COLUMBUS — A year ago, this may have been a loss.
The Buckeyes opened up a pretty nice lead in the second half of their 82-64 win over Texas Southern, only to see that lead wilt down to just two points.
In the past, there may have been no re-blooming.
Ohio State responded to this test, however, and went on a 13-0 run when their lead had almost entirely evaporated. It was the kind of response that hasn’t been seen much of at the Schott over the last few years.
Even though the talent level still has to get a bit better, the effort level is already making its mark.
So what all did we learn from tonight’s game?
1. Chris Holtmann doesn’t play around.
Did you know that a player can be suspended for poor time management? Well you do now, because that’s what cost freshman center Kaleb Wesson this game. He instead watched the game from the bench. Wesson is not the first Buckeye to be suspended under Holtmann — that honor goes to former player Derek Funderburk. What the suspension does is show each and every player that they will be held accountable for their actions — big or small. In fact, it shows the players that there are no small actions when there are team goals to attain.
2. Musa Jallow can pass the ball.
The Buckeyes have faced some zone defense in practice, but they didn’t really prepare or expect to see it for 40 minutes against TSU like they did. In the first half of this game, however, the ball was moving from spot to spot without hesitation. Freshman Musa Jallow was a large part of that. He advances the ball in the right ways and doesn’t get trapped by hesitation. He knows where the ball needs to go and he gets it there. And he did this as a 17-year old who should still be in high school having not practiced that much against the zone in practice and not expecting to see any of it in this game. He performed like a vet against the zone — four offensive rebounds, 3-of-6 shooting from three, and zero turnovers. He was outstanding in the big and little things tonight. This was the first big chance for Buckeye fans to see this team this season, and I guarantee each of them left with glowing thoughts about Musa Jallow. It is not a guarantee that he’ll be in the starting lineup each night, however, as Holtmann plans to mix and match this season.
3. The Buckeyes missed Kaleb Wesson.
Chris Holtmann said after the game that the team definitely missed having Kaleb Wesson on the court. He would have been able to help them out against the zone, and his post play would have made things more difficult for a Texas Southern defense that gained more effectiveness in the second half. Micah Potter responded almost flawlessly, but when things get tight like they did in this one, you need your best players available, and Wesson wasn’t. Without him, Holtmann had to manufacture some odd-looking lineups, putting KBD and Kyle Young in the frontcourt with three guards in the backcourt, for instance.
4. This is not your uncle Thad’s Buckeye basketball.
This is not last year’s team, even if it sometimes still looks like it for stretches. The first half of this game was a feature in crisp passing around and through a zone defense. The second half was admittedly a struggle, but you don’t have to watch this team very long to see the stark differences between now and then. The ball is constantly moving. Like hot potato constantly, and that usually leads to open shots. Of course, it would help if the Buckeyes would hit some of those shots, but that’s probably not going to happen this year.
5. This team responded to adversity.
There were some bad losses last year for the Buckeyes, and in every single one of those losses they faced adversity. The responses in each of those losses was not good enough. On Thursday, the Buckeyes cruised to a double-digit lead at the half. Texas Southern cut that lead to just two points in the second half — and had an open three-point attempt that could have given them the lead. That shot didn’t drop, however, and over the next few minutes the Buckeyes went on a run that gave them an 18-point lead. No, the opponent was not a world beater — or even a small township beater, but it was still good to see a positive response from a team that didn’t have too many of them a year ago.
[Musa Jallow photo courtesy ohiostatebuckeyes.com]
This is the best looking Buckeye team since Matta’s Mike Conley days. For the last dew years the Buckeye Basketball program has been unwatchable because of the mess Matta allowed it to fall into.
New blood, new life and things are already looking up.
Pace yourself though. There are some rough days ahead with the back court this year imo.
You can also tell this isn’t a Thad team because, through three games, they are not allergic to offensive rebounding.
Please do not disparage Thad Matta in any way as I took the “Uncle Thad” comment. True, he was in charge of recruiting those players in the last few years, but there were many more earlier years where the team moved the ball just as we saw the glimmer of good players last night. His last two teams were guys who certainly did not jell, buy in or however to describe it, but it is in the past and I look forward to more Butler Ball.