Ohio

State of '08: Ohio

Shawn Siegel — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 08:33:26 -0700

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Duke or Carolina? BC or UMASS? Gonzaga or Washington.. or Washington State? What is the best program in each state? While there's not much competition in Hawaii.. there are great debates to be had in loaded regions like California, North Carolina, and Texas. The State of '08 is a ranking of every program in every state.. based mostly on recent success (the last five years) mixed in with subjective factors such as conference prestige, historical success, and overall program direction.

For more info, check out the State of '08 introduction.

OHIO

OHIO STATE - While Xavier has had more consistent success since 2001, its hard to match Ohio State's 2007 campaign: Reaching the National Title game while finishing 1st in the RPI. OSU has also won 20 games in 8 of 10 seasons and reached 6 Big Dances.

XAVIER - Sean Miller has picked up where Thad Matta left off, and Matta followed the success of Skip Prosser, who continued the foundation set by Pete Gillen. Since 1986, there's been a continual run of impressive postseason success at Xavier, including 2 Elite Eight trips in the past 5 years.

KENT STATE - Pretty much whatever success you see at Kent State can still be attributed to the job Gary Waters did in the late 90's, turning a dormant program into a winner. In the last decade, the Golden Flashes have made 5 NCAA Tournaments and 4 NITs, and have won at least 20 games in each of those seasons. In 2009, Kent State is once again the projected MAC champ.

CINCINNATI - This is obviously a storied program, but the post-Huggins era has gotten off to a slow start. There hasn't been a tourney trip in the past three seasons, nor a finish above .500 in conference play. 2009 should be better, but the Big Dance will most likely have to wait another season.

DAYTON - After a hot start, Dayton stumbled to an 8-8 finish in A10 play, their third season in a row without a winning league record. From 2000-2005, Dayton won at least 9 league games every season, and made 3 NCAA Tournaments and 2 NITs.

6. MIAMI - The RedHawks have never been bad in Charlie Coles lengthy career. In fact, just one time in 11 seasons has his team failed to go at least .500 in the MAC. His last five teams have finished in the RPI Top 100, and this year's squad looks postseason-worthy once again.

7. AKRON - Keith Dambrot's four year tenure has been highly impressive. The Zips have been finished in the RPI Top 75 the past four seasons, consistently challenged for MAC titles, and advanced to two NITs. The team does lose a lot of talent this year, so it might be Dambrot's most challenging season.

8. OHIO - Ohio is a solid program that has never gone more than couple seasons here or there without contending for the MAC title. The Bobcats have won at least 18 games the past four seasons (including the '05 Big Dance), though the off-season departure of 8-year coach Tim O'Shea was puzzling.

9. WRIGHT STATE - We might be in thee midst of Wright State's best run in program history. Brad Brownell led the Raiders to the '07 Tournament in his first season, and followed that up with another 20+ win season last year. This year, WSU should once again contend for the Horizon League title.

10. TOLEDO - The Rockets haven't made the NCAA's since 1980, but it hasn't been all bad in the meantime. In 2001 & 2007, the Rockets won MAC regular season titles, but couldn't get over the conference tournament hump. Last year was disappointing, and new coach Gene Cross will need to elevate the program's overall talent-level.

11. CLEVELAND STATE - Twenty years after last making the postseason, the Vikings made the NIT in Gary Waters' second season. The Vikings won 10 league games and 20 overall games for the first time since 1993, and there's a legitimate shot they could earn their first Tourney trip since 1986.

12. BOWLING GREEN - Falcons basketball peaked in the 60's. The start of Dan Dakich's tenure, from about 99 to 02, looked promising.. but things went down hill. The last three years have featured sub-200 RPI teams, though the 2009 squad looks promising.

13. YOUNGSTOWN STATE - The Penguins basketball teams have never been able to match the football teams accomplishments. There are occasional hopeful seasons, but 2001 was the last time YSU really did any damage.

