Good morning, friends of the 'nut, and welcome to your Thursday Skully. I wasn't quite sure what to lead with, mostly because last night's blowout of the reeling Minnesota Golden Gophers left me with a head-scratching feeling.
On one hand, it was great to see the Buckeyes respond after the no-show in Madison, but at the same time, the 26-point win over Tubby's crew of quitters (8 losses in their last 11 games) should be absorbed in context.
Ohio State still shot 40%, got outrebounded by five, gave up 11 offensive boards and did what they have always done under Matta: rightfully beat a mediocre team at home.
I will say it was nice to see reserves Shannon Scott (11 pts, 5 reb) and LaQuinton Ross (10 pts) put up decent numbers but it didn't do much in the way of convincing me the Buckeyes will fare better than the seven losses in nine tries against ranked/legit teams. If the trend holds true, Ohio State is still looking at a 2-2 finish to the regular season, which would put them at 11-7, and a likely #5 seed in the B1G tourney.
Defending home court this Sunday against #4 Michigan State would certainly go a long way in ramping up the optimism. Do the Buckeyes have it in them to the pull the upset?
URBAN ACHIEVER; THAD IS RAD. By way of an open records request, the venerable Doug Lesmerises got his mitts on the annual performance reviews for both Urban Meyer and Thad Matta, as conducted last summer.
While the info is a bit aged, it still provides an interesting glimpse into the review process and how each is perceived by athletic department leadership.
Gene Smith's review of Urban was conducted face-to-face but still required a one-page summary of his performance, the same process Smith followed during Jim Tressel's tenure in Columbus.
Speaking to Meyer's successful transition into the head coaching gig, Smith specifically called out Urban's ability to wow Jim Delany:
“You handled the transition into the athletic department and oversight of the football program as well as I could have expected. You did an outstanding job. Your communications with me in particular is exceptional. Besides the obvious, the discussions we had in our joint meeting with the Big Ten commissioner in Chicago last week should give us comfort considering how we operate.”
Interestingly, Matta's review was conducted by senior associate AD Miechelle Willis – not Smith – and was a more formal, written review. Lesmerises noted that Matta is now reporting directly to Smith but it seems odd that wasn't the case all along considering Matta's stature and the fact he leads the other major sports team, and revenue generator, at the university.
Matta rated an Exceeds Expectations for his on-court results and was considered "proficient" in meeting the compliance standards. Thad rocked 32 "exceeds expectations" ratings in individual categories, 15 "proficient" marks and just one "opportunity for improvement." No, it wasn't for bench development; it was in the category of "Assures student-athletes participation in SAAB (Student-Athlete Advisory Board) and life skill programs."
I know this basketball season has been a bit lackluster but I feel completely confident in saying Ohio State, with Meyer and Matta, has the two best coaches that it could conceivably, realistically hope for at this point in time. Meyer is clearly at the top of his profession, sitting alongside Saban, and Matta is without a doubt the current ceiling for the caliber of coach the basketball Buckeyes can attract at an unquestioned football school.
U CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH. Though Donna Shalala might not yet be aware of this as she trots around on her high horse, the AP reported yesterday that the NCAA, in their Notice of Allegations delivered to Miami, asserts no fewer than three former Hurricanes coaches provided false or misleading information during the investigation, violating the NCAA's "principles of ethical conduct" requirement.
Clint Hurtt and Aubrey Hill were part of Miami's football staff and Jorge Fernandez was a part of the hoops staff.
The NCAA says both Hurtt and Hill "provided meals, transportation and lodging to either recruits, current players, or both in either 2008 or 2009." Both deny doing so but multiple players stated otherwise. Hurtt also borrowed $2,500 from Nevin Shapiro, though he did eventually repay the loan.
Meanwhile, Fernandez allegedly lied about providing airline tickets to both a recruit, assumedly current center Reggie Johnson, and his high school coach despite contradictory evidence. Former assistant hoops coach Jake Morton is also named as having accepted $6,000 from Shapiro in "supplemental income."
So, while there's no question the NCAA is a joke and their handling of this particular investigation is even more laughable, I find it insane that people are essentially arguing that the 'Canes should be forgiven without further penalty. Two wrongs don't make a right and it's time for Shalala and company to bend over and take it up the tailpipe just like USC and Ohio State.
B1G POY Runner-Up: Deshaun Thomas or Trey Burke?TO THE VICTOR GOES THE SPOILS. Switching gears, the fellas over at BTN.com recently debated who should take home the B1G POY hardware in men's hoops.
I'm in the camp, with what I assume is that vast majority, that Victor Oladipo locked up the award with his dynamic effort in East Lansing on Tuesday night. The high-flyer again showed he's no one-trick pony with 19 points (7/11 FG), nine boards and five steals.
Tom Dienhart doesn't declare a choice but notes Burke averages more points and assists than Oladipo, and shoulders a much larger burden than the Indiana swingman.
To me, Burke only impacts a game in one way, at the offensive end, while Oladipo holds his own in the scoring column in addition to doing a myriad of other things – highlighting his versatility – in a way that Burke simply can't match.
By Dienhart's reasoning, I think nearly as strong a case can be made for Deshaun Thomas as the runner-up. Sure, he's not really in contention because of Ohio State's conference record, but no player in the league shoulders the same burden as Thomas on a nightly basis, and Burke has considerably more help at the offensive end, meaning defenses can't scheme solely to slow him down.
LOVING THOSE SOCAL BUSTS. With the news that Matt Barkley won't throw at the NFL scouting combine this week, league scouts are lining up to take potshots at quarterbacks from USC, and the SoCal region in general, for being cut from the prima donna cloth. On Barkley, specifically, one scout offered:
"Here we go again, another L.A. movie star quarterback who needs his own day to throw."
Another exec chimed in on QBs from the region, in general:
"And you wonder why guys from Southern California [are bad]? Everything is like they have to draw attention to themselves. "I'm telling you, it's always [something] with guys from down there… not just USC, the whole area. I don't know what it is."
Finally, another NFL executive targeted USC directly:
"When you start at USC, it's like you've already made the big time. You're a star. You're in the news all the time. It's like, 'Oh yeah, I'll be in the NFL in a couple of years, don't worry about it.' That's not how you make it in this league."
Looking at the numbers, since John Elway was selected with the #1 overall pick in the 1983 NFL Draft, 21 quarterbacks from the SoCal region have been taken in the first four rounds (12% of the total QBs taken during this timeframe) but none have won a Super Bowl ring. Worse, many of the selections have failed miserably:
The failures have been staggering, including the likes of Matt Leinart, Kyle Boller, J.P. Losman, Akili Smith, Dan McGwire and show-stopper Todd Marinovich. That list doesn't include Mark Sanchez, who has regressed the past two years with the New York Jets after helping them get to back-to-back AFC Championship games.
With what we saw from Max Wittek in USC's loss in the Sun Bowl to Georgia Tech, the trend appears to be in good hands.
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