Apparently There is a Good Player from Indiana Who Came to the Buckeye State
I live in Ohio.
I thoroughly enjoy Ohio State football.
The 2006-07 Ohio State men's basketball team is quickly becoming one of my least favorite teams of all time, and Greg Oden has taken over Adam Morrison's role of my college basketball nemesis, without ever taking the court for the Buckeyes.
There are few players that have ever received so much credit for not an ounce of production. In fact, it would not surprise me if the sports writers, along with Dick Vitale and Dan Shulman, were to award Oden the Naismith Award as the best player in college basketball. Seriously, Oden doesn't even need to dunk or block one ball in his collegiate career to be the "best" player to ever "play" at Ohio State.
Trust me, I am aware that he certainly was a man among boys in high school and will probably continue that trend in college. Yes, he is bigger and more athletic that probably any other big man in the country, but can we at least wait to crown him as the best player in college basketball until he performs up to his potential.
Although my boy Dicky V and his cohort Shulman have singlehandedly attempted to ruin my night of basketball by treating Oden as a religious idol, they have ultimately failed. This game between top-ranked Ohio State and sixth-ranked North Carolina might be the most excited I have ever been while watching college hoops.
Usually, I like whoever the Heels are playing, but not on this night (and maybe not for the rest of the year until the Blue Devils take the court against them). I'd say this is mostly because it is very hard for me dislike a team when they don't have at least one player that gets under my skin. Their national championship team highlighted three villains with Sean May, Raymond Felton and Rashad McCants. I tried to hate Tyler Hansborough last year, and I failed. Since everyone else for UNC is basically new, and I've cheered so enthusiastically on this night, I may for the first time ROOT for the once despised Tar Heels.
Aside from this being one of the most exciting games I have ever seen and aside from the fact it is still November, the early games so far have me more excited for the season than I have ever been.
One of the biggest reasons to be excited for the season as a college basketball fan is that each week, whichever team is ranked number one has a legitimate chance to lose. There has never seemed to be so much parity in the game.
I am a huge Duke fan, but this season may be a struggle for the Blue Devils. They will always be good as long as Coach K is there, but without a go-to guy on offense, they may not be a plausible contender for the national championship once March rolls around.
One team that will be a contender and I will be pulling for is UCLA. They lost Jordan Farmar to the NBA last year, but Darren Collison has stepped right in and filled what many thought would be a huge void for the Bruins. He proved that they will be just fine at the point guard position by earning the Maui Invitational MVP. Along with Collison, Aaron Afflalo makes up a sensational backcourt. When you add to that Josh Shipp, Lorenzo Mata, and, my favorite name in college basketball, Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, you have the best team at this point in the season. When Florida is healthy (i.e. Corey Brewer and Joakim Noah are free of mono), they will again be serious contenders to repeat as the national champion.
Hopefully each week of the sesason will continue to provide the quality of play that we've seen so far, and I'm sure the Buckeyes will dominate once they get Greg O-my God I can't believe I almost finished that sentence.
I thoroughly enjoy Ohio State football.
The 2006-07 Ohio State men's basketball team is quickly becoming one of my least favorite teams of all time, and Greg Oden has taken over Adam Morrison's role of my college basketball nemesis, without ever taking the court for the Buckeyes.
There are few players that have ever received so much credit for not an ounce of production. In fact, it would not surprise me if the sports writers, along with Dick Vitale and Dan Shulman, were to award Oden the Naismith Award as the best player in college basketball. Seriously, Oden doesn't even need to dunk or block one ball in his collegiate career to be the "best" player to ever "play" at Ohio State.
Trust me, I am aware that he certainly was a man among boys in high school and will probably continue that trend in college. Yes, he is bigger and more athletic that probably any other big man in the country, but can we at least wait to crown him as the best player in college basketball until he performs up to his potential.
Although my boy Dicky V and his cohort Shulman have singlehandedly attempted to ruin my night of basketball by treating Oden as a religious idol, they have ultimately failed. This game between top-ranked Ohio State and sixth-ranked North Carolina might be the most excited I have ever been while watching college hoops.
Usually, I like whoever the Heels are playing, but not on this night (and maybe not for the rest of the year until the Blue Devils take the court against them). I'd say this is mostly because it is very hard for me dislike a team when they don't have at least one player that gets under my skin. Their national championship team highlighted three villains with Sean May, Raymond Felton and Rashad McCants. I tried to hate Tyler Hansborough last year, and I failed. Since everyone else for UNC is basically new, and I've cheered so enthusiastically on this night, I may for the first time ROOT for the once despised Tar Heels.
Aside from this being one of the most exciting games I have ever seen and aside from the fact it is still November, the early games so far have me more excited for the season than I have ever been.
One of the biggest reasons to be excited for the season as a college basketball fan is that each week, whichever team is ranked number one has a legitimate chance to lose. There has never seemed to be so much parity in the game.
I am a huge Duke fan, but this season may be a struggle for the Blue Devils. They will always be good as long as Coach K is there, but without a go-to guy on offense, they may not be a plausible contender for the national championship once March rolls around.
One team that will be a contender and I will be pulling for is UCLA. They lost Jordan Farmar to the NBA last year, but Darren Collison has stepped right in and filled what many thought would be a huge void for the Bruins. He proved that they will be just fine at the point guard position by earning the Maui Invitational MVP. Along with Collison, Aaron Afflalo makes up a sensational backcourt. When you add to that Josh Shipp, Lorenzo Mata, and, my favorite name in college basketball, Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, you have the best team at this point in the season. When Florida is healthy (i.e. Corey Brewer and Joakim Noah are free of mono), they will again be serious contenders to repeat as the national champion.
Hopefully each week of the sesason will continue to provide the quality of play that we've seen so far, and I'm sure the Buckeyes will dominate once they get Greg O-my God I can't believe I almost finished that sentence.
posted by SteveO at 10:37 PM
2 comments