Last: North Carolina - Next: Oklahoma

State of '08: The Introduction (& State list/links)

2008-09 Ohio Bobcats Preview: #129

Joel Welser — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 09:44:35 -0700

Ohio Bobcats

Overall Rank: #129

Conference Rank: #5 MAC

2007-08: 20-13, 9-7, 3^rd East

2007-08 postseason: CBI

No matter what the reasons, it is not good when your coach leaves in late June to go to Bryant University. Former coach Tim O’Shea’s time at Ohio was limited and likely to end after this season anyway, so in the long run it is not a bad thing. In fact, since the Bobcats made a great hire in former Ohio State assistant John Groce, Ohio’s expectations are rising right away.

Who’s Out:

Yet, there will need to be a little rebuilding this year. Three of the top four scorers are gone, including forward Leon Williams who averaged 16.4 points and 9.8 rebounds during his senior campaign. Bubba Walther added 12.3 points and 3.7 assists per contest and fellow guard Bert Whittington was the other long range threat besides Walther. Guard Allen Hester earned a handful of starts and occasionally played an important role off the bench. Walk-on guard Andrew Vroman only saw action in six games his final year with the Bobcats.

Who’s In:

Besides the loss of Williams, it is not as bad as it looks. Walther’s production is replaceable and Whittington fits squarely in the ‘addition by subtraction’ category. Stacy Waters will carry some of the burden on the perimeter. The shooting guard can consistently knock down the three-pointer and that is what Ohio needs the most this year. In a backcourt that returns very few experienced players, Waters could be starting from day one and point guard Frankie Dobbs and shooting guard Steven Coleman will be given the opportunity to see quality minutes. Mike Harris was Iona’s second leading scorer as a freshman two years ago before transferring to Athens. Harris’ ability to hit the long ball, and his experience, will make him a valuable asset, either in the starting lineup or off the bench. Big men Maurice Pearson and Zach Nagtzaam both redshirted last year. The frontcourt certainly has a lack of depth, so the more minutes those two can eat up as freshmen, the better.

Who to Watch:

Jerome Tillman ranked second on the team last year in points, rebounds and blocks. The 6-6 power forward had a great year next to Williams, who ranked first in all those categories, but what will happen now that Williams is gone? Will Tillman emerge as a big threat under the basket or will he struggle as the opposing defense keys in on him? The problem is there is nobody ready to take over the center spot. Kenneth van Kempen has some experience, but he will not do anything close to what Williams did over his four year career. The small forward spot returns Justin Orr. Orr is a decent slasher and can occasionally hit the outside shot. Tillman and Orr will have to carry the team for a while and if they cannot find a center to clog the lane, the frontcourt will struggle.

Final Projection:

The backcourt does have some players returning. Point guard Michael Allen had a decent year after spending a couple seasons at Cloud Community College and Daytona Beach Community College. He is not much of a scorer, but Allen did dish out four assists per contest. As long as he can keep the turnovers down, the backcourt will have a steadying force leading the way. Tommy Freeman will likely find more playing time this year after averaging under ten minutes per game as a freshman. At 6-5, Freeman has the size to give the team a much needed rebounder on the wing.

Projected Post-season Tournament: none

Projected Starting Five:

Michael Allen, Senior, Guard, 4.8 points per game

Mike Harris, Sophomore, Guard, DNP last season

Justin Orr, Senior, Forward, 6.8 points per game

Jerome Tillman, Senior, Forward, 13.3 points per game

Kenneth van Kempen, Junior, Center, 2.3 points per game

Complete Top 144 Ranking | 2008-09 Preview & Awards | Coach Interviews | Discuss the Preview

Live From the MAC Tournament: Quaterfinals

Bill Kintner — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 07:25:16 -0700

CLEVELAND – With four quarterfinals games today I am just going to get the highlights of the games and try to give fans a flavor for what is going.

