Ohio State 2011-2012

• mallymal614

  It pains me that I have to start this thread right now instead of after April 4th. But hey, it is what it is. I guess we can go ahead and talk about what Ohio State can do next year. I feel they can be just as good. Let's say Sullinger lives up to his words and do return. Joining him will be the #4 ranked recruiting class according to ESPN. Watching incoming center Amir Williams highlights, it looks as though his presence will be felt on the defensive end. Jared then can move to a more natural power forward position, while Amir holds down the middle. My gut feeling tells me Bufford will declare for the draft. If he does, say what you want about Thomas, but he has tremendous upside. Thomas can shoot, rebound, and play big down low. It wouldn't surprise me one bit if he has a breakout season. My only concern would be how much Diebler's three point shooting will be missed. Jordan Sibert in my opinion was the most underrated player on the team and is capable of playing a David Lighty type role. The Bucks also should now have two reliable point guards in Craft and Shannon Scott coming in (Ranked #6 high school point guard in the country by ESPN). What are your thoughts about the team next year?
• Writerbuckeye

  

  If Buford and Sullinger both come back, Ohio State will have its deepest and most talented team since Matta became coach. They'll have nice size with Sullinger, Ravenal (sp), Williams and Thomas, and will have (by all reports) a Turner-type clone at one wing, and experience in the backcourt with Buford and Craft, while bringing in another stud guard (Scott).
  
  It will easily be the deepest team Matta has had, and hopefully he'll use more of it. I'm betting he will.
  
  Notice I didn't even mention Sibert and Smith, and I expect both to be much better next season.
• 77Legend

  

  What D.Thomas needs to work on is his Defense and playing under control letting the game come to him, not forcing things. I think Buford is gone. But if he comes back, it will be a very nice team. But not getting my hopes up too much, look what happened this weekend. Still kind of disappointed OSU did not go after Northland Vikings (Columbus) point guard Trey Burke. If Weatherspoon can put his game together, watch out!
• Tiger2003

  

  Sully and Buford will both be back. They want a title.
• Laley23

  

  They will not be as good as they were this year. Im already sick of hearing that lol.
• se-alum

  

  They should be a much deeper team, but not as good as they were this year. Sibert will be a big key, and I expect him to get plenty of opportunities because he is very solid defensively.
• KR1245

  

  se-alum;726509 wrote:They should be a much deeper team, but not as good as they were this year. Sibert will be a big key, and I expect him to get plenty of opportunities because he is very solid defensively.

  
  I doubt that they will be as good but I think the potential is there. I guess it depends on how well these freshman play.
  
  Obviously they will miss the seniors but I think they will be quicker defensively, especially out on the perimeter. They will have every guy from consecutive top 3 recruting classes on the roster.
• LJ

  

  If Buford comes back will it be
  5 Williams
  4 Sullinger
  3 Thomas
  2 Buford
  1 Craft
  
  No Buford
  5 Williams
  4 Sully
  3 Thomas
  2 Sibert
  1 Craft
• se-alum

  

  I think it will be:
  
  Craft
  Sibert
  Buford
  Thomas
  Sully
• centralbucksfan

  OSU is going to miss Diebler, Lighty and Lauderdale more than people realize. That being said, OSU will be VERY talented next year. I fully expect Sullinger to return as he said he would. And I would be SHOCKED if Buford leaves. He isn't ready and can only make more money by getting better and moving up the draft board.
  It will be another exciting year. OSU will be a top 5 team, no question about that. Still VERY down about the loss. So its difficult to look ahead. But OSU future is looking great.
• Writerbuckeye

  

  Laley23;726162 wrote:They will not be as good as they were this year. Im already sick of hearing that lol.

  
  The only aspect that will be greatly different will be Diebler, and I grant you that's a huge loss.
  
  OSU makes up for that by finally getting some depth and numbers of front line players.
  
  It's very, very unlikely the record will be better, but by the end of the year, next year's team might be better balanced for an NCAA run than this year and last year, both of which lacked front court power and depth.
• Writerbuckeye

  

  Oh and I might add: how many people thought this year's team was going to be that much better than last year, with the loss of the Player of the Year? Ohio State was picked, I believe, third in the conference by most of the so-called experts, behind MSU and Purdue.
• Laley23

  

  Writerbuckeye;726698 wrote:The only aspect that will be greatly different will be Diebler, and I grant you that's a huge loss.
  
