@KyleRowland, a writer at Buckeyegrove.com recently posted this picture of the 2012 Ohio State football schedule which hangs in the Woody Hayes Athletic Center. I don’t know if Meyer had anything to do with it but it goes a long way in my book.

©2012 The Buckeye Blog. All Rights Reserved.

In what has been nothing short of an amazing signing day for Ohio State, the newly formed Buckeye Bloggers Network got together to take a look at Urban Meyers first Buckeye recruiting class. Together, we throw our perspective at the three questions below. Be sure to check out the other recruiting posts at The Buckeye Battle Cry, Buckeye House Call, Men of the Scarlet and Gray, Our Honor Defend and The Silver Bullet.

Who are you most excited to see in the Scarlet and Gray?
Although this may seem like a cop out, Urban Meyer. Flash back to October and a struggling Buckeye football team with unknown NCAA penalties lingering over their head. Who in their wildest dreams would have predicted a recruiting class like this? By keeping two of his top recruiters in Coach Fickell and Coach Vrabel he’s put together a dream team of college recruiters (and apparently Coach Stan Drayton is pretty good at recruiting also).

I can only imagine the impact on a 17-year-old kid like Noah Spence when Coach Fickell, Coach Vrabel and Meyer all showing up together at your high school football game. I mean really, does Coach Vrabel even need to wear his necklace full of Super Bowl rings on that trip? Meyer puts the crowning jewel on a great recruiting staff. Let Fickell and Vrabel pepper him up and send Meyer in for the knockout.

And although I haven’t had the chance to really go over the recruiting records of the new coaches Meyer has brought in, I can’t believe that the dream team has no where to go but up.

The best part about this is that TSUN has proven themselves worthy of some recruiting themselves this season. I can only hope that this leads to great recruiting battles like we had back in the days of Woody and Bo. As much as I hate TSUN, beating the crap out of them season after season is getting a little old. Yes, let’s continue to beat the crap out of them but I’d much rather they be a team that means something when we do.

Who makes an immediate impact from the 2012 class?
Kyle Dodson. This kid is huge and has the ability to blow massive holes in the line. Braxton Miller has proven himself in the speed department. Give him some solid pass protection and room to run and he will be a very serious threat. You can see Myer’s grand scheme coming together with this kid on board.

Although they may not have the immediate impact, you’ve got to be excited about the defensive recruits. Give them a year to grow and develop and they will be ready to do some serious damage just in time for a National Championship season.

Who do you wish that OSU hadn’t “missed” on?
Why get greedy. As I said, this recruiting class is so far beyond expectations from this fall. Meyer says he’s still looking for offensive speed at the skill positions. He still has receiver Stefon Diggs in his sites and despite rumors, the door is still open for Devonte’ Neal . Yep. A couple of tall, quick targets for Miller will look really nice in a year or two.

Be sure to check out these other perspectives from the Buckeye Bloggers Network:

Buckeye House Call: National Signing Day – The New Beginning
Men of the Scarlet and Gray: National Signing Day: The Aftermath
Our Honor Defend: National Signing Day Thoughts
Buckeye Battlecry: Three Questions From Ohio State’s 2012 Signing Day
The Silver Bullet

©2012 The Buckeye Blog. All Rights Reserved.

The University of Akron announced last night that Coach Tressel has returned to Akron to serve in a newly formed position as Vice President of Strategic Engagement. According to the Cleveland Plain Dealer, Tressel will be working to raise funds for a new basketball arena along with student programs such as the “Akron Experience,” a service learning program for Akron students.

While it was great fun to speculate on the rumors of Coach Tressel heading to Indianapolis, this is a much more fitting position for the former Ohio State coach. Coach Tressel has always been a teacher as much as a coach and it appears that this will allow him to directly work with students.

It may also pave the way for a future back at Ohio State once the smoke clears. Besides, has their ever been an Ohio State coach who hasn’t finished their career at Ohio State (at least not since Woody)?

