Ohio Basketball Topic
Topic: Official Game 27 Thread: Ball St.
Page: 2 of 3
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FearLeon
2/17/2026 7:40 PM
We don’t do many things well as a team, but man, nobody celebrates a made 3 against one of the worst teams in the country like Ohio.

You would think we were 25-0 and ranked 22nd in the country.

Electric.
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bobcatsquared
2/17/2026 7:41 PM
According to Marty Bannister tonight, Sheldon is a very good 3-point shooter when shooting in rhythm and Hadaway is a very good perimeter shooter. So. . . Ohio's got that going for it.
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FearLeon
2/17/2026 7:41 PM
My god…did Marty just say Captain Chaos is a very good perimeter shooter?

Ridiculous homer comment.
Last Edited: 2/17/2026 7:57:46 PM by FearLeon
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FearLeon
2/17/2026 7:46 PM
bobcatsquared wrote:expand_more
According to Marty Bannister tonight, Sheldon is a very good 3-point shooter when shooting in rhythm and Hadaway is a very good perimeter shooter. So. . . Ohio's got that going for it.
I have no clue how Ohio’s TV play-by-play announcer could say that with a straight face. Is he confusing Sheldon for Pete Suder and Captain Chaos for Larry Bird?
Last Edited: 2/17/2026 9:10:33 PM by FearLeon
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bornacatfan
2/17/2026 7:48 PM
Simmons hit a 3? Michael Lewis has to be livid...and amazed.
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Clown Ohio Fan
2/17/2026 7:48 PM
Gotta give credit to Ohio for responding after their slow start to end the half on a 23-2 run over the final eight minutes.

Ball State looks rough...
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FearLeon
2/17/2026 7:53 PM
FormerMember wrote:expand_more
Gotta give credit to Ohio for responding after their slow start to end the half on a 23-2 run over the final eight minutes.

Ball State looks rough...
I hear ya…just hard to take much away from this since it’s Ball State. Truly a horrid team. And yet…they still beat us this year.
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bobcatsquared
2/17/2026 7:59 PM
Gotta give Ohio credit for it's 3-pt shooting defense in the first half as Ball St. has connected on only 1 of 12 attempts. Better yet has been Ohio's FT defense holding the Cardinals to 0 of 4 from the line.
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Clown Ohio Fan
2/17/2026 8:05 PM
Ball State opens the 2nd half on a 9-0 run... This OU team man!
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giacomo
2/17/2026 9:31 PM
Reading all the comments here remind me of a song:
“But where are the clowns? Send in the clowns. Don’t bother, they’re here.”
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Andrew Ruck
2/17/2026 9:42 PM
Got pretty ugly there in the first half on both sides. Luckily we had a couple hot streaks in us to cruise comfortably tonight. Many will hate to hear it, but Sheldon's shot looks pretty darn good right now. 14 for his last 23. If he keeps hitting around 50% for the stretch it will be massive for us.

Pavs was very solid, no turnovers. Hadaway a good night from 3, honestly don't like to see it because I feel like it signs us up for 1 for 8 in the next game. Off night for Javan, some real dumb plays and not a lot of opportunities before fouling out. JJ quietly solid.

If Kuany does get to be a starter next year we may need someone to bring in the Kuany-O-Meter because he is a block machine.

