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Ohio Basketball Topic
Topic: Join Ohio Basketball for the Sweet 16 Celebration!
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Ted Thompson
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Posted: 5/1/2012 1:53 PM
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May 1, 2012

ATHENS, Ohio- The Ohio men's basketball team, which celebrated a magical run to the Mid-American Conference Tournament title and advanced to the Sweet Sixteen in the NCAA Tournament, will be honored with a special celebration.

The event will take place on Monday, May 21 on the Convocation Center floor. The dessert-themed "sweet" celebration will begin at 7:30 pm with the price of admission set at just $15 per person. Admission includes desserts, beverages and limited-edition commemorative memorabilia.

Don't miss your chance to join fellow Bobcat fans and alumni to honor the team for their historic tournament run. The event will feature a special viewing of a video documenting the Bobcats' March Madness run. New Head Coach Jim Christianwill also speak about the future of Ohio Basketball, and introduce his assistant coaches to fans.

Seating is limited for this event and is expected to sell out. To reserve your tickets, click here or call the Ohio Athletics Ticket Office at 800-575-CATS (2287).

JSF
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Posted: 5/1/2012 4:06 PM
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No, not Monday. Why Monday?
bobcat28
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Posted: 5/1/2012 7:33 PM
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May 21st? Nice event but didnt we miss the window of opportunity here? Kind of late in my opinion.
bobcat72
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Posted: 5/1/2012 11:07 PM
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bobcat28 wrote:expand_more
May 21st? Nice event but didnt we miss the window of opportunity here? Kind of late in my opinion.


I'd have to think that the losing a coach/staff (and rumors for a while about losing players) had something to do with it being so late. Glad that they're able to get this together now that things are a bit more back to normal. Wonder what "commemorative memorabilia" means?? Hope that we get a few nice items to take home.
athena
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Posted: 5/2/2012 8:22 AM
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I plan to go. I'm not thrilled about a Monday night either, but I'm glad they're having a celebration. The players deserve it.
OU_Country
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Posted: 5/2/2012 3:12 PM
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JSF wrote:expand_more
No, not Monday. Why Monday?


Exactly my sentiments.  Makes it much tougher for the out of town contingent from Columbus area to come down.  Why not Saturday afternoon?   Seems like an opportunity missed to me, despite the fact that I know nothing about the scheduling circumstances.
RSBobcat
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Posted: 5/2/2012 11:36 PM
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Son and I decided tonight - Just Gotta Be There. Even though on school night (he's 8th grade) and we have to travel to and fro Cbus - Not just for "us" - For the "Team". Simliar to the celebration after the Georgetown win a couple years ago. The pic of my son w/KVK from that night was awesome - as well as the tourney tic w/the team autographs we purchased in the silent auction (on my son's bedroom wall).
RSBobcat
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Posted: 5/11/2012 8:24 PM
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When I bought my tickets over the phone today they said they are selling 150, a little over 100 sold so far. We need to be there "for the team". In person on the home court public congrats for great season. And with the events post season - great opportunity to to put a feel good positive wrap on this last year, and set a positive tone for moving forward.
athena
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Posted: 5/14/2012 9:31 AM
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Does anyone know whether Coach Groce will be there?
bornacatfan
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Posted: 5/15/2012 9:15 PM
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yes they know.
athena
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Posted: 5/16/2012 9:17 AM
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Thanks.
bornacatfan
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Posted: 5/21/2012 11:49 AM
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Y'all let me know how it goes. Anxious for you get Russ at the Mic and recounting the season as I heard a bit of his recap at the Beavercreek caravan. Groce and Christian representing and the players stillon campus and a few of those already graduated present that helped build this thing....should be a good night. Bring your sharpies and collect the autographs before you can't anymore. SHould be a great night. Enjoy.
chauncey1
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Posted: 5/21/2012 1:49 PM
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getting a new sharpie for my nephew today sweet sixteen shirt signed
Last Edited: 5/21/2012 3:55:50 PM by chauncey1
RSBobcat
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Posted: 5/21/2012 11:06 PM
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My son got all the autographs on the nice Sweet 16 poster they had for us there. Good event. Getting to chat w/Tommy for a good bit was nice too - he hopes to move up a league level for next year.

bornacatfan
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Posted: 5/22/2012 9:25 AM
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Glad to hear he decided to go...ambling around the Convo last week he was feeling a bit disconnected.

Wrote russ to get his intro he replied for those of us not there.

Below is the full text of what I wrote and read...if you want to post it...you can. Thanks for having an interest in it.

