ThumperAC wrote: I cannot wait for next year!

I predict this starting lineup (Turner is going to cash his lottery check)

1-Jordan Sibert
2-William Buford
3-David Lighty
4-Deshaun Thomas
5-Jared Sullinger

I have watched Sibert and Sullinger each a few times in person the last two years and I am confident they will start. Also, watching Thomas go against Northland this year, the kid was very impressive, he can handle the ball and has a great jumper. I am very interested to see how Diebler and Lauderdale fit in, but I really do not see either of them starting next year. We also have Craft, Smith, and Weatherspoon coming in too. I have not seen Craft or Smith in person so I really cannot comment on them.

I too like Sibert's game. I think he is a combo guard. His style of play probably fits the shooting guard position but he has the ability to play the point. And seeing him play in high school, I never seen him really force anything. He lets the game come to him.

I saw Thomas play against Northland this year too and WOW! I think he had something like 37 points and Northland at the time was ranked #1 in the country. Plus Thomas had NO help. It's scary to see what he can do when surrounded by other talented players.

It won't be long before people are jumping on you about not having Diebler and Lauderdale as starters.

Diebler will have a ton of pressure on him next year. Now he knows he can't mess up because if he does, OSU will now have to depth to replace him in a heartbeat. And I'm not just gonna single him out because that applies to the rest of the starters as well. If they don't perform, the young stars may take their spot. Which is good because competition brings out the best in people.

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

thedynasty1998 wrote: It won't be long before people are jumping on you about not having Diebler and Lauderdale as starters.

I'll support whoever is on the floor for OSU. I won't be on here with some kind of middle school hatred towards any OSU player, or starting threads to rip on a 20yr old. Thats the difference.

That being said, I don't see Matta sitting a wealth of experience in place of a true frosh. Especially an experience of a Big Ten title/sweet16 team. If it happens, it happens...then those guys are better then I think. And I'll gladly admit I am wrong. I don't have an ego that size of the state of Ohio as you do.
Its not always about talent. Its about having the pieces to a puzzle and putting it togeother. Thats what some of you don't quite get. And its what Matta did very well with this team.
This incoming frosh class is good...but there is no Oden or Conley that will come in and dominate like some seem to think. Some will play and contribute, no question. But not all.

mallymal614 wrote: Diebler will have a ton of pressure on him next year. Now he knows he can't mess up because if he does, OSU will now have to depth to replace him in a heartbeat. And I'm not just gonna single him out because that applies to the rest of the starters as well. If they don't perform, the young stars may take their spot. Which is good because competition brings out the best in people.

This I would agree with. I don't think anyone is going to taking anything away from anyone. But Matta will have options at his finger tips if something/someone is going well. Its a good problem to have. But its not always easy to manage either. It will be interesting to see how things play out.

When you have the top ranked player in the country, it's not unrealistic to expect a lot out of them.

So since these college players are only 20 they shouldn't get criticized? Get over it. When they ask for as much as they do for tickets they bring it on themselves. They are not kids. There are plenty of 20 year olds across the country who have far more responsibilities than these OSU players who get criticized as well.

centralbucksfan wrote:

mallymal614 wrote: Diebler will have a ton of pressure on him next year. Now he knows he can't mess up because if he does, OSU will now have to depth to replace him in a heartbeat. And I'm not just gonna single him out because that applies to the rest of the starters as well. If they don't perform, the young stars may take their spot. Which is good because competition brings out the best in people.

This I would agree with. I don't think anyone is going to taking anything away from anyone. But Matta will have options at his finger tips if something/someone is going well. Its a good problem to have. But its not always easy to manage either. It will be interesting to see how things play out.

Good point. I personally wouldn't be shock if the starters remain the same. I believe Matta will let it play out that way and if he has to make adjustments mid-season, then he will.

Laley23 wrote:

mallymal614 wrote: Plus no one expected Mike Conely to be the type of player he was as a freshman. Hopefully Craft can surprise us as well.

Sorry, but most people expect 5 Star PGs to be VERY good, even as freshman. Conley was no different.

Yes he was 5 star, but NO ONE expected him to perform the way he did. He played as if he was a top 5 talent.

Has anyone heard if they will be in any pre-season tournaments or if they will have any big OOC games next year. I would think they would be playing at Duke in the ACC/Big 10 challenge. I know they usually don't release the schedule until August.

