Justified, pound-for-pound, isn't on level with The Americans, but if the chips were down, I'm snitching on Phillip and Elizabeth 100 times before I sell Boyd Crowder down the river.
SCOUTING SILK'S SENIOR YEAR. I've shared D'Angelo Russell scouting reports before, but Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.com is a voice I've respected for years. So yesterday, as soon as I saw his Silk Russell #take, I knew it was something I must share, even if it was "D'Angelo Russell is bad, actually." (It's not.)
Russell is not your typical uber-athletic, high-flying one and done lottery pick, relying much more on skill, feel and instincts than most freshmen. He has great size for the point guard position at 6-5, with solid length and a good frame that should fill out in time. His size, combined with his shooting ability and basketball IQ, gives him (and the coaching staff that will eventually utilize him) intriguing versatility, as he can be paired with many different styles of guards and wing players, allowing his team to take advantage of all kinds of mismatches and get very creative with the lineups and play-calls they throw out.
If we've seen the last of Patient 0 in a tattered Ohio State hospital gown, then let me go on record in hoping the Los Angeles Lakers land him.
2K REP CLUB GETS A BREATHER. The football Buckeyes were back in action yesterday, and Urban Meyer admitted the first practice after Spring Break wasn't one for the ages. (I was hungover for a week.)
Our new beat writer, Eric Seger (follow him on Twitter dot com), has the pertinents over here, and Shoemaker's Urban Meyer presser video is this way.
And while things are on the upswing for the defending Milky Way Galaxy champions, some players, like The Man Who Broke Alabama's Back, are carrying knocks. Others are so cemented in their positions it's best to let the youth behind them get reps.
From Austin Ward of ESPN.com:
Removing a handful of starters from camp might make for uglier practices than Meyer might enjoy watching, though, and Tuesday's workout was certainly not one he'll remember fondly. But considering the physical toll on the bodies of some upperclassmen and the need to develop a bit of depth behind them as the Buckeyes gear up to defend their national title, when the ticker hits a certain number of reps, there's not much point in watching proven commodities work.
"Just being smart with the guys, the 2,000-rep club," Meyer said. "The guys who have had a lot of competitive snaps, you've got to be really smart.
"I love it, I think we're on the cutting edge of being smart about the wear and tear that the student-athlete goes through. And we're being smart."
The names withheld: Pat Elflein, Taylor Decker, Joey Bosa, Josh Perry, Darron Lee and Tyvis Powell.
At this point, I'm unsure if anybody has more equity (am I using this word right?) with their job than Urban Meyer. He could announce his football team will eat nothing but Hostess products from now until the season starts, and I would applaud the ground-breaking strategy.
Of course, all this equity will be ruined if Virginia Tech goes up 3-0.
JUSTIN HILLIARD BACK IN A FAMILIAR ROLE. One of the nice things about retaining your state's in-state talent is they're always available for big recruiting weekends:
Getting back to my recruiting ways this weekend in CBus ..
— Justin Hilliard (@JHilliard47) March 24, 2015
Urban Meyer talks a lot about culture, but unlike other coaches, he walks it. Hilliard is another brick that will pay dividends for years. (I believe the don dada Woody Hayes called it "winning with people.")
WOMEN BASKETBUCKS WILL BE BACK. I mentioned the women Basketbucks' bright future yesterday, but Marcus Hartman of FoxSports.com — for my money, the best women's basketball beat writer — posted a much more thorough look at where Kevin McGuff's program stands:
Like his counterpart in the football program, Urban Meyer, McGuff has talked extensively about establishing a certain culture that will lead to success. He seems to have done that as veterans Alston and fellow junior Cait Craft took on leadership roles this season to help the freshmen develop quickly.
Like his counterpart in the men's basketball program, Thad Matta, McGuff has recruited a transcendent talent in the backcourt from the class of 214. Of course Mitchell figures to be in Columbus much longer than D'Angelo Russell, and she will not be alone.
Amy Scullion is the only player to graduate from McGuff's second squad, and she was only a part-time contributor as she unexpectedly returned to the team after initially deciding to give up her last year of eligibility to concentrate on medical school. Her leadership and grit will be missed, but the Buckeyes will surely benefit more from being able to add multiple bodies to the rotation.
Unless I go (even more) insane from writing seven Skull Sessions a week (18% chance), I promise I will give the women's team more shine next season. Their play demands it.