It’s May in Athens, but we’re still mesmerized by the magical moments of March and the sweet season of the 2011-2012 Ohio University Men’s Basketball Bobcats. For the 6th time in school history the Bobcats won the Mid American Conference Tournament. For the 13th time in program history, the Bobcats danced in the NCAA Tournament. For the 2nd time in 3 years Ohio won a game in the Big Dance, and for the first time since 1964, the Cats won multiple games on the biggest stage in college basketball.
Basketball is a numbers game, its also an emotional game. First, the numbers.
The number 13 could be unlucky to some but it was positively positive and prevalent for the Bobcats. Ohio’s 29 wins became the program’s new single season standard, it was the 13th time Ohio had 20 or more wins in a season. Through 13 games, the Bobcats were 12-1, equaling the best start in program history. As a result, Ohio received votes in the top 25. The Cats went 11-5 in MAC play, a conference season in which 13 thousand fans crammed into the Convo to honor Bobcat great Gary Trent, and to see Ohio beat rival Miami. All told Ohio went 16-1 inside the this building, no home season has ever been better. Flipping the numbers 1 and 3 around, the Cats garnered the 3 seed in the league tournament and became the MAC’s number 1. In the 13th trip to the NCAA Tournament, Ohio was the 13 seed in the Midwest. Add 6 and 7 together…you get…13. The 2nd round win over Michigan was the program’s 6th in the dance, and the triumph over South Florida was the program’s 7th. In the Sweet 16, the Bobcats nearly overcame 15 and 10 point deficits to top top seeded North Carolina, but in overtime the Tar Heels prevailed, and the season was over. Ohio ended the year 25th in the ESPN/USA Today poll…it was the first time the program was included in a season’s final poll. Those are the broad stroke numbers…numbers are easy to rattle off, emotions require more explanation.
Let’s go back to the start…and by the start, I mean Johnson City, Tennessee and the end of 2010-2011, the season concluded there in a CIT loss to East Tennessee State. That was March 22nd of 2011. With the final horn came reflections of an up and down season, still a post season-season, but one that would set up the year to come. It was clear that Ohio would have the pieces to have a great season in 2011-12, and the hurt of that moment fueled the hunger to dance.
Ohio was picked 3rd in the east in the MAC’s preseason poll, but that would only serve as further motivation, and those that really follow the league knew where the Bobcats potential could carry them.
Many moments stand out to me from the year, but early validation of high hopes came not in a win, but in a loss. The day after Thanksgiving, Ohio played in front of 20 thousand at the Yum Center in Louisville, Kentucky against the then 7th ranked Cardinals, a team that would end up in the final four. We were all curious to see what this team would do, in that environment against that type of competition. With 3:30 to play, Ohio was up by 6. If just a couple of plays break differently, Ohio wins. A loss, yes, but the contest undeniably gave hope to have hope that there could be something special here.
December 10th, Ohio played at Portland. Three days prior the Cats clipped Oakland. Two days prior they flew to Minneapolis and on to the Rose City. On a travel day, with all of those miles behind them, the Cats practiced at the Chiles Center. I was struck by how locked in they were and how the practice seemed fun. There are many teams across the country that wouldn’t have had a good practice with those circumstances. There are many point guards across the country that wouldn’t have been sharp two time zones away from home. But, DJ Cooper had his first triple double, and the Cats flat destroyed the Pilots. Again…several….we could have something here, moments.
I’m a Southern Illinois graduate, I know how difficult it is for Missouri Valley Conference teams to win at Northern Iowa. It doesn’t happen much. So for me, I was curious to see how this team would play, there. On December the 20th, people commented how excited I was, and maybe overly so, in describing the way the Bobcats pounded the Panthers. I was caught up in a, we’ve got something here moment. UNI’s season very well could have ended that night. They never recovered, and it was another bullet point win on Ohio’s resume…in a game that was dubbed as the mid major non-con game of the year.
How would this team respond to adversity…surely there would have to be some in a special season right? An overtime loss to Robert Morris, a league opening loss to Bowling Green, back to back losses at Toledo and Eastern Michigan. It’s cliché to say games like those refocus a team, and setup the success to come. Well, clichés are clichés for a reason, many times they’re true, and they were true with this team. After the loss to BG, Ohio won 7 of 8. After the loss in Ypsilanti, Ohio closed the season on a 5 of 6 run into the conference tournament. The capper…an absolute zapping of the Zips…right here.
If you listen to the broadcasts, you know that Rob Cornelius and I tell it how it is. We want Ohio to win, we are fair and we want you to know the what’s and the why’s, we need you to trust us. Speaking honestly….I knew Ohio was going to win the MAC Tournament. Never in my broadcasting career was I so confident about the eventual outcome as I was in Cleveland…with one future exception. After losing to Toledo, the Rockets didn’t have a chance, and they didn’t. The Bobcats gameplan well for Buffalo..advantage Cats in the semis, win for the Cats in the Semis. And there was no way in the world that Ohio was going to lose to Akron in the Championship game. I’m fact based, with emotional leanings. Based on those factors…all signs pointed to a Cat Crown. The crystallizing moment of it all…during a timeout they brought the ladders out, and put them near the seats by Ohio’s bench. It was old Ohio’s night. The Green and White was above the rest.
In the dance, its all about matchups. For fans, you want a good one, a fun city, and a good game time. Michigan, in Nashville, on Friday night…perfect. When we saw the pairings unveiled, for those with a good knowledge of both teams…it was oh so winnable for Ohio. Their strengths were neutralized by Ohio’s strengths, and any weaknesses the Bobcats might have couldn’t be exploited by the Maze and Blue. Then the possible matchups for the next game…all winnable. Like in Cleveland, the feeling was a good one. I went on a student radio show, and answered the question of…how far can this team go…with…this team can be in the Sweet 16…and past that…who knows. The day of the Michigan game I went on a syndicated radio show all over the state of Michigan…the host asked me to break it down. I did. In his booming, condescending radio voice, his response…well, Russ Eisensteen sure is confident in his Bobcats…we’ll see. Well, we did see. We saw again against South Florida. OU, Oh Yeah, Meet me in Sweet Louis..the green and white Magic Carpet ride stretched from Cleveland to Nashville to St. Louis.
Individual efforts came together for team success…there are too many single performances to list during the season but we can all agree, DJ remixed the MAC Tournament, and Walt Offut was a dance warrior.
I’ve teared up on the air 3 times in my broadcasting career. Once was in hosting the final postgame call in show after the last game for the New Orleans Hornets in Oklahoma City in 2007. Listeners called in and expressed their sadness about the team leaving. The 2nd, in 2008 while broadcasting a game for Idaho State at Portland State…when talking about the on campus shootings at Northern Illinois, a school I attended and I’m still close to. The third, at the end of the sweet 16 overtime loss to North Carolina. Never have I been so proud of a team I have broadcasted for in my life. Down 15, down 10, up…up against the top seeded blue blood Tar Heels. Guts, toughness, jubilation, elation, all of it…on the court, in the stands, and on our broadcast. There are so many what ifs. But, it could have been the greatest, most attention grabbing athletic feet for Ohio University, ever.
People congratulated me…I’ve always struggled with that. I’m just broadcasting it…the team is the one doing it. They deserve the congratulations. But in a way, we all are a part of it. This team allowed us to experience this magic through them, in our own way. We all walked with pride that we are Ohio. It’s fitting we’re in the Convocation Center tonight…the best building in the MAC, in front of the best fans in the MAC, honoring the best team in the MAC. We congratulate this team and former head coach John Groce and his staff, while welcoming in new head coach Jim Christian and his staff. This is where magic moments have happened, and will continue to happen. This is a unique situation, a special night, and we thank you so much for being here.

