buckeyes defeated an unbeaten Illinois team with a final second three-pointer by Matt Sylvester.

Things were looking good for the home team when they had 50-42 with 12 minutes to go.  Then the Buckeyes went on a 14-0 run and changed their fortunes in the game.  Ohio State (20-0, 7-0) went on to defeat Illinois 73-68, for their fourth straight victory over the Illini. It is also their 10 straight road win in conference play.

Freshman Jared Sullinger had 27 points and 16 rebounds while playing all 40 minutes, and was 13-for-15 from the foul line.  I sense another ‘Freshman of the Week’ honor is in the works.

The top-ranked Buckeyes remained undefeated and started 20-0 or better for the third time in school history (1961 and 1962).  Both of the previous 20-0 starts resulted in OSU advancing to the NCAA title game.  It also means that Coach Thad Matta has won at least 20 games for 11 straight seasons.
OSU #1 Team in the Land
January 17, 2011 9:00 pm EST

In the final poll of the 2006-07 season, the Buckeyes were #1, a season that ended with a loss to Florida in the championship game.  David Lighty was a freshman on the team.  Now he is a 5th-year senior helping groom a crop of new freshman.  And as of today he is back in the #1 slot.  In the AP and Coaches polls released today, OSU is once again in the top spot.

 

Freshman Craft Leads the Buckeyes Over Michigan
January 12, 2011 9:00 pm EST

The Michigan football program has been in the news the past several days.  Recently hired head Coach Hoke was in the crowd and gave a motivational speech to the crowd.  It reminds me of a similar scene 10 years ago when the Ohio State hired Coach Tressel and he spoke at Value City Arena at halftime of a game against the Wolverines.  The Bucks won and the football team followed with it’s first victory of nine they would earn over the next ten years against their rival.

Fortunately for the Buckeyes, Hoke’s speech was not enough to secure a victory.  We can only hope the UM football team will experience a similar fate this fall.  OSU Freshman Aaron Craft came off the bench to play 32 solid minutes of defense, securing a 68-64 win.  Before Craft entered the game, Michigan (11-6, 1-3) had shot 75% from the field and owned a 14-8 lead.  Craft was able to apply pressure in the back court, disrupting the Wolverine offense and allowing Ohio State (17-0, 4-0) to get back in the game.

The win is the ninth in a row for the Buckeyes on the road in the conference, which they have not accomplished since the early 60’s.  The 17-0 start is the longest streak of wins to start a season since the 1990-91 campaign.  Best of all, none of the basketball players are selling their trophies for tattoos.

 

Buckeyes Defeat Indiana in Big Ten Opener
December 31, 2010 8:45 pm EST

The 2010-2011 Buckeyes made it a perfect 3-0 on the road this season as they open the Big Ten slate with a 85-67 victory  over the Indiana Hoosiers.   They have won three straight in Bloomington for the first time since 1968-70, before Indiana moved to Assembly Hall. Ohio State has won eight straight road games, its longest such streak since winning nine in a row from 1970-72, and maintained its status as one of the nation’s few remaining unbeaten teams.

The Buckeyes (14-0,1-0) shot 60.5 percent from the field and 68.4 percent from 3-point range despite missing every shot they took over the final 8:06. They tied the Assembly Hall record for most 3s by a visiting team, matching the 13 Northwestern hit last season.  The Buckeyes played a nearly perfect half — making 15 of 21 from the field, 7 of 10 from 3-point range and 9 of 11 from the free throw line. And Sullinger still managed to get 11 points and four rebounds in the first 20 minutes. He finished with 19 points and nine rebounds.

 

Classic Comeback to be Broadcast on Big Ten Network
December 28, 2010 9:30 pm EST

The Big Ten Network is about to begin their latest series of ‘Greatest Games’ featuring epic rivalries, stunning upsets, down-to-the-wire finishes and jaw-dropping performances.  The first game premieres Tuesday with Penn State’s thrilling 2006 victory over sixth-ranked Illinois.  There is only one game slated featuring Ohio State and that is their 85-84 win over Tennessee, March 22, 2007.  This was during the Buckeyes run in the NCAA tournament that ended in Atlanta.  They game will be broadcast on February 28th, at 5:00pm.

