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Ohio Basketball Topic
Topic: Official Game 29 Thread: Miami (OH)
Page: 2 of 3
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JSF
3/1/2025 4:19 PM
Nice to not further the "AJ disappears against good teams" narrative today. The team is getting better, despite all the injuries and flaws.
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FearLeon
3/1/2025 4:21 PM
GraffZ06 wrote:expand_more
If Brown separated his shoulder, that is officially the season for Ohio.
Not ideal. I would hope the silver lining (outside of recovery) is the forced lineup of Searls/AJC in at the same time which we haven’t seen a lot of.


In addition to Vic, and he's been a whipping boy on here of late, but we don't win that game without EJ4's 12 points either.
EJ4 had a great interview after the game as well. Dude stepped up and delivered big time.
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FearLeon
3/1/2025 4:23 PM
JSF wrote:expand_more
Nice to not further the "AJ disappears against good teams" narrative today. The team is getting better, despite all the injuries and flaws.
True about Clayton.

Just hard to imagine this team pulling off a miracle without Brown in Cleveland. Hopefully it’s not as bad as we all fear and he can sit out next week and play in Cleveland.
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greencat
3/1/2025 4:24 PM
We're now (apparently) down to seven rotation players including an injured Clayton and (whatever) Sheldon. Evans is going to have to start playing a few minutes a game. Frying pan/fire...it's time.
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GraffZ06
3/1/2025 4:34 PM
greencat wrote:expand_more
We're now (apparently) down to seven rotation players including an injured Clayton and (whatever) Sheldon. Evans is going to have to start playing a few minutes a game. Frying pan/fire...it's time.
If Brown is indeed done - I think you see EJ4 take his spot in the starting 5.

Pavs, Mitchell, EJ4, Elliott, Clayton.
Searls backing up Clayton (and hopefully seeing a few minutes together like we saw today).
Sheldon backing up the Pavs/Mitchell/Elliott combo - to give each a blow. We saw Pavs play 39 minutes and Mitchell 37 minutes today after Brown went down.
Unsure who gives EJ4 a break other than sneaking it in when Sheldon is on the floor.

My point in all that is, I agree with you in an ideal world Evans gets some run now. And he might. I'm just not sure how much it will really be. Maybe 4-6 minutes a night is sufficient to keep guys fresh/in case of late half/game foul trouble.

I fear shrinking the rotation even further will minimize our full and 3/4 court defense we've been employing which helps us not have to defend for a full 30 second shot clock - and might also minimize our desire to push the ball on O, when we aren't a great half court offensive team.

Losing Brown is a devastating loss to this team's makeup, just like Hadaway was.
Last Edited: 3/1/2025 4:37:28 PM by GraffZ06
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shabamon
3/1/2025 4:36 PM
For the first time I can remember since Hadaway went down, we played Searls and Clayton together. Was that matchup reasons or to conserve our guards and keep them fresh? Maybe some Evans on Tuesday to help with that.

Really getting tired of a third to half of the roster being hurt/not usable this late in the season.

I'll echo the Nicol thought. A healthy scholarship player needs be serviceable, especially with injuries, in his second year.
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GraffZ06
3/1/2025 4:39 PM
shabamon wrote:expand_more
I'll echo the Nicol thought. A healthy scholarship player needs be serviceable, especially with injuries, in his second year.
I agree. I said it above. We've never had guys who were important pieces/contributors as upper classmen who never saw the floor their first couple years. It's unacceptable dangit.
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FearLeon
3/1/2025 4:47 PM
shabamon wrote:expand_more
I'll echo the Nicol thought. A healthy scholarship player needs be serviceable, especially with injuries, in his second year.
+1

Really hurts now.
Last Edited: 3/1/2025 4:48:00 PM by FearLeon
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shabamon
3/1/2025 4:52 PM
GraffZ06 wrote:expand_more
I'll echo the Nicol thought. A healthy scholarship player needs be serviceable, especially with injuries, in his second year.
I agree. I said it above. We've never had guys who were important pieces/contributors as upper classmen who never saw the floor their first couple years. It's unacceptable dangit.
If this is tongue in cheek, you're more right than you're intending. Name a player who was healthy yet never in the regular rotation in his first two years that later became an important roster piece.