©2012 The Buckeye Blog. All Rights Reserved.

Although I tend to shy away from the madness that has become college recruiting, this has been one of the wildest recruiting seasons for the Buckeyes that I can remember. Things looked much different back in October when Brady Hoke was rampaging through the state spreading stories about NCAA violations and lost playing time with the Buckeyes? You’ll recall that as the Buckeyes struggled through the season and tattoogate was still hanging over our heads, it looked like the Buckeyes could be in for a long slump.

What a difference an Urban makes!

I have to say that although it was frustrating to see Hoke pulling recruits out of Ohio, it was good to see that there was somebody at that school up north that understood that The Game starts somewhere around the junior year of high school (if not earlier). But it appears that Hoke has met his match against the recruiting dream team of Meyer, Fickell and Vrabel. When it’s all said and done, it’s looking like both the Buckeyes and TSUN will come out with recruiting classes in the top ten (if not top five) nationally.

One of my biggest disappointments with losing Coach Tressel was that we would never get to see Coach Tressel line up across the field from Hoke in what could potentially become a second 10 year war. Watching Meyer and Hoke go at it though, I may not be so disappointed. Add in the fact that Wisconsin lost most of their coaching staff and Penn State is dealing with Penn State and suddenly there is some open recruiting ground in the Big Ten. Although I’m not the first to say it, the good old days of the Big Two may be back, at least for the moment.

According to Rivals.com at the time of publishing this post, the Buckeyes have landed 14 four-star commits and 2 five-star commits currently making them Rivals’ No. 4 ranked recruiting class.

So which of Meyer’s new Buckeyes are you most excited to see play?

©2012 The Buckeye Blog. All Rights Reserved.

Chess Master Goran Vojinovic preps Buckeyes for big match against Michigan

I don’t care if it is football, basketball, synchronized swimming, or the chess club, that sentence alone should put you in a good mood. On Sunday, the sport of choice was men’s basketball, as the Buckeyes methodically outlasted the Wolverines 64-49.

While I certainly do not give a damn for the whole state of Michigan, I did give a damn about this game. The two rivals entered the contest tied atop the Big Ten standings, just ahead of Michigan State and Wisconsin. With showdowns against each of these teams looming, it was imperative that the Buckeyes held serve on their home court.

The game was not the most aesthetically pleasing display of basketball, as Ohio State only lead 24-21 at the half before slowly pulling away (unless you are a Wisconsin fan – then it was an outright offensive explosion). As the teams traded mini spurts, starting with the 5-0 lead Michigan jumped out to, there seemed to be somewhat of an air of uneasiness in the Schott. An objective analyst may say that was because it took the heavily favored Buckeyes awhile to finally put the Wolverines away, but I think the fans were having trouble fighting back their acid reflux reaction that automatically occurs whenever one is exposed to the combination of Maize and Blue.

The primary pregame storyline heading into the clash was the homecoming of Michigan point guard Trey Burke, who grew up in Columbus and was Jared Sullinger’s high school teammate. Thad Matta, who already had the McDonald’s All-American Shannon Scott and Aaron Craft locked up at the point guard spot, chose not to heavily recruit Burke. So, while it’s clearly not Burke’s fault he is not in the hometown Scarlet and Gray, I think it is perfectly reasonable for the Buckeye faithful to hold a grudge against the 19 year old kid. After all, he chose to go up north.

I honestly expected Burke to press too much and struggle Sunday afternoon in front of his (ex) hometown fans. What’s more, it has been scientifically proven that a small part of you dies every time you put on a Michigan jersey, so I wasn’t sure if he had enough inner drive left at this point of the season to deal with Craft’s suffocating defense for 40 minutes. However, the Columbus product held his own, finishing with 13 points, five assists, and two steals.