 

Tennessee-Martin is No Match for Even Our Freshman
December 27, 2010 11:00 pm EST

At one point, a Tennessee-Martin player jumped off the bench to come in as a substitute, ripped off his warm-up top, and in the process took off his uniform with it.  Then the he had to look for his shirt within the wadded-up warm-up as everyone waited for him.  I think the only substitution that was more embarrassing was during the basketball episode of ‘Happy Days’ when Ralph Malph took off his warm-up only to reveal he was wearing his street clothes underneath.

Unfortunately for Skyhawks, that was not the worse thing for them tonight in Columbus.  At the 10:11 mark in the second half, Tennessee-Martin(4-9) scored their 25th point.  It marked the first time in the game they were outscoring William Buford.  The final was 100-40 and the game was not as close as that sounded.  Buford scored the first seven points of the game and finish ed with 23 as the Buckeyes end their non-conference schedule a perfect 13-0.  Deshaun Thomas chipped in with 20 points, Jared Sullinger had 18 points and 11 rebounds, and David Lighty and Dallas Lauderdale scored 10 points apiece.  The Buckeyes are off to the fourth-best start in the program’s 112 seasons.

Ohio State took a 12-0 lead after the opening 3 minutes, then scored the first 18 points of the second half.  The Skyhawks hit just 17 of 63 shots from the field (27 percent) while the Buckeyes were 41 of 70 (59 percent). Ohio State also had a 49-28 edge on the boards and forced 19 turnovers while committing just nine.

Matta moved to 97-2 against unranked teams at home and 90-17 against non-conference opponents in his seven years at Ohio State.  UT Martin fell to 0-9 against the Big Ten and 0-2 against Ohio State.

 

Buckeyes Record Comeback Victory over IUPUI
November 29, 2010 6:00 pm EST

#2 Ohio State men’s basketball team was down at home 50-41 with 12 minutes to go.  Then they finally went to work.  Aided by a 24-4 run, they saved there perfect record.  Jared Sullinger set an Ohio State freshman record with 40 points, leading the Buckeyes back to beat IUPUI 75-64.

The 6-foot-9 Columbus native hit 12 of 17 shots from the field and 16 of 23 free throws — both of which were also records — and had 13 rebounds as the Buckeyes (7-0) escaped on a night when the pesky Jaguars (4-6) shot 51 percent from the field.  The Buckeyes finished the game on a 34-14 run — with Sullinger scoring 22 points.

It was the 23rd 40-point game ever by a Buckeye, and the first since Dennis Hopson scored 41 in 1986 against Dayton. It was only the fourth time an Ohio State player has scored 40 points or more in a game in the last 45 years.

IUPUI coach Ron Hunter said his game plan was to shut down Ohio State on the perimeter and force the Buckeyes’ big men to do the job inside.  “We just ran into a wall,” Hunter said.

William Buford added 14 points and Jon Diebler 13 for the Buckeyes, Alex Young had 20 points, Leroy Nobles 16 and Donovan Gibbs 12 for the Jaguars.

The previous freshman scoring record at Ohio State was held by Michael Redd, who had 30 points against USC on December 20, 1997.

 

Buckeyes #2 in Latest Poll
November 29, 2010 6:00 pm EST

Duke is the unanimous #1 team in this week’s ESPN/USA Today coaches’ poll, while Ohio State  moved up to the second place spot.  Connecticut vaulted from being unranked into the top 10 after winning the Maui Invitational.

Duke received all 31 first-place votes from the panel of coaches. The Blue Devils are also a unanimous No. 1 in The Associated Press media poll.

Unbeaten Ohio State (5-0) climbed a spot to No. 2, followed by Pittsburgh (7-0), Kansas (6-0) and Kansas State (5-1), which fell a spot after losing to Duke last week.

 

Buckeyes Dominate Gators in Gainsville
November 16, 2010 8:00 pm EST

The 2010-11 Buckeyes had their first road test and it was a big one.  They took on #9 Florida Gators and passed with flying colors.  Jared Sullinger and David Lighty scored 26 points each and #4 Ohio State defeated Florida 93-75.  They found themselves down three points at half time mostly due to the fact that they couldn’t get a rebound to save their lives.

