Right: Wide receiver Duron Carter is the son of former OSU star and NFL great, Cris Carter. Rivals.com Photo

My personal belief is that recruiting is so hit-and-miss, but according to Rivals.com, Ohio State hauled in the third-best class in the nation.

On Wednesday, Ohio State head coach Jim Tressel and his fax machine were busy. All told, the class of 2009 stood at 25 commitments for the upcoming season.

Headlining this year’s class are two five-star recruits with linebacker Dorian Bell and defensive back Corey Brown, both from Gateway High School in Monroeville, Penn.

Take that, JoePa!

Bell is listed at 6-foot-2, 226-pounds, and runs the forty in 4.5 seconds. He was ranked third in the nation among outside linebackers, and was 33rd overall on Rivals 100 top prospects. He had offers from 10 other schools including Penn State, Michigan and West Virginia, but signed with Ohio State.

During his junior year he had 131 tackles, and among those were 25 tackles for loss and 11 sacks.

Brown, a 6-foot-1, 180-pound cornerback is listed as the sixth-best at his position in the country.

James Jackson, a 6-foot, 175-pound wide receiver from Grand Ledge High School in Grand Ledge, Mich., also signed on Wednesday.

Jackson, who runs a blistering 4.31 seconds in the 40-yard dash, had a slew of offers from schools like Michigan, Michigan State, Purdue, Wisconsin, and Iowa in the Big Ten, as well as from Alabama, Florida, Oregon, and UCLA.

In the end, it came down to the Buckeyes and Bruins, and though he thought UCLA had a beautiful campus, it was too far from home.

Another wide receiver in this class, Chris Fields (6-0, 181) from Harvey High School in Painesville, Ohio, signed his LOI to play at OSU and can also run a sub-4.4 in the 40-yard dash.

Fields is ranked as the 19th-best wide receiver prospect in the country according to Rivals, while Jackson is 32nd.

Next on the Rivals100 list is defensive back Jamie Wood from Central High School in nearby Pickerington, Ohio.

Wood, listed as a 6-foot-2, 190-pound safety, checks in as the 74th-best prospect and he also had several offers, most notably from Penn State, Illinois and Northwestern.

Playing both ways during his junior year, Wood had 65 tackles, seven of those for loss, and an interception. He also had 25 receptions for 550 yards and eight touchdowns.

Coming in as the 10th-best prospect in the nation at weakside linebacker is 6-foot-5, 245-pound Melvin Fellows from Garfield Heights, Ohio.

Fellows originally committed to Illinois last year, but changed his mind when he came to Columbus to watch the spring game last year.

Clayton Northmont’s C.J. Barnett committed to Ohio State last February, and is listed as a 6-foot-1, 181-pound cornerback. He’s a four-star prospect by Rivals and checks in as the 13th-best at his position in the nation.

Jordan Whiting from Trinity High School in Louisville, Ky., is a 6-foot, 230-pound inside linebacker, was the first commitment for this class when he gave his verbal last September.

Two players in the class of 2009 will have older brothers on the team. Zach Boren, a 6-foot-1, 245-pond linebacker form Central High School in Pickerington, is the brother of Justin Boren, transferred from Michigan to Ohio State. Adam Homan, a 6-foot-2, 230-pound linebacker from Coldwater, Ohio, is the younger brother of Ross Homan.

Two seasons ago, all-purpose back Jordan Hall was a teammate of Terrelle Pryor at Jeannette High School in Jeannette, Penn. In 2009, Hall will join Pryor as a member of the Buckeyes.

While Pryor garnered all of the attention for Jeannette when both played, Hall, who is listed at 5-foot-9 and 180-pounds, did manage to gain 891 yards on the ground with 20 rushing touchdowns, plus he added another 704 yards and nine more scores receiving the pigskin during his junior year.

Rounding out the list of signees are:

Storm Klein, a 6-foot-2, 220-pound athlete from Licking Valley High School and Jack Mewhort, a 6-foot-6, 292 center from St. John’s High School in Toledo.

