Buckeye Blogger Network
Congratulations goes out to the 1992 Buckeye squad led by Jim Jackson and Lawrence Funderburke!
They took on and beat a game 1999 squad led by Michael Redd and Scoonie Penn by a large margin and receiving the most votes of any team so far!!!
The #3 seed in tBBC All-Time Tourney moves on to face the #2 seed in 2007 Greg Oden and Mike Conley squad in the semi-finals!! Coming up shortly we finally get to the one and only National Champion in Buckeye history. The 1960 Lucas and Havlicek squad sported five players averaging in double figures and face Dennis Hopson’s 1987 team.
I began a journey to do a comparison of the two greatest teams in Ohio State Basketball history. At first glance it seemed a simple task to pick two teams and write a nice article about who was better at a given skill. The more I read about teams in Buckeye lore, the more I realized I couldn’t write such an article. I had my teams picked out and as things would have it, Joe Dexter and I started brain storming. We came up with the idea of presenting tBBC readers with a challenge.
Is the Jerry Lucas Era the best in Ohio State History? It's time to find out your opinion!
Joe and I are going to break the teams down based on certain criteria: Playmaker, Post Presence, Ball handling, Head Coach and we’ll throw in some other advantages to go with those. We are also planning on having a guest writer or two as we move along through the tourney. We’ll provide you with some stats to chew on between the two teams in each match up.
We had six teams we were going to go with initially and each time we looked at it we knew we had to have eight. Then that turned into nine because we found one more team we felt deserved to be in the tourney. The criteria were simple. Which teams accomplished more for THE Ohio State University were our first choices and then teams that were led by All-time Greats.
Usually, we reserve “Shots” for game experience recaps. However, given Meyer Mayhem, here’s some whispers and stuff that Joe’s been hearing:
After three straight days of being at the Schott I overheard and saw quite a few things.
Football
Use The Bench, Thad!
Basketball
Once upon a time, in old St. John arena...
With the drafting of Jon Diebler by the Portland Trailblazers in last Thursday’s NBA Draft, the Buckeyes added one more of their products to the professional ranks. Diebler joins former Buckeye Greg Oden on Portland’s roster, although it remains to be seen if the two will ever fulfill the opportunity to play together that was not afforded in college due to Oden’s departure for the NBA after his freshman season. Oden’s injury troubles since joining the NBA are well known for both their regularity and severity, and those following his career are now mostly hoping just to see him get some minutes on the floor, as the prospect of making a big impact on the league seems to be dwindling. It would be a welcome sight to see Oden running the floor again, demonstrating the defense and shot-blocking that were his signature in college and feeding the ball out of the post to Diebler on the perimeter, but before these two young players that contributed so much to Thad’s efforts at building the Ohio State program can hit the hardwood together, Oden must overcome the initial hurdle of getting healthy.
In a way, Oden ushered in a different kind of era for Ohio State basketball. Although he has struggled in the NBA, Oden had a stellar freshman year at Ohio State, earning him the #1 overall pick in the subsequent draft. Beginning with that pick in 2007, Ohio State has had a player taken in the first round of the draft each year until this year, when Diebler was taken in the middle of the second round. Mike Conley and Daequan Cook joined Oden in 2007 at the #4 and #21 spots, respectively, 2008 featured Kosta Koufos going #23, 2009 saw B.J. Mullens selected #24, and last year Evan Turner was taken with the #2 pick. Prior to Oden’s class, Buckeyes appearing in the draft were few and far between, and selections of Ohio State players were always in the second round when they occurred. Even Michael Redd, who went on to have an All-Star caliber season in the NBA, and who remains a member of the Milwaukee Bucks to this day, was not selected until #43 in 2000. Read More
With basketball season just around the corner, and a new team about to be put on display, some comparisons will inevitably be made to teams of the past, and particularly to teams of recent years. Indeed, the teams we’ve had during Thad’s tenure at Ohio State have involved some serious talent, and it will be interesting to see how this year’s players compare. With the type of talent that Thad has recruited to the Buckeye basketball program, there is always the possibility of one-and-done players. While we may only see these players for a short time in an Ohio State uniform, we enjoy the time we get to see them and appreciate their contributions to the program. In this article we’ll take a look at where some of these players are currently in their professional careers.
