It's no fall Saturday, but we could do a lot worse than an off-season day that includes a spring practice and a winnable B1G tournament game vs. Minnesota (ESPN2, 8:55 p.m.).
MORE LIKE BAE'SEAN TATE (OK, THAT WAS BAD). The one bright spot on the men's basketball team — that won't be getting paid millions to play with a squad of NBA stiffs next year — is Jae'Sean Tate. "He plays the game the right way," as ESPN's Herman Edwards, a guy who was fired for playing the game the wrong way, would say.
From Bill Landis of cleveland.com:
Because this isn't high school. Back then, Tate would always look to his father for a quick word of advice, a gesture or some other form of silent communication that would help put Jae'Sean in the right position for whatever was about to happen next on the court. Jermaine always had a funny way of knowing what was going to happen next.
Jae'Sean's first three games as a college player passed by -- wins over UMass-Lowell, Marquette and Sacred Heart. Not once did he look up to Section 124.
That's when Jermaine realized it.
"Early on it bothered me. I'm used to him looking up at me every other play at least," Jermaine told Northeast Ohio Media Group on Monday. "After the third game I was like, 'OK, he's grown now.'"
That entire feature is worth checking out; did you know many folks, including Jae'Sean's father, Jermaine, think the younger Tate is a better footballer than basketballer? Tate could play on my squad any day.
As for the future: It excites me to project Jae'Sean over the course of the next couple years. He seems like the kind of nail-eater that's going to improve even if he were coached by a local Pizza Hut manager.
D'ANGELO RUSSELL IS BAD, ACTUALLY. There are a lot of non-D'Angelo factors that go into these numbers, but that doesn't make me feel any better about OSU's tournament chances:
Interesting to look at DAngelo Russell against teams in KenPom top 50 in AdjD. 36% FG, 31.2 3FG, 68.5 FT%, 1.87:1 A/To, 16.2 ppg, 6.3rpg
— Ed Isaacson (@nbadraftblog) March 11, 2015
Let's just hope Ohio State doesn't run into a competent defensive team in the first round of the big dance.
HOLY MAJIN BUU. Burrell is the #Elite15's most personable recruit, but his arms in that picture on the right terrify me. His arms look like horse legs.
( As a thought experiment, imagine a third picture to the right; Mick Marotti is about to paint his masterpiece.)
Good side-by-side shot of the work that Matt Burrell, Jr. (@majiiinbuu) has put in on the weights. Down to 305lbs. pic.twitter.com/y0bWWeL0mZ
— Jeremy Birmingham (@Birm) March 11, 2015
You also might be wondering about Burrell's new Twitter handle, which is a play on Majin Buu. What in the Majin Buu is a Majin Buu? I'm glad you asked.
From the Dragon Ball Z Wiki:
Name
Buu's along with Bibidi and Babidi's names are most likely references to the magic words the fairy god mother uses in the 1950 film Cinderella, "Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo." In Japanese, Majin Buu is roughly translated to mean chief magical being.
Personality
Although he is one of the most powerful entities in Dragon Ball Z, Majin Buu is often playful and displays his childish personality, revealing he destroys things for fun simply from old instructions from his master, stopping once told what he was doing was wrong thanks to the Grand Supreme Kai's personality showing in him. Though he is playful and silly, his evil side is readily apparent, especially shown when his eyes widen, and steam shoots out of the holes on his body. His extreme anger issues show themselves often, when he is even slightly made fun of, or starts to lose in a battle. He finds enjoyment in taking the lives of many and shows no remorse, though this is because he treats everything as a game. In battle, he fights in a bullying manner, using his immense size to outflank his opponent.
I've never watched an episode of Dragon Ball Z in my life, but you're damn straight l will scream "Majiiiiiin Buuuuuu!" like a madman when a pulling Burrell steamrolls an unsuspecting Purdue linebacker. If that doesn't catch on, I'm more than willing to go the literal route and slap him with the "Chief Magical Being" moniker (CBM for short).
HUBBARD FEATURED, AGAIN. I mentioned Sam Hubbard yesterday, and I try not to avoid day-to-day overlaps, but people care about Hubbard and BuckeyeSports.com's Ryan Ginn spilled ~20,000 words on the redshirt freshman that are all worth reading:
Dave Berk (Scout.com recruiting analyst): When I first noticed [Hubbard] was week one of his junior year. They played (Baltimore) Gilman from the East Coast, and there was this kid I’d never seen before. After the game I went over and introduced myself and he told me, ‘I’m a lacrosse player. I’ve already committed to Notre Dame to play lacrosse.’ I told him, ‘Now you’re a football prospect,’ and I don’t think he believed me.
As that season went on and people started noticing what he could do on the field, I think he started believing he could do it. Moeller went on to win a state title and he got seen by a lot of people. I think he was intriguing because you don’t see a lot of 6-6 guys playing safety.
Why couldn't that have ever happened to me while trudging off some soccer field with my shitty cankles? I wish some disheveled scout that reeked of Jack Daniels would have staggered up to me and said, "You're a football prospect now, kid." I would have believed him. I would be in the NFL right now making touchdowns. (I will never accept "the fact" life isn't a bad Disney movie.)
JIM TRESSEL IS STILL ON THE LAM. Here's a casual reminder Jim Tressel is exiled from coaching college football yet Bobby Petrino gets to coach and get drunk with Papa John.
I had a great meeting with @JimTressel5 this week about the state of higher education in Ohio! @youngstownstate pic.twitter.com/4qhuAwUGrZ
— Niraj Antani (@NirajAntani) March 11, 2015
At this point, I think the people who think Jim Tressel is bad people should be put into a cage. Bobby Petrino can go into the cage too for all I care, but not Papa John.
The fabric of society almost ruptured at the seams the last time they tried to put Papa John in a cage.
THOSE WMDs. A Panhandler's Hustle: I Left My Dog in Georgia... #CrewSC party at Landgrant Brewing tonight... Captured Treasure Hunter Returned to Ohio to Face Court... This still makes me laugh... Hernandez Trial: Glock Inc. district manager gives damaging testimony.
