Phoenix faces unknown Buckeyes

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Ohio State reloads with another highly ranked freshman class


Before Mike Schachtner even could answer the question, Rahmon Fletcher butted in.

Schachtner, the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay junior forward, was asked if he was glad Greg Oden left Ohio State for the NBA after last season so that he won't have to face him in tonight's NIT Season Tip-Off game against the Buckeyes in Columbus, Ohio (8 p.m., ESPN2).

Fletcher, UWGB's freshman point guard, said: "I wish Mike Conley would have stayed so I could guard him."

It's that confidence that has helped Fletcher emerge as perhaps the Phoenix's second-best player behind Schachtner, who never did answer the Oden question.

"He's a pretty confident kid," Phoenix coach Tod Kowalczyk said of Fletcher, who scored 14 points in Friday's season-opening win over Oakland (Mich.). "We just need to have him be a little bit more under control at times and be a little bit more disciplined defensively. He's got a chance to be very good."

Conley, Oden and two other key members of the Ohio State team that last year went 35-4 and lost in the national championship game to Florida are gone. Oden was the No. 1 overall pick in the NBA draft, and Conley, the Buckeye's point guard last season, went No. 4. Daequan Cook, who like Oden and Conley left after his freshman season, also was a first-round pick. The Buckeyes also lost senior starter Ron Lewis.

So, no one ? including the Phoenix ? is quite sure what to expect from Ohio State in its season opener tonight. The Buckeyes lost an exhibition game last week to Findlay, a preseason top-10 team in Division II. Coach Thad Matta's team lost 73 percent of its scoring, 63 percent of its rebounding and 65 percent of its assists from last year.

The only returning starter is senior guard Jamar Butler, a preseason all-Big Ten selection.

Just like he did with last year's recruiting class ? Oden, Conley, Cook, guard David Lighty and forward Othello Hunter ? that was nicknamed "The Thad Five," Matta has reloaded with another highly ranked class. The projected stars of this class are Jon Diebler, a 6-foot-6 freshman who finished his prep career as the top scorer in the history of Ohio high school basketball, and 7-footer Kosta Koufos, who finished second to Diebler last year in Ohio's Mr. Basketball voting.

"The biggest word for this team is maturity," Matta said during the Big Ten's annual media day. "We have four guys on our roster that have played college basketball, and we need our younger guys to come in and be able to contribute."

Despite having to remake the roster, the Buckeyes were picked third behind Michigan State and Indiana in the Big Ten preseason poll.

Today's preview

Series: This is the first meeting between the schools.

At stake: The winner plays Columbia or Delaware State on Tuesday for the right to advance to the semifinals in New York on Nov. 21. The loser plays Columbia or Delaware State on Tuesday in a consolation game.

UWGB notes: The Phoenix won its regular-season opener by beating Oakland (Mich.) on Friday, 76-75 at the Resch Center. ? This is the first of three games against teams from the Big Ten this season. UWGB plays at Wisconsin on Dec. 15 and at Michigan State on Dec. 29. It's also the first of at least two games on the ESPN family of networks this season. The semifinals and finals of this tournament also are on ESPN2. UWGB's game at Butler on Jan. 10 is on ESPNU. UWGB also is playing in the ESPN BracketBuster series on Feb. 23, and selected games will be televised. ESPN also televises the Horizon League Tournament championship game on March 11. ? UWGB plays a non-conference game at UMass on Saturday.

OSU notes: The Buckeyes went 1-1 in the preseason, beating Ashland but losing to Findlay. ? Matta is 7-0 in season openers, including his tenure at Butler and at Xavier. Matta never has coached against Kowalczyk but went 1-1 against the Phoenix during his lone season at Butler (2001-02). He lost to the Phoenix 69-68 at Brown County Veterans Memorial Arena on Jan. 22, 2001, but beat UWGB 78-52 at Hinkle Fieldhouse on Feb. 17, 2001. ? OSU is 0-2 in its two previous preseason NIT appearances. The Buckeyes participated in the inaugural event in 1989 and lost to DePaul and then lost to Ohio University in 1994.

 

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Men's basketball: Youth will have to serve Buckeyes

Young team opens season coming off exhibition setback


At this time a year ago, a young Ohio State men's basketball team was making some of the same mistakes its young successor is making now. Its offense was rudimentary. Its defense was all over the place, as were some players' heads.

