Men's Basketball
Buckeyes Resume Action Against Eastern Kentucky on Eve of The Game
By John Porentas

Think of it as a warmup for the next day.

The Ohio State (3-0) men's basketball team will be in action tonight when they take on Eastern Kentucky (2-0) at Value City Arena at 7:00 PM. The game will be televised on ESPN+.

The Buckeyes opened their regular-season last weekend with three wins in three days to earn the championship in the BCA classic held in Columbus. OSU earned a win over VMI on Friday, Xavier (Chicago) on Saturday and Kent State on Sunday to capture the title. Matta says he saw flashes last weekend of what he wants to see over the season.

Thad Matta
Photo by Jim Davidson

"I saw some good out of everybody through the course of the weekend. Now we have to get that good more often and more together," Matta said.

Though Matta is happy with the flashes he saw, he says his team still has work to do, particularly in the areas of turnovers and rebounding. The rebounding issue should be solved when freshman center Greg Oden returns to the lineup. The turnovers, and other problems, are something Matta is hoping to improve upon before that. Matta listed his wish-list for improvements.

"Take care of the basketball and rebound the basketball and defended on the ball, off the ball, two passes removed," he said. "How we execute offensively. There are so many things we have to pull together to play consistent basketball."

The turnovers are priority one at the moment.

Ron Lewis
Photo by Jim Davidson

"We're averaging 20 turnovers a game, and that's not where we need to be," said senior Ron Lewis.

"I think last year we averaged 12. We need to get that down a lot, and that comes with mental toughness and mental focus. We've been working on the little things, like everyone's footwork so we don't have those little travels and just taking care of the ball," Lewis said.

Lewis said that the youth of the Buckeyes whose first-year players outnumber the returners is contributing to the early-season turnover problems.

"They want to make plays, they want to do good, do great things, and with that you might go too far in trying to do that. I think it's all in good intentions that they want to make plays. It's something we can correct and I think we will," Lewis said.

David Lighty

One of the early bright spots for OSU this season has been the defensive play of freshman David Lighty. Lighty is not only an effective defender, but a versatile one. Matta feels that Lighty can guard any player at any position on the floor with the exception of center.

"When we recruited him I said he could guard four positions at the college level and so far I think he's shown that he can do it," said Matta.

"His junior year (in high school) I saw his home opener and he was guarding guys and I said 'We've got to have this kid because he can move his feet, he's strong, he's tough, he knows where to be. That was the number one thing that impressed me about him."

Lewis is very much impressed with what he has seen out of Lighty at this early stage of his career.

"It's the way he plays, with a lot of intensity. That's just how he is." said Lewis .

"I couldn't have done it as a freshman. He's one of the premiere players that can come in here and do that. He fills an important role on our team."

The Buckeyes are still eagerly awaiting the return to action of the 7-1 Oden who is recovering from a wrist injury. Oden is scheduled to take another step forward in his rehab process this week. Up until now Oden's injured right wrist has been immobilized following surgery but that is scheduled to change this week.

"Today is four weeks and I think we begin the movement. I haven't talked to the trainers yet today," said Matta.

The game against Eastern is already sold out, in part because many Buckeye fans will already be in town for the Michigan football game, and also in part because this will be the first game at which the OSU students will be in attendance. Ohio State sold a record 5,000 student season tickets this year and the student sections have been moved some to put students near the floor under each basket. Freshman point guard Mike Conley is looking forward to playing in front of the sellout house.

"I've never had a problem playing in front of a big crowd," said Conley.

Mike Conley
Photo by Jim Davidson

"The crowds have been pretty nice here the first three games. I'm looking forward to it being filled. I like playing in front of big crowds. A lot of adrenaline flows through you and makes you play that much harder knowing that you have a bunch of people watching you."

Conley, who is from Indiana, is experiencing his first Michigan week this week. The Buckeye starter is taken aback by what he is seeing of the OSU hysteria surrounding the football game.

"I can't even describe what it's like to see a whole city go crazy over a football game and a rivalry like this," said a grinning Conley.

"It seems a little over the top. I never though people could react this way to a sporting event. It's a lot of chaos really. I thought it was good to see and I.U (Indiana) vs. Purdue game, that that was crazy, but this is really blowing that out of the gym," Conley said.

Matta, who is earning the reputation of being a master recruiter after signing consecutive outstanding recruiting classes at Ohio State, is taking full advantage of the hoopla over the Michigan game.

"We do have kids coming in. I know two years ago, my first rivalry game between the two teams, I've never felt anything like that. I hope on Friday night the fans use it as sort of a tuneup to get ready for the game on Saturday," said Matta.

"This is maybe one of the top-five college football games ever. For kids to see that, heck with them, so I can see it, (is impressive). I don't know the exact number right now. I would say 10 or 12 (recruits will be in), maybe more. I would venture to say 10 or more," Matta said.

Matta, who has an allotment of tickets for the Michigan game, said he has not allowed himself to be deluged with ticket requests, but has supplied tickets for the football game for a couple of special members of the OSU basketball family.

"They may have tried, I don't deal with it," said Matta when asked if he had been deluged with requests. "I know I'm honored to have a few guests that their jerseys are hanging from the rafters, so I'm happy to do that with Mr. Lucas and Jimmy Jackson. Those guys will be in the house," Matta said.

Return to the-Ozone Columns and Features

Return to the-OZone Front Page