Ohio State Next Season

• Wooball

  

  thedynasty1998 wrote: Lavender's recruitment was a different situation because he was going to be a package deal with Brandon Foust. Most all schools wanted Lavender, but not everyone wanted Foust. I'm not saying that was the situation at Xavier, but I think it was at OSU. If I remember correctly OSU didn't have enough scholarships to offer the both of them, which is why they ended up at Oklahoma.
  
  I don't know how anyone can criticize Matta's recruiting, other than maybe not preparing for the one and dones correctly. But it hasn't seemed to slow down the success of the program.

  
  I believe Jim O'Brien was the coach Drew Lavender's senior year of high school. So Matta would have still been at X.
  As far as Trey Burke - first, he is bringing in Aaron Craft and Lenzelle Smith this year. And next year, which is Burke's class, he has already received a verbal commitment from Shannon Scott who Rivals #12 overall and Scout #33. So I can see why he would pass on Burke.
• devil1197

  Big Gain wrote:

  Hb31187 wrote: Craft will start at the point, at least from what ive seen from him playing. Hes one of the best on ball defenders of the freshman class next year, is very smart, and doesnt turn the ball over. He doesnt look to score much and distributes...which is damn good when you're surrounded by 4 scorers next year whenever you're on the court. He'll be kinda like Travis Walton from MSU, sets up the offense and plays lock up D

  Craft doesn't look to score? He averaged 25/game this year. Some think Matta didn't get the best PG in Ohio's class. Lima CC played against Craft for 4 years, as well as Lima Senior and Lima CC's head coach of 32 years said the kid going to Robert Morris is better.

  That kid also doesn't get double or tripled like Craft did against LCC and almost every team he played this year.
  
  Exact quote from that said 32 year coach "We basically had (Craft) double-teamed all night," Lima Central Catholic head coach Bob Seggerson said. "When he did score somebody broke an assignment so even when he did score, he was scoring over two people."
  
  Craft also had to score for LB to win, he won't have to do that at OSU to win. Watch AAU tape on him and see if he is a score 1st PG.
  
  Your view on Craft is completely wrong.
• mallymal614

  thedynasty1998 wrote: Lavender's recruitment was a different situation because he was going to be a package deal with Brandon Foust. Most all schools wanted Lavender, but not everyone wanted Foust. I'm not saying that was the situation at Xavier, but I think it was at OSU. If I remember correctly OSU didn't have enough scholarships to offer the both of them, which is why they ended up at Oklahoma.
  
  I don't know how anyone can criticize Matta's recruiting, other than maybe not preparing for the one and dones correctly. But it hasn't seemed to slow down the success of the program.

  This
  
  You hit everything on point. Ohio State did want Lavender and I'm pretty sure Xavier did too, but as you mention not Foust. Lavender was a McDonalds All-American and a many big time programs wanted him.
• Hb31187

  

  Lol gee 1 year off on Lavender, im incredibly sorry =/.
  
  Still with the exception of conley, Matta has whiffed badly on point guards. And lol Trey is a 3 star recruit as of now, and id bank that after AAU and next years season where hes not living in Sullingers shadow that he ends up being a 4 star...not very bad
• devil1197

  And if Craft had played at a bigger school he would be more than a 3 star. He hasn't had too much talent around him the last two years at LB.
  
  And as far as Burke is concerned, you cannot whiff on a player that you haven't even offered a scholarship too.
• se-alum

  

  I don't think you can say Matta whiffed on PG's. Nobody expected Conley to be one-and-done, who would've thought Crater would bail the way he did. It would've been nice if Golden had stayed committed, but I see his stock has dropped quite a bit from where it was a few years ago. Things have happened that couldn't really be accounted for, it happens.
• Classyposter58

  

  devil1197 wrote: And if Craft had played at a bigger school he would be more than a 3 star. He hasn't had too much talent around him the last two years at LB.

  Lol as I stated earlier he is a 4-STAR recruit
• centralbucksfan

  Hb31187 wrote: Lol gee 1 year off on Lavender, im incredibly sorry =/.
  