Schaus Intro
All of the success isn’t possible if you don’t have the right person leading the overall athletic program, and the right man at the helm of the men’s basketball program. Ohio Athletic Director Jim Schaus has basketball in his blood. His father Fred Schaus was a college and NBA head coach, and an NBA general manager. Jim certainly learned what to look for when hiring a hoops coach. At Wichita State he hired Greg Marshall…the Shockers won the NIT last year and they danced this year. He hired John Groce, and he’s hired Jim Christian. He deserves a great deal of credit for what has happened, and will deserve credit for the great things to follow. Ladies and gentleman…Jim Schaus.

McDavis Intro
A president of a school is like a CEO of a company, there are so many things to be mindful of. Dr. Roderick McDavis is Ohio University’s president, and he most certainly is mindful of athletic. He and his wife Deborah are as dignified as any first man and first lady of any country. They also have the balance of being down to earth, and passionate about their Bobcats. They clap, they yell, they are diehard Cat fans. It was fitting that CBS loved showing Prez Mc D in Ohio’s locker room during the tournament. His spirit reflects the spirit of Bobcat nation….ladies and gentleman, Dr. Roderick McDavis.




Groce Intro
On June 27th 2008, Ohio University hired John Groce to become its new head men’s basketball coach. The Muncie, Indiana native, Taylor University graduate and successful assistant coach at multiple programs took the reins with the goal in mind to make Bobcat Basketball as good as it could be. The old adage is, make something better than when you started. Ohio Football’s slogan that year was, make an impact. With two MAC Tournament titles three straight postseason appearances, 4 postseason wins, three in the NCAA Tournament…John Groce has left the program better than when he started, he did make an impact. When you have that type of success, people and programs want you. The University of Illinois wanted him, and they hired him on March 28th. The attention Ohio received, and will receive because of the hiring, and his sure to come success at Illinois, will do nothing but great things for the U of I program, and Ohio’s program. Personally, I have never talked about 1 man more, in the span of 1 week, more than I did about John Groce on the week of his hiring. In radio, TV and Newspaper interviews, I told people in my homestate of Illinois what we here already know. John Groce is a winner, and Illinois’ program is in great hands. He’s gone from O-H-I-O-U to I-L-L-I-N-I. He deserves our thanks, and our well wishes…ladies and gentleman, John Groce.

