OSU Athletics
07-08 Sports Year in Review - Measuring Up to Expectations
By John PorentasWe've officially arrived at the annual "dead spot" on the sports calendar. Baseball and softball are over and the next football practice is a long way off.
Looking back on the 2007-2008 sports year its clear that some OSU programs met expectations, others didn't. Now that the sports calendar on the sports we cover is closed, we're going to look back and see which programs fell in which category and then take a look at the expectation levels for those programs in the 2008-09 calendar year. We'll limit our evaluation to the programs we cover which includes football, men's and women's basketball, men's hockey, wrestling, softball and baseball.
Programs that exceeded expectations.
Football - Looking Back: It was supposed to be a rebuilding year at Ohio State but the Buckeyes fooled us all with a great season that ended with them in the national championship game for the second-straight year. The OSU offense broke in a new quarterback and new receivers while the defense replaced the entire interior defensive line. All they did in that process was rise to the top of the polls before taking one regular-season loss against Illinois, beat Michigan, and appear in the national championship game.
Anybody who is disappointed with that season needs to inspect their standards. It was a remarkable job by a young team even if you are disappointed with the outcome of the national championship game. The OSU coaching staff, the senior leadership on the team and the dedication of the players on the field took that team to heights nobody could have reasonably expected before the season began.
Looking Forward: The football team blew away expectations last season for two reasons. First, they had a good season. Second, expectations were not all that high. In 2008 however, expectations will be through the roof.
The Buckeyes return almost everybody in 2008, including Boeckman at quarterback and Beanie Wells at tailback. Fair or not, expectations are nothing short of a return to the national championship game. OSU's season could officially become a disappointment with a loss to Southern Cal or any other upset along the way. Even a loss in the national championship game would put a damper on the upcoming season. A two-loss season matching the 2007 record would be a disaster. Its amazing how expectations can change perspective on achievement. Two losses in 2007 was great. Two losses in 2008 would be a train wreck.
Wrestling - Looking Back: Everybody thought the wrestling team would be better this year, but second in the nation was not in the conversation. When the dust settled on the NCAA tournament however, OSU was in fact second in the nation with two national champions on the roster. Additionally the Buckeyes defeated arch rival Michigan for the first time since 1994. It was a banner year for the Buckeyes under second-year head coach Tom Ryan.
Looking Forward: Even bigger and better things will be expected of the Buckeyes in 2008-09. Both national champions return as well as the core of the rest of the team. Not only is there returning talent, but quality athletes are virtually rushing to wrestle for Tom Ryan and the Buckeyes.
At least two wrestlers from Division I programs are expected to transfer to OSU, one of whom will probably be in the starting lineup replacing a returning starter from last year's squad. Additionally, Ryan and his staff have become a recruiting machine. The-Ozone wrestling beat writer Kevin Schlosser will have a more detailed report, but the Buckeyes recently landed a verbal commitment from a sophomore wrestler that is described as the "Terrell Pryor" of this year's wrestling recruiting class.
Ryan and the Buckeyes are poised to challenge perennial power and defending national champion Iowa for supremacy of the Big Ten, arguably the best wrestling conference in America. They may or may not get it done next year, but they will definitely be closer to the Hawkeyes next year than they were this. Those are now the expectations.
Programs that did not meet expectations.
Men's basketball - Looking Back: The Buckeyes got clobbered by early outs last spring when Greg Oden, Mike Conley and Daequan Cook all opted for the NBA. Head Coach Thad Matta and his staff fully expected to lose Oden and Cook, but the departure of Conley was not expected and left a huge void on the squad. Matta ended up shuffling Jamar Butler back to the point, but that move had ripple effects on the squad that impacted it all season.
Butler at the point rather than at the two guard left OSU looking for someone to man that spot. Incoming freshman Jon Diebler got the first crack at it but did not produce the kind of shooting that was expected. That left the Buckeyes with a big hole in the lineup. Eventually Diebler lost the starting spot to fellow freshman Evan Turner. Turner scored more than Diebler but had real problems with turnovers. He also at times had his share of defensive lapses.
