Buckeye basketball preview
Right: Kosta who? Ohio State’s next great center, B.J. Mullens.
Matt Barker Photo
After the Ohio State football team’s complete meltdown in southern California last Saturday night, let’s briefly switch the focus to Thad Matta’s basketball Buckeyes.
The 2008-09 edition of the men’s basketball team will have many new faces. Out of the 12 scholarship players, there are no seniors. The only senior listed on the roster is walk-on guard Danny Peters, son of Dan Peters, the Buckeyes’ associate director of basketball operations.
Of those 12 scholarship players, seven return with previous experience but just two starters, 6-foot-5 junior swingman David Lighty, and 6-foot-7 sophomore guard/forward Evan Turner.
Lighty is the top returning scorer after averaging 9.0 pointer per game, fourth-best last season, and Turner poured in 8.5 points per game, which was fifth on last year’s roster.
Ohio State had to replace last season’s top three scorers, point guard Jamar Butler, center Kosta Koufos, and forward Othello Hunter.
The Buckeyes should have no problem filling the void after Koufos left after his freshman year with incoming freshman B.J. Mullens, who was the top-rated player in the class of 2009 by rivals.com, just like Greg Oden was when he was a high school senior two years ago.
Of course, just like Oden, he’s expected to be one of the first players taken in the 2009 NBA Draft, so if you think he will stay beyond his freshman year you would be sadly mistaken.
The 7-foot-1, 265-pound Mullens graduated from Canal Winchester in suburban Columbus, and committed to Ohio State during his freshman year of high school.
During his senior season for the Indians, Mullens averaged 26 points and 15 rebounds. Like Oden, he’s your conventional, back-to-the-basket center with a much better shooting touch. Unlike Koufos, it’s unlikely he will be launching three-pointers from beyond the arc.
Other freshman who will make an impact is 6-foot-5 guard William Buford from Toledo’s Libbey High School. Buford was rated the 19th-best prospect in the nation, the fourth-best shooting guard, and the second-best talent in the state of Ohio right behind Mullens.
Buford was named Mr. Ohio Basketball after averaging 23 points and 11 rebounds during his senior campaign, and was also selected as a McDonald’s and Jordan Brand All-American.
Other freshman from the class of 2009 include 6-foot-1 point guard Anthony Crater, who was a 2008 McDonald’s All-American nominee after averaging 16 points and eight assists at Brewster Academy in New Hampshire during his senior year.
A native of Flint, Michigan, Crater played at Southwestern Academy in Flint before transferring to the prep school. At Southwestern, Crater was a two-time All-Michigan performer and was voted Class B Player of the Year by the Associated Press following his junior year.
Also in the mix is 6-foot-3 freshman shooting guard Walter Offutt from Indianapolis’ Warren Central High School.
Offutt tore his ACL back in December and sat out most of his senior year while rehabilitating the injury.
Two junior college transfers were added to the roster which include 6-foot-8 sophomore forward Nikola Kecman, and 6-foot-2 point guard Jeremie Simmons.
Kecman transferred to Ohio State after spending a season at Eastern Arizona College and averaged 13.4 points while shooting 170-of-301 (.565) from the field, and 35-of-80 (.438) in three-pointers.
Simmons was the 2008 Junior College Division II Player of the Year after spending two seasons at Mott Community College in Flint, Michigan, and led Mott to Division II National Junior College Athletics Association National Championship each of the last two seasons.
As a sophomore, Simmons was named a first-team NJCAA All-American after averaging 21.2 points per game on 268-of-555 (.483) from the field goals, and 122-of-289 (.422) from three-point land.
The roster is bolstered by veterans with 6-foot-6 sophomore guard Jon Diebler, 6-foot-1 guard P.J. Hill, and 6-foot-8 forward Dallas Lauderdale.
Diebler, Ohio’s Mr. Basketball in 2007, averaged 5.9 points in 21.1 minutes per game as a freshman for the Buckeyes.
Lauderdale, who saw increased playing time as the season wore on last year, averaged 0.9 points and 1.8 rebounds in 6.9 minutes last year.
Hill, not to be confused with the running back form Wisconsin, averaged 1.1 points in 5.9 minutes in last season.
Also on the roster is 6-foot-9 center Kyle Madsen and 6-foot-4 walk-on junior guard Mark Titus, along with 7-foot center Zisis Sarikopoulos, who is ineligible this season after transferring from Alabama-Birmingham.
All in all, it’s a very talented, but young team that will have to gel early to be a factor in the Big Ten, which I assume they will.
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