Asown Sayles? Stephen King?
Last Edited: 3/1/2025 4:52:36 PM by shabamon
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GraffZ06
3/1/2025 5:44 PM
shabamon wrote:expand_more
I'll echo the Nicol thought. A healthy scholarship player needs be serviceable, especially with injuries, in his second year.
I agree. I said it above. We've never had guys who were important pieces/contributors as upper classmen who never saw the floor their first couple years. It's unacceptable dangit.
If this is tongue in cheek, you're more right than you're intending. Name a player who was healthy yet never in the regular rotation in his first two years that later became an important roster piece.

Asown Sayles? Stephen King?
Chad Estis
Jim Peterson
Thomas Stephens
Whitney Davis
Ken van Kempen
Mike Laster
Jaivon Harris (broke out his senior season)
DeVaughn Washington (broke out his jr/sr seasons)
Stevie Taylor
Treg Setty
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BillyTheCat
3/1/2025 5:58 PM
GraffZ06 wrote:expand_more
I'll echo the Nicol thought. A healthy scholarship player needs be serviceable, especially with injuries, in his second year.
I agree. I said it above. We've never had guys who were important pieces/contributors as upper classmen who never saw the floor their first couple years. It's unacceptable dangit.
If this is tongue in cheek, you're more right than you're intending. Name a player who was healthy yet never in the regular rotation in his first two years that later became an important roster piece.

Asown Sayles? Stephen King?
Chad Estis
Jim Peterson
Thomas Stephens
Whitney Davis
Ken van Kempen
Mike Laster
Jaivon Harris (broke out his senior season)
DeVaughn Washington (broke out his jr/sr seasons)
Stevie Taylor
Treg Setty
Touche
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JSF
3/1/2025 9:21 PM
lol, we announced our attendance two people more than the game at Oxford.
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mid70sbobcat
3/1/2025 10:07 PM
FearLeon wrote:expand_more
Just curious if anyone still thinks The Upgrade hasn’t been The Upgrade with big man productivity off the bench from previous two years? It was obvious back in November and way more obvious now. We don’t beat Kent and Miami at home without The Upgrade.

#BigVicEnergy
With all due respect we split with Miami this year. Last year we swept them, home AND away. Searls had a good game today. So did Clayton who you criticize nearly every week. With the "Upgrade", as you call it, our record is worse this year than last. I fail to understand your logic.
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Bobcat Love's Sense of Shame
3/1/2025 10:56 PM
GraffZ06 wrote:expand_more
I'll echo the Nicol thought. A healthy scholarship player needs be serviceable, especially with injuries, in his second year.
I agree. I said it above. We've never had guys who were important pieces/contributors as upper classmen who never saw the floor their first couple years. It's unacceptable dangit.
If this is tongue in cheek, you're more right than you're intending. Name a player who was healthy yet never in the regular rotation in his first two years that later became an important roster piece.

Asown Sayles? Stephen King?
Chad Estis
Jim Peterson
Thomas Stephens
Whitney Davis
Ken van Kempen
Mike Laster
Jaivon Harris (broke out his senior season)
DeVaughn Washington (broke out his jr/sr seasons)
Stevie Taylor
Treg Setty
I fail to see how any of those are comps for a guy who has seen the floor in 7 games and averaged 4 minutes in those games. Estis is closest, so I guess there's an example from 34 years ago. Exciting.

But you're reaching with basically everybody else. Dude said never in the rotation, and you named DeVaughn who averaged 22 and 25 minutes per game as a sophomore and junior. Jaivon Harris who played 20+ minutes as a sophomore and 30+ as a junior. KVK who was a rotation guy all four years. Stevie Taylor who played 10 minutes per game across 30+ games his first two years. As a freshman at Southern Illinois, Treg Setty played more minutes in his 4th game than Ben Nicol has played in his career.