I would love for a Duke-OSU ACC-Big Ten Challenge. That hasn't happened since 2002 (2003 season), when Brent Darby was still a Buckeye and Chris Duhon a Blue Devil. I believe the game was played in the Greensboro Coliseum, so it'd be cool if the next game between the two schools was in the Schott. I'd be there in a heart beat, and would pay top dollar to see the Bucks lose at home

I could be crazy, but I think OSU by the end of next year, is going to be better than they were this year, even if Turner goes pro. Obviously if he returns, OSU should be off the charts and have enough depth and range of players to match up and beat anyone in the country.

PG
2010 – Evan Turner
2011 – Aaron Craft (fr), Lenzelle Smith (fr), David Lighty (sr), Jordan Sibert (fr)
Big Advantage 2010. Turner best player in NCAA.
SG
2010 – Jon Diebler
2011 – Jon Diebler, Jordan Sibert
Advantage 2011. Diebler can get stronger, should be better and Sibert is a good player to give some rest.
SF
2010 – William Buford
2011 – William Buford, Deshaun Thomas (fr), David Lighty
Advantage 2011. Hopefully Buford develops some kind of basketball IQ and doesn't force so much. If he does could be very dangerous. Thomas appears to be straight nasty.
PF
2010 – David Lighty
2011 – Lighty, Thomas, Sullinger, Weatherspoon
Big Advantage 2011. Lighty can play and defend 4 positions, but I would expect him to see most time at the 3/4 in Matta’s 4 out, 1 in offense. Could slide to the 3 at times with either Sully or Thomas at the 4. Will probably see some minutes as a point/forward also. Thomas and Sully will probably also see some time at the 4.
C
2010 – Dallas, Madsen
2011 – Sullinger, Dallas
Big Advantage 2011. Madsen was a smart player, but very limited. Dallas is a great shot blocker, but at best average on the boards for his size and athleticism. Also still raw on offense. Sullinger is a beast on the boards. Dominated the glass in every game I saw him play against top level talent. Also smooth in the post and has the ability to knock down the midrange jumper. People knock him because he doesn’t jump out of the gym and might not be the most athletic guy. But that seem to work for a couple other college and pro guys that I think his game compares to: Kevin Love, Dajuan Blair, Al Horford, Carlos Boozer. I know those guys’ games vary some, but just a few guys he reminds me of when playing. Against some bigger teams we can play Dallas and Sully together at times, which was not a luxury we had this year.

Overall, I think the improvements at the 4 and 5 positions as well as the added depth can and will make up for the loss of production that Evan Turner gave the Buckeyes. Maybe not right away, because OSU will have to go with either a freshman point or a guy in David Ligthy that doesn’t have the skill set to play there for more than a few minute stretch. But by the end of the year, I think a combination of Craft/Smith/Ligthy (possibly Sibert, but I haven’t seen him run the pg much) will be able to play defense, handle the rock and get us into our offense and if they can hit the open jumper (craft) or take advantage of their size against smaller guards (smith) we should be better than what we saw at the end of this year.

There's no doubt in my mind OSU should be better next year. I know you are losing a GREAT player, but they should be able to make up for it. There will be better ball movement due to Turner not dominating the ball, I think Buford turns into a bonafide star in the Big 10 next year (see progress of Turner from sophomore to junior year), I think Diebler gets pushed enough that he improves dramatically as well.

Then you actually have a threat in the low post next year with Sullinger and enough depth that OSU can have options if someone isn't performing.

If Turner does leave, I'd like to believe OSU will be better...but I don't think they will. Turner did so much. Dominating the ball? Yes he did, and needed to. But he also made those around him SO much better.

OSU is not just losing their best player if Turner leaves, they are also losing their best rebounder, best clutch player and more importantly, their starting PG. The PG is the most important position on a team.
Again, I am hopeful Craft can fill this position admirably...but he will still be a true frosh and will have his struggles.
They will be better in many other areas....but the loss of Turner will hurt more then people think. All you have to do is look at the time he was out this past year.

Seriously, most on here have said...if Turner comes back...OSU could conceivably be the preseason #1 team...and most have said, if he leaves...OSU will be in the top 15. How is that better?
Sorry, I don't see it.

Whoever does start, I just want to see a big man PLAY like a BIG man ... besides Oden, only a handful of Buckeyes over the past 15 years or so come to mind as someone you can trust in the paint to hit a high-percentage shot, block shots, grab boards, etc. Ken Johnson and George Reese are others that fit that mold, but it seems like we are ALWAYS on the wrong end of the rebounding battles.

I agree, OSU will be better next year if ET comes back than they will be if he leaves. But I think they can be better next year by tournament time than they were at the end of this year. Yes I know ET did it all for them this year. But Sully will pound the boards next year to make up for that loss. He will also be able to pick up some of the scoring bunch, as will an improved Buford and the addition of Deshaun Thomas. If Craft and Smith can limit turnovers, defend the oppositions pg and make the occasional open shot or drive to the basket, next years team could be better than this year's, with or without ET. Now, obviously we would love to see him back next year because that team would have the potential to go down as one of the all-time greats at OSU.

