One day after head basketball coach Thad Matta received good news in the form of Canton GlenOak junior Kosta Koufos verbally committing to play for the Buckeyes in 2007, the program lost one player for 2006 after reserve guard Sylvester Mayes withdrew from spring quarter classes.

Overall, he played in 20 out of the 32 games and averaged nearly 15 minutes of action while scoring 4.2 points per contest.

But he sat out four games with an ankle injury, beginning with the Michigan game at Ann Arbor on February 9. Then once cleared to play, Mayes came off the bench just once for a grand total of two minutes the remainder of the schedule and through the both tournaments, a stretch of 12 games.

Mayes started the first two games of the season while Jamar Butler served a one-game suspension after it was learned he violated an NCAA bylaw by playing in a charity fundraiser three-on-three basketball tournament in Kenton, Ohio, during the spring of 2005.

Mayes played 31 minutes in the Buckeyes’ season-opener against Chicago State and scored 11 points. In his only other start two days later, Mayes totalled 21 minutes and two points versus Butler. His season high point total came against Virginia Tech in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge when he poured in 13 in 21 minutes on November 28, 2005.

The 6-foot-2 guard from South Bend, Indiana, played his first two years of collegiate basketball at Redlands Community College, which is located in El Reno, Oklahoma.

Mayes was a 2004-05 NJCAA Division I First Team All-American and NJCAA Region II First Team selection at Redlands where he averaged 20.3 points per game his sophomore season.

Mayes began his high school career at Clay High School in South Bend, but played sparingly due to because of academic trouble. He later moved into a group home for boys in Ft. Wayne, where he averaged 26 points per game as a senior for Wayne High School.

It was also rumored that during his one season with the Buckeyes, he had a run-in with an assistant coach, and after injuring his ankle in a game against Minnesota, declined to travel with the team to Ann Arbor. It was also rumored that he did not even watch that game on television.

His departure did not come as a surprise, especially with the talent coming in next season. He would have played very little with Butler, Mike Conley, Daequan Cook, and David Lighty on the roster. Mayes was not much of a team player and was a liability on defense, something you can’t be for Coach Matta.

Tags: Buckeye Basketball by Matt Barker
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With the heralded recruiting class known as the “Thad Five” due arrive on campus for fall quarter, led by 7-foot center Greg Oden, Ohio State head basketball coach Thad Matta is laying the groundwork for a sequel in 2007.

Canton GlenOak junior Kosta Koufos verbally committed to Matta and the Buckeyes on Monday.

The 7-foot-1, 260-pound athletic center is regarded in many outlets as a Top Ten recruit, and one of the best post players available in the class of 2007.

Koufos was limited to just 11 games during his junior year before he broke the fifth metatarsal bone in his right foot in January.

Prior to the injury, he was averaging 25 points, 13 rebounds, seven blocks and four assists per game for the Eagles.

Koufos had received interest from major NCAA Division I schools such as Ohio State, Louisville, Duke, Florida State, Georgia Tech, North Carolina, and received offers from Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Michigan State, and Ohio State.

Playing for the first time at the Papa John’s King James Shooting Stars Classic AAU basketball tournament in Akron the last weekend in April, Koufos had narrowed down his college choices to Ohio State, Louisville and Maryland.

“It’s exciting,” GlenOak coach Jack Greynolds Jr., told the Akron Bacon Journal. “Ohio State has the No. 1 recruiting class this season and with Kosta and a few other guys they should have a top-five class next year. With it being Ohio State, it’s obviously exciting for the area. It’s not to far of a drive and his family can watch him play.”

While his team struggled in the first game of the tournament, the King James Shooting Stars came back the next day to beat the Fox Valley Skillz. Koufos said he is starting to feel better.

“It was pretty good. I was kind of sore, but I’ve been working out now for about a week,” Koufos told CardinalSports.com, a web site devoted to Louisville athletics. “I still can’t do some things, but winning is winning so I am happy about that. I just need to get my wind back. I need to some more running and some more full workouts and get my wind back. I think I’ll get my wind back in about a month.”

Even without his wind, Koufos was still an impressive presence. His 7-foot-1 frame causes defenders problems, and Koufos’ outside jump shot is developed far beyond his age.

In an interview Koufos gave to, ironically enough Go Blue Wolverine Magazine last summer, he was asked if Oden coming to Columbus would be discouraging.

“Oh no. No. Not whatsoever. That national championship is all I care about. Winning is all I care about. If I play the bench or don’t play at all, winning is winning,” Koufos said.

“Coach Matta and I reviewed tape about my position. Oden is a year older than me. He might go to the NBA or he might stay two years. It doesn’t matter. He said he’ll play me at the three or the four. Getting off screens, shooting the elbow jumper, driving the hoop, and passing it out. “

If you read correctly, Koufos said he could play the three (small forward). At 17-years old and 7-foot-1, he could still grow another two to three inches.

Koufos, who is of Greek ancestry, has the ability to score in the post or facing the basket, and he is a European-style big man. He has been compared to Dallas Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki.