Even though he decided to take his talents to the school up north, Burke did not draw the majority of the ire from the Ohio State fans. That ridicule was reserved for Zack Novak, who seems to be playing his ninth or tenth season for Michigan. Novak, who kindly reminded the crowd (or at least me) that he was indeed the one they should hate with a ridiculous Aaron Rodgers inspired championship belt (or discount double-check) motion during pregame introductions, was the target of numerous chants and derision from the Buckeye Nuthouse.

Despite the pregame hype around the point guard matchup, and the general annoyance of Novak, the key to the game was the hustle and performance of Lenzelle Smith Jr. The sophomore guard put on his best Evan Turner impersonation, leading the Buckeyes in both points, with 17, and rebounds, with 12. In a game where Sullinger struggled to deal with early foul trouble and only pulled down five boards, Smith’s rebounding prowess was crucial. In fact, eight of Smiths’ rebounds came on the offensive side of the floor, which directly led to the majority of his 17 points.

Helping Smith out in the scoring department was Sullinger with 13 points, Deshaun Thomas with 12, and William Buford with 12 (despite six turnovers). Another Jr. – Tim Hardaway Jr. – led the Wolverines in scoring with 15 points of his own.

The Buckeyes will not play again until Saturday when they travel to Wisconsin, giving the fans some time to revel in the victory over their hated rivals. While beating Michigan is always a treat, watching Novak miss every shot he took and score zero points during the process was just icing on the cake.

Good luck with that championship belt.

©2012 The Buckeye Blog. All Rights Reserved.

Nobody handles their business against the bad teams better than Thad Matta’s Ohio State basketball squad. The Buckeyes, who led the nation in average margin of victory coming into their contest with Penn State Wednesday night, dismantled the Nittany Lions 78-54.

The Scarlet and Gray jumped ahead 38-18 by the half, before ultimately putting it into cruise control and extending the nation’s second largest home winning streak to 37.

Jared Sullinger led the Buckeyes with 20 points and 13 rebounds, his 436^th career double-double (all numbers approximate), despite not playing in the final ten minutes. William Buford added 15 points and Aaron Craft chipped in 11.

On the same night that the Lakers took on the Clippers, the crowd at the Schott did its best Los Angeles impression – streaming in well after the game had started and filing out with a couple minutes still remaining on the clock. It’s almost as if 6:30 is not a great time to start a big time college basketball game (ahem, Big Ten Network, ahem), since people who work don’t even get home until around six (I can only assume this is the case, after all I’m in grad school so I’m not sure what a real job is).

Some of the positive developments I noted in the Nebraska game continued today. Buford’s stroke looked smooth as ever while knocking down a couple of threes, and Deshaun Thomas drew another offensive foul in the lane. Clearly, the team is taking to heart everything my posts have to offer.

The game got slightly strange for a minute late in the first half. Craft floated an alley-oop attempt to freshman Sam Thompson, but the pass ended up going into the hoop for three points, proving that even when Craft messes something up good things happen. A couple of possessions later, Penn State took a timeout after scoring a basket. However, when the timeout ended, Penn State was awarded the basketball right back. Eventually, after Matta kindly reminded the refs that’s not how the rulebook is written, the error was fixed (the refs may disagree with the kindly part).

Interested in adding some instant excitement to the second half of a blowout basketball game? Simply add a tablespoon of Sam Thompson to the mix, then sit back and enjoy. In the course of three minutes, the high-flying freshman kept the crowd involved as he finished a thunderous alley-oop, swatted away an errant Nittany Lion shot attempt, and fired a beautiful pass into the paint for a Sully dunk.

While Penn State struggled mightily and was clearly outmatched, it was a nice touch to see the players pay tribute to the late Joe Paterno by wearing black bands on their jerseys. The legendary coach passed away on Sunday at the age of 85.

