Men's Basketball
Siena Scouting Report
By John Porentas
Siena College Athletic Logo When you go to the Siena College web site you see their logo, a dog in full gallop. Then you find out their nickname is the Saints.
At first that seems a little schizophrenic. You want to ask them, 'Are you a bunch of speedy dogs, or are you a bunch of holy men?'
It turns out that at least as far as basketball goes they have embraced both their logo and their nickname. At Siena, cleanliness is not next to Godliness, the ability to run is.
"They're fast, very fast, maybe one of the fastest we've seen this year," said OSU center Dallas Lauderdale after watching tape on the Saints.
The Saints have averaged 78 points per game this season, and they haven't done it with height. They have nine players who see significant minutes, the biggest of which is 6-9 sophomore forward Ryan Rossiter. After that it's 6-6 and down.
What the Saints do well is get out and run, and the man who makes that possible is 6-0 junior point guard Ronald Moore who amassed an amazing 208 assists this season while turning the ball over just 74 times despite the fact that the Saints play most games at a near frenetic pace.
"They like to run and their point guard is really good," said OSU freshman center P. J. Mullens.
"Moore their point guard is very quick with the ball and makes great decisions," added sophomore center Dallas Lauderdale. "He takes care of the ball."
It didn't take the Buckeyes long to figure out that Moore is special. For starters, they began studying tape on Siena before they even arrived back in Columbus from their Big Ten Tournament championship game in Indianapolis. The Buckeye coaching staff had taped games of Siena during the season, and the team watched them coming back from Indy. How did they know that Siena would be their opponent and to bring their games? They didn't.
"We tape every game we can off television all season," explained OSU Head Coach Thad Matta. "When we left for Indianapolis we took CDs of all the games we had with teams we thought might be in the tournament field. We had a big box of them. When we found out it was Siena, we watched their games. We had four or five of them."
After watching their games it was pretty clear to the Buckeyes that the Saints like to run and gun, and that Moore was the guy who makes them go.
"Moore's probably one of the best point guards we're going to face since I've been here," said OSU sophomore forward Evan Turner.
"They can score and they're very confident. They're always in the attack mode.
"We saw one clip where their point guard Moore got the ball off the rim and in four dribbles scored. That's how they live. They're in attack mode."
Moore is the trigger man, but he can also score. He averages 8.8 points per game for the Saints. He can shoot the three, but that is not the strength of his game (29 of 81, almost 36 percent from three). His forte is the open court. If the Buckeyes are going to be successful, they are going to have to be able to slow down the Saints.
"We practiced yesterday (Wednesday) pretty hard," said Mullens.
"We went about two hours. We worked on transition, not taking any breaks on practice.
"That's what Siena is going to do."
How OSU copes with Siena's running game will go a long way in determining the outcome. OSU point guard P. J. Hill is confident the Buckeyes can match up despite having played in a conference that has an overall style of play that is very different.
"We can play fast, can definitely get up and down," said Hill.
"People see us as big and slow because we play in the Big Ten.
"Everybody models their game on low possessions and real physical play, pound the ball inside, shoot with a low shot clock, but we can get up and down."
Hill said that OSU has it's own advantages too, like the ability to run coupled with size. The Buckeyes will be longer than Siena at almost every position on the floor. Hill says that will help his team, particularly in the post.
"Our length is going to bother them the most," said Hill.
"We can go inside, make their big guys get in foul trouble, make their big guys have to play. That will slow down their running," said Hill.
"You can only run as fast as your big men. If your big men can't run you can't be a fast pace team. "
Hill also likes the ability of OSU's post players to get out and play in the open court.
"They can run. Dallas and B. J. are real athletic," said Hill.
"B. J. can get on the open floor and he excels. He's really coordinated catching the ball, you can pass to him on the run, he doesn't have to be stationary."
Lauderdale says OSU's ability to either run or play in the half court should be an advantage.
"We can play both ways," he said.
"We can grind it out and play physical or we can run. If they want to run we can run with them."
That's probably true, but after a season of Big Ten basketball, you get the sense that the Buckeyes are looking forward to a game that will be a bit more wide open.
"That definitely fits in my game. I excel in transition the ball, a fast paced game," said Hill.
"I'm really happy because the up and down pace really suits my game. I can become a true roadrunner. You'll see the Energizer Bunny come fully out of me, being able to push the ball and then run back," Hill said.
"That's how we want to play," added sophomore forward Evan Turner.
"Coach Matta always said he wants to average 85 points per game. In the Big Ten it's tough to do that. It's a more defense oriented kind of conference, but our team can be an up and down team. "
The Other Half of the Game
The Saints want to get out and run offense, but defensively they play very much like the Buckeyes. They are primarily a zone team switching up between a 3-2 and 2-3 zone and at times employing a 1-2-2 half court press. According to OSU Head Coach Thad Matta, the Buckeyes have seen that setup a lot this year.
"Every day at practice," Matta said. "Defensively they play a lot like us."
The Siena zones will make make OSU's shooters and slashers the key men on the offensive end of the court. Evan Turner, William Buford and P. J. Hill will have to be able to get into the gaps of the zone. Jon Diebler and Buford should also find some open threes. In the open court, it could be a very good day for B. .J. Mullens if he can get out and run.
Like the Buckeyes, the Saints are not a particularly good rebounding team. With a height advantage in the matchup, the Buckeyes should actually have a rebounding advantage.
Siena Scouting Report:
Starters:
6-3 Sr. guard Kenny Hasbrouck...36.3 percent from three )... leading scorer at 14.8 ppg,...team high 66 steals...97 assists...team high 146 three point attempts...30.4 minutes per game.
6-6 Jr. G/F Edwin Ubiles 14.6 ppg...33 blocked shots...33.1 minutes per game.
6-5 Jr. Forward Alex Franklin 13.6 ppg...242 rebounds...57.1 percent from field...31.6 minutes per game.
6-9 So. Forward Ryan Rossiter...10.0 ppg...team high 248 rebounds...63 percent from field...team high 61 blocked shots...28.9 minutes per game.
6-0 Jr. guard Ronald Moore ... 8.8 ppg...208 assists...just 74 turnovers...32.2 minutes per game.
Off the Bench:
6-3 So. guard Clarence Jackson...8.3 ppg, 132 three point attempts is second on the team...14.9 minutes per game.
6-2 Fr. guard Kyle Downey ..3.7 ppg...9.6 minutes per game.
6-6 Sr. Forward Josh Duell...2.3 ppg...11.7 minutes per game.
6-5 Freshman forward Owen Wignot...2.3 ppg, 10.5 minutes per game.
Key Team Stats
* Overall record 26-7
* Field Goal Percentage 47.3
* 504 assists, 431 turnovers
* 292 steals
* 77.7 ppg, opponents 70.0 ppg
* 17-0 at home, 9-4 on the road
Out of conference Losses
Tennessee 78-64
Pitt 79-66
Kansas 91-84
Wichita State 72-70
Oklahoma State 77-68
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