Caleb Troop

-  On his Thursday radio show, Ohio A.D. Jim Schaus hinted that the MAC tie-in with the International Bowl may be up in the air.  “I know there has been a lot of discussion about the International Bowl, and I don’t really know anything that is official.”

- Here’s another interesting football bowl change that could hamper the MAC, according to Schaus:  “I think there is going to be a change in the way bowls are selected beginning next year.  And that is that there is probably going to be a vote as to whether a six-win team will be treated the same as a seven-win team.  Right now, you cannot take a six-win team if there has not been all the seven-win teams placed.  Well, I think that is going to be reviewed.  That is going to be discussed and voted on by the bowl committee, and I think there is a good chance that that is going to be changed. That is not a good change for the MAC if that happens.”

-  John Groce joined Dave Palmer and Ray Wagner for nearly an hour on “The Partyline” Thursday morning on 970 WATH-AM.  Click here to listen to a very interesting interview.

-  One excerpt from the interview is below.

Palmer:  The leaders on the team, I’d like to know from your point of view, are who?

Groce: (pause) Me.

-  Groce’s father fought in Vietnam, and both of his grandfathers fought in World War II.  Groce himself almost went to West Point, and looked at Air Force as well, before deciding to stay close to home and attend Taylor University.

-  Among the four incoming recruits next year for Ohio men’s hoops, Ricardo Johnson (Ky.) and Nick Kellogg (Oh.) have the best chances of playing right away.

-  Don’t be surprised if incoming center Ethan Jacobs redshirts next fall.

-  Departed Bobcat Marquis Horne recently took a visit to Georgia State out of the Colonial Athletic Association.  Horne has looked at Columbus State J.C. and Tennessee State out of the Ohio Valley Conference as well.  His mother relocated from Cincinnati to Atlanta in December, which played a major role in why Horne left the program.

-  The biggest disappointment of the 09-10 season for the ‘Cats is the lack of development from Ohio’s post players, most notably DeVaughn Washington.  Devo is a walking highlight reel, sure, but we’ve been waiting for some back-to-the-basket moves for three seasons now.

-  Meanwhile, KVK is in better shape and is rebounding well, but his offensive game starts and ends with mid-range jumpers.  Ohio’s inability to do damage down low keeps the opponents’ bigs out of foul trouble, too.

-  The ‘Cats have been out-toughed in all three MAC games.  Period.

-  Expect that to change next year when Alex Kellogg enters the mix.  His 6-8, 240-pound frame is much needed right now.  Kellogg does not have a great post game, but I’m told he will be by far the ‘Cats best rebounder next year, with a Jerome Tillman-like knack on the glass.  Kellogg’s post game needs improvement, and he lacks a bit of touch around the hoop.  But the ‘Cats will have a banger inside, something that cannot be said right now.

-  Freshman D.J. Cooper is third in the MAC in minutes played.  Will he break down if he keeps up his average of 33.8 minutes per game?  I don’t think so.  Remember, kids these days play so much AAU ball in high school.

-  Ohio will have to hit open threes versus Bowling Green on Wednesday night as the Falcons implement their zone all game long, keeping 285-pound big man Otis Polk down low.  BG is awful at the foul line, too.

-  If you are not following me on Twitter (@CalebTroop) here’s just some of what you have missed the last few days:

-  Jan. 15 (9:29 p.m.): “Got torched by Coach Randall in game of Uno tonight on the bus. I won 2 hands out of probably 20 played.”

-  Jan. 15 (11 am):  “CNBC’s Larry Kudlow is the best dressed male anchor on TV, hands down.”

-  Jan. 14 (4:22 p.m.):  “Ohio AD Jim Schaus talks MAC bowl games on radio show tonight. Changes on the way?”

-  Jan. 13 (8:59 p.m.):  “First 3 game home MAC losing streak for Ohio since 2003. Over/Under hours of sleep John Groce gets tonight? I’ll put line at 4.”

-  Jan. 13(7:36 p.m.):  “Clark Kellogg in The Convo watching OU-Akron tonight.”

-  Jan. 13 (2:31 p.m.):  “Only 14 more players in the country have taken a higher % of his team’s shots this year than Akron’s Brett McKnight (35% of Zips shots).”

-  Jan. 13 (1:47 p.m.):  “Have a feeling the 5-7K fans at the convo tonight will enjoy the pump up video for Ohio-Akron. Goosebumps.”

-  More to come.

Filed under: 2010 Bobcat Blog, January '10 Blog Notes |