As for the Buckeyes, they did what they had to do in a proverbial warm up game. You know how the football team always seems to play Akron or Youngstown State before things really get going? Well, this was the basketball team’s warm up game (minus the awesome Akron kangaroo or Youngstown penguin). The upcoming slate includes Michigan, Wisconsin, and Michigan State each twice, as well as a trip to ‘the barn’ in Minnesota and a rematch against Illinois.

In the contest’s final moments, Ohio State’s student section sang everyone’s favorite tune – “We Don’t Give A Damn for the Whole State of Michigan.” They clearly know who is next.

©2012 The Buckeye Blog. All Rights Reserved.

Really?

In Thad Matta’s 400^thcareer game as a head coach, the Ohio State men’s basketball team throttled the Nebraska Cornhuskers 79-45. The only thing truly in doubt during the second half was if the Buckeyes would double Nebraska’s final score.

I admit I was somewhat concerned as the game tipped off. It may seem crazy now, especially after watching what can only be described as a beat down, but I had legitimate reasons to worry. At least I think they were legitimate.

Incorrect worry number one:
Ohio State had lost four of its last six conference road games coming into the game, and this was exactly that – a conference road game.

Incorrect worry number two:
Nebraska was coming off of an emotional upset of Indiana and – theoretically – would be fired up to keep rolling against another conference heavyweight.

And, since all good things come in threes,

Incorrect worry number three:
I did not really expect the kind of hostile atmosphere that greeted the Buckeyes in Lincoln. After all, Nebraska is a football school and this was not a football game. However, the fans seemed ready for some hoops, and the atmosphere was sufficiently intense until the game got ugly.

So what happened to ease those worries?
Well, the game started, that’s what. A victory was never in doubt for the Buckeyes, as William Buford led the team with 15 points, while Jared Sullinger – who battled early foul trouble – and Deshaun Thomas each chipped in 14. The Cornhuskers only made 13 shots from the field all game, compared to their 27 turnovers. I’m pretty sure Taylor Martinez hasn’t even turned it over 27 times in one game (I kid, Nebraska fans. I may or may not still be bitter about our football matchup earlier this year).

Whatever concern was still lingering quickly faded away after watching the last six seconds of the first half. Aaron Craft – in all his scrappy glory – beat the press, split two defenders at half court, and fired a perfect pass to Evan Ravenel, who proceeded to lay it in to beat the buzzer. It put the Buckeyes up 16 at the break and was basically point guard perfection wrapped up in one play. In fact, remember your high school coach who always harped on and stressed fundamentals at every practice? He probably would have shed a tear of happiness had he seen that play.

Sure the game was ugly, but that doesn’t mean there weren’t some key developments for the Buckeyes. After recent struggles, it was certainly nice to see Buford knock down a couple of three point shots today. While I would prefer to see him slash more (and worry that he is trying too hard to replace Jon Diebler’s shooting from last year), Buford’s shooting will make it difficult for opponents to double Sully down the stretch.

What’s more, Deshaun Thomas may have made the best defensive play I have ever seen from him in Scarlet and Gray when he slid across the lane and drew a charge early in the second half. Those are the types of plays he often does not make, and they are going to be critical down the stretch of the Big Ten season (unless we play Nebraska every game. Then we might be alright if I suited up).

Ultimately, I have three final takeaways from the victory (remember, good things always come in threes).

Takeaway number one:
If it wasn’t clear already that football has been the driving force behind conference expansion, just watch Nebraska basketball. Do you really think the Big Ten would have been chomping at the bit to add the Cornhuskers if they played football like they play on the hardwood?

Takeaway number two:
Indiana really lost to that Nebraska team?

Takeaway number three:
My favorite part of Nebraska joining the Big Ten is the chance to see more of the ridiculous balloon mascot that just waddles around the building all game. When future generations study early 21^st century sports, I shudder to think about how the swaying Husker will influence their opinion of us. I know it isn’t relevant to the game, but it had to be said.