Ohio State turned things around in the second half and never really looked back.  William Buford added 16 points for the Buckeyes (2-0), and Jon Diebler chipped in 14.  The Gators (1-1) shot 61 percent from the field and led by seven points in the first half. But they had no answer for Sullinger in the paint and had even more trouble slowing down Lighty.  Kenny Boynton led Florida with 21 point.

It was the teams first meeting in three seasons when Ohio State won 62-49 in December 2007.

 

Larry Siegfried Dies
October 14, 2010 9:30 pm EST

At age 71, Larry Siegfried, a star on the 1960 NCAA championship team, dies following a heart attack. In addition to his excellence at Ohio State, he helped the Boston Celtics win five NBA titles. Siegfried was picked third overall by the Cincinnati Royals in the 1961 draft but chose to play for George Steinbrenner’s ABL Cleveland Pipers.  After the Pipers folded in 1963, Boston coach Red Auerbauch added him to the team after the suggestion from his OSU teammate John Havelicek. Siegfried was the third-leading scorer on the 1966 championship team. After retiring in 1972, he worked as a prison counselor in Ohio, and as a motivational speaker.

 

Small Forward Commits to Ohio State
August 17, 2010 9:30 am EST

LaQuinton Ross, from Life Center Academy in Jackson, MS has verbally committed to Coach Matta and the Buckeyes.  He is rated very high by all scouts and is expected to play small forward.  Ross is the second verbal commitment for Ohio State in the 2011 class. Shannon Scott, a talented lead guard, is also committed to OSU.   The 6′ 8″, 200 lbs prep star was also considering West Virginia, Mississippi State, Syracuse and Baylor.

“I love the Ohio State program and I liked what they did with Evan Turner last year,” Ross said. “I got real close with the coaching staff and that was a big reason why I went with Ohio State.”

In a follow-up story, back-up center Zisis Sarikopoulos did decide to stay in Greece and sign a professional contract so he will no longer be with the Buckeyes.

 

Center Zisis Sarikopoulos May Be Leaving OSU
August 14, 2010 6:30 pm EST

According to a story from Bob Baptist of the Columbus Dispatch, 7 foot center Zisis Sarikopoulos may have already signed a professional contract in Greece and will opt out of his last two years with Ohio State.  Baptist wrote that an OSU spokesperson said Sarikopoulos, who spent the past two months in Europe playing with Greece’s under-20 national team, told coaches in their most recent conversation that he had not yet signed anything.

The 2010-11 schedule should be released shortly.

 

Injuries Continue For Buckeye Cagers
July 16, 2010 8:30 pm EST

The 2010-2011 OSU basketball MVP may be the trainer.

It has just been reported that Lenzelle Smith Jr., a 6-foot-3 guard, will need three to six months to recover from surgery on his left wrist.  Smith had surgery to repair a torn ligament in the wrist on June 22 meaning he could return as early as September or as late as December. Ohio State has not released its 2010-11 schedule, but the college basketball season begins November 8th.

Smith is among six members of a freshman class ranked No.3 nationally by recruiting websites. He and another freshman, 6-2 Aaron Craft of Findlay Liberty-Benton, have been mentioned as possible replacements in the starting lineup for NCAA player of the year Evan Turner.

Smith is the third member of the team known to have had surgery since the end of last season.  David Lighty has again suffered a broken fifth metatarsal in his left foot in May when he stepped on Diebler’s foot during a pickup game. He hopes to be cleared to resume playing in August.  Also , junior forward Nikola Kecman had surgery last week to repair a previously torn ligament in his right knee. The timetable for his return is uncertain.

 

Turner Selected By 76ers
June 24, 2010 10:00 pm EST

Coach Matta losses another player early to the draft, and he is selected in the first round.  At least this time, the Buckeye fans got three years with the player this time.  Congratulations and thank you Mr Turner.

The 76ers selected Evan Turner with the No. 2 pick in Thursday night’s NBA draft. Despite missing five weeks after breaking two bones in his back, Turner averaged 20.4 points, 9.4 rebounds and 5.9 assists while leading the Buckeyes to the sweet sixteen of the NCAA tournament.  A versatile player, Turner is expected to be Philadelphia’s shooting guard. He joins a rebuilding squad that’s coming off a 27-55 season.