Good survive and advance game, need to do the same on Saturday before the real crunch time starts.
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BillyTheCat
2/17/2026 10:47 PM
giacomo wrote:expand_more
Reading all the comments here remind me of a song:
“But where are the clowns? Send in the clowns. Don’t bother, they’re here.”
+1
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Clown Ohio Fan
2/17/2026 11:53 PM
giacomo wrote:expand_more
Reading all the comments here remind me of a song:
“But where are the clowns? Send in the clowns. Don’t bother, they’re here.”
If you’re okay supporting the mediocre basketball product we’ve seen the last two years, that’s on you. I guess I’ll be a clown for not being happy with a team that is ranked in the 200’s of KenPom one year after going 16-16 as the MAC preseason favorites.
Last Edited: 2/18/2026 12:42:30 AM by Clown Ohio Fan
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SBH
2/18/2026 6:17 AM
giacomo wrote:expand_more
Reading all the comments here remind me of a song:
“But where are the clowns? Send in the clowns. Don’t bother, they’re here.”
I agree. The last line of the song is "Well, maybe next year."
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M.D.W.S.T
2/18/2026 9:49 AM
Clown Ohio Fan wrote:expand_more
Reading all the comments here remind me of a song:
“But where are the clowns? Send in the clowns. Don’t bother, they’re here.”
If you’re okay supporting the mediocre basketball product we’ve seen the last two years, that’s on you. I guess I’ll be a clown for not being happy with a team that is ranked in the 200’s of KenPom one year after going 16-16 as the MAC preseason favorites.
No one is happy with the mediocre basketball product we've seen, but there are certainly disagreements on how to move forward. If you think firing Boals suddenly makes everything better, boy oh boy do I have some news for you. You think going .500 is bad... wait until an assistant from Northern East Kentucky State gets zero alumni support, even less money, wins 10 games and can't recruit anyone to play in a crumbling facility. I fear you better buckle up for some mediocre basketball. And that's definitely not just being 5th in the conference.
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Bobcat1998
2/18/2026 9:53 AM
M.D.W.S.T wrote:expand_more
Reading all the comments here remind me of a song:
“But where are the clowns? Send in the clowns. Don’t bother, they’re here.”
If you’re okay supporting the mediocre basketball product we’ve seen the last two years, that’s on you. I guess I’ll be a clown for not being happy with a team that is ranked in the 200’s of KenPom one year after going 16-16 as the MAC preseason favorites.
No one is happy with the mediocre basketball product we've seen, but there are certainly disagreements on how to move forward. If you think firing Boals suddenly makes everything better, boy oh boy do I have some news for you. You think going .500 is bad... wait until an assistant from Northern East Kentucky State gets zero alumni support, even less money, wins 10 games and can't recruit anyone to play in a crumbling facility. I fear you better buckle up for some mediocre basketball. And that's definitely not just being 5th in the conference.
So the solution is to keep going 16-16 and not winning titles? That is a great perspective.
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MiamiBlowsChunks
2/18/2026 10:03 AM
Clown Ohio Fan wrote:expand_more
I'm going to keep saying this until everyone hates me on this board.

Fire Jeff Boals!

It's not about his W/L record anymore. It's about his ability to navigate the current landscape of college basketball and the program regressing a ton in recent years. This season has a chance to be one of our worst final KenPom rankings of the past 25 years.

And tonight doesn't make one difference in my opinion. Ohio should dominate weak opponents like Ball State at home.
Lots of folks want Boals gone. Ran out Phillips. After running out Christian (left before he'd get whacked). Lots thought Groce underachieved and, w/o postseason runs, would've been whacked too. So a great track record here.

Build a practice facility, update the convo somehow & then it's an alright mid to low major job.
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FJC31
2/18/2026 10:05 AM
Bobcat1998 wrote:expand_more
Reading all the comments here remind me of a song:
“But where are the clowns? Send in the clowns. Don’t bother, they’re here.”
If you’re okay supporting the mediocre basketball product we’ve seen the last two years, that’s on you. I guess I’ll be a clown for not being happy with a team that is ranked in the 200’s of KenPom one year after going 16-16 as the MAC preseason favorites.
No one is happy with the mediocre basketball product we've seen, but there are certainly disagreements on how to move forward. If you think firing Boals suddenly makes everything better, boy oh boy do I have some news for you. You think going .500 is bad... wait until an assistant from Northern East Kentucky State gets zero alumni support, even less money, wins 10 games and can't recruit anyone to play in a crumbling facility. I fear you better buckle up for some mediocre basketball. And that's definitely not just being 5th in the conference.
So the solution is to keep going 16-16 and not winning titles? That is a great perspective.
+1. That was quite the doom and gloom take.

I understand liking Boals because he's one of our own and wanting it to work, but he isn't the end all be all coach. This program won't bottom out into dweller status if he's removed. The flip side is who is going to want to keep donating as alumni to .500 records and 2nd round MAC tourney exits? Something has to give.
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M.D.W.S.T
2/18/2026 10:06 AM
Bobcat1998 wrote:expand_more
Reading all the comments here remind me of a song:
“But where are the clowns? Send in the clowns. Don’t bother, they’re here.”
If you’re okay supporting the mediocre basketball product we’ve seen the last two years, that’s on you. I guess I’ll be a clown for not being happy with a team that is ranked in the 200’s of KenPom one year after going 16-16 as the MAC preseason favorites.
No one is happy with the mediocre basketball product we've seen, but there are certainly disagreements on how to move forward. If you think firing Boals suddenly makes everything better, boy oh boy do I have some news for you. You think going .500 is bad... wait until an assistant from Northern East Kentucky State gets zero alumni support, even less money, wins 10 games and can't recruit anyone to play in a crumbling facility. I fear you better buckle up for some mediocre basketball. And that's definitely not just being 5th in the conference.
So the solution is to keep going 16-16 and not winning titles? That is a great perspective.
Yes, exactly. Excellent additions as always.