It was a day of upsets across the college basketball landscape Saturday. Notre Dame knocked out no. 1 Syracuse, Florida State tomahawked (pun absolutely intended) no. 4 Duke, Arkansas squeezed by no. 19 Michigan (you can keep your conference pride, I’m always happy when the weasels lose), Tennessee beat no. 11 Connecticut, and no. 5 Missouri upset no. 3 Baylor (I don’t care what you say, if 5 beats 3 it counts as an upset).

The Buckeyes did well to avoid becoming upset victims themselves, and should continue to roll when they host Penn State Wednesday night.

*(Lil’ Red image cc license jc-pics)

©2012 The Buckeye Blog. All Rights Reserved.

Photo courtesy of Penn State Live under creative commons license

After reports yesterday that legendary Penn State coach Joe Paterno was in failing health and that family was being called to his bedside, it is now being reported that coach Joe Paterno has died at age 85.

Let us remember him for the good that he gave to the world of college football.

You can read the Paterno family’s official statement by clicking here.

©2012 The Buckeye Blog. All Rights Reserved.

(Oh…and there was a basketball game too.)

The Ohio State men’s basketball team, who kindly scheduled their game Sunday afternoon around Urban Meyer’s halftime introduction, entertained a capacity crowd at the Schott with a convincing 80-63 victory over the Indiana Hoosiers.

Part of what made last year’s Buckeye team enjoyable to watch (besides being intermittently treated to Jared Sullinger, Jon Diebler, and Aaron Craft attempting to “sing” Miley Cyrus songs) was the fact that someone new seemingly stepped up to shoulder the load in every game. Sure, Sullinger was technically the star, but it was a pretty safe bet that somebody else was putting up big numbers on any given night. This hasn’t quite been the case as much this year, but Lenzelle Smith Jr. did his best to change that, leading the way with a career high 28 points.

Smith Jr. certainly had help, with Sullinger scoring 16 points, William Buford adding 12, and Deshaun Thomas chipping in 11. But that’s not what I want to talk about. Aaron Craft’s defense (I know, tell me what else is new), particularly while defending Hoosier guard Jordan Hulls, was just downright awesome. I don’t really have another word for it (after all, I certainly wasn’t going to call him a crafty defender), but Craft set the tone right from the start.
Immediately after OSU scored its first basket, Matta’s point guard threw unsuspected pressure at Hulls, forcing a travel and immediately getting the raucous crowd into the game. Craft never eased up on the defensive intensity, even launching himself into the first few rows of the crowd at one point in an effort to retrieve a loose ball. In fact, the only thing I enjoyed more about the afternoon than watching Craft play defense was watching Gene Smith get heartily booed by the majority of the crowd as he took the microphone at halftime.

But I digress.

Clearly bothered by the Buckeye defense, Indiana only managed 14 first half points, and the contest was essentially over. The Buckeyes fixed the turnover problem that plagued them on New Year’s Eve in Bloomington (Craft, who had a career high six turnovers in the first meeting with the Hoosiers did not turn it over once Sunday) and enacted their revenge on Tom Crean’s Indiana squad.

The second half defense wasn’t quite the same from the Buckeyes, but it almost seems like nitpicking after a double digit margin of victory over a top ten ranked team. In fact, my only real concerns about the game were my realization that, between all his whining and “coaching,” Tom Crean is not reprimanded for spending more time on the court than his actual players, and the fact that an Indiana fan ended up winning the American Airlines free flight coupon prize given away during one of the timeouts. That is inexcusable promotional staff. Just inexcusable.

I know, this is supposed to be about basketball, but you didn’t really think I would just leave out anymore mentions of the halftime introduction of our new fearless football leader, did you? After all, how many basketball halftime presentations do you see where nobody gets up from their seats?