  Still with the exception of conley, Matta has whiffed badly on point guards. And lol Trey is a 3 star recruit as of now, and id bank that after AAU and next years season where hes not living in Sullingers shadow that he ends up being a 4 star...not very bad

  One year? Different coaches, completely different circumstances.
  
  Whiffed? How many times do I need to cover this...
  
  Matta had Conley coming, still had Butler as a senior.
  No ONE in the country, including Matta...probably leading up the the NCAA ...EVER thought Conley would be a one and done. Not in their wildest dreams. Most thought Conley was at the very least, a 3 yr player.
  On top of that, Crater committed I believe during his 10th grade year. So Matta also had Crater coming in...I believe 2yrs seperating these two. Crater was pretty highly recruited as well.
  So, in theory...Matta had two highly regarded points, recruited, coming in a couple years apart. I'd say that was a pretty good plan.
  Well, plans don't always work out in college bball....and it didn't with these two obviously.
  To this day, had Conley not left early...I can only imagine how good those two "mediocre" years would have been for OSU with Conley running the point. Didn't happen......but that was the plan, no question about it. And it was a good solid plan, recruiting wise.
  People think the loss of Oden, Koufos and Mullens hurt. When in reality...those were not so unexpected...it was Conley leaving that really set OSU back BIG time up until this year.
  
  Now, he has Craft coming in, a 4 star recruit who had previously committed to Pearl at Tenn. Backed off that, and committed to OSU. The year after, he has another highly regarded PG recruit coming in. That position is now set for the future.
  Matta is currently recruiting for some much needed size for the class of 12 as we chat.
• detectivegibbles

  For not being a top 15 basketball school, Matta recruits pretty damn well.
• mallymal614

  centralbucksfan wrote:

  Hb31187 wrote: Lol gee 1 year off on Lavender, im incredibly sorry =/.
  
  Still with the exception of conley, Matta has whiffed badly on point guards. And lol Trey is a 3 star recruit as of now, and id bank that after AAU and next years season where hes not living in Sullingers shadow that he ends up being a 4 star...not very bad

  One year? Different coaches, completely different circumstances.
  
  Whiffed? How many times do I need to cover this...
  
  Matta had Conley coming, still had Butler as a senior.
  No ONE in the country, including Matta...probably leading up the the NCAA ...EVER thought Conley would be a one and done. Not in their wildest dreams. Most thought Conley was at the very least, a 3 yr player.
  On top of that, Crater committed I believe during his 10th grade year. So Matta also had Crater coming in...I believe 2yrs seperating these two. Crater was pretty highly recruited as well.
  So, in theory...Matta had two highly regarded points, recruited, coming in a couple years apart. I'd say that was a pretty good plan.
  Well, plans don't always work out in college bball....and it didn't with these two obviously.
  To this day, had Conley not left early...I can only imagine how good those two "mediocre" years would have been for OSU with Conley running the point. Didn't happen......but that was the plan, no question about it. And it was a good solid plan, recruiting wise.
  People think the loss of Oden, Koufos and Mullens hurt. When in reality...those were not so unexpected...it was Conley leaving that really set OSU back BIG time up until this year.

  Good point. Crater has said that he wanted to play with Conley. So Crater probably never transfers if Conely stayed in school.
• Big Gain

  Classyposter58 wrote:

  devil1197 wrote: And if Craft had played at a bigger school he would be more than a 3 star. He hasn't had too much talent around him the last two years at LB.

  Lol as I stated earlier he is a 4-STAR recruit

  Rivals has Craft as a 3 Star
• Big Gain

  devil1197 wrote:

  Big Gain wrote:

  Hb31187 wrote: Craft will start at the point, at least from what ive seen from him playing. Hes one of the best on ball defenders of the freshman class next year, is very smart, and doesnt turn the ball over. He doesnt look to score much and distributes...which is damn good when you're surrounded by 4 scorers next year whenever you're on the court. He'll be kinda like Travis Walton from MSU, sets up the offense and plays lock up D

  Craft doesn't look to score? He averaged 25/game this year. Some think Matta didn't get the best PG in Ohio's class. Lima CC played against Craft for 4 years, as well as Lima Senior and Lima CC's head coach of 32 years said the kid going to Robert Morris is better.

