Caleb Troop

*  September 30th

-  Redshirt freshman forward Maurice Pearson has been suspended indefinitely from the men’s basketball team at Ohio University following an altercation last Wednesday, Sept. 24.  Public records show Pearson was charged with assault, aggravated menacing and inducing panic.  He has plead not guilty to all three charges.

-  Pearson had an Ohio University Judicial Hearing yesterday, and is due in Athens City court on Oct. 16 at 8 am.  The ‘Cats begin practice on Oct. 17, and Pearson has not taken part in team activities since the incident.  No other basketball players were involved, and details of the incident have not been released.  Stay tuned for more.

-  Ohio University is recruiting forward T.J. Hall (6-6) out of Gainesville High School (FL) from the 2010.

-  Combo guard James Kinney (6-1, 150) enjoyed his homecoming visit to Ohio University this past weekend.  The Champaign, Illinois, native has an official visit set with Evansville set this weekend, with a trip to George Mason in mid October.

-  Much more to come.

 

* September 25th

-  “The Jim Schaus Show on The Sears Sports Fan” is on tonight.  You can listen live online via OhioBobcats.com.  I’ll share an interview with former Ohio and current Wake Forest head football coach Jim Grobe.  If you have a question you would like me to ask Grobe, e-mail it my way.  ctroop@Troopsports.com

-  We will also have volleyball coach Ryan Theis on the program, who is always a joy to chat with.  This week’s trivia question and prize relates to volleyball as well.

-  Ohio has six Sunday men’s basketball games this season, up from the two they played last year.  Jim and I will talk about this tonight on the A.D. Show.

-  The Bobcat Feedback Question of the Week for tonight:  What teams would you like to see Ohio schedule in the future?  Jim is more than willing to listen, and I am eager to hear some of the football and basketball programs listeners throw out there.

-  If you have a question or comment for the program, shoot me an e-mail or call in live at 740-592-6646.  We’d love to hear from you.

-  In recruiting news, 2009 hoops prospect James Kinney (6-1, 150) will visit Ohio this weekend.  He will depart his home in Champaign, Illinois, tonight and will be in attendance for the football game this weekend.

-  This leads me to speculate that Ohio sees Kinney as more of a combo guard than a true point guard, as I had previously reported.  Kinney has narrowed his list to Evansville, George Mason and Penn State, with a visit to George Mason in late October already set.

-  In talking to Kinney, it would not totally shock me if he gave his verbal word to John Groce and company at the end of this weekend.  We will see, though, because with recruiting you just never know.

-  Brian and I had quite an interesting debate and discussion on “The Sears Sports Fan” this week, in particularly last night when we reacted to the pre-season predictions on MAC basketball put out by Blue Ribbon.  Check it out on the podcast site at thesportsfan.mypodcast.com.  Again, you can listen to every single show whenever you want, and you can get the show delivered to your itunes on a nightly basis.

-  More to come.  Check back this weekend for any possible news about Kinney.  For now, back to the books.

 

* September 22nd  (Updated at 8:15 pm)

Keely Commits to Ohio

Ohio University has hit the jackpot twice in less than 24 hours.  Cleveland Heights High School forward Reggie Keely (6-8, 230) committed to John Groce and the ‘Cats early this evening just a few hours after Chicago area PG D.J. Cooper gave a verbal word to Ohio. Keely becomes the third of four possible 2009 recruits for the Green and White.

“I just think he always felt comfortable with John and (Ohio assistant) Dustin (Ford),” Keely’s high school coach Barry Egan said. “Reggie doesn’t say a whole lot….I think he’s glad it’s done.  He called John today and then went into the gym and did his work out, took his books home and hopefully studied.” 

Keely is a Scout.com two-star recruit while Rivals.com ranks him as the eighth best prospect in the state of Ohio.  He took an unofficial visit to Athens the weekend of Aug. 22-24.  He had offers from Kent State, Cleveland State, Rider, Oakland, Penn State, and Toledo.  He was offered by both Akron and Miami (OH) before the two MAC schools filled their ’09 class, and most recently Keely was receiving interest from Indiana.