After dealing with Gene Smith for a few seconds, the crowd greeted Urban Meyer and his new coaching staff with an extended and passionate standing ovation. Luke Fickell’s reception, consisting of cheers and a “Luuuuuuuke” chant, was so loud that Meyer himself commented on it. Frankly, if you are not excited about the direction that the Buckeye football program is headed under this staff, you may need your Buckeye Nation membership card revoked. Sure, the buzzkill NCAA levied its punishment, but bowls are for cereal anyway, not football teams.

So when it was all said and done, between Meyer, Craft’s defense, Lenzelle Smith Jr. setting a career high in points scored, and some revenge on the pesky Hoosiers, it was a good day to be a Buckeye. But the best part? The free fries at the end. Just make sure you keep scoring 70 points guys, and we’ll all be happy.

©2012 The Buckeye Blog. All Rights Reserved.

Editors Note: This is a guest post by first time tBuckeyeBlog contributor Scott Polacek. Scott is a graduate student at Ohio State studying journalism and an avid Ohio State Basketball fan.

Let me assure you, the sky is not falling. I know everyone wanted to eliminate some of the bad taste left in our mouths from the rather painful football season by witnessing the Buckeyes pulverize everyone that dared stand in their way on the hardwood, but it’s going to take some patience.

Standing at 15-3 and coming off of a loss at Illinois, in which Brandon Paul – rather annoyingly – did his best imitation of an NBA Jam character catching fire, there seems to be somewhat of a crack in the Buckeye armor. Aaron Craft and Jared Sullinger questioned the team’s effort and desire after the game, and some fans are genuinely concerned about the road woes plaguing Thad Matta’s bunch. After all, when your only conference road win is over Iowa, it does little to inspire confidence.

Perhaps a short trip down memory lane can help ease some of these worries. The 2009-10 Buckeye hoops team posted a 13-5 record through its first 18 games. This included road defeats at the hands of the Gophers, Butler, and that team up north, not to mention a cringe inducing 22-point drubbing at Bucky Badger’s place.  It was a little more than half way through the year and the squad, led by one nationally known star player and some talented complementary pieces, was noticeably struggling on the road. Stop me if that sounds familiar.

Those basketball fans among Buckeye Nation probably remember that team turning things around down the stretch. In fact, the Buckeyes won 14 of their last 16 games (including their last five conference road games), the Big Ten regular season crown, and the Big Ten tournament in Indianapolis. Maybe you remember a certain Evan Turner winning the Naismith player of the year award and drilling one of the most satisfying buzzer beating shots in school history to put the dagger in the Wolverines’ NCAA tourney hopes.

So, what does this have to do with this year’s team? I look at the 2009-10 season as a somewhat of a template for how the rest of this year is going to play out. Turner and company had a particular taste for revenge and were spurred in their finish by rematch victories over all three Big Ten teams they had previously lost to. This is a pattern I fully expect Matta’s crew to emulate down the stretch, starting with Indiana on Sunday.

It was clear to anyone watching (or at least it was clear through my Scarlet and Gray tinted glasses) on New Year’s Eve that Ohio State was, and still is, the more talented squad when matched up with the Hoosiers. However, two things plagued the Buckeyes on that night – incessant foul trouble and turnovers. Sure the fouls can be partially attributed to the compromising photos of the officials that Tom Crean apparently possessed, but the 17 turnovers were inexcusable. Even the typically sure handed Craft struggled protecting the ball, which led to numerous fast break baskets for the Hoosiers. If the Buckeyes can take better care of the basketball, while avoiding foul trouble, they should be more than capable of dispatching Indiana in the Schott on Sunday.

While this season will hopefully end on a better note than the 2009-10 defeat in the Sweet Sixteen, I foresee a similar second half turnaround. Maybe Sullinger can even claim the player of the year award that Turner brought back to Columbus. But for the time being, March can wait. I am more concerned with a little revenge on Sunday. After all, the Hoosiers put somewhat of a damper on New Year’s Eve, so it’s up to Matta and company to see to it that they don’t spoil the long weekend too.

©2012 The Buckeye Blog. All Rights Reserved.