Game One: WMU vs EMU

Led by David Kool’s 24 points No. 2 seed Western Michigan (20-11) beat No. 7 seed Eastern Michigan (14-17). In a game that Eastern Michigan never led, they did make it interesting when at the 10:34 mark they tied the game at 34-34 when Jarrad Axon made two foul shots, but that was a fleeting moment of joy as the Broncos closed it out to end Eastern Michigan’s season.
Fav quote:

“We weren’t talking well on defense and they are a great shooting team. With this being their first game of the tournament, we knew they were going to be pumped up and ready to go and we did not match their intensity and that hurt us in the long run.”
EMU guard Travis Lewis.

-This is WSM’s first trip to the semifinals since 2005.

-The crowd for this game was rather meager considering that Michigan leads the country in unemployment. With all that free time you would think more of them would be here watching two Michigan teams play.

-WMU leads the all-time series with EMU 49-44.

-Western Michigan plays Akron at 7 p.m. on Friday.

Game Two: Akron vs CMU

Akron the No. 3 seed stayed true to form and whipped up on the No. 6 seed Central Michigan 81-60. This game was close for the first 23 minutes before the Zips opened up a double digit lead at the 16:42 mark. Akron’s Jeremiah Wood led all scorers with 17 points. Akron (22-9) shot 56 percent (28-50) from the field and 58.8 percent (10-17) from beyond the 3-point line. Central Michigan (14-17) shot just 34.5 percent (20-58).

Fav quote:

“Today it was, ‘I just want to play basketball.’ Whatever I could do I wanted to do. We are in the part of the season where every game can be your last and I just wanted to leave everything out there.”

You thought the quote was going to be Akron coach Keith Dambrot and nine times out of 10 it usually is, just not today.

-Akron leads the all-time series with CMU 23-13.

-Akron plays Western Michigan at 7 p.m. on Friday.

Game Three: Kent State vs Toledo

No. 1 seed Kent State pounded No. 8 seed Toledo into submission 77-54. The first half was relatively close with Toledo (11-19) getting their biggest lead at three at 7-4 at the 16:42 mark. At halftime Kent State (26-6) led 39-29. In the second Kent just enlarged their lead as they were led by Mike Scott’s 23 points.

Fav Quote:

“On the court we do not think we should get any fouls. The officials made a few calls we did not necessarily agree with and the calls gave us a disadvantage and took away from us being aggressive.”
Toledo forward Jerrah Young.

-Kent State had a nice crowd at the game and they made a lot of noise.

-Toledo leads the all-time series with Kent 78-41.

-Kent State plays Miami at 9:30 p.m. on Friday night.

Game Four: Miami vs Ohio

A typical Miami/Ohio game that No. 5 seed Miami pulled out over No.4 seed Ohio 74-61. The game was a lot tighter than the score indicates. Miami (17-14) was led by Michael Bramos’ 23 points and after getting pounded on the boards by 19 in their last game, the RedHawks out-rebounded the Bobcats 42-31. With 2:10 left it was still a close game with Miami clinging to a four point lead at 63-59. Ohio would score just one more basketball in the game.

Fav quote:

“I think we won with our guards and we got solid contributions from everybody on the boards. Last night we got out-rebounded by 19 so to come back to night and go plus 11 was a big thing.”
Miami forward Tyler Dierkers

-Ohio leads the all-time series with Miami 93-88.

-Miami plays Kent State Friday at 9:30 p.m.

MAC Notes:

-Miami has a four man broadcast team which is by far the biggest in the MAC. Steve Baker delivers the pbp, Joe Berry adds the color, Tim Bray gives sideline updates and Tommy Leugers engineers the whole mess. Some MAC schools simply have one guy that does all four jobs.

-And yes, Tim Bray actually does something besides carry Steve Baker’s luggage. At 1:30 p.m. today he was in the media room hard at work doing research for tonight’s game Miami/Ohio University game. Tommy Leugers calls him “Tidbit Tim” for all the great research he does that provides his reports. I would put that broadcast team up against any from the BCS programs.

-They are playing the woman’s tourney here at the same time as the regular tourney so it makes for a lot of downtime especially on Friday and Saturday for the fans and writers.

