Evan Almighty
Posted on December 3, 2008 by Matt Barker
Right: Sophomore Evan Turner hammers down a breakaway 360 dunk. (Getty Images)
Things did not look very promising for Thad Matta’s Ohio State Buckeyes at halftime, trailing the 22nd-ranked Miami Hurricanes 36-22 at the BankUnited Center in Coral Gables, Fla., as part of the Big Ten/ACC Challenge.
Going into the season, clearly Ohio State was going to miss the senior leadership of point guard Jamar Butler, who captained a ship full of young players last year.
The main question entering this season was, who would step up…
Even old salts like me who know how valuable one player can be to a basketball team were taught one more good lesson that much more than football one player can carry a basketball team.
When Miami’s star player decided to throw a punch and knock a key Ohio State player to the floor in a technical ejection I thought, maybe, just maybe, the Buckeyes would at least now be able to make a game of it.
OOps, more than that. One player gone and the tables and momentum turned 180 degrees around.
One really good thing about this odd event is what it may have taught the OSU players about giving your all and never quiting. I also wonder if one of the Buckeyes two best players will “get it” . That, if they up their game and become “the go to guy” on this years B ball team Ohio State will become much more competitive.
GO BUCKS
I will say this, the ejection fired up the crowd and in turn, swung the momentum towards Miami the rest of the half.
The Hurricanes were already without one of their guards, who was suspended indefinitely, then to top it off, they lose their best player eight minutes into the game.
In the second half, Miami looked lost without McClinton. And by the end of the game, their guards were tanked.
At halftime, I was thinking that Ohio State might be lucky to finish above .500 and get into the NIT. Now, I am expecting a regular season record of 18-9 before the Big Ten tournament and an NCAA invite.
But Saturday’s game will be a big test. Let’s see how they respond.
How are you gonna call Jack McClinton a thug when Anthony Carter took the first hit at McClinton. Your head coach was wining on the sidelines to look at the replay, and when they did eject McClinton and gave no foul to Carter, Thad Matta was cheering on the sidelines. Shows how classy OSU really is the only way you can beat us is by taking out our players and getting lucky call (McGahee, Willis, worse pass interference call in college football history).
First of all, Crater ACCIDENTALLY swiped McClinton while going for the ball. Things like that happen. In the NBA, in college, high school, even playing a friendly pick-up game at the Y. You say “my bad” and move on.
But McClinton swung at Crater INTENTIONALLY. That’s the thuggery. That’s reserved for fenced-in courts with chain nets.
Good thing McClinton doesn’t play football, or he would of had swung his helmet instead of trying to slap a player like a five-year old girl.
You can’t THUG without the “U”