GOLDEN BEAR HONORED. Golf is bad, but the Golden Bear is good. Folks, that's just my dang take on the issue.
Yesterday, however, Jack Nicklaus was honored with the Congressional Gold Medal — one of the highest honors that can be bestowed upon a civilian.
Jack Nicklaus submits to tears as he honors his wife Barbara. He calls their wedding his most important victory. July 3, 1960
— Kelly Tilghman (@KellyTilghmanGC) March 24, 2015
You can watch the video of the presentation over this way.
BUCKLE UP, BREWER. The Virginia Tech loss (for some reason) no longer upsets me like it did in early November, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't looking forward to the defensive line's (legal) retribution against Virginia Tech's QB, Michael Brewer.
The Hokies, who are still scheduled to open the season against Ohio State, broke spring camp yesterday.
From Nathan Warters of Fredricksburg.com:
Quarterback Michael Brewer had a shaky junior year. He led the Hokies to a road win over the eventual national champion Buckeyes but also tossed 15 interceptions and struggled against the likes of Wake Forest and Western Michigan.
To be fair, the 6-foot, 200-pound Brewer has been on campus for less than a year—he arrived last May after transferring from Texas Tech—and basically had to learn offensive coordinator Scot Loeffler’s system on the fly.
With a year under his belt and presumably a better command of the offense, this could be Brewer’s season to blossom into the playmaker the Hokies envisioned when he made the move from Lubbock, Texas.
Michael Brewer had a shaky year? I'm surprised, because he looked like a spry Zeus with all the lightning he threw on a particular September night that will never be stripped from the desolate wastes of my mind. (I remember his performance better than it actually was.)
Regardless: The team that played Oregon would have housed either team by 50. (It's still crazy to think about the leap that team took.)
How high would the spread have to be before you would be forced to take Virginia Tech? Remember: It's at Virginia Tech on a Monday night, and Virginia Tech is going to hear all summer how they're going to get woodshedded by Ohio State.
Let's also raise the stakes by stipulating there are five half-gallon bottles of FairLife chocolate milk on the line. I think I'd take anything up to Ohio State (-42) before I'd be forced to take the points. (FairLife chocolate milk is life-changing, after all. [No, I was not paid for this but they're welcome to send the check.])
A SMART MESSAGE FROM A DUKE FAN. Despite not being worth an athletic scholarship, I am still thankful I graduated high school before Twitter's invention.
It's not just academics that set us apart at Duke. We abide by standards that eliminate average and undisciplined individuals. #Ap2w
— Derek Jones (@dukecoachdj) March 24, 2015
Every HS Coach needs to have someone on their staff monitor players social media accounts. It's costing far too many of them opportunities.
— Derek Jones (@dukecoachdj) March 24, 2015
College coaches get fired for taking too many character risk. We can't afford to gamble on guys that don't demonstrate common sense in HS.
— Derek Jones (@dukecoachdj) March 24, 2015
Sad to think there are a bunch of kids out there torching opportunities in 140 characters. That's a life lesson right there. (I will make a horrendous tweet later today. I am 28 years old.)
HARBAUGH!!!!!!!!!!!! I forgot what it's like for Michigan to have even a hint of respectability about them. It's... pleasant, isn't it?
How did we get by with the milquetoast Brady Hoke? I don't know either.
And while Urban Meyer — who you might not know studied psychology, as a major, in college — is a master motivator/innovator/gypsy mind-reader, it looks like Harbaugh is trying to one-up him with the hottest psychological take since Freud denied the phallic nature of his cigar.
From Mark Snyder of MLive.com:
Harbaugh told the players when spring practice began that the unit that wins a drill or a competition will get the extra running.
Instead of running as a punishment, it became an incentive.
"He explained it well so I felt guys had a good attitude about it," U-M receiver Amara Darboh said Tuesday. "Only the guys that win get a chance to get better."
Well, at least Michigan players won't be winded after chasing Ezekiel Elliott for 85 yards.
THOSE WMDs. 2015's Name of the Year Tournament is a banger... Akron Man with Hello Kitty face tattoo robs Mr. Hero... How data, not humans, runs this Danish football club... They finally figured out the ketchup bottle... So long, Time Warner: Private/Public fiber optic internet coming to Columbus... Connor Cook would never last in Mick Marotti's dojo.