Egan, who talked with Groce earlier today, said the new Ohio head coach is very excited over the recruiting success in the last 24 hours.  “I think he’s elated.  I think he’s very happy to get the point guard out of Chicago who is a steal, and I think Reggie (is a steal) too.

“I think they knew that they had a good chance at both.  My history with John goes back for a while, and I don’t think you can play for a better guy.”

Egan coach former Ohio State players Ivan Harris, Matt Terwilliger and Jamar Butler.  Groce isn’t the only one who has had a solid day.  Egan’s star guard at Cleveland Heights, Sirchristian Williams, committed to Rider today as well.

 

 

* September 22nd (6:45 pm)

Keely Commits to Ohio

Ohio University has landed the jackpot in less than 24 hours.  Cleveland Heights High School forward Reggie Keely (6-8, 230) committed to John Groce and the ‘Cats this afternoon just hours after Chicago area PG D.J. Cooper gave a verbal word to Ohio..

Keely becomes the third of four possible 2009 recruits for Ohio.

Much more to come on Keely and what has been the best 24 hours in a long, long time for the ‘Cats.

 

* September 22nd

Cooper Commits to Ohio

Ohio Bobcats new head basketball John Groce has just landed his second recruit for the 2009 recruiting class.  After an official visit to Athens this weekend, Chicago area point guard D.J. Cooper (5-9, 165) said he committed to Ohio on Sunday night.

Rivals.com and Scout.com list Cooper as a three-star recruit, while Scout has him as the 21^st best PG in the ’09 class.  Cooper chose Ohio over Kent State, Loyola Chicago and Wichita State.  He joins Princeton High School (OH) small forward Marquis Horne in Groce’s first recruiting class as a head coach.  Ohio has two scholarships still available for the 2009 class.

 

* September 21st

-  Chicago area 2009 PG recruit James Kinney has Ohio in his final four schools along with George Mason, Penn State and Evansville.  ‘Cats assistant Jamall Walker paid a visit to Kinney this past Wednesday, and head coach John Groce is expected to see the floor general this coming Wednesday.  Kinney is scheduled to visit Ohio for homecoming weekend on the 27^th.  He will visit Jim Larranaga’s squad on Oct. 17.

-  Indiana PG product Justin Jordan from the 2009 class has a top five of Boise State, Wright State, Texas Tech, Purdue and Marquette.  He is nowhere near a decision, and more schools could jump into the picture after he takes his SAT scores in early October.

-  I would guess that 2010 athlete J.D. Weatherspoon out of Northland H.S. in Columbus won’t give a serious look at Ohio.  If Weatherspoon doesn’t go to a Top 25 program, the MAC program that leads at this point appears to be Akron.  In a recent Rivals.com story, Weatherspoon said he recently attended the Ohio State game against Ohio a few weeks ago, and will probably take a visit to the Zips again.  UA was the first school to offer Weatherspoon, regarded as one of the top athletes in the 2010 class.

-  VMI, the ‘Cats opponent in week five this coming weekend, rushed for 517 yards in a 69-20 win over Cowan on Saturday.  This should be the easiest game plan in the history of Frank Solich’s career—stop the run.  The Keydets have thrown the ball a total of just 26 times in three games and have averaged 54 rushes per game.

-  VMI has just four seniors on their squad, which features 28 freshman.

-  More to come.

 

*  September 15th

-  Fresh off a trip to Kent State this weekend, Chicago area PG D.J. Cooper said he did not commit to the Golden Flashes on his visit.  Cooper added that he will definitely be coming to Athens next weekend.

-  Bad week to be an Ohio football fan—Buckeyes, Bobcats, Bengals and Browns all lose.

-  Jonathan Smith did not commit on his visit to Athens this weekend.

-  More to come.

 

* September 14th

-  Bedford High School guard Randal Holt (6-1) confirmed that he committed to Kent State today just days after Rivals.com two-star prospect Robert Johnson (6-6, 190) also gave a verbal to the Golden Flashes.  Holt chose KSU over Ohio University.

-Holt said he was recruited as a point guard, and with PG D.J. Cooper visiting Kent this weekend, would head coach Geno Ford take two point guards in the 2009 class?

-  Multiple sources tell TroopSports.com that Holt has yet to qualify academically for college.

