30 Oct
October ’08 Blog Notes
* October 30th
- Ohio University women’s basketball coach Semeka Randall and Marching 110 Band Director Dr. Richard Suk will join Jim and me on “The Jim Schaus Show on The Sears Sports Fan” tonight at 6 p.m. Sends comments and questions to ctroop@TroopSports.com or call us live. We’d love to hear from you.
* October 29th
- Kent State basketball making headlines for all the wrong reasons…again. http://www.ohioverticals.com/blogs/kent_state/2008/10/29/new-basketball-recruit-got-ovi-in-august/
- Ohio center Zach Nagtzaam (knee) is not expected to play in the ‘Cats’ exhibition on Saturday against Wooster.
- More to come.
* October 24th
- Good lineup for the “Sears Sports Fan” tonight. We’ll talk more Ohio football. Plus, Brian had a chance to sit down with Athens high school football coach Ryan Adams, and I’ll share an interview I had today with World Series broadcaster Joe Buck.
* October 23rd
Mooney Out, Hoops Notes
- A few hoops notes after catching the men’s basketball practice under first-year head coach John Groce on Wednesday afternoon:
- But first, ‘Cats senior tight end Andrew Mooney will miss the rest of the season, head coach Frank Solich said at his Thursday press conference. Solich had not heard the official word from doctors, but said he believed it to be a torn MCL and maybe some PCL damage on Mooney’s knee. More to come on that in the following days, I’m sure, but Mooney’s career at Ohio University appears to have ended on a bad note.
- Now to basketball.
- Yesterday redshirt-freshman Zach Nagtzaam participated in most of practice for the first time since official workouts began. He ran the floor with a slight limp, but nothing too noticeable. He still is not participating in contact drills, but is set to see the doctor on Monday and could be fully cleared for next week.
- It baffles me—and I’m sure those within the program as well—why he is not 100 percent by now. I honestly have no idea what to expect from the Canadian this year.
- Assistant coach Jamall Walker is working with the point guards this season—a group that includes senior Mike Allen and freshmen Frankie Dobbs and Steven Coleman. Coleman though, will be used at the 2 and 3 spots this year.
- Dobbs, by the way, looks to be that true high school point guard that Tim O’Shea seemingly never recruited during his tenure with the ‘Cats. Four years from now Ohio fans may owe him an apology if Dobbs develops the way it looks like he will. Having a year under Allen will do a lot for Dobbs, too.
- Speaking of coach Walker, he got involved in some drills during the early portion of practice on Wednesday. This team is thin, there is no way to beat around that. More on that in a second.
- Assistant coach Dustin Ford is working with the big men this year.
- The most noticeable change in the limited action I’ve seen and from who I’ve talked to thus far between the coaching staffs? Two things: First, while O’Shea played more of the CEO role in practice, Groce is definitely more vocal and probably the most positive speaking coach I’ve heard in a while. It felt like a fifth grade practice with all of the “good job” and “that-a-boy” speak going around. But that’s understandable zero games in with a young, inexperienced club.
- Secondly, the pure enthusiasm by the entire staff seems to have permeated throughout the program. The young coaching staff will help the transition be smooth. That’s not to say O’Shea and Co. weren’t energetic, but anytime you have a changing of the guard there is a renewed passion. Ohio is going through that right now.
- Freshman guard Stacey Waters looks to be talented, but just too scrawny right now for the college game. He could use some added meat and he will need it to excel at the D-I level. I’m told his competitiveness needs to be stepped up a notch as well.
- Senior off-guard Justin Orr still has the slowest shooting motion on the team. If Orr wasn’t 6-6 it would absolutely kill him, but his high release and long frame makes up for the slow shot.
- Sticking with shots, the pure fundamentals of Steven Coleman’s shot are flawless in the limited shots I saw him take Wednesday. Whether it is a made or missed shot, the release is quite smooth.
- Groce has added one walk-on to the squad as of right now. Junior Adetunji Adedipe (6-4, 212) is working with the forwards right now. “Tunji” as they call him, averaged 9.7 ppg, 12.6 rbg and 3.7 bpg his senior season at Orange High School up near Cleveland. Orange is a prominent Division II school in the area.
- Tunji was a walk-on this spring with the football team as a wide receiver but was not kept with the squad. He’s an interesting story. He learned to play with the round rock his freshman year of high school after persistent pressure from his gym teacher to give it a try. While a natural athlete, he will go through the growing pains of playing the college game. At the very least, though, it will be a plus for Groce to have another body to work with, and Tunji’s attitude appears to be one ideal for a walk-on spot.
- In case you are wondering, here’s your pronunciation guide for Tunji: (Add-A-Tun-G Add-A-D-Pay). The O-Zone ought to have fun with that one.
- Ohio will hold its first live scrimmage with referees today at practice in a closed session.
