Can the Ohio St. Buckeyes Compete for a National Championship this Season?

Posted by CoHoops Samuel Sica

The Ohio State Buckeyes have not won a championship since 1960 and I believe that this could be the year that Ohio State makes a serious threat in breaking that streak. 

Ohio State has four out of their five starters returning from last season with Evan Turner leaving for the NBA.

Turner was the key player for the Buckeyes last season and his absence will be felt immensely because no one player can fill the shoes of Turner but as a whole, Ohio State can fill that void and make believers out of everyone by doing what they accomplished in their season opener against North Carolina A&T. 

I understand that Ohio State will have to play against teams that are tougher than North Carolina A&T but with the core players that they have I believe they will be a team to watch to compete for the championship this season.

The starters that Ohio State has returning from last season include William Buford, David Lighty, Jon Diebler, and Dallas Lauderdale.

The Buckeyes also have added some talented players to go along with their core four starters with the additions of Deshaun Thomas, Jared Sullinger, and Aaron Craft. 

The freshmen have already turned heads as Sullinger had an impressive double-double in his Buckeye debut by scoring 19 points to go along with 14 rebounds.

 Thomas led the team in scoring with 24 points off the bench in his debut. Aaron Craft also made his presence known by scoring 8 points to go along with 9 assists in his debut.

The Buckeyes will face a big challenge in their second game of the season when they head down south to the Sunshine State to face the Florida Gators.

Florida is ranked number eleven in the polls and is the only ranked team that the Buckeyes will face until they play Illinois in late January.

In my opinion, Ohio State has a favorable out-of-conference schedule but they will face some tough competition once they start Big Ten play at the end of December.

Ohio State is one out of the five teams that are currently ranked in the top 25 teams in the nation with the other four being Michigan State (2), Purdue (8), Illinois (16), and Wisconsin (24).

I believe the Buckeyes will win the Big Ten championship as well as make it into the Championship game in the NCAA tournament because of the two big men that play underneath the basket in Lauderdale and Sullinger. 

Both players are taller than 6-8” and the rest of the team is no slouch either as all player are at least 6 feet tall. Ohio State has an extreme height advantage in my opinion, and that will create favorable matchups for the Buckeyes once they start their in-conference schedule.

Ohio State will also be a threat to win it all this season because of the sheer experience factor since the Buckeyes have four of their five starters returning from last season.

The Buckeyes are a well coached team and under the tutelage of Thad Matta, the Ohio State freshmen will be ready to play game in and game out. Ohio State will be ready to play once the tournament begins in March and do not be surprised if the Buckeyes are the champions when it is all said and done.

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Life After Evan Turner: Can The Buckeyes Stay in the Spotlight?

Posted by CoHoops DeAnte Mitchell

The Ohio State Buckeyes had one of the most sensational seasons in '09-10. Evan Turner, the reigning Naismith Player of the Year had the Buckeyes flying higher than expectations. With Turner, the Buckeyes were definitely one of the best teams in the Big Ten.

However, Turner was drafted No. 2 overall in the NBA Draft this past summer. Every time a team losses a significant player, there's always the question as to how you replace a NBA lottery pick. In fact, a number two overall draft pick.

Ohio State's Head Coach Thad Matta decided to go out and recruit the best high school talent to commend Turner's efforts.

Coach Matta brought in McDonalds All American's Jared Sullinger, and Deshaun Thomas. Not to mention, highly-touted recruits Lenzelle Smith Jr, Jordan Sibert, Aaron Craft, and J.D. Witherspoon.

Ohio State's recruiting class certainly looks better than the Kentucky Wildcats due to the fact that Enes Kanter is still fighting for eligibility.

Life after Turner isn't going to be as hard as it seems. Coach Matta has a lot of talent instilled in his roster. Ohio State is a consensus top-10 team in the polls. The Buckeyes returned seven players, and most importantly William Buford, Jon Diebler, Dallas Lauderdale, and David Lighty.

For life after Turner to run smoothly, Buford will have to take the role of leader. Last season, Buford was on the back-end of most of Turner's assist.

He is a dynamic scorer, and could blossom without the limelight on Turner. Buford averaged 14.4 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 3.1 assist with Turner.

Buford will be the reason the Buckeyes will be able to get over Turner's production. He is the closest clone to Turner as you can tell by his stats. Not to mention, Coach Matta has brought in a great deal of talent to commend Buford.

Nonetheless, Buford and the Buckeyes will need a lot of production from freshman Sullinger. Sullinger was considered as one of the best centers in all of high school basketball. His physical skill set, and mentality could pose as a key threat to other College Basketball teams.

Coach Matta has a roster that is a consensus Final Four selection. The Buckeyes now have talent and depth. Ohio State will no longer require one player to do it all.

Turner was a magnificent player for the Buckeyes. But, they will not miss him too much because of the work put in this summer by the Ohio State coaching staff.

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