  That kid also doesn't get double or tripled like Craft did against LCC and almost every team he played this year.
  
  Exact quote from that said 32 year coach "We basically had (Craft) double-teamed all night," Lima Central Catholic head coach Bob Seggerson said. "When he did score somebody broke an assignment so even when he did score, he was scoring over two people."
  
  Craft also had to score for LB to win, he won't have to do that at OSU to win. Watch AAU tape on him and see if he is a score 1st PG.
  
  Your view on Craft is completely wrong.

  "That Kid" over the past 3 years has been double and triple teamed just as much as Craft. "That kid" has had less talent around him than Craft has. In Lima CC's OT win they were all over "that kid" and he still scored 26. In a post game interview Seggerson said "that kid" was better than Craft, the best PG he has seen this year.
• thedynasty1998

  

  Anyone else a little more optimistic about next year after watching the AA game?
• Swamp Fox

  Ohio State is a very frustrating program to follow. Coach Matta is one of the greatest recruiters of all time and he does a nice job of coaching the Buckeyes each season but it seems to be the same or at least a similar pattern each year. First, he brings in tremendous Freshmen Classes with several top NBA prospects among their number. They start a little slowly out of the gate because they have to learn to play together. then they get into a groove and start to play better. Pretty soon they are in contention for yet another Big Ten Championship. Then a key player (or two) goes down for an extended period with an injury and they lose a couple of games that they shouldn't have if they had everyone available. Then they get their team back and rally going deep into or winning the League Tournament. Then the NCAA Tournament begins and they either....get eliminated immediately by a much lower seeded team and they are done, or they win a couple or three games, start to get things going and play a game where they seem to abandon what they had been doing to get where they are and lose. And then...we all play the game called."Do you thing what's his name is going into the draft or coming back. In most cases the answer is he is going into the draft, and the whole process starts over in the next season. Now don't get me wrong. I enjoy following the Bucks and they have been a fine team under the tutelage of Coach Matta, but it does get a tad frustrating at times.
• thedynasty1998

  

  Swamp, you basically just summed up every top program across the country.
• centralbucksfan

  thedynasty1998 wrote: Swamp, you basically just summed up every top program across the country.

  LOL, I thought the same thing!
• centralbucksfan

  thedynasty1998 wrote: Anyone else a little more optimistic about next year after watching the AA game?

  Not really as I have seen these two play enough to know what they are capable of doing. And that game is terrible to watch. Its worse then the NBA all star game. Zero defense and players just wanting to do their thing. I had to turn it to something else after a while.
• centralbucksfan

  Swamp Fox wrote: Ohio State is a very frustrating program to follow. Coach Matta is one of the greatest recruiters of all time and he does a nice job of coaching the Buckeyes each season but it seems to be the same or at least a similar pattern each year. First, he brings in tremendous Freshmen Classes with several top NBA prospects among their number. They start a little slowly out of the gate because they have to learn to play together. then they get into a groove and start to play better. Pretty soon they are in contention for yet another Big Ten Championship. Then a key player (or two) goes down for an extended period with an injury and they lose a couple of games that they shouldn't have if they had everyone available. Then they get their team back and rally going deep into or winning the League Tournament. Then the NCAA Tournament begins and they either....get eliminated immediately by a much lower seeded team and they are done, or they win a couple or three games, start to get things going and play a game where they seem to abandon what they had been doing to get where they are and lose. And then...we all play the game called."Do you thing what's his name is going into the draft or coming back. In most cases the answer is he is going into the draft, and the whole process starts over in the next season. Now don't get me wrong. I enjoy following the Bucks and they have been a fine team under the tutelage of Coach Matta, but it does get a tad frustrating at times.