I agree PG is a very important position, but WVU, even with Truck Bryant did not have great PG play. MSU won yesterday despite Korrie Lucious trying to blow the game for them. They basically used their center/power forward to run offense the last 5 minutes of the game. So while it makes it easier to have a high quality point, I still think that next years team could have more post season success than this years.

centralbucksfan wrote: Dominating the ball? Yes he did, and needed to. But he also made those around him SO much better.


Seriously, most on here have said...if Turner comes back...OSU could conceivably be the preseason #1 team...and most have said, if he leaves...OSU will be in the top 15. How is that better?
Sorry, I don't see it.

I wasn't saying that Turner dominating the ball was a bad thing. He needed the ball in his hands. I just think next year without such a special talent, there is more emphasis on ball movement.

If Turner comes back OSU is without a doubt a top team. But I think even if he leaves, they could be better. I never considered OSU a threat to win a National Championship (although looking at how the tournament played out, they legitimatically could have been), but I think OSU certainly will have enough talent next year to win a championship, especially if the freshman progress throughout the season.

Playing without Evan Turner this season is a lot different than it will be next. We must realize that players across the country progress each year, so players like Buford, Lighty, and Diebler should be improved. With the freshmen class coming in, it can provide depth that the team lacked, especially when Turner was out. There is no doubt OSU will be much better if Turner decides to come back, but I don’t think they will have the same struggles without him next season as they did this one.

mallymal614 wrote: Playing without Evan Turner this season is a lot different than it will be next. We must realize that players across the country progress each year, so players like Buford, Lighty, and Diebler should be improved. With the freshmen class coming in, it can provide depth that the team lacked, especially when Turner was out. There is no doubt OSU will be much better if Turner decides to come back, but I don’t think they will have the same struggles without him next season as they did this one.

I don't disagree with this statement at all. My point was how special Turner is. His presence on the floor alone, makes everyone else so much better. Sure they will improve...no question. Just as they did from last year to this. But for them to be THAT much better without Turner...is a stretch IMO. I see NO way next years team will be better without Turner. OSU is a better team next year, WITH Turner.
I think the confusion is...are they better then this years team? Certain area's, yes. But again, Turner is the guy who does so much, breaks down a defense, rebounds, assists, and a player who is able to make something...out of nothing as the shot clock runs down.
I think this OSU team this year, was pretty special to be honest. The exceeded everyone expectations. I thought they would be good...but not this good. They clicked, they played very well together, they accepted their roles, very coachable, etc, etc. Yes, they lacked depth, and a post presence. Which makes it even more impressive with what they did.
I am pumped for the future. But I am not expecting a better team next year without Turner on the floor. Hopefully I am wrong and pleasantly surprised. I just can't yet count on true frosh who have yet to step foot on a college campus. Experience goes a LONG way. All you have to do is look at the final four this year to see that.

centralbucksfan wrote: Experience goes a LONG way. All you have to do is look at the final four this year to see that.

That is a very good point! In the era where freshmen are making immediate impacts and get a lot of publicity, this year's final 4 really lacks any of the impact freshmen.

Turner is enrolled in spring quarter classes. Doesn't mean he's coming back, but interesting none the less.

^^^classes start today, were they in the final four he would have to have been enrolled anyway^^^

2kool4skool wrote: Turner is enrolled in spring quarter classes. Doesn't mean he's coming back, but interesting none the less.

Why wouldn't he enroll? Once he's into his junior year, might as well enroll and if he can make the classes fine, if not, then who cares.

It's not like he is paying for the classes, and if it's a goal of his to graduate than you get through what you can now.

thedynasty1998 wrote:

2kool4skool wrote: Turner is enrolled in spring quarter classes. Doesn't mean he's coming back, but interesting none the less.

Why wouldn't he enroll? Once he's into his junior year, might as well enroll and if he can make the classes fine, if not, then who cares.

It's not like he is paying for the classes, and if it's a goal of his to graduate than you get through what you can now.

Enrolling is not the issue. Its smart on his end if he is at all thinking of coming back.
The big issue is the April 12 deadline to withdraw from classes. If Turner decides to go the NBA, its doubtful he would stay in school as he prepares for the draft. But if he doesn't withdraw from OSU by April 12, then drops out...it affects OSU APR. Its something Oden and Koufos both did, which hurt OSU APR, which resulted in limited scholarships.
So April 12 is really the date to watch.

Sullinger better get more minutes then Dallas.