OSU Basketball In 2007-08

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I thought this was a pretty thorough summary of the possibilities for next year:

Looking Ahead: OSU Basketball In 2007-08

By Steve Helwagen
Posted Apr 16, 2007


While Thad Matta and Ohio State basketball fans everywhere await the verdict as to whether freshman stars Greg Oden, Mike Conley Jr. and Daequan Cook will return for 2007-08, there is plenty to look at regarding the Buckeyes next year.


Ohio State will be attempting to win a third straight Big Ten championship, something that has not happened at the school since coach Fred Taylor’s teams won five straight from 1960-64.


The Buckeyes posted a 35-4 record this past season – beating the old school mark for wins in a single season by eight. OSU won both the Big Ten regular season and tournament titles and advanced all the way to the national championship game, where the Buckeyes fell to defending national champion Florida 84-75.


OSU loses two seniors off the 2006-07 team in starters Ron Lewis at the wing and Ivan Harris at power forward.


If Oden and Conley each decide to leave, the Buckeyes could be back where they were before the start of this past season – with senior-to-be Jamar Butler as the team’s only returning starter.


Oden, Conley and Cook met with Conley’s father, Mike Conley Sr., on Sunday in Indianapolis to discuss their options regarding the 2007 NBA draft. Conley Sr., a former Olympic athlete and executive with USA Track and Field, has become certified by the NBA to serve as a player agent.


Oden, a 7-0 center who led the Buckeyes at 15.7 points and 9.6 rebounds per game, would be considered – along with Texas freshman Kevin Durant, who has already declared for the draft – as a possible No. 1 overall pick.


During OSU’s NCAA Tournament run, Conley elevated his draft stock with one strong performance after another. He ended up third on the team in scoring at 11.3 points per game and also averaged 6.1 assists and over two steals per game. Conley maintained that he plans to come back to OSU, but with some projections now saying he could be a lottery pick – and with potential draftees like O.J. Mayo, Eric Gordon and Tywon Lawson in next year’s draft – Conley is reconsidering his position.


The 6-5 Cook struggled down the stretch and ended up fourth on the team in scoring at 9.8 points per game. Certainly, his draft status was hurt during the course of an up-and-down freshman year. But some still believe a team could take a chance on him in the second round.


Matta was expected to meet with one or all of the players on Monday to discuss their options and an announcement could be forthcoming any day. The players have until April 29 to enter the draft. They may then pull their name out by June 18, provided they have not hired an agent. The draft is set for June 28.


Matta, a robust 81-22 (.786) in three seasons with the Buckeyes, spoke at last Wednesday’s celebration at Value City Arena. He sounded hopeful that the Buckeyes would maintain their momentum into next year, although retaining his three freshman standouts would mean a lot.


“I don’t know what the future holds,” Matta said. “If it holds what I would like to see, I think you’re going to see one hell of a basketball team.


“Every year is going to pose different problems and different situations, if you will. To think that success will follow, it may depend on how much experience we have coming back.”



The Players’ Take



Speaking during the Final Four and since, OSU’s returning players are optimistic they can have another memorable year in 2007-08.


The 6-2 Butler, a co-captain who averaged 8.5 points per game this past year, has been outspoken about hoping that his running mate, Conley, returns.


“Everybody has got to do what’s best for them and what’s best for their family,” Butler said. “If that’s leaving and going to the NBA, I would support them. I would love for those guys to stick around for another year and I would love to get back here again.


“I will have to (be a leader). If Mike decides to stick around, which is what I’m praying to God he does, I’d go to the coaches and say I’d like Mike to be a captain with me.”


The team resumed off-season workouts on Monday.


“We will get back to work and get ready for next year,” Butler said. “Everything Coach Matta has done has put us in the right direction. We’ve gotten a little better every year. My freshman year, we weren’t able to play in the tournament. My second year, we lost in the second round. This year, we went to the national championship game.


“Hopefully my senior year, we can win that national championship.”


The 6-6 Lighty, a sophomore-to-be, delievered key minutes for the Buckeyes during the NCAA Tournament, coming up big in the team’s NCAA wins over Tennessee, Memphis and Georgetown.


“It is a good thing knowing we have the experience of being here in this situation,” Lighty said. “Down the line, if we get back here we will know how to get the job done.”


Inside, the tandem of Othello Hunter and Matt Terwilliger, each 6-9 seniors-to-be, helped the Buckeyes compensate for the absence of Oden at various points in the year.