It was a similar story along the baseline. Kosta Koufos played well at the end of the season, probably better than you can reasonably expect a freshman to play, but had his share of growing pains early. The Buckeyes were a weak rebounding team that was made weaker rebounding team when they ended playing a zone defense most of the season. Matta pretty much scrapped the man to man when Texas A&M ripped the OSU man to man defense to shreds in the preseason NIT.
The Buckeyes ended the season on a high note with the NIT postseason championship. That was a fun run that allowed some players to develop. OSU's overall record of 24-13 was good, but a fifth-place finish in the Big Ten and being left out of the NCAA tournament were disappointing. Two-consecutive Big Ten championships and a final four run by Matta and company in the previous two seasons raised the expectation level to above the NIT and an also-ran in the Big Ten conference race.
Looking Forward: The men's basketball team had its share of personnel woes that led to a somewhat disappointing season. It also seemed like there were some chemistry problems as well. The team did not seem to be together until late in the season when they made the NIT run. At season's end, Koufos opted out for the NBA draft and freshman forward Eric Wallace elected to transfer. Obviously, Wallace was not happy and Koufos was in no hurry to stick around. If 2008-09 is going to be better, team chemistry will have to be better as well.
OSU had problems at the point guard when Mike Conley left. That specific problem will continue next year. Matta expected Conley to be around for three years, and that includes next season. With Butler gone, the Buckeyes will really be in a bind at point guard, and that could be trouble. The good news is that there are a number of candidates to fill the role. P. J. Hill will be back as the lone point guard with any Division I experience, but three newcomers will offer competition. Like Hill, true freshman Anthony "Noopy" Crater is a true point guard. Junior college transfer Jeremie Simmons and true freshman Walter Offut are both backcourt players who have the potential to help at the point.
The baseline will be interesting. Koufos is gone but another seven-footer comes aboard in the person of B. J. Mullens. Unlike Koufos, Mullens is a true post player. The late-season development of Dallas Lauderdale last season will help offset the loss of Othello Hunter to graduation. Lauderdale isn't always pretty, but he is a banger who will score down low and always gives great effort.
Like this season and the previous season, next year's men's team will depend on newcomers. How well William Bufford plays as a big guard/small forward will go a long way toward determining how good the team will be, as will the development of Mullens and junior college transfer 6-9 forward Nikola Kacman. If Thad Matta and company want to be back in the hunt for a Big Ten championship and trip to the NCAA tournament, the freshmen will have to contribute more than they did last season, and team chemistry will have to be better.
Matta was able to get to the final four with freshmen two seasons ago. Last season things did not work out as well with his freshman class. Expectations, however, are for a basketball team that can compete for a league championship and make an NCAA run. We'll see if Matta and company can get that done with this new crop of freshmen.
Baseball - Looking Back: The Buckeyes had some definite weaknesses this year, and those weaknesses cost them over and over again as the season wore on. OSU finished the season at 15-15 in Big Ten play over 10 games back of first-place Michigan. Their overall record of 30-24 was tepid at best.
Buckeye baseball has been marked by championships over the last 10 season and those are the expectations at OSU. This past season was not one of excellence, but rather one of results that smacked of average play by average players. OSU barely qualified for the Big Ten tournament and was two-and-done in that tournament, the first team to be eliminated.
The Buckeyes were young in 2008, but OSU Head Coach Bob Todd has won with young teams in the past. What this team really lacked was three things: power at the plate, a closing pitcher, and depth at catcher.
The Buckeyes hit for average this year, batting .318 at a team, third-best in the Big Ten. Their homerun total, however, was an abysmal 19. Conference champion Michigan hit for a similar .315 average, but the Wolverine hit totals included 72 homeruns, 53 more than the Buckeyes. OSU's closing pitching was unstable all season, though Eric Best did have some credible performances in that role. Best, however, is not a closer by trade. He is better suited for the role of a starter or setup man. OSU simply did not have a closer that they could count on and lost games because of it.