-Akron coach Keith Dambrot is one of the best quotes in college coaching and I like using him when I can. After I finished interviewing him he looked at my rather large stature and told me to come up to Akron to take a look at his program and he would take me to one of the best restaurants ever. That may just cost him a boatload of money someday. He also is not very PC which makes for a better interview.

-Ohio University has the best looking dance in the MAC.

-Miami’s coach Charlie Coles is not with the team. He had a heart procedure performed in a local hospital and there is no word as to when he might return. Assistant coach Jermaine Henderson is coaching the team for the remainder of the season.

MAC Game of the Work Week

Ryan Molnar — Mon, 29 Jan 2007 01:23:41 -0800

Toledo has been on a run lately and they get arguably their toughest test this week as they travel to Athens, Ohio to meet up with the Ohio Bobcats. These two teams are seemingly going in different directions right now. Toledo is currently undefeated in MAC play and is looking like a lock to get the first round bye in the MAC tournament. Ohio plays well at home but is another team all together when it goes on the road. The good news for Ohio is this game is on the road. First of all before getting any further it is important to look at two things. First of all, Toledo plays in the very watered down MAC West division. It isn’t hard to go undefeated when your opponents are the directional Michigan schools and Northern Illinois. However, Toledo has shown some strength when they went on the road and beat Buffalo in New York. They just got done taking care of Miami at home this weekend as well. Ohio has been playing very well so far this year at home and that’s what really makes this game so interesting. If this game were in Toledo there would probably be no chance of a Bobcat upset. Ohio has been a completely different team thus far from the friendly confines of the Convo. Ohio is also a team that has been in the midst of three different shake ups. The first came when senior forward Ken Ottrix was suspended from the university for a DUI in September. Next up was when head coach Tim O’Shea dismissed senior forward Johnnie Jackson from the team right before conference season was to begin. Then, right before the Kent State game the team lost it’s only true point guard in junior Antonio Chatman. The Bobcats are now down to 9 players who began the season on the team. They have added a few walk-ons but the case remains that this is a very thin team. It will be interesting to see what each team tries to do. Will Toledo try and push the ball and get it into more of an up and down tempo to speed up Ohio? Will Ohio step it up on the perimeter defensive end and shut down Justin Ingram? This game is crucial for Ohio if it wants one of the first four spots in the conference tournament. If they get one of those coveted four spots then it will have a first round bye. The keys for Ohio will be to force it down low to their talented big men Leon Williams and Jerome Tillman. For Toledo it will be to use it’s depth to it’s advantage and to try and wear the Bobcats out.

One Bid League

Ryan Molnar — Thu, 04 Jan 2007 09:50:51 -0800

The last chance for a possible at-large bid for any team not to win the MAC championship all but vanished Wednesday night when the Ohio Bobcats surrendered a 14 point, second-half lead to Marshall University. The Bobcats lost 70-60 and head into conference play at 9-4. The Bobcats had probably the best chance to get an at-large bid, should they play well in the conference portion of their schedule. Well they theorhetically could still end up with an at-large bid, the loss to Marshall sure didn’t help anything. The Bobcats were on a roll of a 3-game win streak which included a neutral court win over Cincinnati last Saturday night. Their other three losses were to Davidson, Louisville, and Samford. Ohio will have a shot to get their MAC schedule off to a good start as they host league favorite, Akron on Saturday night. It is by far the early season game of the year in the MAC.

