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Ohio State blows out Indiana, 38-15. Now, it's time to do the same to That Team Up North.
Much like Urban Meyer's principle of "You can't coach speed," there's a consensus among basketball coaches that "You can't coach height."
This is why there's an emphasis on front court players in the upper tier of NBA drafts. Sometimes this works out well (hello, Shaquille O'Neal). Other times, it leads to decisions like Sam Bowie over Michael Jordan and (gulp) Greg Oden over Kevin Durant.
Those historical goofs have done little to dissuade the traditional thinking. That's why most 2015 NBA Mock Drafts list Duke's Jahlil Okafor or Kentucky's Karl-Anthony Towns as the the No. 1 overall pick.
But there could be a dark horse lurking.
“You know, the old saying is you always take the big guy, but there are some teams that I think would have to give Russell a long look,” an NBA personnel guy told Sean Deveny of SportingNews.com. “He just does everything from that guard spot, and the way the league is built now, you have to at least consider a guy like that.”
The NBA Draft lottery is next Tuesday at 8:30 p.m. on ESPN. The Minnesota Timberwolves are the odds-on-favorite to land the No. 1 overall pick. Whoever claims that spot would be wise to look at D'Angelo Russell, a versatile and silky combo guard with elite passing skills.
We already know the New York Knicks' Phil Jackson thinks highly of Patient 0.