When the lottery balls bounced favorably for the 76ers allowing the team to jump from sixth to No. 2, Turner immediately became the organization’s top choice.  Coach Doug Collins raved about Turner, the AP Player of the Year, after his visit to Philadelphia last week. And general manager Ed Stefanski made no secret he loved Turner’s game.

It’s been seven years since Philadelphia won a playoff series.  The fans roared when commissioner David Stern called Turner’s name, and many fans thanked Stefanski when he walked through the crowd.

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 Sporting News, USBWA and NABC POY awards. He 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.

This marks four straight years the Buckeyes have lost players early only to have them taken in the first round of the draft.

 

Big Ten Network to Replay OSU-Purdue Game
May 13, 2010 10:00 pm EST

January 12, 2010 – Ohio State 70, No. 6 Purdue, 66
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. This was the sentiment for the Boilermaker faithful who packed inside Mackey Arena to witness sixth-ranked Purdue tangle with Ohio State in the modern rendition of a tale of two halves. Purdue closed the first half on an 11-2 run, ignited by an impressive barrage of eight treys by junior Robbie Hummel to lead, 41-29, at the break. Hummel completed the first stanza with 29 of a career-high 35 points, but it would not be enough as OSU’s Evan Turner answered with 23 of his career-best 32 points in the second half in leading the Buckeyes to a 70-66 upset. The performance marked only the third time in Big Ten history a player on each team posted 30 or more points in a single contest.   Watch the replay on the Big Ten Network at 5:00pm May 20th.

 

Lighty Has Broken Foot Again
May 13, 2010 10:00 pm EST

Last time David Lighty broke his foot, it was the middle of the season.  At least this time he has time to recover.  Yet unfortunately it was confirmed that Lighty broke the same bone as last time, the fifth metatarsal, Tuesday night while playing a pick-up game.  He will have surgery tomorrow, then it should take about 12 weeks to recovery.  Basically this means he should have time to be ready for the start of practice in mid-October.  Unfortunately he is going to lose time this summer he was going to spend working on his point guard skills.  Where is PJ Hill when you need him.

 

Assistant Coach Leaves for North Carolina
April 9, 2010 8:00 pm EST

Assistant coach Alan Major was hired as head coach by the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. The hiring was reported by The Charlotte Observer.  Major was an assistant to coach Thad Matta for the past six seasons at Ohio State and for three seasons before that at Xavier.

He is a graduate of Purdue, where he served as an undergraduate student manager under coach Gene Keady before beginning his coaching career in 1992.

 

Turner Says Goodbye to Ohio State
April 7, 2010 5:30 pm EST

Originally we heard he would wait till Monday to announce, but he didn’t need that long to decide.  Evan Turner will forgo his senior season at Ohio State and enter the NBA draft.  Turner led the Buckeyes to a 29-8 mark, the second-most victories in Ohio State history, and a share of the regular season championship and the conference tournament championship.  He led the conference in scoring (20.4) and rebounds (9.2) and also averaged 2.0 steals and 5.9 assists per game.

Turner concluded his junior year No. 15 in career scoring, No. 13 in career rebounds, No. 7 in career assists and No. 3 in career steals at Ohio State.  He is one of only two Buckeyes all-time to record 1,000+ points, 500+ rebounds and rank among the Top 10 in career steals (159) and assists (414) – Jim Jackson is the other.  He is the only Ohio State player to reach 1,000 career points, 500 career rebounds, 400 career assists and 150 career steals.

Best of luck to you Evan!

 

5th Year for our Buckeye50 Basketball Page
April 1, 2010 10:00 pm EST

Yes, we are staying committed to our coverage of Ohio State football at Buckeye50.  But we continue to bring you more variety in our Buckeye coverage.  For the 5th season, we start our annual Buckeye50 Basketball page.  Welcome to the 2010-2011 page. We will be here when Evan Turner announces is final plans and we will be there when Coach Matta brings in yet another highly ranked recruiting class.  Hopefully we will be able to cover a trip to Houston and the Final Four next April.  We only had 895 visitors to our BBall page in 2009-10 page, which is our lowest response to date.  We hope to bring you the type