MAC Recap: 11-18

Ryan Molnar — Sun, 19 Nov 2006 07:55:38 -0800

The MAC had four teams in action yesterday and last night with all but one team winning. Kent State picked up a good win at home over Detroit. Marquette handed it to Eastern Michigan. Toledo took care of Middle Tennessee State in overtime, and Buffalo came away with an impressive win over Miami (FL). Kent State had a balanced attack lead them to a 61-48 victory over the University of Detroit Mercy at the MAC Center yesterday afternoon. Kent State held Detroit to just 38 percent shooting and withstood a hot start from behind the 3-point line from the Titans. Detroit hit its first three triples, but then proceeded to only shoot three-of-16 the rest of the game. Freshmen guard Rodriguez Sherman led Kent State with 14 points in his first colleigate start. Due to many suspensions of players he was thrust into the lineup and did not commit one turnover in 31 minutes of play. Senior Armon Gates scored 12 points and brought down a career high 8 rebounds. He is known more for his 3 point shooting ability but in this game he was only able to make two three pointers. Kent State returns to action on Tuesday when they host Temple University. Eastern Michigan fell hard to #17 Marquette University 95-62. The Eagles were led by freshmen Devon Dumes who was the only player on Eastern in double figures as he scored 16 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the field while hitting 4-of-7 from behind the arc. EMU stayed with Marquette for much of the first half but could not withstand Marquette’s hot shooting from the field along with its stingy defense. The Golden Eagles connected on 48% of it’s three point attempts while Eastern hit just 38% of theirs. Marquette had five players in double figures and were led by sophomore guard Dominic James who had 17 points. EMU will take on Detroit on Wednesday, November 29th. Toledo got their first win of the year last night but it wasn’t easy. Playing against Middle Tennessee State in the Virgin Islands as part of the Paradise Jam Tournament, Toledo fell down by as much as 18 points at the half but battled back to win it 75-69 in overtime. Senior guard Justin Ingram came up big for the Rockets scoring a career-high 32 points. He also hit the three that forced overtime. Senior forward Keonta Howell came up with 21 points and 6 rebounds and overcame a 20 point deficit with a 22-2 surge late in the second half. Ingram hit the game-tying three with only 0.9 seconds left on the clock. Middle Tennessee State rode their 72.7 percent shooting to a 18 point halftime lead. Toledo will play VCU on Monday afternoon in their last game at the Paradise Jam Tournament. The Buffalo Bulls win over the Miami Hurricanes was the school’s first win over a school from the Atlantic Coast Conference. The Bulls defeated the Hurricanes 60-57 in the America’s Youth Classic in Evansville, Indiana last night. Yassin Idbihi hit the game-winning jumper with 3.7 seconds remaining to carry the Bulls to their third win of the season. The senior forward led Buffalo with 22 points and a career high 14 rebounds. Buffalo only shot 36.5 percent but played solid defense and came up big on the boards. Buffalo was able to out-rebound Miami 43-35, including 16 offensive boards. Buffalo will take on Evansville in the final game of the tournament today. Today’s games feature Ball State hosting Prairie View A&M, Bowling Green hosting Furman, Akron hosting Tiffin, Ohio hosting Yale, Buffalo on the road at Evansville, and Central Michigan hosting UMKC. Here are my predictions: Ball State, Akron, Ohio, and Central Michigan all win, while Bowling Green and Buffalo both lose. Yesterday: 1-3. Overall: 6-4.

Ohio Signs Four Of Possible Five On Signing Day

Ryan Molnar — Thu, 09 Nov 2006 14:46:46 -0800

The Bobcats' current 2007 recruiting class includes Tommy Freeman (Muncie, Ind.), Zach Nagtzaam (Ayr, Ontario), Maurice Pearson (Silver Springs, Md.) and DeVaugh Washington (Virginia Beach, Va.). Freeman has helped lead Muncie Central High School to the Indiana state title game in each of the past two seasons. A 6-5, 185-pound guard, Freeman knocked down three-pointers at a 45-percent rate as a junior and averaged 10.3 points. Playing guard and forward, Freeman led Central with five rebounds per game and drew a team-best 26 charges. Nagtzaam, a native of Ayr, Ontario, will become the second player of foreign descent on the Bobcat roster next year. As a 6-11, 235-pound center, Nagtzaam averaged 20 points and nine rebounds last year to lead Southwood Secondary School to a 33-12 record. He also played on the Ontario provincial team that took home the national championship at the Canadian Summer Games and is a two-year member of the Canadian Junior National Team. Nagtzaam was one of 20 players chosen to participate in this past summer's Nike All-Canada Camp. Pearson is young for his class - he will turn 17 at the beginning of his senior season - but already possesses a 6-9, 220-pound frame. At Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School, Pearson averaged 17 points and 10 rebound as a junior and was named to the Washington Post All-Metro Third Team. He also garnered All-Montgomery Conference and All-Montgomery Gazette honors. Washington is a 6-8, 225-pound forward from Kempsville High School. Washington has averaged nine points, eight rebounds and three blocks during his prep career, including 11 points, seven boards and four blocks as a junior to earn All-Virginia Beach Second Team honors.

