Right: One and…not fully cooked: 7-foot center B.J. Mullens will enter the 2009 NBA Draft.
(AP Photo)

Not that this should come as a big shock to any Ohio State basketball fan, but for the fifth time in three years a freshman will bolt for the NBA after staying just one season in Columbus.

This time it’s 7-foot center B.J. Mullens, a Columbus native and graduate of Canal Winchester High School, who announced today that he’s leaving after one academic school year in hopes of playing some hoops for some cash.

Clearly, though, its not a smart move by Mullens.

I’m a 40-year old father. I have a seven-year old son who’s stands about 4-foot-6 and weighs 90 pounds and he’s much larger than the rest of his classmates, so someday a decision just like this my arise in our lives. So here’s my advice to B.J.:

“Look, you may only sign one professional contract in your life, so why not get the most out of what you can the first time? NBADraft.net has you listed as the 17th overall pick. DraftExpress.com has you as the 18th overall selection. Heck, MyNBADraft.com has you all the way down at No. 22. Neither of those are lottery picks that will garner the big money.”

Kosta Koufos, who left early after last season, was a 23rd overall selection by the Utah Jazz and signed a contract worth a shade under a million dollars per year after the 2008 draft. Today, the Jazz assigned him to their NBDL team, the Utah Flash.

Mullens, who made just two starts in 33 contests, mainly coming off the bench to replace Dallas Lauderdale in the low post, averaged 8.8 points and 4.7 rebounds a game while shootting 63.8 percent from the field (120-of-188).

Here’s what B.J. had to say today:

After long consideration I have decided to enter my name in the 2009 NBA Draft. This was not an easy choice because I love The Ohio State University but the many positive reasons for moving on outweigh the many good reasons for staying. I would like to thank The Ohio State University, its faculty and staff, along with Coach Matta for the opportunity to attend school and play basketball here. I would also like to thank all my Buckeye coaches and teammates for their guidance and friendship, not only this season, but also in the time since 2004 when I first committed to play at OSU.”

Here’s what Ohio State Thad Matta had to say about Mullen’s decision:

I am saddened to lose B.J. On one hand, I feel another year in school would have allowed him to develop into the player I know he can be and an additional season would have been beneficial to him both personally and monetarily in the long run. On the other hand, I am empathetic to the reasons why he has chosen to leave at such an early point in his career. I wish him nothing but the best and know he will always be a part of our basketball family at Ohio State.”

All of the rest of the Buckeyes will return next year, 14 in all, that include Evan Turner and William Buford, along with UAB transfer, Zisis Sarikopoulos, a 7-foot center from Greece.

Tags: Men's Basketball by Matt Barker, Publisher & Editor of BuckeyeBanter.com
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Right: Sophomore starting pitcher Alex Wimmers threw a no-hitter through five innings against Miami, last night. (U Photo)

Starting pitcher Alex Wimmers, along with relievers Drew Rucinski and Jake Hale combined to throw a one-hitter as the 16th-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes defeated the No. 7 Miami Hurricanes, 7-1, at Alex Rodriguez Park in Coral Gables, Tuesday night.

The Hurricanes tallied their only non-round number on the scoreboard in the home half of the first when second baseman Scott Lawson led-off the frame with a walk issued by Wimmers, and later scored on a pair of Buckeye errors for the unearned run.

In the visitors’ half of the third and trailing 1-0, Ohio State scored four times against Miami starter Daniel Miranda as designated hitter Ryan Dew and first baseman Matt Streng started off the inning with back-to-back doubles before left fielder Zach Hurley and second baseman Cory Kovanda followed with consecutive base knocks.

The Buckeyes scored twice in the sixth after catcher Dan Burkhart singled to third base, stole second, and advanced to third on a groundout by shortstop Cory Rupert. Burkhart then touched home plate following right fielder Michael Arp’s homer to left field that put OSU ahead 6-1.

Ohio State added an insurance run in the ninth as Arp drew a leadoff walk, advanced to second on Dew’s groundout, and scored when Streng reached on an error.

Wimmers lasted five innings and allowed just one run, which was unearned, on no hits with two strikeouts and five walks. Rucinski came on in relief to start the sixth and allowed just one hit with one K and one base on balls. Hale pitched the ninth and face the minimum of three batters, striking out two.

Overall, Ohio State is 18-3 and Miami is 18-5

Up next, the Buckeyes travel to University Park, Penn., to play a three-game series against Penn State starting on Friday.

Tags: Baseball by Matt Barker, Publisher & Editor of BuckeyeBanter.com
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Right: Ohio State’s sophomore center Jantel Lavender goes up for two of her 20 points against Mississippi State. (OSU Photo)

The Ohio State women’s basketball team has advanced to the Sweet 16 after the Buckeyes defeated the 11th-seeded Mississippi State Lady Bulldogs, 64-58, in the second round of the NCAA tournament at Nationwide Arena in downtown Columbus.

With the win, the third-seeded Buckeyes will trek out to Berkeley, Calif., to take on the second-seeded Stanford Cardinal on Saturday night. Tip-off at the Haas Pavilion is scheduled for 11:30 p.m. ET, and the game will be televised on ESPN2.