There's a massive difference between a rotation player improving over four years, and a guy who can't get on the floor becoming a useful player. I'd be curious if you can find actual relevant examples.
Last Edited: 3/1/2025 11:01:20 PM by Bobcat Love's Sense of Shame
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Pete Chouteau
3/1/2025 10:57 PM
JSF wrote:expand_more
lol, we announced our attendance two people more than the game at Oxford.
Imagine what we could do if we pulled the ticket stunt Miami did for that game.
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100%Cat
3/1/2025 11:10 PM
mid70sbobcat wrote:expand_more
Just curious if anyone still thinks The Upgrade hasn’t been The Upgrade with big man productivity off the bench from previous two years? It was obvious back in November and way more obvious now. We don’t beat Kent and Miami at home without The Upgrade.

#BigVicEnergy
With all due respect we split with Miami this year. Last year we swept them, home AND away. Searls had a good game today. So did Clayton who you criticize nearly every week. With the "Upgrade", as you call it, our record is worse this year than last. I fail to understand your logic.
I’ll keep this simple. We were a better team last year. Miami was a worse team last year. Searls being more serviceable and productive than Wiznitzer can’t be denied regardless of overall rosters. Gabe scored double figures 2 times in 2 years while he was in Athens. Vic has scored double figures 6 times this year.
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FearLeon
3/1/2025 11:25 PM
100%Cat wrote:expand_more
Just curious if anyone still thinks The Upgrade hasn’t been The Upgrade with big man productivity off the bench from previous two years? It was obvious back in November and way more obvious now. We don’t beat Kent and Miami at home without The Upgrade.

#BigVicEnergy
With all due respect we split with Miami this year. Last year we swept them, home AND away. Searls had a good game today. So did Clayton who you criticize nearly every week. With the "Upgrade", as you call it, our record is worse this year than last. I fail to understand your logic.
I’ll keep this simple. We were a better team last year. Miami was a worse team last year. Searls being more serviceable and productive than Wiznitzer can’t be denied regardless of overall rosters. Gabe scored double figures 2 times in 2 years while he was in Athens. Vic has scored double figures 6 times this year.
Thank you. Not sure why it's so hard for people to understand.
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FearLeon
3/1/2025 11:27 PM
Bobcat Love's Sense of Shame wrote:expand_more
I'll echo the Nicol thought. A healthy scholarship player needs be serviceable, especially with injuries, in his second year.
I agree. I said it above. We've never had guys who were important pieces/contributors as upper classmen who never saw the floor their first couple years. It's unacceptable dangit.
If this is tongue in cheek, you're more right than you're intending. Name a player who was healthy yet never in the regular rotation in his first two years that later became an important roster piece.

Asown Sayles? Stephen King?
Chad Estis
Jim Peterson
Thomas Stephens
Whitney Davis
Ken van Kempen
Mike Laster
Jaivon Harris (broke out his senior season)
DeVaughn Washington (broke out his jr/sr seasons)
Stevie Taylor
Treg Setty
I fail to see how any of those are comps for a guy who has seen the floor in 7 games and averaged 4 minutes in those games. Estis is closest, so I guess there's an example from 34 years ago. Exciting.

But you're reaching with basically everybody else. Dude said never in the rotation, and you named DeVaughn who averaged 22 and 25 minutes per game as a sophomore and junior. Jaivon Harris who played 20+ minutes as a sophomore and 30+ as a junior. KVK who was a rotation guy all four years. Stevie Taylor who played 10 minutes per game across 30+ games his first two years. As a freshman at Southern Illinois, Treg Setty played more minutes in his 4th game than Ben Nicol has played in his career.

There's a massive difference between a rotation player improving over four years, and a guy who can't get on the floor becoming a useful player. I'd be curious if you can find actual relevant examples.
And Estis was a walk-on first before Hunter put him on a scholarship I believe his Junior year? Maybe his Sophomore year...can't remember.
Last Edited: 3/1/2025 11:27:27 PM by FearLeon
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OhioCatFan
3/1/2025 11:38 PM
100%Cat wrote:expand_more
Just curious if anyone still thinks The Upgrade hasn’t been The Upgrade with big man productivity off the bench from previous two years? It was obvious back in November and way more obvious now. We don’t beat Kent and Miami at home without The Upgrade.