-  Along with JUCO forward Greg Avila, Kent State now has solidified three of their four commitments for the 2009 class.

-  Cleveland Heights H.S. forward Reggie Keely (6-8, 230) was visited by ‘Cats assistant Dustin Ford earlier this week.  Keely is sitting on offers from Ohio, Kent State, Cleveland State, Rider, and others.  He is also being looked at by Indiana.

-  Much more to come later today.  Stay tuned.

 

* September 11th

-  Cincinnati LaSalle High School forward Danny McElroy (6-6, 200) has committed to Bowling Green, the longtime leader for his services.  “He decided over the weekend.  He really like them from the get go,” said McElroy’s high school coach Dan Fleming on Wednesday. “He liked BG and just said ‘I want to go there and be done with everything.’”

-  Chicago area PG D.J. Cooper (5-9, 165) has changed the date of his official visit.  Instead of taking a trip to Athens this weekend, he will come the weekend of the Sept. 19-21.

-  Speaking of the Chicago area, that’s where Ohio head coach John Groce has been this week as the contact period has opened up and coaches across the nation have hit the road.  Groce paid a home visit to point guard James Kinney (6-1, 150). 

-  Safe to say the Centennial High School product came away impressed.  “Oh my, it was perfect. It was hard not to commit to him tonight,” Kinney said Wednesday night.

-  According to Grove City High School basketball coach Greg Waits, Ohio University, Bowling Green, Xavier and St. Louis are the top four choices for 2009 forward Jonathan Smith (6-7).  The two-star recruit will take an official visit to Athens this weekend after checking out SLU last weekend.  Smith took an unofficial visit to Ohio last month.

-  Kent State is reportedly paying an in-home visit to Smith today.

-  With Smith on tap for a visit this week and Cooper set for the 19-21, there’s still one open weekend left in the month of September for a recruit to come in.  That will be Kinney.  He will be on campus all day Saturday, September 27 and will attend the homecoming football game against VMI.

-  “The Jim Schaus Show on The Sports Fan presented by Sears” is on tonight from 6-7 on 970 WATH.  Jim and I will talk to Field Hockey coach Neil MacMillan and women’s soccer coach Stacey Strauss.  We will be giving away football tickets, asking for your questions, and talking about some of the latest news coming out of the athletic department.  If you have a question for Jim you’d like to get answered, give us a call or shoot me an e-mail at ctroop@TroopSports.com.

-  Check out my article in The Athens NEWS today and read the piece on nine-year-old Cameron Brown.  If you can in any way help out the youngster or the charity golf tournament this weekend, please do so.  Call Jennifer at (740) 590-2860 for more information or to donate.

-  According to Rivals.com, Ohio has offered 2010 offensive lineman Taylor Miller (6-5, 300) from Edgewood High School in Ohio.  Miller also has an offer from Western Michigan and is getting looks from several Top 25 schools.

-  More to come.

* September 8th

-  In hoops recruiting news, Chicago area PG D.J. Cooper did not commit to Kent State on his visit this weekend and is set to visit Ohio University this weekend.

-  Notes from today’s press conference at Peden Stadium:

-  Theo Scott is underwent surgery today to repair a broken collarbone.  He is expected to miss at least 6-8 weeks, and Solich was not optimistic about Scott’s return for the 2008 season.

-  Scott cannot receive another redshirt for this season, according to Solich.  “The way it reads, he would have to—because of his particular situation—apply for a sixth year.  He has redshirted, he has played a year of junior college, he has played a year here—that’s three.  This year is four.  He has a year left next year, which is his fifth year, and in order to get a sixth year you have to have basically two season ending injuries.”

-  Junior Brandon Jones now becomes the backup quarterback, while Josh Febus will get reps in practice this week to be ready as the third-string QB.

-  Offensive lineman Tommy Stuck played just seven snaps against Ohio State on Saturday.  Solich said that was not due to injury, but merely because David White and Mike Eynon were excelling at center and left guard, respectively.

-  ‘Cats MLB Michael Brown is cleared to practice this week and is expected to play against Central Michigan.  Safety Steven Jackson also is expected to return in week three.  RB Vince Davidson, battling a turf toe injury, will give it a go as well.