Speaking of perspective;

Since 2020, only three teams have been "winning titles". Akron (3), Kent State (1), and OU (1).
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SBH
2/18/2026 10:08 AM
"Crumbling" facility is still better than most gyms in the league.
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FJC31
2/18/2026 10:09 AM
M.D.W.S.T wrote:expand_more
Reading all the comments here remind me of a song:
“But where are the clowns? Send in the clowns. Don’t bother, they’re here.”
If you’re okay supporting the mediocre basketball product we’ve seen the last two years, that’s on you. I guess I’ll be a clown for not being happy with a team that is ranked in the 200’s of KenPom one year after going 16-16 as the MAC preseason favorites.
No one is happy with the mediocre basketball product we've seen, but there are certainly disagreements on how to move forward. If you think firing Boals suddenly makes everything better, boy oh boy do I have some news for you. You think going .500 is bad... wait until an assistant from Northern East Kentucky State gets zero alumni support, even less money, wins 10 games and can't recruit anyone to play in a crumbling facility. I fear you better buckle up for some mediocre basketball. And that's definitely not just being 5th in the conference.
So the solution is to keep going 16-16 and not winning titles? That is a great perspective.
Yes, exactly. Excellent additions as always.


Speaking of perspective;

Since 2020, only three teams have been "winning titles". Akron (3), Kent State (1), and OU (1).
My guy, we are the furthest away on this list and have gotten further and further away since. Preston masked Boals lack of scheme and coaching inefficiencies the same way Burrow masks Zac Taylor's shortcomings as a play caller.
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M.D.W.S.T
2/18/2026 10:16 AM
FJC31 wrote:expand_more
Reading all the comments here remind me of a song:
“But where are the clowns? Send in the clowns. Don’t bother, they’re here.”
If you’re okay supporting the mediocre basketball product we’ve seen the last two years, that’s on you. I guess I’ll be a clown for not being happy with a team that is ranked in the 200’s of KenPom one year after going 16-16 as the MAC preseason favorites.
No one is happy with the mediocre basketball product we've seen, but there are certainly disagreements on how to move forward. If you think firing Boals suddenly makes everything better, boy oh boy do I have some news for you. You think going .500 is bad... wait until an assistant from Northern East Kentucky State gets zero alumni support, even less money, wins 10 games and can't recruit anyone to play in a crumbling facility. I fear you better buckle up for some mediocre basketball. And that's definitely not just being 5th in the conference.
So the solution is to keep going 16-16 and not winning titles? That is a great perspective.
Yes, exactly. Excellent additions as always.


Speaking of perspective;

Since 2020, only three teams have been "winning titles". Akron (3), Kent State (1), and OU (1).
My guy, we are the furthest away on this list and have gotten further and further away since. Preston masked Boals lack of scheme and coaching inefficiencies the same way Burrow masks Zac Taylor's shortcomings as a play caller.
Nothing I love more than playing this game. If you take away all his wins then he doesn't have any wins!

Sure, of the only THREE teams who have won a title recently, we're 3rd best. LOL.

Our current status of being FOURTH... has shown how far we've fallen to the basement. All the way down to 4th. 4/13. Hair on fire. Worst case scenario. Get rid of everyone. We're 4th.

Tremendous.
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GoCats105
2/18/2026 10:46 AM
bobcatsquared wrote:expand_more
According to Marty Bannister tonight, Sheldon is a very good 3-point shooter when shooting in rhythm and Hadaway is a very good perimeter shooter. So. . . Ohio's got that going for it.
I've been as big a Sheldon critic as anyone, but the last 5 games might be the most impressive shooting of his career (16/31 from three or 51.6%). He's also cut back on his propensity to throw up an absolute horrible turnover. Still gets beat off the dribble and back cuts way too much on defense though.