MAC Preseason Media Poll

Press Release — Thu, 26 Oct 2006 00:00:00 -0700

CLEVELAND -- The Mid-American Conference announced today that Akron (East Division) and Toledo (West Division) have been chosen as preseason favorites to win their respective divisions in men’s basketball. Voting was conducted by members of the MAC News Media Association. The MAC announces the top six teams in each division and the tournament winner in its preseason poll. The Zips were also tabbed to win the MAC Tournament.

Akron finished last season with a 23-10 record, the most wins in the program’s Division I era. The Zips also notched the school’s first D-I postseason victory in the form of an 80-73 overtime win at Temple in the NIT. Akron returns its top four scorers and four starters from last season’s squad. Highlighting that group are seniors Romeo Travis and Dru Joyce. Travis led the Zips in scoring (13.5 ppg.), rebounding (6.8 rpg.) and field goal pct. (52 Pct.). Joyce led the team in assists (5.0 apg.) and was third in scoring (10.0 ppg.). Travis was named to the NABC All-District 10 second team as well as to the All-MAC first team, while Joyce was picked as an all-league honorable mention. The Zips received 35 first place votes and 26 votes to win the FirstEnergy MAC Tournament.

Ohio was picked to finish second in the East Division after posting a 19-11 record and received two votes to win the FirstEnergy MAC Tournament. The Bobcats will return three starters from last year’s squad, including point guard Antonio Chatman, wing Sonny Troutman and 2006-07 preseason All-MAC selection Leon Williams. Williams received All-MAC honorable mention honors last season after scoring 11.0 ppg., and 6.9 rpg.

Kent State was picked to finish third after winning the MAC regular season and tournament championship last season, while Miami was selected to place fourth after appearing in the NIT last season. The Golden Flashes have qualified for postseason play in each of the past eight seasons, with four NCAA Tournament bids and four NIT appearances. Miami received four votes to win the FirstEnergy MAC Tournament, while KSU garnered two votes. Buffalo was picked to finish fifth and Bowling Green rounded out the East Division.

Toledo will welcome back four starters this season after finishing as runner-up in last year’s FirstEnergy MAC Tournament. 2005-06 All-MAC second team selection Justin Ingram returns after averaging 14.6 ppg. and 3.2 rpg. last season. Ingram will be joined by senior forward Florentio Valencia (12.0 ppg., MAC-best 65.9 FG%) and senior guard Keonta Howell (11.3 ppg., 4.3 rpg.). UT will also bring back junior point guard Kashif Payne (8.4 ppg., 4.3 apg.). The Rockets also received four votes to win this year’s FirstEnergy MAC Tournament.

Northern Illinois was selected to finish in the second in the West after winning the division last season. The Huskies will welcome back two starters from last season, including 2005-06 MAC Defensive Player of the Year and preseason All-MAC selection James Hughes. Hughes is currently the school-record holder for career field-goal percentage (57.6 %) and will be joined by 2004-05 All-MAC honorable mention selection Mike McKinney.

Western Michigan was selected to finish third, while Ball State and new head coach Ronny Thompson were picked to finish fourth. Eastern Michigan was selected to finish fifth and Central Michigan and new head coach Ernie Zeigler rounded out the West Division in sixth.

The MAC regular season gets underway on Wednesday, November 8 as Central Michigan faces Youngstown State in the 2K Sports College Hoops Classic in East Lansing, Mich. Conference action begins on Saturday, January 6 as all teams will start to fight for position in the FirstEnergy Men’s Basketball Tournament that will welcome all 12 teams to Cleveland on March 7-10 at Quicken Loans Arena.