#BigVicEnergy
With all due respect we split with Miami this year. Last year we swept them, home AND away. Searls had a good game today. So did Clayton who you criticize nearly every week. With the "Upgrade", as you call it, our record is worse this year than last. I fail to understand your logic.
I’ll keep this simple. We were a better team last year. Miami was a worse team last year. Searls being more serviceable and productive than Wiznitzer can’t be denied regardless of overall rosters. Gabe scored double figures 2 times in 2 years while he was in Athens. Vic has scored double figures 6 times this year.
While this is all true, I do think that Gabe was a better defensive player, and not necessarily in things that show up in stats, though he probably did have more blocks. (I know somebody will look it up.) His presence on defense around the rim caused shooters to have to alter angles and players driving to the basket to have to maneuver around his large, high-elevation wing spam in ways that they don't have to do with Searls.
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shabamon
3/2/2025 8:08 AM
GraffZ06 wrote:expand_more
I'll echo the Nicol thought. A healthy scholarship player needs be serviceable, especially with injuries, in his second year.
I agree. I said it above. We've never had guys who were important pieces/contributors as upper classmen who never saw the floor their first couple years. It's unacceptable dangit.
If this is tongue in cheek, you're more right than you're intending. Name a player who was healthy yet never in the regular rotation in his first two years that later became an important roster piece.

Asown Sayles? Stephen King?
Chad Estis
Jim Peterson
Thomas Stephens
Whitney Davis
Ken van Kempen
Mike Laster
Jaivon Harris (broke out his senior season)
DeVaughn Washington (broke out his jr/sr seasons)
Stevie Taylor
Treg Setty
Chad Estis - before my time
Jim Peterson - before my time
Thomas Stephens - before my time
Whitney Davis - He's a year ahead of me. Whit was the eighth or ninth guy in the rotation on a championship team and steadily improved each year.
Ken van Kempen - In the rotation immediately. Scored 15 points game two of his freshman year.
Mike Laster - Played 63 games his first two years, starting 17
Jaivon Harris (broke out his senior season) - before my time
DeVaughn Washington (broke out his jr/sr seasons) - Was ninth or tenth guy in the rotation on a veteran heavy team his freshman year. Started about half the games his sophomore year
Stevie Taylor - In the rotation immediately. Hits a clutch three late and goes for 14 in game 2 freshman year in that OT win over Lamar. Two games later scores 10 at top 10 Louisville.
Treg Setty - In the rotation immediately and IMO skills misused by Christian.
Last Edited: 3/2/2025 2:32:12 PM by shabamon
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SBH
3/2/2025 9:20 AM
I agree that Setty was misused by Christian. They did not like each other...at all.
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Andrew Ruck
3/2/2025 3:46 PM
JSF wrote:expand_more
lol, we announced our attendance two people more than the game at Oxford.
This is an excellent tidbit. I envision the ticket office seeing the count a couple dozen behind at halftime and somehow finding a way to run a few more tickets thru.
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cc-cat
3/2/2025 5:34 PM
what was with elliot wearing a winter coat in the second half? assume he was not feeling well but then why keep him near the other player
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FJC31
3/2/2025 6:31 PM
I couldn’t find this kid on our recruiting page, but apparently 2026 prospect Ethan Sabec was in attendance for an unofficial.

https://x.com/ethansabec2026/status/1896292913073799199?s...
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GraffZ06
3/2/2025 6:44 PM
FJC31 wrote:expand_more
I couldn’t find this kid on our recruiting page, but apparently 2026 prospect Ethan Sabec was in attendance for an unofficial.

https://x.com/ethansabec2026/status/1896292913073799199?s...
6'8 but more of a shooter. 4.2 GPA. Sounds exactly like a Boals recruit.
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