Terwilliger talked about finishing his career in a big way next season.


“It’s off in the distance,” he said. “This is still a sour taste in our mouth. But I think depending on who we have coming back, we have an outstanding chance of getting back (to the Final Four). We had a taste, but it wasn’t the outcome we wanted.”


Matta will welcome six newcomers to the program in 2007-08. Five of them are 2007 high school graduates, while the sixth is Vanderbilt transfer Kyle Madsen. The 6-10 Madsen, a native of nearby Dublin, Ohio, has three years of eligibility remaining.


Matta’s five-man high school recruiting class are all national top-100 prospects. The class, as a whole, is rated as a top-10 class by most major services.


Leading the way is 7-1 forward/center Kosta Koufos, a McDonald’s All-American from Canton GlenOak. Koufos averaged 26 points and 15.5 rebounds a game to lead GlenOak to a 23-4 mark and a spot in the Division I state final four. Koufos, a national top-15 prospect, figures to play the power forward spot on offense and could play against opposing centers on defense.


Right behind him is 6-7 guard Jon Diebler from Upper Sandusky, Ohio. Diebler broke former Buckeye guard Jay Burson’s 22-year-old state scoring record as he finished his career with 3,208 points. As a senior, he averaged 41.2 points per game as well as over 12 rebounds a game. As a result, he earned Ohio’s Mr. Basketball award from the Associated Press. Diebler has ballhandling experience and could be a valued backup in the backcourt as well as a shooting ace from the perimeter.


Also due in are 6-9 center Dallas Lauderdale of Solon, Ohio; 6-6 wing Evan Turner of Westchester (Ill.) St. Joseph’s; and 6-6 wing/forward Eric Wallace of Hargrave (Va.) Military Academy.



As a senior, Lauderdale averaged 16 points and 10 rebounds a game. He is more of a back-to-the-basket type inside player who should help defensively and on the boards.



Turner averaged 21 points, nine rebounds and five assists per game as a senior. He is a smooth, explosive wing who is known almost as much for his defensive ability as he is for his stellar offense. If he can show consistency right away, he could challenge Cook and/or Lighty for minutes right away.

Wallace, at 230 pounds, provides more muscle and another option for Matta inside.

Terwilliger believes these newcomers will give the Buckeyes quality and depth going forward.

“Kyle has been in the program now for a year,” Terwilliger said. “There are also some great players coming in. If they jell and listen half as well as the freshmen did this year, then we’ve got a real good chance of coming back (to the Final Four) next year.”

How It Could Go

Let’s explore the various personnel scenarios for OSU in 2007-08:


* If Oden, Conley and Cook return – Ohio State would have to go into 2007-08 as one of if not the top contender to win the national championship.


Perhaps the biggest question would be whether Lighty or Cook would replace Lewis, who ended up averaging 12.7 points per game after a torrid NCAA Tournament run. More than likely, both would have increased roles manning positions in the backcourt. Lighty could even help out at power forward (again) as needed.



A potential lineup: Conley, Butler, Lighty or Cook, Hunter or Koufos and Oden.


* If Oden leaves and Conley and Cook return – That would leave a big hole in the middle for the Buckeyes. But OSU had plenty of experience playing without Oden, who missed the first seven games due to his wrist injury. He also missed appreciable time in four of OSU’s NCAA Tournament wins, so the Buckeyes know they can win without Oden.


This scenario would keep Conley at the point and Butler at the two. The remaining three spots in the lineup would be up for grabs. Lighty and Cook would be front runners for the three spot, although Turner could also give them a run. Diebler could fulfill Harris’ role as a spot shooter.



Inside, Matta has a plethora of options, even if none of them are as dynamic as Oden. Hunter and Terwilliger have experience in the program, while Koufos, Lauderdale, Madsen and Wallace would all be in the running as well.


A potential lineup: Conley, Butler, Lighty or Cook, Hunter and Koufos.


* If Oden and Conley leave and Cook returns – The Buckeyes would (again) be looking for four new starters. Butler would return to the point guard spot he manned ably in the 2005-06 season.



The rest of the spots would be up for grabs. Obviously, Lighty and Cook would figure to fill in on the wings and the same names mentioned above would be in the running for the two inside spots. Diebler and Turner would become more valuable with the lack of depth outside with Conley’s departure. Diebler, although he is listed at 6-7, could get time at the point to spell Butler.


A potential lineup: Butler, Cook, Lighty, Hunter and Koufos.


