Bobcat Attack - Ohio Basketball - Looks like Jon Smith is gone

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Topic: Looks like Jon Smith is gone

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SBH

3/19/2014 6:50 AM

Per The Post (and confirming hint provided by LongDistance Bobcat), Smith packed up his stuff Sunday and left. Apparently told JC he was done. Anyone else notice the drop-off in his productivity the past 2-3 games? I wondered what was up. This is disappointing.

Note to The Post: Ironic that this tidbit was buried in a story about tonight's game…in the same issue in which the editors complain that they don't get adequate access to student-athletes for stories. Guys, this is the NEWS that should have led your pre-game story.

Last Edited: 3/19/2014 6:53:18 AM by SBH

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jumper80

3/19/2014 7:03 AM

Chump

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OUVan

3/19/2014 8:35 AM

Wow, that's disappointing. I'll reserve judgement until I hear the specifics but on the surface this is a good way to tarnish what should have been a nice legacy.

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bobcat28

3/19/2014 9:02 AM

Long Distance Bobcat = Stephen A Smith

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Jeff McKinney

3/19/2014 9:10 AM

Sorry to hear about this, but I won't make any judgments because I don't know the details.

He will be greatly missed vs. Cleveland State or any other team we might play in the CIT.

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colobobcat66

3/19/2014 9:23 AM

I look at this as primarily an issue between him and his teammates and coach. Hard to say what's going on in his head at this point of time. Hopefully his ex-teammates will step forward and excel. Hate to see him go, but that's life.

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BillyTheCat

3/19/2014 9:25 AM

Quit with one game left to play? WOW!!!

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Recovering Journalist

3/19/2014 9:29 AM

I agree with Jeff. Impossible not to be disappointed, but not wise to judge a kid on one rash decision. He did more with his talent than any Bobcat I can remember.

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C Money

3/19/2014 9:38 AM

The positive aspect is that it means more live game time for next year's bigs to gel even further. The comparison was made on another thread that this tourney is like the no-name bowls we get in the MAC. And like those bowls, maybe the biggest reason you accept an invite to these tournaments is that it gives you more practice and a chance to get better for the next year against real competition. Let Mo, Big Tony, and Treg rotate and work on things that will get us to the Dance in 2015.

And good luck to Mr. Smith in whatever he finds himself doing. Like others have said, I'll reserve judgment until the facts come out, but my guess is that in a few weeks he is going to probably regret not playing in the green and white one last time.

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Dexcat

3/19/2014 10:00 AM

Sad to hear. He really made the most of his career. Showing great progress with his skills and leadership. Hopefully everything is alright with him and his issues.

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100%Cat

3/19/2014 10:13 AM

Dexcat wrote:expand_more

Sad to hear. He really made the most of his career. Showing great progress with his skills and leadership. Hopefully everything is alright with him and his issues.

I agree. Having not known the guy personally, take this for what it's worth, but this seems out of character for him. Hopefully everything is OK for him personally.

I wouldn't object to seeing Wadley get some run tonight. Not heavy minutes, but some experience.

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GoCats105

3/19/2014 10:21 AM

Agree with most of the sentiment felt here. Smith was by far my favorite player to watch develop since his arrival. He went from strictly a role player to a threat both offensively and defensively. Hope everything turns out ok for him.

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Bobcat Grad 86

3/19/2014 10:29 AM

Disappointing but not surprising when you consider the circumstances of his exit and transfer from St. Louis.

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Andrew Ruck

3/19/2014 11:28 AM

The most upsetting part is him not graduating, not only for him personally, but the program. With Coop and Keely also skipping town before graduation, we may be in danger of losing a scholarship...right? Anyone know if Nick, Travis, TJ & Rico are on pace to graduate this spring?

Time for Tony Campbell to make us forget about Jon Smith tonight.

