SportsAndLady;1096915 wrote:haha, that team mayyyybe wins 20 games

And this team was supposed to dominate the Big Ten

Mulva;1097015 wrote:Like Roy Hibbert, Marc Gasol, and Kevin Love?

Sullinger and his draft stock are both fine.

Please take Kevin Love off that list. Sullingers game is not even close to Love's game.

Tiger2003;1097036 wrote:Please take Kevin Love off that list. Sullingers game is not even close to Love's game.

It's not???

thedynasty1998;1097022 wrote:Two of those guys are 7 footers and the other won the 3 point contest yesterday. Very poor argument.

I was not in awe of any of their athleticism out there.

He's a 1st team All-American and a top 10 pick. Sullinger isn't this issue with this team.

Tiger2003;1097036 wrote:Please take Kevin Love off that list. Sullingers game is not even close to Love's game.

I was making the point that there are 3 post players in this year's all-star game that lack great athletic ability.

But you're wrong anyway. Love is one of the most comparable players to Sully's skill set.

Dumbfounded how OSU lost that game today. They were dictated to by way of tempo and it didn't look like any one player for the bucks wanted to assert his will on the opponent. Gut check time for Thad's group. Who will step up and lead? I would say craft, but he can't score and shouldn't be relied upon to make plays down the stretch. Sully Could emerge but he has missed that fire he had last year. Still think this team is a nc contender they just need someone to step up and show the rest of the team what it takes to be a champion. Do they ever miss David lighty.

Kevin Love has 48 3's this year and shoots 34.5% on them. Sully's game is comparable!! Dont let the dumb 3pt shooting contest cloud your judgement!!

Sully isn't even close to Kevin Love.

Mulva;1097057 wrote:I was not in awe of any of their athleticism out there.

He's a 1st team All-American and a top 10 pick. Sullinger isn't this issue with this team.



I was making the point that there are 3 post players in this year's all-star game that lack great athletic ability.

But you're wrong anyway. Love is one of the most comparable players to Sully's skill set.

When you're 7 foot you don't have to be über athletic. Sullinger is 6'7" - 6'8". He needs athleticism for the position he will be playing.

And is he a first team All American this year? Highly unlikely. Top 10 pick? Here are 7 I take above him tomorrow:
A. Davis
Drummond
Lamb
Kidd-Gilchrest
Barnes
T. Robinson
Beal

Then you have the following who any team could like more than others:
Zeller
P. Jones
Henson
T. Jones
Rivers

So let's not be so quick to assume Sullinger is a lock for the lotter, because I'm not even mentioning any international players.

Love isn't the most comparable. Tyler Hansbrough is a better comparison. Dejuan Blair is another.

I will say this about Sullinger. If he continues to grow and matures he could develop into a Love type player. But he needs to work on his explosion and quickness. Im not to sure how much more he can though as I believe he has already reached his ceiling.

thedynasty1998;1097080 wrote:And is he a first team All American this year? Highly unlikely.

That one might actually be true, because they'll take 2-3 guards by default. Unfortunately for Sully he's in a situation where the top 2 POY candidates play the same position.

thedynasty1998;1097080 wrote:So let's not be so quick to assume Sullinger is a lock for the lotter, because I'm not even mentioning any international players.

lol. First of all, I doubt everyone you mentioned even enters the draft. MKG said he was returning, and Drummond said he was heavily leaning that way earlier. 2nd of all, there are 0 top international prospects this year. I doubt you could find a single mock draft that has him outside of the lottery, and 99% of them will have him in the top 10.

thedynasty1998;1097080 wrote:Love isn't the most comparable. Tyler Hansbrough is a better comparison. Dejuan Blair is another.

That is hilariously dumb. Even for this forum's low standards.

Hansbrough was a garbage points/effort guy who doesn't have the power to move anybody on the block. Sullinger has moves and footwork that Hansbrough couldn't even dream of.

DeJuan Blair has 0 outside game whatsoever, and nowhere near Sully's natural skill level.

Tiger2003;1097093 wrote:I will say this about Sullinger. If he continues to grow and matures he could develop into a Love type player. But he needs to work on his explosion and quickness. Im not to sure how much more he can though as I believe he has already reached his ceiling.

Completely agree. He lost weight with of the hope of gaining athleticism and it just didn't happen. I think he will have a solid NBA career and he will make a ton of money, but he has been exposed this year. Last year he's a top 3-4 pick and this year he might fall out of the lottery.

Mulva;1097105 wrote: That is hilariously dumb. Even for this forum's low standards.

Hansbrough was a garbage points/effort guy who doesn't have the power to move anybody on the block. Sullinger has moves and footwork that Hansbrough couldn't even dream of.

DeJuan Blair has 0 outside game whatsoever, and nowhere near Sully's natural skill level.

Have you ever watched a game? Hansbrough was all power. You don't average what he did by effort alone. His game was unorthodox, but he was a great scorer. And I would bet he's taller than Sullinger.