  OSU makes up for that by finally getting some depth and numbers of front line players.
  
  It's very, very unlikely the record will be better, but by the end of the year, next year's team might be better balanced for an NCAA run than this year and last year, both of which lacked front court power and depth.

  
  They wont miss Lighty? Osu has been a bit spoiled with the freshman they have had. The guys coming in, while talented, aren't going to have the impact of some of the guys you have had recently. The team will have one upper classman. That will make road games much tougher. I fully expect them to win the league, but they wont be better.
• mallymal614

  Writerbuckeye;726702 wrote:Oh and I might add: how many people thought this year's team was going to be that much better than last year, with the loss of the Player of the Year? Ohio State was picked, I believe, third in the conference by most of the so-called experts, behind MSU and Purdue.

  
  Winner!
  
  I remember some of the comments on here from some who said they don't think the Bucks will be as good. 34-3 and winning the big ten is such a big setback lol.
• Art Modell

  

  In typical OSU fashion, they will blow it when it counts the most.
• mallymal614

  Laley23;726783 wrote:They wont miss Lighty? Osu has been a bit spoiled with the freshman they have had. The guys coming in, while talented, aren't going to have the impact of some of the guys you have had recently. The team will have one upper classman. That will make road games much tougher. I fully expect them to win the league, but they wont be better.

  
  I was listening to Colin Cowherd one time. Though I don't agree with some of what he said he made a valid argument about college basketball players. He said if you're a senior on a basketball team then you probably not any good. Meaning the days where 'great' players stay 4 years are just about over. Look at the NBA right now. I don't think there is any current superstar that played a whole 4 years in college. The past decade or so, teams who made runs in the NCAA tournament, usually have pros. Experience is kinda overrated in the college game. Just look at Kentucky with 3 freshmen in the starting lineup. Ohio State in 2007 had 3 one and done players. Florida won it all in 2006 with 3 sophomores future NBA players. Memphis in 2008 was led by a freshman point guard who was the #1 overall pick. I am bringing all this up because though Lighty and Diebler have been GREAT for the Ohio State program, they aren't your typical NBA bound players. Yes experience will do well in the regular season, but in the big dance, teams with NBA players usually are the ones that prevail. Which is why though Kentucky lost 8 games they are balling right now at the right time. Same with North Carolina who got off to a slow start. Ohio State next season could have 4-5 players capable of being on a NBA roster one day. With the loss of the seniors could open it up for one of the talented young players. So sometimes addiction comes with subtraction.
• Azubuike24

  

  Depends. If all you have is Freshman talent or all you have is Senior leadership, you won't win anything.
  
  Without Josh Harrellson, DeAndre Liggins and Darius Miller, Kentucky is gone.
  Without Kemba Walker, Connecticut wouldn't be in the NCAA Tournament.
  Without veterans, VCU and Butler wouldn't be over .500.
  
  If anything, this season proves that the teams who have a mix, or who are extremely well-coached and get hot, can go all the way. If anything, Butler and Virginia Commonwealth still alive shows you that the upperclassman can top the talent.
  
  You still need a mix though. 4 of Butler's top 10 in the rotation are Freshman or Sophomores, and 7 of their 10 still have eligibility left. Connecticut has a majority of Freshman and Sophomores outside of Walker. Kentucky's three top scorers are Freshman.
• Azubuike24

  

  As for Ohio State, the haters can hate. Forget losing Diebler, Lighty and Lauderdale. If they get Sullinger and Buford back, with what's already in place and a nice class, they will be just as dangerous and capable of great things. That's all you can ask, when you get to the Tournament we all know what can happen.
• Sonofanump

  Where does 2 for 17 project you into the NBA draft?
• Azubuike24

  

  According to most, mid-late 1st round.
  
  The bigger question is, what does returning for a 4th season, on what projects to be a deeper team, do to RAISE that projection a year from now.
  
  According to how I see it, not much.
  
  Buford leaving for the NBA wouldn't be as much about his stock being through the roof, it would be more about weighing weather to spend another year in school or start his NBA contract right away. Conventional wisdom says that if you aren't going to get a "better job" by waiting, why wait? He will have to decide if coming back to college and trying at another NCAA run is worth the risks of returning and not getting paid right away.
  