Marcus Hall, a 6-foot-5, 290-pound offensive tackle from Glenville High School in Cleveland.

Possibly one of the best players from the class of 2009 is 5-foot-11, 185-pound running back Jaamal Berry from Palmetto High School in Miami, Fla. He’s ranked No. 56 in the Rivals100 after rushing for 1,033 yards and 14 touchdowns during his junior year, and was considered the best running back prospect in South Florida. Berry was clocked in the 40 at 4.43 seconds. Also signing with the Buckeyes is 6-foot-1, 230-pound fullback Carlos Hyde from Naples High School in Florida d.

Hyde is also a four-star prospect and is ranked the second-best fullback among the high school seniors and can run the 40-yard dash in 4.55 seconds.

The son of former Ohio State standout and future NFL Hall of Famer Cris Carter signed on the dotted line to play at Ohio State, just like his Dad.

Duron Carter, a 6-foot-3, 183-pound wide receiver from St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, chose the Buckeyes over South Florida, West Virginia, Auburn, and LSU.

Adam Bellamy, a 6-foot-4, 270-pound defensive tackle from Aurora High School will also to attend OSU.

Bellamy is a three-star recruit and is ranked the 40th-best defensive tackle in the country.

Dominic Clarke, a 5-foot-10, 183-pound cornerback from Tuscarora High School in Frederick, Maryland, pledged his allegiance to Senator Sweater Vest.

Clarke is rated four-stars and is the 19th-best cornerback prospect in the nation, and can cover 40 yards in 4.41 seconds.

The Buckeyes also snatched up 6-foot-8, 251-pound tight end Reid Fragel from South High School in Grosse Pointe, Michigan.

Fragel garnered four-stars and is ranked No. 11 among the taller pass receivers in the land.

Tags: Football by Matt Barker, Publisher & Editor of BuckeyeBanter.com
Comments Off

Right: Ohio State’s William Buford hoists up the rock as Coach Matta looks on.
(AP Photo/Terry Gilliam)

Is there anyone more deserving at this point of the season than Ohio State’s Evan Turner to win the Big Ten’s Player of the Year honors? And is there any freshmen in the conference that’s playing better than the Buckeyes’ William Buford?

The answer is no, and no.

Turner scored 27 points and pulled down 12 rebounds while his teammate, Buford, chipped in 22 points as Ohio State knocked off 12th-ranked Purdue, 80-72 in overtime at Value City Arena, Tuesday night.

Yeah, Purdue fans might be clamoring that their preseason Big Ten Player of the Year, Robbie Hummel, who was out with a mild stress fracture of the L-5 lumbar vertebrae, might have made the difference in the game, but I have two words for you, DAVID LIGHTY.

Lighty, before his injury, was arguably the best player on Ohio State’s roster. But there’s no need to debate that he’s the Buckeyes’ best defender and team leader, who would of guarded Hummel if both had played.

Of course, Hummel is OVER-RATED and couldn’t carry Turner’s jock.

Purdue did get off to a good start on the road as the Boilermakers scored 10 of the game’s first 12 points to a take 10-2 lead, but Ohio State responded with a 15-4 run and took a 19-14 advantage with 10:14 left until intermission after a made free throw by Turner.

All told in the first half there were six ties and five lead changes, and after Keaton Grant’s three-pointer with 15 seconds remaining, Purdue ran into the locker room leading 32-29 at the break.

In the second half, the lead changed hands 13 different times.

Ohio State had a 64-59 advantage with 1:50 left to play in the game and nearly blew it.

Grant knocked down a triple with 1:27 left cut the Buckeyes’ lead down to a bucket, and Chris Kramer’s dunk with 1:05 remaining tied the game at 64-all.

No team scored in the final 65 seconds of regulation, though Purdue’s Lewis Jackson drove down the lane and clanged a shot off the backboard just before the horn sounded.

The five minute overtime session was all Buckeyes as they outscored the Boilermakers 16-8. Ohio State’s biggest lead of the game occurred when B.J. Mullens added a two-hand jam that put OSU up 78-68.