The Cardinal advanced to the Sweet 16 by defeating UC-Santa Barbara (74-39) and San Diego State (77-49), and are led by 6-foot-4 junior center Jayne Appel, who tops her squad in both points (14.7) and rebounds (9.0).

The Buckeyes reached the Berkeley Regional semifinals after sophomore center Jantel Lavender scored a team-high 20 points to lead OSU past the Lady Bulldogs. Senior forward Star Allen chipped in 12 points and a team-high 10 rebounds.

Last Saturday, Ohio State garnered a first round win over Sacred Heart, 77-63, as 5-foot-7 freshman guard Samantha Prahalis tallied a game-high 23 points.

Overall, Ohio State is 29-5 on the year and Stanford is 31-4.

Tags: Women's Basketball by Matt Barker, Publisher & Editor of BuckeyeBanter.com
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Right: Ohio State’s Evan Turner wheels the ball up the court past Siena’s Ryan Rossiter. (AP Photo/Skip Peterson)

Limping into the postseason after struggling to win against a few of the Big Ten’s cellar-dwellers while keeping Ohio State’s NCAA tournament hopes alive, the Buckeyes had an impressive run in the conference’s tournament, notching wins over Wisconsin and Michigan State before dropping a close decision to Purdue in the championship game.

Unfortunately, it appeared that the selection committee already had a place for Ohio State before the Big Ten tournament ever began, making the Buckeyes an eighth-seed even after those impressive victories, though OSU did benefit somewhat by playing close to home.

Ohio State was pitted against ninth-seeded Siena in the first round of the NCAA tournament. On paper, the Buckeyes clearly had the better team. The only problem was the Saints’ had more heart, hustle and desire, as they went on to win 74-72 in double overtime at the University of Dayton Arena.

The much smaller Siena squad outrebounded Ohio State, 53-37, and the Buckeyes had an even harder time getting the ball past half court. Point guard Jeremie Simmons, who was a starter for most of the season, played just 10 minutes and had four turnovers. P.J. Hill, who began the year playing behind Simmons and Anthony Crater at the point, played a season-high 40 minutes and turned the ball over five times. For the game, OSU had 20 turnovers.

On a Siena Saints’ basketball blog, I had mentioned that if Ohio State had any weakness, it was the play at point guard. An even bigger problem is that there’s no one on the Buckeyes’ commit list of the class of 2009, let alone a point guard. Both Simmons and Hill came from the junior college ranks, and if another scholarship becomes available, head coach Thad Matta is going to have to scour the country to find someone who can handle the rock.

Another problem for Ohio State was the play of the bigs with 6-foot-8, 255-pound Dallas Lauderdale and 7-foot, 275-pound B.J. Mullens. While they did combine for 18 points, the two of them could only grab seven rebounds in 56 minutes. Meanwhile, Siena’s 6-foot-9, 227-pound center Ryan Rossiter pulled down 15 boards and 6-foot-5 forward Alex Franklin had 13 caroms.

Ohio State began the season winning their first nine games. At the time, three of those victories came against ranked opponents, though only Butler would eventually make it to the NCAA tournament. Notre Dame and Miami-Fla failed to make the Big Dance.

With a 9-0 record, the 13th-ranked Buckeyes hosted West Virginia in a nationally televised game at Value City Arena, and OSU suffered their worst defeat on the year, losing to the Mountaineers 76-48.

Ohio State then started on the Big Ten portion of the schedule squeaking by Iowa at home before losing at Minnesota and Michigan State.

The rest of the season was a roller coaster ride. The Buckeyes won three straight over Houston Baptist, Indiana and Michigan, then lost two an a row on the road to Illinois and Michigan State.

Coming back home to Columbus, Ohio State rattled off four consecutive victories over Michigan, Purdue and Minnesota while taking down Indiana in Bloomington in between. But those four straight wins were followed by three straight losses to Wisconsin, Northwestern and Illinois.

Back home once again, the Buckeyes got a much needed win over Penn State, but then was rocked on the road to Purdue 75-50.

Ohio State then went on to win four out of their last five games before the NCAA tournament.

Statistically, sophomore forward Evan Turner led in just about every category. He topped the roster in points (17.3 ppg), rebounds (7.1 rpg), assists (4.0 apg) and steals (1.8 spg).

Freshman guard William Buford was second on the team in scoring (11.3 ppg), while sophomore guard Jon Diebler was third (11.2 ppg).

The good news is that this young team is all eligible to return next season, though one player just might the mistake of leaving early for the NBA. Not only does the entire roster return, but you can add two forwards with 6-foot-5 David Lighty and 6-foot-8 Nikola Kecman, who both suffered season-ending injuries, and 7-foot center Zisis Sarikopoulos, who will be eligible after transferring from UAB.

Coach Matta, though, still might be searching the country for a point guard.

Tags: Men's Basketball by Matt Barker, Publisher & Editor of BuckeyeBanter.com
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