Quarterback on the late 1950's PHS teams and then Head Coach in the 60's is OHIO HALL of FAME, Rick Merb. Funny, Rick doesn't have a clue as to what you are speaking of OCF. I have also spoken to long time local historian, and seems your memory is fading.

Was at that game primarily to see how he would do against one of the more aggressive defenses he might face. Here's my take, for what it's worth:
Both quick and fast with his moves, good handles on the ball, very good hops, nice shot, and strong on drives to the hoop. That said, he was facing a TVC team, albeit one with shorter but quick defensive guards. He had a number of rebounds and I think 7 or 8 blocks. When he got a steal or rebound, he would pretty much be assured of a bucket as he ran the court. Simply put, he controlled the play when the ball was in his hands.
The question has been "Can he play"? Yes. Can he play MAC D1 level, probably yes. Would he be an immediate impact, all MAC force? Dunno, since I've seen him only twice last year and once this, but he is a talent worthy of a concentrated look. Fuss was there to scout him but with his toddler daughter so it wasn't a lengthy observation.
You don't want a quality local find to go elsewhere in the conference, obviously. But.........

I went out to see the Athens-Alex game too. First of all, Lutz is not 6'3". I'd say 6'1" tops, and I say that not from the game but standing next to him at the Rec in December. There are a number of inflated heights on the Athens roster. But whatever his size he was by far the best player on the floor, and I was most impressed with his speed, defense, and his pull up jumper. He's got a serious vertical and pulls up in a flash, with just the slightest fade away after he squares his shoulders. He can create his shot off the dribble due to the vertical but also an excellent sense of space that he can find due to pretty good ball-handling. At times he tried to do too much with the dribble, trying to get through three defenders. His timing, defensively especially, was very good and he had a number of impressive swats. I did not see pure PG skills in the sense of finding guys, especially when he was getting doubled and tripled. He looked for his own shots more than getting easy looks for others. Can he play? Definitely. D1? Quite possibly. At this point I would have to see him against bigger and better competition that might match his speed. I was right next to Fuss and his daughter and was glad to see him there, Lutz is certainly one to keep an eye on.

Just a little difference between Canton and Portsmouth. But hey, you were close. 😜


On another level, the program at the Hoop list Griffen as best PG in class of 2017 and 7th best in state right now.

Triple Double for Lutz last night and the Bulldogs have won 4 in a row to turn their season around and get above .500 (7-6) for the first time.

15 points, 14 assists, 10 rebounds, 4 blocks and a steal.

You can catch a few highlights of his on WOUB's youtube channel if you watch the vids featuring Athens games. Good quicks and hops. Limited viewing, but sort of reminds me of Denny at BG.

According to WOUB article today, Lutz is out for season with broken foot.

Per PrephoopsOhio, his top three choices right now are Belmont, Ball St. and Ohio. I'm not certain what order.

He's recovering from a broken foot and is expected to return to competitive basketball in July...

Can he play?



Let me be more specific. Gotta think that he might come on campus and play at Ping against guys on the Bobcat hoops team or other Bobcat athletes or other good competition, maybe. (Am I correct in assuming that guys on the team play at Ping in the off season?) If I'm right about playing at Ping, has anyone seen him...any idea of what the current players think of him?

Or maybe observers saw him compete at Ping against guys now on the team or OHIO athletes. Wouldn't expect guys on the team to comment directly--but maybe observers might comment or posters here might have spoken with team members.....






Keep hating me.... and having no sense of humor...

I played against him when he was 11 in the community center. I took the little dude into the post and scored at will. I wasn't impressed.






Yea I made that up.

Billythecat posted a link earlier from January that Ohio has offered. Not sure if that was accurate or not. I'd hate to let another local star leave though.

I hope that he doesn't end up at Akron and then come home to haunt us in game after game like a certain guy from Waverly that according to some unquestionably accurate reports here on BA wanted to be a Bobcat but who we didn't offer.