"We weren't perfect by any stretch," coach Thad Matta said.

But in another respect, they were.

"We didn't lose," guard David Lighty said.

Those Buckeyes, ranked No. 7 in preseason, won two exhibition games by an average of 24 points and their first six games of the season by an average of 26.

These Buckeyes, unranked in preseason, lost their final exhibition game to Findlay, an NCAA Division II team. They open the regular season tonight in Value City Arena against Wisconsin-Green Bay in the first round of the NIT Season Tip-Off tournament.

Columbia and Delaware State meet in the first game. The winners and losers pair up Tuesday.

"It heightens your awareness of how difficult college basketball is," Matta said of the loss last week. "You have to be ready to play, and the details are so vitally important in every phase of everything.

"This team, we're nowhere near where we need to be. We've got to keep hammering home every day all the basics of basketball and keep the big picture in mind."

This year, as they did last, the Buckeyes return four regulars from a Big Ten championship team. But whereas the four returnees last year had played college basketball a combined 11 years, the four this year have played eight, and two of them only one apiece.

Three of the players -- Lighty, guard Jamar Butler and forward Othello Hunter -- started the first seven games last season while Greg Oden recovered from wrist surgery. The offense was wide open, averaging 87 points and nearly 11 three-point field goals.

Matta said he still favors playing up-tempo, but the makeup of this offense has changed because Butler, this year's point guard, is looking to score more than did Mike Conley Jr., who had as many assists as field-goal attempts in his first 10 games.

"I think where we've got to get better is our half-court execution. To have that in there is going to be very, very important," said Matta, who estimated that only 5 percent of the offense was in the game plan for the two exhibition games.

Seven-foot freshman Kosta Koufos is more skilled in the low post than Oden was. Koufos had 35 points and 19 rebounds and shot 65 percent from the field in the exhibition games.

"Establishing an inside presence with Kosta ? (is) going to be a big part of our game," Lighty said, "because that's going to open up outside shots and drives to the basket."

Offense, though, was not Ohio State's foremost concern after the loss to Findlay. Effort was. The Oilers made almost half their shots from the field and outrebounded the bigger Buckeyes.

"We practice a lot harder than what we showed in the game," Lighty said. "I think if we would have given it 100 percent, it probably would have been a different outcome.

"We've talked about things. Now we've just got to go out there and do it. Talkin' and doin' are two different things."

 

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? Matchup to watch: Othello Hunter is likely to open on Green Bay junior Mike Schachtner, a 6-foot-9 junior who is a preseason All-Horizon League first-teamer. Last season, Schachtner ranked among the top five shooters in the league. Hunter got in foul trouble trying to guard a smaller forward and played only 13 minutes in the Buckeyes' exhibition loss to Findlay. He gets someone his own size tonight.


Rosters
Ohio State
No. Player Pos. Ht. Yr.
2 Eric Wallace G/F 6-5 Fr.
4 P.J. Hill G 6-1 So.
13 Danny Peters G 6-1 Jr.
14 Jamar Butler* G 6-1 Sr.
15 Kyle Madsen C 6-9 So.
21 Evan Turner G/F 6-6 Fr.
23 David Lighty* G/F 6-5 So.
31 Kosta Koufos* F/C 7-0 Fr.
33 Jon Diebler* G 6-6 Fr.
34 Mark Titus G 6-4 So.
42 Matt Terwilliger F/C 6-9 Sr.
45 Othello Hunter* F/C 6-8 Sr.
52 Dallas Lauderdale C 6-8 Fr.

Wisconsin-Green Bay
No. Player Pos. Ht. Yr.
0 Bryquis Perine G 6-3 Fr.
10 Troy Cotton* G 6-1 So.
12 Uriel Segura G 6-3 Fr.
15 J.J. Henley F 6-7 Fr.
20 Rahmon Fletcher* G 5-10 Fr.
21 Terry Evans* F 6-5 Jr.
23 Randy Berry* F 6-9 So.
24 Ryan Tillema G 6-8 Jr.
32 Eric Van Cleave G 6-1 Jr.
34 Cordero Barkley G/F 6-5 Jr.
43 Mike Schachtner* F 6-9 Jr.
44 Tevah Morris F 6-9 Sr.
50 Pat Nelson F 6-9 So.

* Probable starters