* If Oden, Conley and Cook all leave – OSU would be relying once again on the six newcomers to fill key roles. With so many national top-100 prospects entering the program, OSU would probably remain a Big Ten championship contender. But returning to the Final Four would have to be considered somewhat of a stretch.


A potential lineup: Butler, Turner or Diebler, Lighty, Hunter and Koufos.



The Schedule



Ohio State once again figures to play a tough nonconference schedule in 2007-08. The full schedule will not be released until August at the earliest.


“We still have some games to schedule, obviously,” said OSU assistant coach Dan Peters. “It looks like we will be in a preseason tournament of some type. But we usually are since that rule was changed. Our schedule now is incomplete.”


It is easy, perhaps, to piece together some of the schedule together already.


For starters, the Buckeyes figure to host Florida after going down to Gainesville this past December. Coach Billy Donovan’s team loses all five of its starters, so OSU could have a good shot at gaining revenge for those two defeats.


On the flip side, Ohio State probably travels down to Knoxville to return a game to Tennessee. The Vols lost two heartbreakers to OSU – one in Columbus and the other in the NCAA South Regional semifinals – and would love revenge. The Vols could have the outstanding backcourt of Chris Lofton and JaJuan Smith (each due to be seniors) and Ramar Smith (due to be a sophomore) intact next year.


Sources have indicated that Ohio State will participate in the Preseason NIT this fall. OSU would host two games in the NIT and, with two wins, would advance to the NIT final four at New York’s Madison Square Garden around Thanksgiving time.


There has also been talk of a possible game against Kentucky, now led by former Texas A&M coach Billy Gillespie, at a neutral site.


Ohio State may also owe a return game to Butler. The Buckeyes hosted Butler in 2005-06 and were due to play at Butler this past year before instead contracting to play Cincinnati in Indianapolis as part of the Wooden Tradition. It is unclear whether OSU still must visit Butler, which was included in the Wooden (where it beat Purdue) as part of the deal for canceling the 2006-07 match-up with Ohio State.


The Buckeyes will again participate in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. On Monday, it was announced that North Carolina will visit Ohio State in a rematch from this past year's Challenge. The game will be played Wed., Nov. 28, at 9 p.m. on ESPN. (UNC beat an Oden-less Ohio State team 98-89 in November at Chapel Hill.)



“I like that idea,” Peters smiled and said earlier this month when asked about hosting an ACC powerhouse like UNC in the Challenge. “I think it would be great for our fans and great for our players. When you recruit the kind of guys we are recruiting right now, they want to play against the best teams in the country.”


One other date on the 2007-08 schedule is set in stone: The Buckeyes will play Cleveland State on Dec. 18 at Quicken Loans Arena (formerly Gund Arena, home of the Cleveland Cavaliers) as part of the CSU McLendon Scholarship Series. The inaugural game is being hosted by Cleveland State in conjunction with the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics to benefit several scholarships in the name of John and Joanna McLendon.



Within the conference, OSU’s rotation for Big Ten play has not been set. The 2006-07 season was the last of a two-year rotation. More than likely, OSU will face home-and-home series with Illinois, Indiana, Iowa and Minnesota, whom the Buckeyes faced just once each season over the last two years.


Whatever happens, Ohio State -- after delivering big ratings for CBS for its one versus two game against Wisconsin and during the NCAA Tournament -- figures to be a fixture on ESPN, ESPN2 and CBS in 2007-08. A big change will come down with the Big Ten regional and local TV packages. The conference has joined with FOX Networks in starting the Big Ten Network. That means Big Ten regional and local games will no longer be syndicated across the Midwest by ESPN-Plus and shown on local stations like WBNS-TV (Ch. 10).



Instead, those games will be shown on the Big Ten Network. Details remain sketchy, however, on whether local cable companies across the Midwest will pick up the Big Ten Network, which launches in August with the start of football season.



The Big Ten tournament is set for March 13-17 in Indianapolis. The 2008 NCAA Final Four will be at the Alamodome in San Antonio April 5-7.


Peters talked about the different variables involved in scheduling.


“When we sat down last year, we said, ‘We’ve got a special group of guys coming in. We could play a schedule where we could definitely win some games or we could play a schedule that would get us ready for March and hopefully for April.’ That’s why we decided to play Florida,” he said.


“We figured that after we played them we would find out what we needed to do. After we played them, we found out we had a lot of work to do.”

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