  It's a decision almost every non sure-fire lottery pick has to make. There are examples both ways of guys, who in hindsight, made good or bad decisions.
  
  Take Ekpe Udoh of Baylor for example. He gave up his Senior year, left for the NBA, has gotten some good experience and is getting paid. Now he was projected a top 10 pick, but after Baylor's NCAA performance and how he played last year, his stock wasn't getting higher, so he had to weigh if he wanted to come back. Imagine if he returned to what was a train wreck of a season (and program) at Baylor this year?
  
  Then again, a guy like Darrington Hobson of New Mexico saw his stock fall after he left early, landed in the second round, got injured and got cut. He probably wishes that with a very solid team returning, and who was on the bubble until the MWC Tournament, he may have been better off returning to school and probably playing in another NCAA Tournament. This would have been a good year to get some more notoriety as the MWC had a good season and got some good publicity.
• NilesPacMan

  http://toledoblade.com/Ohio-State/2011/03/27/Sullinger-Buford-say-they-ll-be-back.html
  
  There's an article claiming that Buford has also announced his intentions to come back, which is absolutely huge. Yes, we'll miss Lighty, Diebler, and Lauderdale, but like Azubuike said, the foundations are already in place. We'll return 3 of our starters, that's counting Craft as a starter for the record, and hopefully, Thomas will continue to progress along with the rest of the young team.
• centralbucksfan

  Laley23;726783 wrote:They wont miss Lighty? Osu has been a bit spoiled with the freshman they have had. The guys coming in, while talented, aren't going to have the impact of some of the guys you have had recently. The team will have one upper classman. That will make road games much tougher. I fully expect them to win the league, but they wont be better.

  
  As I stated, all 3 of those are HUGE losses. its going to affect OSU no question, especially early in the season. But as someone pointed out, who thought OSU was going to be as good as they were this year after losing Turner? I thought they "could" be top 10....but never did I expect the season they had. As some have pointed out, if Sully and Buford come back, add in Craft, Thomas..all have quite a bit of experience. Craft was basically a starter. So in theory, OSU is returning 3 starters. Add in a top 5 recruiting class along with guys like Sibert, Smith Jr who didn't see much action, but will improve tremendously in the off season. Sully will move to power forward, Williams in the middle, Craft at PG with incoming frosh Scott as backup.
  Next year OSU team will be more talented, more athletic and deeper.
  The question will be, can or will they have the chemistry of this team?? Maybe not, but that talent and athleticism can overcome that at times. They may struggle at times early in the year...learning. But by years end, next years team could easily be as good or better. Who knows...but the pieces are there. Never say never.
• Hb31187

  

  The real question is will Matta actually use his depth for once? They will deffff have it, but it does him no good if he doesnt use it
• centralbucksfan

  Hb31187;727056 wrote:The real question is will Matta actually use his depth for once? They will deffff have it, but it does him no good if he doesnt use it

  
  Who cares if he does or doesn't. It hasn't hurt them the past two years. If you have it, and they are ready...its a great option. If not, and your still winning...who cares. Its certainly nice to have, but a bit overrated as well IMO.
• Prescott

  The future is bright for the OSU basketball team. Diebler was an asset on offense, but a liability on defense. Lighty will be the most difficult guy to replace because of his versatility, but OSU will use multiple players to replace him.I expect Sullinger to lose a little weight and become a true 4.I expect Buford to further refine his game and get stronger. I expect Craft to work on his outside shot and become more of an offensive threat.I think the legacy that Lighty and Diebler leaves with the underclassmen is a solid work ethic and the underclassmen will put in the time to get better. We have all wanted Matta to use his bench. If he doesn't use it next year, he never will.
  
  POINT GUARDS
  *Aaron Craft
  Shannon Scott
  Lenzelle Smith
  
  
  WINGS
  *William Buford
  *DeShaun Thomas
  Jordan Sibert
  Sam Thompson
  LaQuinton Ross
  J.D. Weatherspoon
  
  
  BIGS
  *Jared Sullinger
  *Amir Williams
  Evan Ravenal
  Trey McDonald (Redshirt?)
  
  BTW, we debated with some about the lateral foot speed of Aaron Craft. I think he proved in the loss to Kentucky that he can defend quick PG's. Yea, Knight hit the game winner with Craft all over him, but for most of the game Craft contained Knight. Knight was 3/10 from the field and had 6 turnovers.It was a great defensive effort.