-  Solich on the status of the running back situation:  “I thought Donte (Harden) did a good job of running the ball.  He had a few busts in the passing game, which we need to get corrected, but overall we were pleased with his performance.  Chris came up with an ankle injury that hobbled him a little bit over the course of the game.”

-  Added Solich on the RB’s:  “We’re still a little bit up in the air.  It’s going to take a little more time for it all to work out.  Eventually, we want to settle in on who is a definite number one and who is a definite number two.”

-  Solich on facing Central Michigan:  “In my eyes this is as equal a challenge for us (as the Ohio State game).”

-  More on “The Sears Sports Fan” podcast, which as you all know by now, is available all week to download.

 

* September 7th (9:45 pm)

-  Rivals.com two-star forward Marquis Horne (6-6, 180) committed to John Groce and Ohio University tonight.  Horne chose Ohio over Kent State.  The Princeton High School recruit out of Cincinnati is the first 2009 commit for the Bobcats.

-  More to come on Horne’s decision.

 

*  September 5th

-  Rivals.com three-star shooting guard Colt Ryan committed to Evansville last night.

-  The decision for 6-10, 220-pound center Drew McGhee to commit to Miami (OH) might raise an eyebrow or two around the MAC.  He will have to compete with 2008 recruits Julian Mavunga and Vince Legarza as well as 2009 power forward recruit Drew Kelly for playing time throughout his career, especially if Mavunga and/or Legarza redshirt this season.  On the bright side for the Redhawks, they will have plenty of big men for the next few seasons, but McGhee will really have to stand out to see the court.

-  I’m told that McGhee’s girlfriend goes to Miami (OH), which may have had a huge impact on his decision.

-  Cincinnati area forward Marquis Horne is expected on campus this weekend for an official visit with the ‘Cats.  Horne has already taken an official visit to Kent State and is likely choosing between the two schools.

-  On his weekly radio show last night, Ohio A.D. Jim Schaus said the ‘Cats are close to signing a deal with Ohio State in football for what would be a game during the 2010 season.  Schaus also expressed interest in playing Penn State in the near future as well.

-  I can’t be the only one who thinks new Ohio hoops coach John Groce slightly resembles ESPN tennis analyst Luke Jensen, seen here. 

-  Former Ohio State quarterback Craig Krenzel will join us on “The Sports Fan” tonight.  The podcast for “The Jim Schaus Show on The Sports Fan” is up as well.

 

*  September 4th

-  Don’t forget “The Jim Schaus Show on The Sports Fan” is on tonight from 6-7 on 970 WATH.  You can listen live online by going to OhioBobcats.com.  Jim and I will talk to Ohio volleyball coach Ryan Theis live from Pittsburgh as the ‘Cats prepare for a tournament this weekend.  Plus, we’ll talk to Ohio State offensive coordinator Jim Bollman, who played football for Ohio University and graduated in 1976.

-  More to come.

*  September 1st

Monday Football Notes

-  Some notes and quotes from Frank Solich and Noah Keller following Monday afternoon’s press conference.

-  On the loss:  “I felt bad after the game.  I feel equally as bad right now.  You look at both losses to Wyoming—both of those games could have been won.  We had several opportunities in both games to win them.”

-  Solich:  “(There were) probably about five or six plays that we were just inches away from making and if we would have made them, it would have changed the whole complexion of the game.”

-  Of the ‘Cats offensive linemen, LG Mike Eynon graded out the best at 91% in 46 plays.  RT Chris Rodgers was right behind at 90% in 62 snaps of action, including a team-high two pancakes.  A totoal of seven different linemen had snaps on Saturday.  RG Gary Schussler played in just 22 snaps, and graded out at a team-worst 82%.

-  MLB Michael Brown is feeling “better” but his status is unclear for this week’s game at Ohio State.

-  On losing the close games: “That’s something we have got to start doing and start to get a better handle on is when we are in ballgames in the fourth quarter, we’ve got to be the one that comes out on top.  So we need to press forward with that kind of thinking.”