Freshman catcher Dan Burkhart caught almost every inning this year, and that took its toll on Burkhart. Burkhart hit .308, but the opposition stole 51 bases in 69 attempts. By season's send, Burkhart was worn down.
Looking Forward: Bob Todd played a lot of young players in 2008 and that should pay dividends in 2009. Those players will be more confident and more consistent. Todd will return his entire infield and that should bode well for the Buckeye defense. OSU will once again have plenty of players who can get on base, but it isn't likely that anyone will develop as a true homerun threat. Of the returners, junior first baseman Justin Miller had a team-high four round trippers to go with his team-high .395 batting average.
The Buckeyes used a number of freshman pitchers this spring including Alex Wimmers and Andrew Armstrong (how's that for a name for a pitcher). Both showed signs of promise and could help next season. If OSU is going to challenge for any kind of championship next spring however, it isn't likely to be the players currently on the roster who will put them over the top. OSU's pitching need is a for a closer. Best, Wimmers and Armstrong are probably better suited for a starting role or middle relief. In the final analysis, it's going to come down to the ability of Bob Todd and his staff to recruit a closer, catching help for Burkhart, and some power hitters to bolster the lineup and drive in runners. If Todd can fill those voids, the Buckeyes can be back in a hurry. If not, it isn't likely OSU will make much of a move up the Big Ten standings next spring, and that is below expectations at OSU.
Men's Hockey - Looking Back: An overall record of 12-25-4 kind of says it all. The Buckeyes just weren't very good this past season. OSU was outscored 136-98 over the season and OSU goalies stopped 88 percent of the shots at them, the opposition goalies stopped 92 percent. In other words, the Buckeyes didn't score well and didn't tend goal particularly well. That's a bad combination and it shows in the record.
OSU's problems didn't really seem to be lack of discipline. The Buckeyes were penalized nearly the same number of minutes as their opponents (593 to 580) but were simply unable to generate offense when they had power play chances. OSU's opposition scored 39 power play goals to OSU's 26. Additionally, the Buckeyes gave up six short-handed goals while managing just three.
OSU Head Coach John Markell talked all season about the youth of his team, but hockey teams, even young ones, tend to mature over a season and by season's end upgrade their play. That didn't seem to happen this year for OSU and the team was far below expectations.
Looking Forward: The Buckeyes put a lot of good players on the ice last season. What they didn't do is put enough really great players on the ice. Tommy Goebel proved himself an able scorer, but was -1 on the year. Just five Buckeyes were above zero in the plus/minus statistic. The team leader in that category was C. J. Severen and +2. In other words, nobody played exceptionally well both offensively and defensively, and that has got to be fixed.
Like the baseball team, the Buckeyes need to fill some holes. They have role players everywhere, but that is exactly the problem; too many role players, not enough stars. According to those who follow such things, the Buckeyes may have help on the way. OSU's incoming recruiting class is ranked either first or second in the nation by those who follow recruiting. The OSU incoming class includes four forwards and three defensemen. Expectations are to challenge for a CCHA title, host in the CCHA tournament and make the NCAA tournament. Markell will be once again counting on young players to get that done, but hockey is a game in which young players can mature quickly. There's hope.
Softball - Looking Back: After a great season in 2007 the Buckeyes fell on hard times in 2008. Softball is a game dominated by pitching, and the Buckeyes just didn't have it in the circle in 2007 after Lindsay Bodeker suffered a season-ending injury. Bodeker appeared in 12 games and posted a 1.23 ERA. When Bodeker was injured however, the Buckeyes could not come up with a consistent replacement and their season went south. Bodeker's last win was on March 28, a 4-3 Buckeye win over Iowa. Bodeker did not make an appearance in the month of April. In that month the Buckeyes suffered 14 losses against just 10 wins. OSU finished the season at 33-23 overall but just 7-13 in Big Ten play. Twelve of OSU's 13 league losses came after the loss of Bodeker.
