R.I.P., Ricky Rubio, who was butchered by James Harden:
I think I just broke one of my cankles watching that.
UO "CHOSE" ADAMS OVER MILLER. Remember when Braxton Miller's bags were packed and he was off to Oregon? Well, according to Oregon's newest quarterback Vernon Adams (formerly of Eastern Washington), Oregon kinda maybe thought about going after Ohio State's two-time Silver Football winner if they were spurned by the FCS legend.
From Bruce Feldman of FoxSports.com (via CollegeFootballTalk.com):
Adams' decision came down to Oregon or staying at Eastern Washington. Texas tried to recruit him but came in too late in the process, he said. Adams talked to UCLA and considered taking a visit there the week after he visited Oregon, but opted not to after thinking more about his situation. He said he had no idea what Miller might do, and that "Oregon told me straight up that they were coming after me and, if they didn’t get me, then maybe they go after him, but they said they were coming after me first."
This is being spun in some circles as Oregon "choosing" or "preferring" Vernon Adams over Miller, which is like me telling my (not real) wife that I chose her over Halle Berry; it assumes I ever had a shot with Ms. Berry in the first place.
And yes, this is all on the word of a single player, but putting words in the coach's mouth doesn't seem like a good way to start a tenure in Eugene.
WILCHER-MEYER RELATIONSHIP "STRONGER THAN EVER." We knew, thanks to a tweet Kerry Coombs quickly deleted, Detroit Cass Tech's Thomas Wilcher visited the Woody Hayes Center recently. (I don't think anybody in these parts needs a refresher as to why that was noteworthy.)
Wilcher, however, broke his silence yesterday and cleared the air; let him tell it, and he and Urban Meyer are best friends, actually.
From Ari Wasserman of cleveland.com:
"(Meyer) said he didn't know about (Drayton) leaving, that it was a last minute thing," Wilcher said. "The most important thing about my 'misleading' part was that I didn't really understand the process of recruiting behind Ohio State. I truly do now.
"I understand the ambition Urban Meyer has, I understand the integrity of Urban Meyer and I understand that he's about the welfare of the child and the wholeness of what the athletes need at the university. He instilled in me that no child will be left behind in his program.
"We did meet. We did talk. And he is the person I thought he was and the person I believe him to be. I believe our relationship is stronger now."
I understand Wilcher must protect his players, so I'm not going to hold his self-aggrandizing rant against him.
And if Urban told Wilcher he didn't know about Drayton's exit "until the last minute," then, I have no reason to doubt the man.
And now with Weber on board, hopefully that Cass Tech-Ohio State pipeline continues to flow in the form of 2016 WR/safety Demetric Vance.
DORAN GRANT IS RISING. Doran Grant said last week he'd heard he could make some moves on draft boards if he showed out at the combine. After posting a 4.44 in the 40-yard dash, he went out and did the damn thing:
A DB who had a really strong workout today was Ohio State's Doran Grant, who I'm told had a good meeting with the #Browns in Indy.
— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) February 23, 2015
At the NFL Combine, Mike Mayock says Doran Grant "does everything well," and that he might be undervalued by teams.
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) February 23, 2015
Get UPPP. @OhioStFootball's Doran Grant (NR) runs 4.44u 40. WATCH: http://t.co/6G8hOYCqBK #NFLCombine pic.twitter.com/0qu3S9bmr5
— NFL (@nfl) February 23, 2015
Doran Grant pic.twitter.com/pUf4jImjO0
— NFLhispano.com (@NFLhispano) February 23, 2015
All Grant's official times/results can be found over here. Some NFL team is about to get a good one.
BUCKEYES STILL POISED FOR MADNESS. Worried about Ohio State missing the tournament? Don't be.
From William Harrison of Examiner.com:
Throughout the year, every conference has upsets like this. For Ohio State, this loss will easily be explained away. The Buckeyes were playing their biggest rival in a road game. If you’ve seen Michigan play, you know they are injured at the guard position, but that hasn’t stopped the Wolverines from competing during conference play.
Michigan lost three Big Ten games in overtime this season, and they lost to Ohio State by 19 earlier in the season. Overall, the Wolverines have a (7-8) conference record, so it shows that they are capable of winning some games. Therefore, it’s not a horrible loss for Buckeyes. It doesn’t matter that Michigan is only (14-13), with losses to NJIT and Eastern Michigan.
(Mike Young says there's a chance the Big Ten could send eight teams to the tournament.)
I'm torn between "You know, it might be a blessing for the basketball team to miss the tournament," and "Hell, there's a reason they call it March Madness!!!" In the end, though, I just don't see how anybody is stopping Kentucky.
HOLMES COMIN'. I'm not so sure why people are willing to pencil Sam Hubbard in over Jalyn Holmes for next season's weak-side defensive end. Only one of those two players played last season.
From Dave Biddle of OhioState.247Sports.com:
Holmes weighed 225 pounds entering his senior season of high school and is already up to 262 under the direction of Mickey Marotti and his strength and conditioning program.
“They’ll probably get me a little stronger in the weight room, but as far as my weight, I think it’s good right where it’s at,” Holmes told Bucknuts. “I think this is right where they want me.”
[...]
“[Playing as a freshman] was a good feeling,” he said. “I feel like a lot of people within my unit – like Steve Miller and Rashad Frazier, Joey Bosa– everybody pretty much helped me get to where I’m at today. So, I feel like having people like them around me really benefitted me as far as getting me ready to play.”
There's more to like about Holmes than just the 37 lbs. of Marotti muscle he's added since coming to Columbus:
Less talk more work, stop tryna be seen and just work fam
— Jalyn Holmes (@JayHolmes_) February 16, 2015
Yeah, bet against this guy if you want to.
NEW MEKKA DON #BANGER. Former OSU footballer/current Columbus rapper Mekka Don has always been cool with Eleven Warriors Worldwide LLC, and as such, I'd be a bad friend if I didn't pass on his newest Buckeye anthem, "Undisputed."
(I'm 28 and still not sure why I didn't select "rapper" at the "character select" screen when my life started. What was I thinking!?)
BELL WRECKED THE TOUCHDOWN ORACLE. Remember when Lane Kiffin had that thing where he'd signal touchdowns before they happened? Well, looks like he went to the well one too many times and Vonn Bell caught him slipping.
Via 11Wer What Would Troy Smith Do:
(I know it's not Kiffin's voice, but that "Touchdown!" kills me. Alabama fans were deluded all the way until the end.)
This video makes me wonder what other sort of Easter eggs I missed during the broadcast. I guess I better go fire up the DVR...
MIKE CONLEY, JUST WINNING NBA GAMES. Mike Conley, perhaps still smarting from an All-Star Game snub, picked Chris Paul late last night to secure a win for Memphis. It was beautiful:
So pretty, in fact, we'll forget this ever happened:
Marc Gasol and Mike Conley got way too much time on they hands pic.twitter.com/QzGyIsc2wT
— GLObe Bryant (@ChiTown_Eazy) February 24, 2015
THOSE WMDs. Study: Ajax is the top soccer academy in Europe... Lebron James Jr. looks pretty good... I love animals, but I will straight murder a land octopus... Six photos and a cloud of dust... Clintonville is getting a pho restaurant named Six-One-Pho... 30 years ago, a New York Times writer whiffed on the future of executive computers (a.k.a. laptops).
