Robinson, nicknamed Shabron, is having a great season for the 18-2 Wildcats.  Canton South H.S. battles Canal Fulton Northwest tomorrow in the Division II District Playoffs.  The Wildcats are ranked 9^th in the current DII poll.  As a junior, Robinson (5-8) was Division II All-Ohio First Team and averaged 16 points, 5 rebounds, 4 steals and 4 assists per game.

Bailes is leading the way for her 14-4 Huntington H.S. team that is trying to pave its way to a fourth-straight state title game appearance.  She is averaging 16.9 ppg for the Highlanders, who are a number one seed in AAA Region in West Virginia.  Huntington opens its postseason run next Wednesday.  Bailes (6-0) plays AAU for the WV Thunder, who have three other Division I commits, including Cincinnati signee Kayla Cook and Maryland signee Whitney Bays.

-  Here’s a link to the November signing announcement for Bailes and Robinson.

-  An interesting read about College Football’s Signing Day: Click Here.

-  Belated condolences go out to the entire Schaus family after the passing of former West Virginia and Lakers coach Fred Schaus.  He has to be proud what his son, Jim, has done and will continue to do personally and professionally.

Schaus on his dad:  “He was a great example of being a person of integrity….That’s something I learned from my father.  It was very black and white when it came to that.  There was no rationalization or justifying doing something that just was not 100 percent correct.  It was either right or it was wrong.”

-  With close apologies to Kenneth van Kempen, there is not a more improved Bobcat hoops player (men or women) than Ohio junior Carolyn Barnett, who scored a career-high 29 points against Northern Illinois last week.

-  I opined before the season junior guard Tommy Freeman’s minutes might be reduced due to the influx of talent with the 09-10 recruiting class and transfer Armon Bassett.  I was wrong—the Muncie native has been doing everything for the ‘Cats this season.

-  This pretty much sums up the first year for Ohio freshman point guard D.J. Cooper:  We knew he was going to be good, but no one thought he was going to be THIS good THIS early.  Simple statement, complete truth.

-  Speaking on his weekly radio show last night, Schaus had this to say about a proposal that would cut 7.62% from Athletics in the University’s 2011 fiscal budget ($600,000):  “Everyone is being affected by it, and no one likes it, of course….Sometimes you have to take a step backwards before you can take two forward, and that is kind of what we are going through right now.  It is not ideal.”

-  Mike Case and Cheryl Reeve will be the broadcasters for Ohio-Kent State tomorrow at The Convo on Fox Sports Ohio.

-  This is obviously a huge leap for Haines, who I’m sure will be working his tail off as the recruiting coordinator.  It’s always refreshing to see young guys get that break.  Now let’s see if it produces results.  Ohio tight ends caught just 13 balls in 2009.

-  An audio interview with Ohio RB Chris Garrett as he preps for a shot at the NFL:  Click Here to Listen

-  On the 2010 recruiting class: I don’t know where the ‘Cats would be if Cornerbacks Coach David Brown was not on this staff.  A short list of the talent coming from California the last few years: Theo Scott, Boo Jackson, Patrick Tafua, Travis Carrie, Hilton Dawson, Omar and Octavius Leftwich.

-  Ohio RB Jerry Kelly has left the program.  I’m told it was academics related.

-  Ohio football has dismissed punter Matt Schulte and long snapper Kyle Robbins, both of which were sent home after an off-the-field incident in Detroit for the MAC title game.  Schulte has transferred.

-  Ohio junior Allie LaForce will be a sidelines reporter on Sports Time Ohio (STO) for the Division II and Division III Ohio girls state championships in Columbus next month.

-  Congratulations to Ohio hoops senior Jennifer Bushby, who became the 13^th Lady ‘Cats player to reach 1,000 points in a loss to Toledo Saturday inside The Convo.  She is one of two ‘Cats players ever with at least 1,000 points, 300 assists and 150 steals.

-  Congratulations to Tony Castricone, who will become a Heisman Trophy voter next year.  Castricone is a 2005 graduate of Ohio University and calls Bobcat women’s basketball on WOUB 1340-AM.

-  More to come.

How many league losses will the MAC East winner have this season?  Last year Buffalo and BG both had five losses.

-  Ohio offensive lineman Vincent Carlotta one of four Ohio University students assaulted on campus earlier this month .

-  Cleveland Plain Dealer reporter Elton Alexander is spot on with this assessment after watching the Akron-Kent State contest on Saturday:  “I think the rest of the MAC better start loading up on post players as Saturday showed two of the best in the league might be young ones playing in Northeast Ohio. Akron’s 7-0 Zeke Marshall measured up to his hype with six rebounds, three blocked shots and four points in 21 minutes against Kent State. But KSU’s 6-8 sophomore Justin Greene had 23 points and 13 rebounds in 34 minutes. If Marshall improves in one year as much as Greene has, the sky is the limit.”

-  More to come.

- 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.