Ohio State Team Report

GETTING INSIDE

   Here’s a message to all you CEOs out there: If you need a consultant to come in and think “outside the box,” then Ohio State coach Thad Matta could be your guy.

During the Buckeyes’ 22-win season that ended with an exhausting NCAA first-round loss to Siena in double overtime, Ohio State never quite found a suitable point guard. Jeremie Simmons started most of the way, then P.J. Hill took over for the final 8 games. Here’s where Matta’s creative thought process comes into play.

Ohio State brings back all five of its starters from last year. It also must make room for junior David Lighty, who started the first 7 games before breaking his foot and sitting out the rest of the season. Matta also didn’t bring in any recruits this season. So how to solve this numbers problem? Move first-team all-Big Ten forward Evan Turner to point guard.

Turner made his official debut at the point when the Buckeyes traveled to Canada in late August, though he served as a playmaker on occasion last season. He delivered a total of 13 assists versus 5 turnovers as Ohio State swept three games from Canadian universities. Lighty and junior shooter Jon Diebler joined Turner in the backcourt while sophomore William Buford and junior Dallas Lauderdale. That figures to be the lineup when the season starts in earnest, though Lauderdale will be a month behind after fracturing the ring finger on his right hand during a workout on Oct. 12.

During Lauderdale’s rehab, 7-foot UAB transfer Zizis Sarikopoulos and senior Kyle Madsen will share the role. Unless, of course, Matta figures out another plan. How about Turner at center?

But seriously, there’s only one way the Buckeyes aren’t headed toward the NCAA Tournament with a good chance to do some damage: If Matta decides to sit Turner on the bench.

NOTES, QUOTES

  —G Evan Turner, who led the Big Ten in scoring (17.3 ppg), ranked No. 3 in rebounding (7.1 rpg) and No. 8 in assists (4.0 apg), figures to reap a lot of hardware after spurning a chance to be a first-round draft pick. Turner was named to Blue Ribbon Yearbook’s first-team all-America squad and made the John Wooden Award’s preseason Top 50 list.

• F David Lighty averaged 9.7 points and 5.7 rebounds in 7 games before breaking his foot last year and sitting out the rest of the season. The 6-foot-5, 220-pound redshirt junior, who’s the last link to the 2006-07 NCAA finalists, also is regarded as the Bucks’ finest and most versatile defender.

• Ohio State and Purdue are the only Big Ten teams to welcome back all five of their starters. Not only that, but the Buckeyes could bring back all five starters next year, too, if the early-entry NBA bug doesn’t bite Evan Turner or William Buford.

  LAST YEAR: 22-11 overall, 10-8 in the Big Ten; lost in first round of the NCAA Tournament.

   HEAD COACH: Thad Matta (career 229-77); 6th year at Ohio State (125-46).

   QUOTE TO NOTE: “He has good skill level and he’s the greatest kid I’ve ever coached. He does what he’s suppposed to do.”—Ohio State coach Thad Matta telling Lindy’s magazine about 7-foot UAB transfer Zizis Sarikopoulos. The Athens, Greece native has three years of eligibility remaining.

STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL

   SCOUTING THE NEWCOMERS: With an unholy six-man recruiting class preparing to sign letters of intent in early November—a class regarded as the nation’s No. 1 group at this juncture—Thad Matta sat out the recruiting wars this year. The only “new” Buckeye is 7-foot sophomore Zizis Sarikopoulos, who sat out last season after transferring from UAB. He has played extensively for Greece’s youth national teams and should share time with Dallas Lauderdale.

   KEY EARLY-SEASON GAMES: The Buckeyes waste no time finding out where they stand. As part of the Coaches vs. Cancer tournament, Ohio State faces North Carolina at Madison Square Garden on Nov. 19. Depending on how they fare in that semifinal, the Bucks face either Syracuse or California the next night. Florida State comes to Value City Arena on Dec. 2 for the ACC-Big Ten Challenge, then there’s a trip to Thad Matta’s alma mater (Butler) on Dec. 12.

   PROGRAM DIRECTION: Ohio State brings back everyone except B.J. Mullens from last year’s 22-win team that went to the NCAAs. They’re a national Top 25 pick this year, so that means expectations have been raised. And when you throw in the monstrous Class of 20100 that will descend on Columbus next fall, Ohio State looks to be a national force for years to come.

   PROBABLE STARTING LINEUP: PG Evan Turner, SG Jon Diebler, SF David Lighty, SF William Buford, C Dallas Lauderdale.

   ROSTER REPORT:

• C Dallas Lauderdale, who started 31 of Ohio State’s 33 games last year and led the squad with 67 blocks, won’t return until mid-November after undergoing surgery to fix his fractured ring finger on Oct. 14.

• C Zizis Sarikopoulos played little during the Buckeyes’ trip to Canada in late August due to a bothersome knee. Thad Matta is confident the injury won’t be a hindrance when the season arrives.

• When assistant coach Archie Miller left to join his older brother, Sean, at Arizona, Thad Matta plucked Jeff Boals from the University of Akron. Boals was credited by Akron head coach Keith Dambrot for forging the relationship that brought Top 100 recruit Zeke Marshall to the Zips.