- Don’t forget, tonight’s the “Jim Schaus Show on the Sears Sports Fan.” Would love to hear some of your thoughts and comments following what has been a rough fall season in Ohio athletics thus far. ctroop@TroopSports.com or 740-592-6646. Russ Eisenstein is expected to join us on the program, plus more on the Bobcat Rep program.
- Yesterday’s “Sears Sports Fan” with Brian Boesch, Tom Hodson and me is a can’t miss episode. We vented for 45 minutes about the loss. It was an episode that probably took a few years off all our lives. Thesportsfan.mypodcast.com
- More to come, hopefully in the near future.
* October 15th (9:15 p.m.)
- ‘Cats redshirt-freshman running back Donte Harden will miss the remainder of the season after undergoing surgery on his injured shoulder Tuesday in Columbus. Head coach Frank Solich made the announcement Tuesday night on his weekly radio show, Ohio Director of Media Relations Jason Corriher confirmed.
- More information to come shortly on what is a huge loss for the ‘Cats.
* October 12th (8:30)
- Ohio linebacker Lee Renfro will join Brian and me in-studio on Tuesday’s “Sears Sports Fan” at 6:30. Renfro was named the MAC East Defensive Player of the Week after a career-high 11 tackles. There are few nicer individuals at Ohio University than Lee Renfro, as this recent article from The Post can confirm.
- Speaking of the show, over the next couple of weeks Brian and I will be asking nightly Cleveland Browns trivia questions to qualify people for the grand prize drawing of two Browns tickets for their Thursday night game against the Denver Broncos on Nov. 6. The tickets are third-row seats in the Dawg Pound, courtesy of our friends at Sears of Athens. You must call-in live with answers to the trivia question to be eligible for the drawing on Friday, Oct. 30.
- We will also be giving away Bengals tickets later on in November.
- A worthwhile podcast to listen to from Monday’s show as well. www.thesportsfan.mypodcast.com. Forty-five minutes of Ohio football talk –it doesn’t get much better than that, does it?
- Just a heads up. Ohio University President Dr. Roderick McDavis will join Jim and me in-studio on “The Jim Schaus Show on The Sears Sports Fan” this Thursday night. Send your questions to ctroop@TroopSports.com, or call us live at 740-592-6646.
- A reminder—Ohio basketball begins practice this Thursday, Oct. 16. Expect a ton of hoops coverage over the next month or so leading up to game number one in the John Groce era. I, for one, am very excited.
- He doesn’t stop. Groce is still on the recruiting trail this week.
- Due out Tuesday will be the NCAA Graduation Success Rate. It will have data from those student-athletes who would have been freshman anytime from 1998-2001, essentially most athletes up to 2005. This will present the graduation success of student-athletes at the end of the Larry Hunter era and the beginning of the Tim O’Shea era, for example, along with every football player pre-Frank Solich.
- News nuggets from Monday’s press conference with Solich:
- Ohio QB Theo Scott is recovering well from his collarbone surgery, and the ‘Cats head coach said there was still a possibility that Scott could return this season.
- True freshman Brandon Weaver was moved to rush end against Kent State on Saturday for third down situations and produced five tackles. Solich said that could be a permanent move for Weaver, a change similar to the though process behind moving now-injured Stafford Gatling to the position this spring. The key is making Weaver more of a full-time defensive lineman, instead of just passing downs. Weaver’s future looks very bright right now.
- Solich said WR Terrance McCrae was even given a look at the DE spot last week in practices.
- As my co-host pointed out tonight on show, Chris Garrett—who had career highs in carries (14) and yards (62) against the Golden Flashes—ran like a back wanting more playing time. And after the fumble early on, he was productive and much more of a north-south runner.
- Most of the ‘Cats should be healthy come the Temple game a week from Tuesday, Solich said Monday. CB Julian Posey, DE Kris Luchsinger, RT Chris Rodgers, WR Taylor Price and others hopefully will be good to go. NG Ernie Hodge and DE Curtis Meyers will still be questionable for that game, though, according to Solich.
- It’s hard to believe Ohio DE Jameson Hartke is fifth on the team with 33 total tackles from predominately the tackle spot on the defensive line—a position that sees far more double teams.
- RB Donte Harden’s 23 carries on Saturday was a career-high.
- More to come later on this week.
* October 12th
- ‘Cats fans must simmer down about a seven-point win over Kent State. Yes, a win is a win, but in the fourth year under Frank Solich, this program should have be far beyond being pleased about beating a program like Kent State.
- The facts are ugly: Ohio committed another 12 penalties for 102 yards on Saturday at KSU. Unnacceptable. In seven games this season, Ohio is averaging 69 penalty yards per game, good for dead last in the MAC. The 51 total penalties ties the ‘Cats for the 8th most in FBS. In 2007, Ohio had the 13th most penalties in the nation.