Mullens finished with 17 points and eight rebounds.

Purdue actually entered Tuesday’s game leading the Big Ten in field goal percentage defense at 36.0 percent, but the Buckeyes had another blistering performance hoisting the rock, shooting 60.4 percent (32-of-53) from the field, and were 5-of-11 from three-point land.

Meanwhile, the Boilermakers shot 47.3 percent (26-of-55) from the floor, but only made 6 of their 21 attempts from beyond the arc.

Ohio State had a huge advantage off the glass, outrebounding Purdue 36-19.

Up next, Ohio State hosts 17th-ranked Minnesota, Saturday night. Tip-off at Value City Arena is scheduled for 8:00 p.m., and the game will be televised on the Big Ten Network.

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

Ohio State (15-5, 5-4) vs. No. 16 Purdue (17-4, 6-2)

Date: Tuesday, February 3
Time: 7:00 p.m. ET
Place: Value City Arena – capacity 19,049
TV: ESPN with Brent “Pard’ner” Musburger and Steve “Hair Gel” Lavin.
Radio: WBNS-AM 1460 and WBNS-FM 97.1 in Columbus and 58 more stations across Buckeyeland on the Ohio State Buckeyes Radio Network with Paul Keels and Ron Stokes.
Series History: Both teams have split the series with Ohio State owning a 79-79 all-time record vs. Purdue.
Last Game: Ohio State defeated Purdue 80-77 in overtime back on March 4, 2008 at Value City Arena. Jamar Butler scored 23 of his 25 points in the second half and Othello Hunter, one of Ohio State’s worst free-throw shooters, hit two foul shots and made a big defensive play in overtime as the Buckeyes upset the then 15th-ranked Boilermakers.

Right: Purdue’s Robbie Hummel, who was named the preseason Big Ten player of the year, is averaging 12.9 points per game.
(AP Photo/Tom Strattman)

Matt Painter and his 16th-ranked Boilermakers venture into Value City Arena for a 7:00 p.m. tip-off against Thad Matta’s Buckeyes, Tuesday night.

Purdue has rebounding from starting Big Ten Conference play with losses to Illinois and Penn State by ratling off six straight wins, and are now tied for first place in the league with Michigan State.

Robbie Hummel, a 6-foot-8 sophomore forward who was named the preseason Big Ten player of the year, has been hampered with back spasms. Hummel is currently second on the Purdue roster averaging 12.9 points per game, while leading PU in rebounding (7.5 rpg).

E’Twaun Moore, a 6-foot-4 sophomore guard, tops the Boilermakers in scoring averaging 14.3 points per contest.

JaJuan Johnson, a 6-foot-10 sophomore forward, is the one of three Boilers averaging double digits in points by pouring in 12.5 per ball game.

On Saturday against Michigan, the Wolverines had a second straight game where a player was ejected as Manny Harris connected with an elbow to Purdue’s Chris Kramer.

Kramer sustained a broken nose and later returned to the game wearing a protective mask and ended up scoring seven points. Moore, meanwhile, led the Boilers with 17 points and Hummel chipped in 13 as Purdue easily defeated Michigan 67-49 at Mackey Arena in W. Lafayette, Ind.

Purdue, which leads the nation in field-goal percentage defense, held Michigan to 36.0 percent (18-of-50) shooting from the floor.

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

Right: Ohio State’s Evan Turner rejects the shot of Indiana’s Broderick Lewis, Saturday afternoon. Ohio State won 93-81 and Turner scored 29 points with 10 rebounds.
(The Indianapolis Star Photo/Matt Kryger)

On Saturday, sophomore swingman Evan Turner poured in a career-high 29 points with 10 rebounds to lead the Ohio State Buckeyes to a 93-81 over the Indiana Hoosiers at Assembly Hall in Bloomington.

Four days earlier against rival Michigan in Columbus, Turner had a team-high 22 points in the Buckeyes’ 72-54 win over the Wolverines.