  Ya, it sure has been frustrating to watch Matta win 3 Big Ten titles, 2 Big Ten Tourn., NCAA runnerup, sweet16...all in ONLY 6yrs at OSU!!
  This is one of the greatest times in OSU basketball. I guess some of you weren't around for the Eldon Miller years, or lived through the Ayers debacle as well as the O'Brien mess. Appreciate what you have right now because its pretty darn good!!
• thedynasty1998

  

  Every top coach gets criticized from time to time, and Matta is not the exception. But, as an OSU fan, there is no other coach in the country I'd rather have. Matta made OSU basketball relevant and he raised to the bar to a level that I didn't think was possible. OSU is a football school and Matta has to compete with that and I think it makes it a harder sell to recruits than the other schools he's recruiting against (Indiana, Michigan State, UNC and the others). But he's been able to get basically whoever he has wanted and has won with any team that he's had.
  
  I'm really not sure what Swamp was trying to get across, but it didn't make any sense.
• bulldog8

  I think Matta's recent success has started to raise the expectations of the fans. This year's team played very well and had many signature wins. Fans are expecting a run to the championship soon. I know everyone thinks this year's team overachieved, but to be quite honest, faltering in the sweet 16 was a few steps short of what this team was capable of. After Kansas lost, the path was paved pretty nicely for OSU to make it to the final 4. A win over Tennessee, then a game against MSU (wouldn't have been easy but very realistic to win), and then Butler (who beat them by less than 10 earlier this season). The Bucks are on the brink of becoming a true national championship contender and I think the fans are just becoming a little anxious for the year that they make their run. I don't think it has anything to do with Matta's ability as a coach, just the fact that OSU fans and all others around the country expect to win. I think Matta has done a fine job thus far and I think he gets his national title in the next 4 years.
• 2kool4skool

  

  Could be an April Fool's joke obviously, but Titus says via his twitter that Turner has told him he's coming back.
• thedynasty1998

  

  Actually wouldn't be that bad of an idea for Turner to hire Titus as his PR guy...
• devil1197

  ???? at Swamp.
  
  OSU is a football school and its been great to get this kind of success from our basketball program that Matta has.
• 0311sdp

  Craft is better than most of you are giving him credit for. Let's see how he does before declaring him a bust. He's a tough kid and a great athlete.
• devil1197

  Big Gain wrote:

  devil1197 wrote:

  Big Gain wrote:

  Hb31187 wrote: Craft will start at the point, at least from what ive seen from him playing. Hes one of the best on ball defenders of the freshman class next year, is very smart, and doesnt turn the ball over. He doesnt look to score much and distributes...which is damn good when you're surrounded by 4 scorers next year whenever you're on the court. He'll be kinda like Travis Walton from MSU, sets up the offense and plays lock up D

  Craft doesn't look to score? He averaged 25/game this year. Some think Matta didn't get the best PG in Ohio's class. Lima CC played against Craft for 4 years, as well as Lima Senior and Lima CC's head coach of 32 years said the kid going to Robert Morris is better.

  That kid also doesn't get double or tripled like Craft did against LCC and almost every team he played this year.
  
  Exact quote from that said 32 year coach "We basically had (Craft) double-teamed all night," Lima Central Catholic head coach Bob Seggerson said. "When he did score somebody broke an assignment so even when he did score, he was scoring over two people."
  
  Craft also had to score for LB to win, he won't have to do that at OSU to win. Watch AAU tape on him and see if he is a score 1st PG.
  
  Your view on Craft is completely wrong.

  "That Kid" over the past 3 years has been double and triple teamed just as much as Craft. "That kid" has had less talent around him than Craft has. In Lima CC's OT win they were all over "that kid" and he still scored 26. In a post game interview Seggerson said "that kid" was better than Craft, the best PG he has seen this year.

  And that kid is going to Robert Morris while Craft is going to OSU.
  
  End of discussion.