Seniors Look To Answer Most Of Last Year's Questions

Ryan Molnar — Sun, 15 Oct 2006 12:40:26 -0700

The Ohio Bobcats are looking to bounce back after a tough, underachieving year last year. A lot of the team’s problems from last year, however, seemed to be answered as they started practice on Saturday. Last year the biggest problem was chemistry. A key figure to the chemistry imbalance was point guard Jeremy Fears. Fortunately for the Bobcats, Fears is gone and not too many people are worried he left the program. This year’s Bobcat team probably won’t make any “It” teams but make no mistake, they have what it takes to make the Big Dance. With six seniors and a preseason All-MAC junior, this team has the experience and talent to go a long way. The six seniors are led with guard Sonny Troutman. Troutman is the most experienced of the seniors with 78 starts in 86 games. Troutman has averaged 10.3 points per game throughout his collegiate career. He will look to probably start the season as either the small forward or shooting guard. Whitney Davis is another senior who will be looked upon to lead the team this year. Last year Davis had a breakout year by leading the Bobcat bench in scoring 8.2 points per game. Davis will probably be looked upon to start at the shooting guard spot and could probably be looked upon to spell Antonio Chatman in the point guard slot. Another senior guard is Stephen King. King has not played very much the past couple of years due to more experienced and talented players being in front of him, but look for him this year to really show his stuff on the court. He can open up defenses with his three-point shooting ability and will also be asked to play some point this year. Another senior who has not seen much playing time is Matt Annen. Annen may very well start this season along side Leon Williams, but if not it’s sure that he’ll see a lot more playing time than before. Yet another senior is Johnnie Jackson. He scored 4 points a game last year and will be called upon off the bench again this year for his defensive ability. The last senior on the team is Ken Ottrix. He was arrested in the fall and has been suspended indefinatly. It is unclear as of yet, when or if he will return to the team. Much of the Bobcats success will be placed in the hands of its junior class. Leon Williams will be asked to carry the scoring load for the team this year. He has already been named to the preseason All-MAC team and will be one of the better players in the MAC this year. He will be the focus of just about every team the Bobcats play this year. The starting point guard will be fellow junior Antonio Chatman. In his first year as a Bobcat last year, Chatman finished as one of the best point guards in the MAC last year. How Chatman runs the offense will be the key to Ohio winning the MAC. Bubba Walther will also be asked to back up Chatman this year. Walther is a transfer from Akron and can really shoot it from downtown. The lone sophomore on the team is Jerome Tillman and he will be playing a lot at the small forward position this year. The two true freshmen on the team are Asown Sayles and Kenneth Van Kempen. Asown spent last year in prep school at Hargrave Military Academy. Hargrave also produced six other Division I basketball players last year. Asown may not see much playing time this year, but is an extremely good athlete who will help the team in practice and after this year when six seniors will graduate. Van Kempen hails from the Netherlands and is going to be a good guy for Coach Tim O’Shea to use down low to grind for the rebounds. He won’t really be looked upon to carry any of the scoring load. The Bobcats will need him to grab rebounds, play good defense, and give Williams a few breathers a game. If he can do that, then the Bobcats will be in good shape. Overall, this is looking like a good year for the Ohio men’s basketball team. A MAC championship is not out of the question, however they are going to have to prove themselves against Akron who is the league favorite. The non-conference schedule is no cupcake with the team traveling to tournaments in Louisville and Arizona State in the month of December. If they can come out of non-conference play with only a few loses and at least one victory over either Louisville or Arizona State then they may be able to make a case for an at-large bid. Look for the seniors to really step up and be the answer to all of last year’s questions.

2006-07 Preview: Team's #131-144

Joel Welser — Mon, 02 Oct 2006 14:02:05 -0700

Capsules of teams ranked 131st to 144th in CHN's 144 Teams in 144 Days college preview.