“Dallas Lauderdale (currently a junior at Solon) will be the five man in that case. So we’ve got all of the Ohio people coming to Ohio State.”

Asked if he was going to help recruit Lauderdale just like Daequan Cook did to lure his AAU teammates Oden and Mike Conley to OSU, Koufos said, “I haven’t really played with Dallas, but I think both of us together could play real well.”

Lauderdale, a 6-foot-8, 230-pound center is ranked eighth at his position by rivals.com, and ninth by scout.com. He has been compared by some as a Sam Perkins-type, an impressively built power forward prospect with a gigantic wingspan who is not afraid of contact and can run the floor.

His choices have been narrowed down to Ohio State, Louisville, and Syracuse.

Koufos is the second player to verbally commit to Ohio State from the 2007 class.

Last September, 6-foot-7 shooting guard Jon Diebler from Upper Sandusky, who averaged 35.9 points per game last season, orally agreed to attend college in Columbus.

Diebler broke Upper Sandusky’s single-game scoring recond by pouring in 77 points against Tiffin Columbian last January.

Diebler made 22-of-42 field goal attempts, including six three-pointers, and was 27-of-28 from the free throw line. Four of his three-pointers came in a span of 56 seconds in the third quarter.

The 77 points are the seventh-highest total in Ohio history according to the OHSAA and are believed to be the most points scored in the state in the last 37 years.

Bellaire St. John’s Allan Hornyak, who went on to star at OSU, scored 86 points against Tiltonsville in 1969.

Tags: Buckeye Basketball by Matt Barker
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As the sun splattered down on the record crowd of 63,649 at Ohio Stadium, it also kept away some of the biggest stars from getting playing time in the annual Spring Game pitting Scarlet versus Gray.

Senior quarterback Troy Smith played just one series, leading his team down the field for the only touchdown of the game as Scarlet squad defeated the Gray 12-0, Saturday afternoon.

Smith was 4-for-4 passing for 62 yards in the opening series, leading the Scarlet down the field for an 80-yards scoring drive that was capped off by a four-yard touchdown run by Erik Haw.

Ryan Pretorius successful point after touchdown put the Scarlet ahead 7-0 with 7:13 left in the first quarter.

That would be the only touchdown scored, though, in the entire game.

The Gray team had two chances to get the ball in the end zone, but failed to cross the goal line.

On the final play of the first half, Gray quarterback Todd Boeckman failed to punch it in from just inside the one-yard line, though from my vantage point, it looked like he scored on the fourth down play.

In the third quarter, Boeckman was intercepted by twisting, diving Kurt Coleman in the end zone that ended another scoring threat for the Gray squad.

The only other scoring all came in the second quarter after a fine punt by A.J Trapasso pinned the Gray at their own one-yard line.

On the first play from scrimmage, Todd Denlinger tackled Maurice Wells in the end zone for a safety, putting the Scarlet on top 9-0 with 7:04 left in the first half.

With 2:26 remaining before halftime, Pretorius connected from 38 yards out on his only field goal attempt of the afternoon, as the Scarlet took a 12-0 advantage into intermission.

Freshman Rob Schoenhoft took most of the snaps for the Scarlet team, and completed nine of his 28 passes of 109 yards and one interception.

The Scarlet team had 115 yards rushing with freshman Chris “Beanie” Wells getting 48 yards on 11 carries, and Haw toting the rock 10 times for 38 yards and a touchdown.

Brian Hartline led the Scarlet team in receiving with seven catches for 88 yards.

For the Gray squad, senior Justin Zwick was 4-for-6 passing for 32 yards. Boeckman was 13-of-27 for 132 yards and two interceptions.

The leading rusher for the Gray was Maurice Wells, who had 10 carries for 35 yards, and the leading receiver was Roy Hall, who had five catches for 66 yards.

Ted Ginn Jr. touched the ball just once, hauling in one pass for four yards.

The Buckeyes’ leading rusher from the 2005 season, Antonio Pittman, is nursing a pulled hamstring and did not play.

Gray linebacker Marcus Freeman led all tacklers with 10 stops. Cornerback Malcolm Jenkins had seven and was credited with a fumble caused for the Gray.

Freshman Ross Homan paced the Scarlet with eight tackles and defensive end Jay Richardson had two of that team’s four sacks.

The Scarlet squad edged the Gray by 12 yards, gaining 286 yards of total offense. Scarlet had 17 first downs, to 14 by the Gray. But the Gray team did have a advantage in passing yards, 221-171.

Probably the most impressive player during the game was freshman tailback Beanie Wells, who showed on Saturday that he has the speed to get outside and power through defenders in the open field.

“I think we learned some things about ourselves today,” said Ohio State coach Jim Tressel. “We saw some good things and we saw some things we need to work on. We didn’t play a lot of our veterans because we know what they can do. It was nice to see some of our younger players step up and make plays. I thought we really played hard, but that didn’t surprise me. Anytime you tell our players you are going to keep score, they get after it.”

Tags: Buckeye Football by Matt Barker
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