What outside game does Sullinger have? Everyone gets a hard on for his outside game because he's knocked down a few 3's this year. That doesn't mean he has perimeter skills. Blair is undersized and plays below the rim. So does Sullinger.

My 2 cents...

On 97.1 the other night Lenzelle was on and made a comment that basically was interpreted as the team does not get along well off the court. After I heard that and watched todays game I buy it. And....the person who I think is the catalyst of that is DT. His style of pop a shot play hints at it and he seems to be an outsider with Craft and Sullinger being buddies. Or maybe it's the fact that those two are buddies that is the problem. Maybe its them vs the world. I don't know.

As for Sullinger, I think that he has been keyed on more this year than last year, thus making him see like he is having a bad year. I really hope he doesn't leave. For one, I still don't know where he's going to play in the NBA. I don't think he's big enough to be 5 and I don't think his outside game is strong enough to be a 4. I think that he would benefit from another year when he knows what teams are going to be doing to him. If you believe the hype about how good of a coach his pops is then I think he stays.

I also read something the other day where someone was making the argument that Sullinger lost too much weight this year. I don't know if I agree or disagree yet but it's something to think about.

Overall, I tend to agree with some of the above posters that anything past a 2nd round game would be suprising to me. It's unfortunate b/c if this team played to it's potential it has NC written all over it. I think they are just too inconsistent. All it takes in the tourney is one bad night and the season's over. They have definately proven that they can have those bad nights.

That's a really great point about team chemistry. If DeShaun is an outsider, it is likely because he hasn't let anyone else in. I think he has been struggling with becoming a part of the part, rather than being an additional part to the team. He has a bit of a "look at me" type of attitude which is good for confidence, but not so great for team building. Look at what Michigan State does with their group of undertalented, hard working players. This definitely helps them, especially in close games.

June18;1097142 wrote:My 2 cents...

On 97.1 the other night Lenzelle was on and made a comment that basically was interpreted as the team does not get along well off the court. After I heard that and watched todays game I buy it. And....the person who I think is the catalyst of that is DT. His style of pop a shot play hints at it and he seems to be an outsider with Craft and Sullinger being buddies. Or maybe it's the fact that those two are buddies that is the problem. Maybe its them vs the world. I don't know.

As for Sullinger, I think that he has been keyed on more this year than last year, thus making him see like he is having a bad year. I really hope he doesn't leave. For one, I still don't know where he's going to play in the NBA. I don't think he's big enough to be 5 and I don't think his outside game is strong enough to be a 4. I think that he would benefit from another year when he knows what teams are going to be doing to him. If you believe the hype about how good of a coach his pops is then I think he stays.

I also read something the other day where someone was making the argument that Sullinger lost too much weight this year. I don't know if I agree or disagree yet but it's something to think about.

Overall, I tend to agree with some of the above posters that anything past a 2nd round game would be suprising to me. It's unfortunate b/c if this team played to it's potential it has NC written all over it. I think they are just too inconsistent. All it takes in the tourney is one bad night and the season's over. They have definately proven that they can have those bad nights.

After Mich St loss, Matta said "We must stay together". During Mich St. game teammates were churping to eachother on the floor. I had thought then there could be some internal problems on this team. With Lenzele mentioning that on radio, I can now believe it. They are losing their chemistry fast. I believe this Buckeye team might have peeked.

thedynasty1998;1097112 wrote:What outside game does Sullinger have? Everyone gets a hard on for his outside game because he's knocked down a few 3's this year. That doesn't mean he has perimeter skills. Blair is undersized and plays below the rim. So does Sullinger.

That's what people said about Kevin Love coming out of UCLA, after he made 29 threes on the season and shot 35% doing it (and then made 2/19 as a rookie in the NBA). Sully has a nicely developing mid-range J, especially from the baseline, and his free throw percentage tells you about all you should need to know regarding his shooting touch. He probably won't win a 3-point contest at any point (not that that means anything, Love is obviously not the best 3 point shooter in the league), but if you don't think the pick and pop will become a big part of his offensive game at the next level I'd say you're insane.

And I'm talking about Hansbrough's NBA game. You know, since we're making an NBA comparison? He isn't big or strong enough to overpower anybody at the NBA level. Sully might have the lower-body strength, but clearly doesn't have the height to make a pure back-down strength game work in the pros. That's where the skill level comes in. Hansbrough still has no offensive post game other than that baby hook over his left shoulder. He scores based on hustle and motor, not post skill. Which doesn't work so well in the NBA. Hence the 39% field goal percentage as a power forward.

Again, Sullinger has the post moves and footwork that Hansbrough doesn't sniff, with better range to his jumper. That's why they aren't at all comparable.

If chemistry is indeed an issue that falls on Matta. When you don't play your bench, those guys don't stay happy long. It will seem petty, but it bothers me that Sullinger wears his all black Jordan's and everyone else on the team wears the team shoes. It's like Sullinger feels he's above the team.