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doubledribble

3/19/2014 11:30 AM

Very sorry move by Jon Smith. I don't really care what reasons or excuses he might come up with, short of a serious family issue, there is no way to justify bailing out on your teammates, your program, your school.
Jon did some good things for the Bobcats during his time here, but the word inconsistent comes to mind. Not just game to game, but it seemed that he was inconsistent during a game! He would make a couple of great plays showing great effort.....then he would vanish for frustrating possessions. I don't want to trash the young man, but I am very dissapointed in this very immature decision by J.S.
If I was one of his teammates I would be seriously pissed. You are either "on the bus" with your teammates, or you are "off the bus" and sitting at home like the many teams who have not had good seasons.
I will go to battle with Bean Willis, Travis, Setty, Stevie, Nick and anyone else on this team who is "ALL-IN !"

The "bus" is loading up at 7:00 tonight. I expect the "real" Bobcats to be present and accounted for. All IN !

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GoCats105

3/19/2014 11:45 AM

Andrew Ruck wrote:expand_more

Time for Tony Campbell to make us forget about Jon Smith tonight.

Is it confirmed that he left school entirely? I was thinking he just quit basketball.

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Pataskala

3/19/2014 11:54 AM

Something was definitely up. His PT dropped considerably after Ndour sat out the BGSUcks game. He played 38 minutes of that game, but then had 24 in the OT win at Fiami and 26, 32 and 27 in the three tourney games without any real foul trouble (except four vs Akron). He took only seven shots in the three tourney games.

I do wish him well. He was a significant part of the Sweet 16 run.

Last Edited: 3/19/2014 11:55:02 AM by Pataskala

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A-townBound

3/19/2014 12:07 PM

This link is to Jason Arkley's pre-game article -
http://m.athensohiotoday.com/sports/ohiouniversity/bobcat...

The article says it was last updated 16 hours ago. He tweeted the article within the last hour. There is no mention of Jon Smith.

People are asking Arkley about Jon's departure via twitter, and he seems to have no real knowledge of it.

He also states in his article that Ricardo will not play.

I am not saying this information regarding Jon is not true, but this is all very strange....

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bornacatfan

3/19/2014 12:24 PM

BillyTheCat wrote:expand_more

Quit with one game left to play? WOW!!!

Just one?

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bn9

3/19/2014 12:28 PM

If this is indeed true, I would much rather him take his ball and go home than I would have him show up and give us 15 -20 uninterested minutes. He doesn't want to play in this tournament, so be it. I thank him for his time and effort and wish him well in his future endevours.

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A-townBound

3/19/2014 12:37 PM

bn9 wrote:expand_more

From Arkley's article - "Ohio coach Jim Christian said he wouldn’t play anyone who wasn’t healthy enough, or didn’t want to play badly enough."

Maybe Jon said something to JC that is was not really interested in playing in this tournament and JC told him if that was the case, then to pack his things...

Lots of questions here....

Last Edited: 3/19/2014 12:41:37 PM by A-townBound

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TheBobcatBandit

3/19/2014 12:44 PM

That's really disappointing. I really liked John and always thought he never got the credit he deserved. Hope he gets his degree. That's will be his real regret if he completely dropped out

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Hooligan

3/19/2014 12:56 PM

Is it wrong to say 'Jon's train has left the station'?

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BillyTheCat

3/19/2014 1:25 PM

bornacatfan wrote:expand_more

BillyTheCat wrote:expand_more

Quit with one game left to play? WOW!!!

Just one?

Only one left on the schedule right now, if you win you get another one. 1, 2, 3, really doesn't matter guy walked out on his coaches and his teammates.

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GroverBall

3/19/2014 1:54 PM

This JS deal is a bummer on many levels. Hope he's not gone-gone and gets his degree. Don't know why he quit now or what else might be going on but I did notice that he wasn't quite bringing that intensity at the end of the season that he could often provide. As a senior leader, and seemingly healthy, I thought we could have used that extra effort from him. In his last 5 games, at least, his stats were down from his season averages. He was getting 4 boards and 1 block a game, and 5 points. This end of his OU career saddens me, but I wish him the best.

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