And personally, I think the Heels are going to be real good next year.

....and I think Ohio State finished top 5 nationally in both major polls this year. I'm pretty sure voters will remember that.

LTrain23 wrote: If ET returns, OSU is bringing back everybody except David Lighty and a STACKED recruiting class. They'd no doubt be the favorites.

Of course, this is all moot because ET isn't returning.

Lighty's leaving??? Athetic-wise, he's a junior due to the medical redshirt last year, so he has one more year of eligibility. And I haven't heard anything about him making any bad decisions about his immediate future.

What other team in the country can say that heading into next season? The only team I can seriously think of who can be more of a favorite is Kentucky and that is only if Wall, Cousins, and Bledsoe returns.

Um, I don't know, how about Duke? You know, the team everyone here hates and refuses to discuss in any positive fashion.

Duke's likely cast next season (and, lest we forget, the Blue Devils will be coming off of a Final Four season):

Kyle Singler
Nolan Smith
Kyrie Irving
Seth Curry
Andre Dawkins
Ryan Kelly
Mason Plumlee
Miles Plumlee
Josh Hairston
Tyler Thornton

Pretty deep and loaded with All-American talent.

Now only if I were a Duke fan. But it's simply amazing to see how little credit Mike Krzyzewski's club is given here. It's like they've been forgotten already. Lol at the notion that UNC or even UK would get more preseason pub. UK has a chance to be back in the thick of things next year, but Duke will have one of its more powerful offensive and defensive teams in memory. It could be Duke of old. Not that they ever left.

Heretic wrote:

LTrain23 wrote: If ET returns, OSU is bringing back everybody except David Lighty and a STACKED recruiting class. They'd no doubt be the favorites.

Of course, this is all moot because ET isn't returning.

Lighty's leaving??? Athetic-wise, he's a junior due to the medical redshirt last year, so he has one more year of eligibility. And I haven't heard anything about him making any bad decisions about his immediate future.

Nope, totally forgot about the medical redshirt.

So there you have it, they'd have the entire starting rotation back.

But again, it's pretty moot because ET is more than likely gone.

SQ, I agree with you that UNC could get some pre-season pub, but we're going to be dealing with some losses due to graduation and early entry, not to mention some transfer murmurs.

Harrison Barnes is a stud though, and as long as DrewII and Strickland are back with Will Graves, we should be fine. Do I think UNC will jump back into the title hunt? Probably not. But we'll definitely make some noise.

See, personally, I think they're going to jump back into the title hunt. Coaches like Roy Williams aren't down for long--and two seasons is long for a coach like him.

thedynasty1998 wrote: I wonder if some of the OSU fans are ready to reconsider Sully playing behind Lauderdale next year?

LOL, your basing this off of watching this crap last nite? Terrible game, no defense, worse then NBA all star game. I turned it to something else.
As far as Sully playing in front of Lauderdale...it could happen, it might happen. Who knows. maybe they play together. Sully could be moved to PF, Lauderdale in post, Craft, Buford, Lighty with Deibler off the bench.
As I have said, Matta is going to have many options next year.

mallymal614 wrote: In my opinion, Ohio State is Preseason #1 in the nation if Turner comes back. They would return their entire starting 5, bring in one of the top recruiting classes, and will have the ability to go 11 deep with their roster. What other team in the country can say that heading into next season? The only team I can seriously think of who can be more of a favorite is Kentucky and that is only if Wall, Cousins, and Bledsoe returns.

As far as Turner returning...rumors going around that he is leaning HEAVILY toward turning pro, but that he has not totally made up his mind. Said an announcement will be made before April 12th.
Can't imagine he will be back. Turning down over 10 mil....I know I couldn't do it!

swamisez wrote: I wonder if they got those seats as a gift? Anything over 60 bucks is technically violation worthy.

World Wide Wes can pull a lot of strings!

If Turner does return, does that mean Matta is over his scholarship limit?

thedynasty1998 wrote: If Turner does return, does that mean Matta is over his scholarship limit?

Good question. Although with all the talk on radio, and in local papers...no one has brought this up.

I know that it's not something that is always considered ethical, if Turner returns I wonder if Matta goes to Big Z or Kecman and says, sorry, but if you want to be a Buckeye you need to pay your own way next year.

Now, I don't think Turner returns, and have no reason to even think he's considering it, but if he does, Matta has to figure something out.

LTrain23 wrote: If ET returns, OSU is bringing back everybody except David Lighty and a STACKED recruiting class. They'd no doubt be the favorites.

Of course, this is all moot because ET isn't returning.

Lighty is back as well, he had a medical redshirt last season...

Technically, Lighty hasn't filed for the redshirt yet. He was indeed a senior this past year and can now file for the medical redshirt. But yes, he should be returning.

Good point.

thedynasty1998 wrote: Technically, Lighty hasn't filed for the redshirt yet. He was indeed a senior this past year and can now file for the medical redshirt. But yes, he should be returning.

Really? He's been listed as a junior on pretty much every sports site I frequent (which admittedly isn't that many), so I thought the medshirt season was official.

This is the first site I checked:

http://bucknuts.com/index.php/Basketball-Other/basketball-rosters/menu-id-104.html

Some might list him as a junior, but he is officially a senior and isn't granted a 5th year until he applies and is granted by the NCAA.

Now that is all a technicallity and there is absolutely no reason why he wouldn't be granted.

^^is there a deadlne to file ??

From his bio: http://www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=17300&ATCLID=1057547

LIGHTY IN 2008-09
• Missed 26 games with a broken bone in left foot
• Will have 2 remaining years of eligibility after he received a medical redshirt in 2008-09

You cant declare for a medical redshirt until your senior season is over. You can declare for a regular redshirt immediately and be granted if you play in ZERO regular season games. If you play in ANY games and get hurt you have to wait till you "graduate" to file for a medical redshirt. I have no clue why people always list people as having it granted already.

Indiana did it with DJ White a few yers ago saying he was a JR when in fact he was a SR who would have gotten an extra year had he not gone pro.

That's interesting. Did not know that bit of info. Just another instance where the NCAA's regulations are designed to make people really, really, really confused. Or at least make me that confused.

Heretic wrote: That's interesting. Did not know that bit of info. Just another instance where the NCAA's regulations are designed to make people really, really, really confused. Or at least make me that confused.

Yeah, they have also changed it a bit (I believe) from before. Im pretty sure at times you could request after the season ended, but Im almost positive that now you have to wait till your eligibility is "up" before you file.

Ohio State's basketball website this year had Lighty listed as a Junior.