And then you have an assistant like Jeff Boals who seems to be more interested in being buddies with the players than coaching them. I don't know where the discipline comes from?

Sullinger should be compared to a guy like Paul Millsap. Never a player like Kevin Love.

Why has Sullinger been exposed?? I would suggest that length gave him problems last year and continues to be a problem. He will have to develop a face up game in order to be an effective NBA player. I never understood the NBA mock drafts having Sullinger in the lottery.He is undersized for a 5 and not athletic enough to play the 4.His private workouts prior to the draft will go a long way in determining when he gets drafted.

Read that Matta kicked he players out of practice this week (yesterday) of course no confirmation but it makes sense. See how much legs it has but clearly this team lacks focus.

thedynasty1998;1097166 wrote:If chemistry is indeed an issue that falls on Matta. When you don't play your bench, those guys don't stay happy long. It will seem petty, but it bothers me that Sullinger wears his all black Jordan's and everyone else on the team wears the team shoes. It's like Sullinger feels he's above the team.

And then you have an assistant like Jeff Boals who seems to be more interested in being buddies with the players than coaching them. I don't know where the discipline comes from?

Bet nobody was blaming izzo last year. Team chemistry comes from players, not the coach.

ytownfootball;1097225 wrote:Read that Matta kicked he players out of practice this week (yesterday) of course no confirmation but it makes sense. See how much legs it has but clearly this team lacks focus.

Don't remember who tweeted it, but some beat writer mentioned that warmups were a dunk contest and players were just fooling around. I just remembered it and it makes sense now.

There are a lot of issues with this OSU team and for anyone to say that Sullinger is not part of the problem is ridiculous last (2 games 17 points and 12 rebounds with a terrible shooting %) but it's not all him. As I've said for the last 6 weeks this team does not look like a championship team. To start with they don't play hard and they have no one that they can count on to make a shot when they need it. I blame 75% of the problems on the players but Matta controls playing time and he doesn't take players out or change the lineup when someone is not getting the job done. Did Lenzelle Smith even take a shot today? Craft tried to keep them in it at the end but he is not that talented as a scoring threat. Thomas took a bad shot athe end but overall he was the best player on the floor and it seemed after he scored a bunch of points early the rest of the team got jealous and quit looking for him. Sullinger has loafed most of this season, he might as well of left last season while his stock was high. There is no way in hell that he should be a lottery pick based on his play this season. Smith Jr. has scored 0 points in both of the last losses, I think that I could find someone on the bench who could give me more than that. And for God's sake someone make a f----- free throw once in a while. This team will lose at Michigan State by a large margin and a desperate NW team will beat them if they have the same lack of effort as today. They will not advance beyond the 2nd round of the NCAAs. I've stuck up for them all season but after Michigan and today, I have to admit the naysayers are probably right this is not a very good team. They peeked early in the season and are going south fast. Matta said in his post game talk that he kicked them out of practice yesterday for screwing around but he didn't do anything about it today. Cut their playing time or don't start some of them, I can understand the bench players not hustling in practice, no matter what they ain't gettin in anyway.

I've said this a lot. It seems like everytime that Thomas gets hot, they stop giving it to him.

0311sdp;1097256 wrote:There are a lot of issues with this OSU team and for anyone to say that Sullinger is not part of the problem is ridiculous last (2 games 17 points and 12 rebounds with a terrible shooting %) but it's not all him. As I've said for the last 6 weeks this team does not look like a championship team. To start with they don't play hard and they have no one that they can count on to make a shot when they need it. I blame 75% of the problems on the players but Matta controls playing time and he doesn't take players out or change the lineup when someone is not getting the job done. Did Lenzelle Smith even take a shot today? Craft tried to keep them in it at the end but he is not that talented as a scoring threat. Thomas took a bad shot athe end but overall he was the best player on the floor and it seemed after he scored a bunch of points early the rest of the team got jealous and quit looking for him. Sullinger has loafed most of this season, he might as well of left last season while his stock was high. There is no way in hell that he should be a lottery pick based on his play this season. Smith Jr. has scored 0 points in both of the last losses, I think that I could find someone on the bench who could give me more than that. And for God's sake someone make a f----- free throw once in a while. This team will lose at Michigan State by a large margin and a desperate NW team will beat them if they have the same lack of effort as today. They will not advance beyond the 2nd round of the NCAAs. I've stuck up for them all season but after Michigan and today, I have to admit the naysayers are probably right this is not a very good team. They peeked early in the season and are going south fast. Matta said in his post game talk that he kicked them out of practice yesterday for screwing around but he didn't do anything about it today. Cut their playing time or don't start some of them, I can understand the bench players not hustling in practice, no matter what they ain't gettin in anyway.

Do you still think Bill Self isn't a top 3 coach in the Big Ten?

NO WAY does Sully turn out to be as good as Love. He may be that "type" of player, but not a chance he ends up as good.