Wooball;727765 wrote:I hate watching highlight videos of high school big men. For the most part, they all seem like they are lazy on defense and just try to block every shot and on offense all they do is dunk. From what i can gather from reading reports, watching highlights and watching some of his state game last weekend is that he is long, athletic and can run the floor. Its to be seen if he has any post moves and how he defends players his own size, questions that pretty much come with all young post players.

Also, I expect Shannon Scott to be our best PG next year. I know people love Craft and what he did this year, but from what I have seen, Scott is going to be a real player from the start.

chicago510;727808 wrote:Will and Jared were in class today. If they were going pro I doubt they would have began the quarter, doesn't that kill your APR when a kid drops his classes to go pro?

So they are either coming back, or just love school.

se-alum;727773 wrote:I definitely hope he is better than the highlights looked. Honestly, he seems soft w/ the ball and doesn't seem to have good hands. I certainly hope I'm wrong and he contributes alot, but for now, I'm not optimistic.

Also, I think we'll see alot of Craft and Scott on the floor at the same time, especially if Craft improves his shooting as is expected.

Wooball;727765 wrote:Also, I expect Shannon Scott to be our best PG next year. I know people love Craft and what he did this year, but from what I have seen, Scott is going to be a real player from the start.

centralbucksfan;727862 wrote:You sure your not looking at highlights of Trey McDonald? I saw highlights of him, and he is a definate project..even possible redshirt.

se-alum;727919 wrote:It was definitely Williams, but highlights can be deceiving(especially w/ big men), because it's so easy to double/triple team them.
It might be a totally different story when he isn't the focal point of defenses.

Wooball;727765 wrote: Also, I expect Shannon Scott to be our best PG next year. I know people love Craft and what he did this year, but from what I have seen, Scott is going to be a real player from the start.

chicago510;727808 wrote:Will and Jared were in class today. If they were going pro I doubt they would have began the quarter, doesn't that kill your APR when a kid drops his classes to go pro?

So they are either coming back, or just love school.

mallymal614;728229 wrote:I am glad you brought this up. Because I have been thinking a lot of Shannon Scott, who is scheduled to play in the McDonalds All-American game tomorrow. A lot of Buckeye fans assume that Craft will be the starting point guard. It kind of reminds me of what was being said after the 2005-06 season when Jamar Butler had a pretty good sophomore year and people was talking about how Conely would back him up. Next thing you know, Conely ran the point from game 1 of the next season (though Butler still started). I think it is Craft's job to lose because has proven to get it done at the college level. But the position will have to be won (same applies for other positions) and not given.

77Legend;726136 wrote: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!

mallymal614;728237 wrote:Jared was asked during the ohio high school division 1 championship game if he still was planing on coming back. He replied saying "He is a man of his word" and that he will be in a buckeye uniform next season. It sounded legit to me.

Prescott;727085 wrote: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.

centralbucksfan;727212 wrote:I think IF he had it, he would use it. I don't think he has had the depth since being at OSU. And I think if you really look across the country, most coaches go with the guys that got them there more then people realize. Give me 2/3 guys on a bench..and I'd be happy. After that, there really isn't enough minutes. People were complaininga about Buford and saying Matta should have pulled him vs UK. Which IMO, is a ridiculous thought. You don't just do something like that after 35 games to a guy that carried OSU pretty damn well down the stretch.
Again, I think if you have the depth, AND the coach is confident in using it...than it is a bonus. Will OSU have that next year? Based on the guys he had this year, Sibert, Smith and Weatherspoon...Matta should have more depth. Will they improve enough to EARN time? We'll see.....

Big Gain;729192 wrote:Weatherspoon wasn't available most of the season, he had a GPA of 0.00 after the first quarter. I can't imagine him ever being a big contributer for Ohio State let alone stay eligible or graduate.

Big Gain;729184 wrote:In the past I've thought Matta would go to a 2 post offense, but I've given up on that. He is too enthralled with 3-point shooters and a 4 guard offense. It's much more likely that the vast majority of the time only one post player will be on the floor at a time and we all know who that will be. Sullinger, Thomas, Buford, Sibert and Craft will start. Willams will have to prove to be a better rebounder and defender than Ravenel to earn playing time behind Sullinger. Smith and Scott will do most of the rotating in at the guard spots at least until Thompson and Ross learn to play defense like Matta requires before earning meaningful minutes.

Big Gain;729192 wrote:Weatherspoon wasn't available most of the season, he had a GPA of 0.00 after the first quarter. I can't imagine him ever being a big contributer for Ohio State let alone stay eligible or graduate.

Azubuike24;726944 wrote: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.