-  On his team‘s ability to bounce back after the tough loss:  “I think I got a good handle on this team.  I believe them to be the kind of team that will bounce back.  We preach all the time about taking everything one play at a time, one game at a time.  So if we believe in what we say, then we have to take this game for what it was, learn from it, get better and then move on to the next game.”

-  Scott needs to do more on the ground:  “He needs to become a better runner.  He’s got the ability to be an excellent runner, and we need to get him to convert that running ability to something that’s really positive for us.  He’s carrying out things really well in practice, he just needs to now step it up in terms of what he’s all about as a runner in ballgames, because he has the ability to do it on both ends.  We didn’t really get scrambles to where he gained yards, and we didn’t really have running plays where he ended up with the ball that he gained yards.  When he did run, he needs to be a little bit more of an up-the-field runner.”

-  The running back depth chart is still up in the air at this point.  “It’s still an unclear picture,” Solich said. “(Chris Garrett) really did a good job in pass (protection).  We were throwing so much, and he did not have breakdowns in the pass pro game, which we had had coming through the fall camp with our backs.”

-  RB Vince Davidson is still in the mix:  “We had Vince go into the game with an injury where he was not 100 percent, so that affected how we used him in the game.  Donte got limited time.  You know, 62 plays does not give you the opportunity to have an awful lot of backs playing that get a number of reps.”

-  Summarized Solich on the RB’s:  “It’s still unclear who is the guy, if there is just a guy…That’s still a work in progress.  We hope by the time we get into conference play that that is decided.”

-  On “The Sports Fan” tonight, Brian and I will share audio of Solich’s reaction when asked of his decision to go for it on fourth-and-two late in the second quarter instead of kick an easy field goal.

-  Ohio is 0-13 against ranked opponents.

-  Ohio has not started 0-2 since 2002.

-  When asked what kicker Barrett Way’s range for field goals is, Solich said, “anywhere in the 40’s I feel comfortable.  He may be able to go up to 50.  We’ll see on that yet.  But when he really hits it right, he’s got a leg that will give you a lot of distance.  So I think as we go through the season, that will probably come into play.  Now whether he could have kicked a 62-yard field goal (at the end of the game on Saturday), I was hoping for a real big wind burst.  The wind does come through Wyoming sometimes.”

-  When asked why Way was sent out before the last play of the game for what would have been a 62-yard field goal attempt, Solich joked,  “There was some real thought there.  It may not have been good thought, but there was some real thought.”

-  The ‘Cats will pump in some noise simulation during practice this week to prepare for the atmosphere at Ohio State.

-  Solich’s reaction to the performance of the other MAC teams in week 1:  “It’s really hard to get a feel for where everything is at with the MAC.  Although I’m just going to say none of that is surprising.  With the Bowling Green game, I thought that that would be a close ball game.  I think Bowling Green is a very good football team.  As you go across the MAC conference itself, there wouldn’t be too many things that would have just outright surprised me.”

-  Will there be future games with Wyoming?  “There are a lot of things about (the matchup) that is good.  It’s a good matchup.  They’ve been great games.  I was impressed with their fan support and the crowd that they had in the game,” said Solich.  “The thing that you probably don’t like about it—either team—is the travel involved.  Even though the game was played at 12, we got home at three in the morning. That kind of travel is really not necessarily what you look for.  And if you look at recruiting, it’s not an area we really recruit and (Ohio) is not really an area that they recruit from.  So does that kind of matchup make as much sense as trying to get closer to where you have some built-in rivalries, where recruiting becomes a factor, those kind of things.”

-  Solich really expressed his desire to get the running game going.

-  According to LB Noah Keller, fellow teammate Michel Mitchell is a big NCAA Football 2009 fan.  “One of the guys on the team, in particular, he’s simulated (an Ohio-Ohio State matchup) enough times.  There has been a time or two I think where the Bobcats came out on top,” Keller said.

-  Keller noted that facing Virginia Tech QB Tyrod Taylor last year will help Ohio prepare for OSU backup QB Terrelle Pryor.

-  Evidence that you should not gamble on anything, including college football: Betting website claims Ohio traveled to Wyoming by bus

-  Much more to come.

Filed under: 2008 Bobcat Blog, September '08 Blog Notes |