Christian Intro
2 conference tournament titles, 6 postseason trips, 2 to the NCAA Tournament. Success as an assistant at good programs, success as a head coach in the Mid American Conference with nothing but 20 win seasons. Taking a Mountain West school from being in the bottom of their league, to being a player in that league, after beating the best in that league, to being ready to jump a level from that league. Sounds like a pretty good resume, doesn’t it? That’s the background of Ohio University’s new head men’s basketball coach, Jim Christian. Hiring a coach is above my paygrade, so I like many of you might have done a doubletake when you heard the news. I was driving back home to DeKalb when I found out…I was by Dayton…and turned around to come back to The Plains. During that 2 hours, I thought, wow….this is good! I look forward to working with him, and I know you look forward to supporting him, his staff and this program. Ladies and gentleman…Jim Christian.
Last Edited: 5/22/2012 9:27:43 AM by bornacatfan
athena
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Posted: 5/22/2012 4:36 PM
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Very nice evening. There were a number of tables and a stage set up on the Convo floor. The players, their parents and all of the coaches, old and new, were there early so people could mingle and talk to them and get some autographs.

Desserts were served buffet-style and then the program began. Russ was the MC and did a fine job. In addition to the speeches borna posted above, Walt, DJ and David McKinley took the stage for a while and did a question-and-answer with Russ. I think the original idea was just for them to each get up and speak, but apparently they weren't told beforehand and weren't prepared, so Russ did the question and answer thing with them. (One of the funny parts of that was he asked Walt about his fear of flying and whether he got over it at all by the end of the season ... Walt said flying to the Sweet 16 is a lot better than flying to Buffalo or Northern Illinois.)

Nice to see Tommy there too... Russ mentioned him during the program and made sure everyone knew he was in attendance. He got a nice round of applause.

My favorite speech of the night was Groce's ... it was hard not to get a liittle teary-eyed -- especially when he said that he and his family still consider themselves Bobcats. He challenged the team to win a regular season championship ... he said that's one thing this group hasn't done and  next year he'd like to come back and see a regular season championship banner.

Christian gave a nice talk too ... said how much he appreciates the welcome he's been given and that people have been great to him and his family. He's very happy to be in Athens, very happy with the team he's inherited and looking forward to the season. He also talked about wanting to win a regular season championship and said the team has a target on it because of last season's success. He introduced his wife and his assistants, with the exception of one assistant who was stuck in Chicago.

The evening ended with a tournament highlight film set to One Shining Moment ... and all of the moments were OHIO.
Last Edited: 5/22/2012 4:39:27 PM by athena
mf279801
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Posted: 5/22/2012 6:04 PM
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I'm glad JG could make it/was included. Classy guy, and hopefully that helps heal any remaining hurt feelings from his departure.
shabamon
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Posted: 5/22/2012 9:42 PM
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mf279801 wrote:expand_more
I'm glad JG could make it/was included. Classy guy, and hopefully that helps heal any remaining hurt feelings from his departure.
A 2-1 series would help those feelings, too.
athena
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Posted: 5/23/2012 8:46 AM
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It really was like getting some closure, IMO. Although I wasn't one of the people who was ticked off or blamed him for leaving, I was pretty sad about it, and it all seemed to happen so fast. So it was nice to be able to shake his hand and tell him good luck. Told him we would really miss him in Athens and he said he is really going to miss us too.

I should have asked him about the 2-1 while I had him in a weak moment.

perimeterpost
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Posted: 5/23/2012 8:42 PM
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athena wrote:expand_more

It really was like getting some closure, IMO. Although I wasn't one of the people who was ticked off or blamed him for leaving, I was pretty sad about it, and it all seemed to happen so fast. So it was nice to be able to shake his hand and tell him good luck. Told him we would really miss him in Athens and he said he is really going to miss us too.

I should have asked him about the 2-1 while I had him in a weak moment.



closure- that was my thoughts reading the recaps (thanks to all for the insight). Maybe it happens more often than not but it seems unusual for a former coach to come back this soon, says a lot about Groce that it took the time to do so. That's got to feel good for the players too to see the old and new coach in the same room and see that some things are changing but its still what its always been- Ohio basketball. can't wait till next season.
Deciduous Forest Cat
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Posted: 5/23/2012 10:30 PM
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Have to thank the Illini adminstration. I'm sure they were consulted about whether this was appropriate. It was a nice gesture to give the okay to JG to attend and speak.
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