Positives are his usage rate has gone down by A LOT, which is in turn making him more of an efficient player. I don't know if there was a change in philosophy or he got a talking to, but if he was trying to do too much early in the season that has changed slightly into a role player type guy, which is exactly what he is. Buuuuuut his minutes played have stayed the same. So you take what you can get I guess.
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FJC31
2/18/2026 10:51 AM
M.D.W.S.T wrote:expand_more
Reading all the comments here remind me of a song:
“But where are the clowns? Send in the clowns. Don’t bother, they’re here.”
If you’re okay supporting the mediocre basketball product we’ve seen the last two years, that’s on you. I guess I’ll be a clown for not being happy with a team that is ranked in the 200’s of KenPom one year after going 16-16 as the MAC preseason favorites.
No one is happy with the mediocre basketball product we've seen, but there are certainly disagreements on how to move forward. If you think firing Boals suddenly makes everything better, boy oh boy do I have some news for you. You think going .500 is bad... wait until an assistant from Northern East Kentucky State gets zero alumni support, even less money, wins 10 games and can't recruit anyone to play in a crumbling facility. I fear you better buckle up for some mediocre basketball. And that's definitely not just being 5th in the conference.
So the solution is to keep going 16-16 and not winning titles? That is a great perspective.
Yes, exactly. Excellent additions as always.


Speaking of perspective;

Since 2020, only three teams have been "winning titles". Akron (3), Kent State (1), and OU (1).
My guy, we are the furthest away on this list and have gotten further and further away since. Preston masked Boals lack of scheme and coaching inefficiencies the same way Burrow masks Zac Taylor's shortcomings as a play caller.
Nothing I love more than playing this game. If you take away all his wins then he doesn't have any wins!

Sure, of the only THREE teams who have won a title recently, we're 3rd best. LOL.

Our current status of being FOURTH... has shown how far we've fallen to the basement. All the way down to 4th. 4/13. Hair on fire. Worst case scenario. Get rid of everyone. We're 4th.

Tremendous.
I'm a little confused, in the NIL thread you said the following:

"We very much need a fresh set of eyes on roster construction. To this point I truly feel like we're recruiting the highest rated recruits we can get - to hell with roster construction. Most people just say Boals can't recruit, and that's not necessarily true. I just think he's relying too much on others data. And maybe thats a place where we just don't have the money to do needed diligence. I have to go find my old post, but Boals has rarely had a recruiting class outside the Top 2. He's either #1 or #2. The only year OU wasn't highly ranked was Clayton's class. Because he was the only HS signee. And that worked out pretty well. We tremendously need to turn previous logic on its head, because our biggest weakness is a lack of TEAM. A lack of ROLES. A lack of OFFENSIVE IDENTITY. And that starts with Boals. Can we teach an old dog new tricks? That's for Lars to figure out. Otherwise, it pains me to say... we can't ride with Boals and his Gus Macker offense anymore. We just can't. We need an identity. And construct a true offense around said roster. I find it hard to believe Boals is so set in his 'create it if you got it' offense that he's willing to ride it into unemployment, but coaches are a weird breed."

It seems like you acknowledge Boals' shortcomings, but now the program is poised to be at the bottom of the MAC if he's removed?

This isn't intended to be confrontational, but the downward trend doesn't concern you with what appears to be an uptick in NIL money? If he hasn't adjusted his way of coaching now, the odds of him doing moving forward so are slim.

The MAC record is trending down:

13-5
10-8
8-6 -- with remaining games at NIU, Toledo, at UMass, and Miami.

There's a strong chance we drop 3/4 to go 9-9.

Finishing in the top 4 each season would be fine if Boals wasn't also 12-29 against Akron, Kent, and Toledo. There at least be some hope going into Cleveland. Miami is now surging as a program, so what's the breaking point that this isn't working anymore and where does one see the light?
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Ohio69
2/18/2026 11:07 AM
Nice win last night. That 23-2 run or whatever was fun to watch. Kelley's alley oop dunk was sweet. And, as mentioned, Sheldon is on fire the last 5 games. Would be just huge if he can keep that up.

Really need to take care of Northern Illinois and then Toledo at home.

I'd like to see Burris get at least 10 minutes (from Kuany and Sheldon). Seems like he's getting more comfortable/confident and is ready for more...


(As for the Boals haters, well, you've made your points. Bless your hearts. Nothing to do now except root for your team.)
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