With those performances, Turner was named the Big Ten player of the week after averaging 26.5 points and 7.5 rebounds during the past week while logging in 39.0 minutes per contest. Turner also connected on 70.0 percent of his field goals (16-of-23) and 91 percent of his foul shots (21-of-23).

Against Indiana, the Hoosiers took a 24-12 lead with 9:23 left in the first half after Matt Roth connected on one of his nine three’s in the game.

The Buckeyes, though, chipped away at the lead and tied the game at 28-all after going on a 16-4 run that was capped off on a triple by point guard Jeremie Simmons.

Indiana was able to regain their shooting touch towards the end of the half when Roth scored on two treys in consecutive possessions to put the Hoosiers ahead 39-32 with 1:05 to go, but Turner scored on a conventional three-point play and a layup just before intermission and the Buckeyes’ trailed by just a bucket at 39-37.

It was a closely contested battle for the first seven-plus minutes in the second half until Simmons drained a three-ball with 12:34 remaining in the game to put Ohio State ahead 55-54. The Buckeyes never trailed the rest of the way.

Ohio State’s biggest lead came when Turner knocked down a pair of free throws with 1:09 to play that put OSU up 92-74.

Along with Turner’s 29 points, two other Buckeyes scored 20-plus points as William Buford added 24 and Jon Diebler scored 21. Simmons added 17 points as the only other scorer in double figures for OSU.

For the game, Ohio State shot a scorching 63.0 percent (29-of-46) from the field, and an even more mind-blowing 76.2 percent (16-of-21) in the second half. From beyond the arc, the Buckeyes were 10-of-17 (58.8 percent).

Indiana shot well from the field, but they were just not as hot as Ohio State. The Hoosiers knocked down 27-of-57 (47.4 percent) shots from the floor, and 15-of-28 (53.6 percent) from three-point land. The Buckeyes also benefited from going to the foul line 12 more times than the Hoosiers. OSU was 25-of-30 (83.3 percent) from the charity stripe, while IU was 12-of-18 (66.7 percent).

Ohio State had a slight edge in rebounding (26-25), but also committed a few more turnovers (17-15).

I’m still thinking Ohio State head coach Thad Matta needs to come out of the match-up zone and play a little more man-to-man defense, but that may be a little hard to do when you only go eight-deep.

Matta speaking to reporters after the game:

“Well I think we came out and we weren’t as ready as we needed to be to play this game. I thought it was more of the mental. We tried to guard against it and explain to our guys how well Indiana is playing and how good we thought they are. They knocked us on our heels to start the game. The turnovers we had in the first half were one of the big reasons we were down at half time. Indiana was playing extremely hard. We weren’t doing the things we needed to do to take care of the basketball. The second half I thought we obviously made shots and did a better job of taking care of the basketball. Fortunately, in the second half we had a stretch where we played an ounce of defense. That was able to give us enough of a lead to win the basketball game. It was a shooting performance by both teams that you don’t see very often. We are lucky, as I told the guys, that we were able to come out of here with a win.”

Above: A melee ensued when Michigan guard Zach Novak swung his elbow twice, with one striking Ohio State’s P.J. Hill in the head. Novak was whistled for a fragrant foul and was ejected from the game. (AP Photo)

Against the Wolverines last Wednesday, Ohio State held Michigan to just a pair of field goals in the first 9 minutes, 38 seconds as the Buckeyes scored 19 of the game’s first 23 points and took a 19-4 lead after Evan Turner’s two free throws with 12:09 left in the first half and the Wolverines could not recover from the huge early deficit.

Ohio State’s full court pressure and match-up zone defense held Michigan to 20.0 percent (5-of-25) shooting and the Buckeyes’ forced 12 first-half turnovers as OSU took a 36-18 lead into the intermission break.

Along with Turner’s 24 points, two other Buckeyes’ scored in double figures as Simmons and B.J. Mullens both added an even dozen.

Manny Harris led the Wolverines with 22 points and DeShawn Sims chipped in 13.

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