Looking Forward: The Buckeyes have to come up with a pitcher. It's as simple as that. Bodeker may or may not be able to return to form next fall, so it will be up to Head Coach Linda Kalafatis to go out and find a pitcher.
Offensively, catcher Sam Marder will be back next year and that says a lot. Marder hit a gaudy .475 this year with 14 homeruns. Marder led the Big Ten in batting average, on base percentage, and slugging percentage. By season's end opposing teams would not pitch to Marder. She walked 60 times to lead the Big Ten in that category. The next-nearest walk total in the league was 38. The Buckeyes will have to find some more bats to put behind Marder in the order to force the opposition to pitch to her.
OSU won the Big Ten regular-season championship and the Big Ten tournament in 2007 and competed well in the NCAA tournament. Expectations are for a similar result every year. The Buckeyes have to find a pitcher and few more bats to meet those expectations.
Programs on the bubble
Women's basketball - Looking Back: It's real hard to say that a team had a disappointing season when they went 22-9 overall and won a third-straight conference title with a 13-5 record in an improved Big Ten conference. That's a lot of winning and a championship. What remains firmly imbedded in our minds, however, is consecutive first-round losses in post-season play. The Buckeyes were one-and-done in the Big Ten tournament and one-and-done in the NCAA tournament.
The Buckeyes found a new star in freshman center Jantel Lavender but from time to time had real problems in the backcourt. The problems were particularly acute at point guard after Shavelle Little was hobbled with a knee injury. Little was OSU's defensive ace and when her performance was affected by the injury OSU lost it's effective ball pressure. The other problem position was the forward spot. The Buckeyes counted on Star Allen, but Allen sat out much of the season with academic issues and baseline player Andrea Walker missed much of the season with an injury issue. Despite the problems, there were definitely bright spots. Lavender became the first-ever freshman to be named Big Ten Player of the Year. Until her injury, Little a real force on the defensive end of the court and at times an effective point guard. Also, transfer player Ashlee Trebilcock emerged as a legitimate scoring threat at the shooting guard position.
Little's injury definitely hurt the Buckeyes in the tournament. Additionally, Trebilcock struggled with a back injury in the latter part of the season, also contributing to OSU's tournament woes. The injuries hurt, but there was also a missing ingredient. The Buckeyes sometimes had difficulty matching the overall athleticism of the better teams they played, particularly out of conference. Those disappointing performances, such as the loss to Maryland early in the year, are what have this team on the bubble as one that met or did not meet expectations.
Looking Forward: The Buckeyes return Lavender next season as well as Walker. Walker dealt with her own injury situation last season and did not really contribute until the latter stages of the year. A healthy Walker is good news for the Buckeyes down low. OSU had some bad luck when Leslie Mason-Cox opted to transfer. Mason-Cox filled in for Allen while she sat with academic issues. Also gone next year are baseline players Alice Jamen and Tam Riley.
The good news is that the Buckeyes should be more athletic along the perimeter and with two bigs (Lavender and Walker) could play a couple of ways next year. Freshman guards Allison Jackson and Brittany Johnson are both athletic and both will be back with Little, Trebilcock and Maria Moeller. Freshman Cherise Daniels also is athletic and earned playing time late last year. The Buckeyes have two very athletic guards on the way as well in their incoming recruiting class. At forward, freshman Sarah Schulze showed the ability to step out and shoot the three while still being physical down low. Look for OSU to play with four out and one in with Lavender when the situation merits is, or with two bigs with Walker and Lavender next fall.
Expectations are for the Buckeyes to once again be in the hunt for a Big Ten title and to improve on their tournament performance. Improved athleticism will help the Buckeyes toward that cause, but this team has to make some post-season noise not to be a disappointment.
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