- I don’t know the answer to reducing penalties, but I do know it is an increasingly frustrating trend in Solich’s four years in Athens.
2005: 62.5 yards per game, 83 total penalties in 11 games. 7thin the MAC
2006: 57.4 yards per game, 92 total in 14 games. 8th in the MAC
2007: 70.5 yards per game, 97 total in 12 games. Last in MAC
2008: 63.3 yards per game, 51 total through 7 games. Last in MAC
- The 36:50 time of possession for Ohio against KSU is the biggest since the Northern Illinois game in 2006 when the Green and White held on to the football for 37:20.
- Who is the best quarterback in the Mid-American Conference? The first name that pops out is probably Ball State’s Nate Davis, and understandably so because of the Cardinals’ success and his consistently impressive numbers. But right now, I might have to go with Western Michigan QB Tim Hiller. After tearing apart the ‘Cats last week, Hiller was 42/63 for 345 with four TDs in the Broncos’ come-from-behind 34-28 OT win over Buffalo yesterday.
- The ‘Cats will take today and Monday off. Players will lift on Tuesday, and then the program heads back to the practice field on Wednesday. That should give plenty of time for a lot of the injuries to begin to heal and for coaches to get on the road early this week to recruit.
- Speaking of recruiting, Ohio should look at Chillicothe H.S. (OH) junior kicker Drew Basil, who kicked a 40 and 50-yard field goal on Friday night in a win over Sheridan.
- Elder H.S. offensive lineman John Anevski told Rivals.com a week ago his top three are Miami (OH), Louisville and Vanderbilt. Anevski is a three-star recruit, and Rivals ranks him as the 60th best OL prospect in the nation. Ohio has offered Anevski.
- If there was ever a year to play Cal Poly in football, 2009 will be it for the ‘Cats. Cal Poly will graduate one of the nation’s top receivers in Ramses Barden (6-6, 230) who could be a day-one draft pick. Standout quarterback Jonathan Dally is a senior as well. The Mustangs are currently 7th in the FCS Top 25 poll.
- More to come.
* October 9th (4:45 pm)
- Just a couple of quick notes before heading over to the station:
- “The Jim Schaus Show on the Sears Sports Fan” is on tonight from 6-7. You can listen live on OhioBobcats.com. Ball State A.D. Tom Collins and ‘Cats volleyball outside hitter Ellen Herman are our guests. Calls and e-mails are encouraged. sports@970WATH.com, or call the show live anytime at 740-592-6646.
- Tom Hodson will be filling in for Rob Cornelius alongside Russ Eisenstein on this weekend’s radio broadcast for the football game at Kent State.
- 2010 shooting guard prospect Aaron Cosby was on campus for an unofficial visit this past weekend. Cosby is one of the top 2010 prospects in the state of Kentucky.
- Northland High School high-riser J.D. Weatherspoon from the 2010 class will visit Keith Dambrot and Akron this weekend, according to Rivals.com.
- In today’s Athens NEWS, Garrett Downing reports the ‘Cats will be without cornerback Julian Posey (ankle) this weekend against the Golden Flashes.
*October 6th (8:30 pm)
Kinney is a ‘Cat
The Ohio Bobcats men’s basketball team has received a verbal commitment from 2009 Illinois combo guard James Kinney.
“I’m really excited,” Kinney said. “I’m with a bunch of my family right now. I just announced at the school. Everybody’s excited.”
Kinney, who will major in sports management, is a 6-1, 150-pound scorer from Centennial High School in Champaign, Illinois. Kinney picked Ohio over George Mason, Penn State and Evansville among others.
“Coach Groce recruited me well. He took care of me on my visit. It came to down to relationships. I felt comfortable with the whole staff.”
Kinney joins Chicago PG D.J. Cooper, Cleveland F Reggie Keeley and Cincinnati SF Marquis Horne in Ohio’s 2009 class.
Kinney fills the last scholarship available for Groce’s first recruiting class. However, current allegations against redshirt-freshman forward Maurice Pearson could lead to his dismal from the team. Pearson has been suspended indefinitely on charges of assault, aggravated menacing and inducing panic.
* October 2nd
- “The Jim Schaus Show on the Sears Sports Fan” returns tonight. In the first half hour, we will discuss Jim’s opinion on whether or not Ohio can and will ever bring back the sports that were cut in January of 2007. Bob Kappes and Rob Cornelius will be our guests in the second half hour. We’d love to hear from you, so feel free to call-in live at 740-592-6646, or shoot me an e-mail. if you have a question you’d like us to ask Kappes or Cornelius, we’d love to hear that as well. ctroop@TroopSports.com.
* October 1st
- A statement from Ohio Athletics regarding the Maurice Pearson story: “We are aware of the situation, but are not at liberty to discuss the issue because it is a private matter.”
- More to come.