Ohio State has played with a lot more confidence recently.. Early in the season, they lost to Texas Arlington and Louisiana Tech.....Lost by 20 to UCONN.. Then the victory against Kentucky gave them the shot of confidence they needed. Played much better recently.
THINGS YOU WILL NOTICE ABOUT OHIO STATE RIGHT AWAY.
-Ohio State is YOUNG YOUNG YOUNG... EVERYONE that plays except Marc Loving is either a freshman or sophomore. Keita Bates Diop is their best all around player, I feel. Built like a truck but has good range to the 3. Their version of Jordan Murphy. Can bull you inside or shoot over you outside,, Good FT shooter
-About a 1/3 of their team is built like TEs in football... JaSean Tate is 6-4 235...Bates Diop is 6-7 230. JaQuan Lyles is 6-5 225. All athletic.. Very good rebounders... They could get us in foul trouble early if we dont play fundamentally tough.. They will get 2nd and 3rd shot attempts with ease if we dont box out.
-They have shot blockers all over the place.. Trevor Thompson and Daniel Giddens combine to average 10-11 points a game and solid in rebounds and blocked shots... LOTS OF LENGTH ON THE FLOOR. Marc Loving can get lazy at times but he has talent.. Can shoot for a guy 6-7, 6-8...They can put a lot of size on the court at the same time. Bates Diop, Tate, Loving and Lyles have all showed they are athletic enough to block shots against their opponents
-AJ Harris is their version of Kevin Dorsey.. He is tiny but jet quick and can change the pace of the game on a dime. I think his minutes will increase as the season wears on. Very small player but can be tough
The question is whether we see the team that beat Kentucky or lost to Louisiana Tech..Not the best Big Ten team but they may upset some teams this year. If Ohio State has a strong start, we could be in big trouble as we will have problems matching their size and strength. Not so much in terms of height but in girth.This is where we have to start with our quest to improve our fundamentals.. Otherwise, this game could get really ugly, really fast.
THINGS YOU WILL NOTICE ABOUT OHIO STATE RIGHT AWAY.
-Ohio State is YOUNG YOUNG YOUNG... EVERYONE that plays except Marc Loving is either a freshman or sophomore. Keita Bates Diop is their best all around player, I feel. Built like a truck but has good range to the 3. Their version of Jordan Murphy. Can bull you inside or shoot over you outside,, Good FT shooter
-About a 1/3 of their team is built like TEs in football... JaSean Tate is 6-4 235...Bates Diop is 6-7 230. JaQuan Lyles is 6-5 225. All athletic.. Very good rebounders... They could get us in foul trouble early if we dont play fundamentally tough.. They will get 2nd and 3rd shot attempts with ease if we dont box out.
-They have shot blockers all over the place.. Trevor Thompson and Daniel Giddens combine to average 10-11 points a game and solid in rebounds and blocked shots... LOTS OF LENGTH ON THE FLOOR. Marc Loving can get lazy at times but he has talent.. Can shoot for a guy 6-7, 6-8...They can put a lot of size on the court at the same time. Bates Diop, Tate, Loving and Lyles have all showed they are athletic enough to block shots against their opponents
-AJ Harris is their version of Kevin Dorsey.. He is tiny but jet quick and can change the pace of the game on a dime. I think his minutes will increase as the season wears on. Very small player but can be tough
The question is whether we see the team that beat Kentucky or lost to Louisiana Tech..Not the best Big Ten team but they may upset some teams this year. If Ohio State has a strong start, we could be in big trouble as we will have problems matching their size and strength. Not so much in terms of height but in girth.This is where we have to start with our quest to improve our fundamentals.. Otherwise, this game could get really ugly, really fast.
