The-Ozone, Ohio State Football, Wrestling, Softball, Basketball, Hockey, Baseball and More

Men's Basketball
Hoops Practice Report
By Brandon Castel

The Buckeyes will hit the hardwood Wednesday night (8 p.m. ET, BigTenNetwork.com) for an exhibition game against Walsh University as they prepare to tip off the sixth season under Head Coach Thad Matta, but they will do so without starting center Dallas Lauderdale.

The 6-foot-8 junior out of Solon broke a bone (fourth metacarpal) on the back of his right hand and was scheduled to miss 4-6 weeks following surgery back on Oct. 14th. Although Wednesday’s game will officially be the four-week mark since the surgery, Matta said Monday there was no chance Lauderdale would play in the team’s exhibition game.

“He goes to the doctor tomorrow morning, they’ll take another X-ray. We’re kind of hoping that we can devise something that if we get it done, he’ll be able to practice tomorrow.”

Meanwhile, Lauderdale was in shorts doing all of his work on the side Monday as Ohio State held an open practice for the media. He still had a wrap and tape on his right hand/wrist, but seemed able to dribble with it just fine.

He didn’t take part in the team portion of practice, but did swish a left-handed free throw, which if you've ever seen Dallas shoot right-handed you know is a miracle. Afterwards, Evan Turner said, "Wow, the next Greg Oden."

-- Backup center Zisis Sarikopoulos – a transfer from the University of Alabama Birmingham who sat out last season – was also held out of practice Monday after banging knees with another player in the last practice.

“Zisis tweaked his knee so we held him out. He’ll go tomorrow,” Matta said.

-- With Lauderdale and Big Z (as he is known by his teammates) out of the lineup, 6-9 senior Kyle Madsen – a product of Dublin Coffman – worked at center with the first group. Madsen averaged just over one point and one rebound per game last season in 7.7 minutes, but Matta said the former Vanderbilt will likely get the start against Walsh.

-- The rotations today at practice were Madsen, David Lighty, Jon Diebler, William Buford and Turner (at the point) as the first group. Nikola Kecman, Walter Offutt, Danny Peters, Jeremie Simmons and P.J. Hill were the second group. Mark Titus missed practice to attend class.

-- Matta said that his primary ball-handlers this season will be Turner and P.J. Hill. If you haven't been following the Buckeyes since their loss to Siena, Turner is making the move to point this year as the Bucks try to get their five best players on the court. That will allow them to have Turner, Diebler, Lighty and Buford on the court at the same time. Hill will be the backup point guard with Jeremie Simmons moving off the ball.

-- Simmons played almost exclusively off the ball at Mott Community College before he got to Ohio State and Matta said that since making the move away from point guard, he is playing the best basketball he has played since getting Columbus. Matta expects him to provide points off the bench, but also praised Simmons defensive improvements.

“Jeremie is much more active defensively. He has gained more toughness and strength and I think he’s playing his best basketball since he’s been here.

-- Speaking of defense, the Buckeyes ran almost exclusively man-to-man today, which was interesting to watch after seeing them play zone the last two years. Lighty is going to be on the other team's best defender and Turner will cover the point, although I would have to think Hill will be asked to do a lot defensively when they play fast point guards like Michigan State’s Kalin Lucas.

-- Matta said he also expects large jumps from sophomores William Buford and Walter Offutt this season much in the same way Turner and Diebler progressed in their second seasons at Ohio State. Buford scored over 11 points per game last tear and became an integral part of the offense when Lighty was out last season, but Matta thinks he can take things to another level this year, especially on defense.

“His body is completely different than it was last year and we’re hoping he can make great gains,” he said of Buford.

-- It will be very interesting to see how the scoring dynamic plays out this year with Lighty back and Turner having the ball in his hands more. Matta called it a veteran offense, but there is only one basketball and a lot of guys who like to shoot it. Having Lighty back gives them another player who can penetrate and kick to open shooters like Diebler and Buford, but they would like to see him keep on some of those drives as well.

“We’ve been working a lot with him getting inside the defense and finishing better on his drives,” Matta said.

-- For those of you interested in getting the first look at this team, you can check them out in person at Value City Arena this Wednesday. If you can’t get down to campus, you can check it out online at BigTenNetwork.com but be prepared to pay $3 for the live webcast.

Help us bring you more Buckeye coverage. Donate to the-Ozone.

Click here to email this the-Ozone feature to a friend...or even a foe.

Return to the-Ozone Columns and Features

Return to the-OZone Front Page