Friday Skull Session

Brutal: Seven people overdosed on heroin yesterday in Marion. One Marionaire died. (Those are just the latest numbers.)

Spare me the Marion jokes too, please, because this trash is everywhere. I'm not going to sermonize because that'd require me to provide answers I don't have, but something's gotta change.

This week's NSFW ANTI-WORK #BANGERS:

Justin Timberlake gets Punk'd.
Meet the Greeks.
The Rick James Extended Interview.

FICKELL RESET THE NARRATIVE. If Luke Fickell got as much credit for Ohio State's defensive resurrection as he got blamed in 2013... then he would probably be the head coach of Alabama right now.

From Marcus Hartman of Scout.com:

In 2013, the Buckeye stop unit was a liability, especially late in the season. A year later, a pair of new assistants combined with two holdovers to rethink how the Buckeyes played defense and the results were much better. If not quite the new Silver Bullets, the 2014 Ohio State defense was an opportunistic bunch that played its best in the biggest games at the end of the season.

What was the difference between the two? Well, one can easily look at the roster and see some change in personnel, but simply plugging in new players does not tell the tale -- not even close. That is particularly true when considering the fact three of the 2013 team's best players -- linebacker Ryan Shazier, defensive end Noah Spence and cornerback Bradley Roby -- were among those who weren't around in 2014.

How does a defense get better despite losing three All-Big Ten performers?

Shoutout to Luke Fickell, who will never get the props he fully deserves, but is there a more credentialed Buckeye on the staff? I say no.

Tom Herman (who nailed down his first five-star commitment last night) is often listed as a potential heir to Urban's throne. But what if it's Luke Fickell? It'd make a helluva story, no matter if Fickell stayed at OSU or eventually set out for his own program.

(This concludes my monthly gavel-banging in honor of Luke Fickell. We can proceed.)

WHAT MAKES THE BIG BEAR SCARY. The fact Joey Bosa should be in the NFL right now is something I've noted before, but it still bemuses me.

From Ian Boyd of SBNation.com:

His other tremendous value comes in allowing a defense to rush only three and still have a chance to collapse the pocket. Edge rushers will always have value, but the player who excels at inside moves and playing all over the line can allow a defense to pinpoint weak spots while preventing the offensive line from doing the same.

His excellence in space and in the trenches allows him to be used all over on third down. Bosa can line up inside as a three-tech and win a one-on-one matchup or stunt elsewhere. He can also stand up as a blitzer who has to be picked up by an out-leveraged OL or a running back.

In college, you only see this in glimpses. It's not really worth the college coordinator's time to install multiple pressure packages in limited practices. In the NFL, versatile players don't have to worry about classes getting in the way of learning a wide variety of schemes.

I'm not saying Joey Bosa would supplant J.J. Watt this fall as the NFL's greatest defensive force, but he would contribute to any NFL team.

... And there are going to be 19 and 20-year-olds tasked with blocking him this fall instead. (They'll likely draw shifts and come in pairs, but still...)

Our beat writers, Eric and Tim (follow them both on Twitter dot com), told our newsroom yesterday that Bosa said if he breaks the single-season sacks record this fall he's going to do a backflip for a celebration. That'd be sweet.

Terrell Suggs holds the FBS record at 24 in 2002. Bosa needs to average 1.6 sacks a game to tie it (assuming Ohio State plays 15 games). That's going to be a tough mark to top, especially since Bosa's name is known from coast to coast.

Mike Tyson used to say it though: Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.

SILK TO LOS ANGELES? I am a fan of the team with the No. 2 pick in the 2015 NBA draft, the Los Angeles Lakers. You can blame my Los Angeleño birth as well as my mother's influence for this affliction.

I realize this makes me a steaming pile of subhuman garbage. Whatever. I'll be that.

Personally, I think the Lakers died with Jerry Buss. But listen: L.A. may be water insecure and populated by people with more plastic in their faces than a Tupperware factory, but given the jokers at the top of the draft, there isn't a better place for Russell to land.

From Trevor Lane of SilverScreenAndRoll.com:

The modern NBA has been pushing more and more toward guard-oriented play, with screen and roll actions and ball movement dominating offensive schemes of the top teams. While Lakers coach Byron Scott may not agree, guard play and three-point shooting has become integral to running an efficient offense.

While Jahlil Okafor is a talented player, D'Angelo Russell fits the new breed of NBA basketball perfectly. He shot 41 percent from three in college while dishing out five assists and grabbing 5.7 boards, and his ability to see the floor to find open teammates is a major weapon. Even off the ball he can occupy a defense with his ability to make teams pay for losing track of him with his shooting skills. Versatility is important, and Russell's ability to contribute in a number of ways shouldn't be overlooked.

At 6'5" he's already big for a point guard, and his impressive 6'9.75" wingspan compounds that height advantage and allows him to shoot over defenders easier than most guards. His long arms also help him amass more steals (1.6 per game at Ohio State) and deflections in the passing lanes than those with shorter, T-Rex-style arms.

Oh yes, Byron Scott still coaches the Lakers. That is still a thing. While watching Byron Scott and Kobe Bryant overlord D'Angelo Russell would be disaster akin to the discovery of your grandma's 30-minute twerking video, that arrangement would *fingers crossed* only last 20 games before Scott is canned and Bryant's rotting carcass is rolled into its in-season coffin.

Penn State's basketball coach says Russell to the 76ers makes sense. (Russell has been on Instagram liking pictures of himself in 76ers and Lakers jerseys.) The Knicks reportedly love him, but the Knicks are your drunk, fresh-out-of-a-break-up friend leering down the bar post-midnight. They're loving on anybody who makes the mistake of looking into their beady little eyes.

Out of Minnesota, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and New York... where would you want to spend your winters as a young millionaire? The choice is clear. The Los Angeles Lakers must draft D'Angelo Russell.

GIDDENS COMING. The 2015-16 Basketbucks would've been electric had Russell stuck around for one more year, but I have no problem watching young try-hards next year.

Am I wrong in seeing some Tristan Thompson in 2015 commit Daniel Giddens' game?