The Cavs were able to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory last night. I will never lose the image of J.R. Smith triumphantly running to the middle of the court as LeBron James loses his mind nearby.
So LeBron goes for 51-8-8 but loses Game 1 because...
— Royce Young (@royceyoung) June 1, 2018
- An obscure rule allows a charge to be changed to a block
- An 80% free throw shooter hits 1 of 2
- A teammate doesn't know the score with a chance to win
Cool cool cool
Last night was rough, but I'm not counting out the rightful King of Ohio. If anything, last night proved the Cavs can do the thing.
ICYMI:
- Have a tailgate recipe the world needs to know about? Submit it to the Official 11W Tailgate Cookbook. The author of the highest-voted recipe receives a $50 gift certificate to the 11W Dry Goods.
- Ohio State could play more than six receivers, but that doesn't mean it should.
- The Buckeye rush defense finished as the best of the Urban Meyer era.
- Top-five Big Ten players returning to school after testing NBA waters.
- Four game times set for the upcoming season.
- Buckeyes to host Syracuse in ACC/Big Ten title game.
Word of the Day: Aa.
DOBBINS DOUBTS THE KING. It wasn't long ago LeBron James disrupted Dwayne Wade's locker room interview by yelling J.K. Dobbins' name as true freshman gashed Wisconsin in the Big Ten Championship game.
A few months later, LeBron's the one in the postseason, but Dobbins doesn't exactly have faith in the King. Ohio State was quick to put the young one back in his place.
accidentally said i dont think the cavs can pull this off and my original locker was moved to Lebron james locker and i have my own section in the training room. pic.twitter.com/dWwAFYV1GN
— Jk dobbins (@Jkdobbins22) May 31, 2018
Meanwhile in the Woody Hayes Athletic Complex during #NBAFinals Week...@Jkdobbins22 learns his lesson & is all @KingJames & @cavs #WhateverItTakes #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/Lmfsk7KFOI
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) May 31, 2018
I know the Cavs lost, but LeBron dropped 51 points with eight boards and eight assists and it took his own teammate's refusal to look at a scoreboard for the Warriors to eek out a win at home.
I don't care the scenario, doubting LeBron at this point is just egregious. Luckily, Dobbins came around:
Dear @KingJames, @Jkdobbins22 wanted to clarify... #WhateverItTakes #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/NqCXPfnZ8Q
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) May 31, 2018
MIKE ADAMS GETS SKINNY. Somehow, J.B. Shugarts dropped 150 lbs. since playing in the NFL and only has the second most impressive body transformation of a former Buckeye lineman.
Mike Adams was listed at 6-7, 323 pounds the last time he was on an NFL roster. Now, he looks like this:
This is former Steeler OL Mike Adams right now. pic.twitter.com/SxyrDsJkFI
— Colin Dunlap (@colin_dunlap) May 31, 2018
Impressive pic.twitter.com/MouuDxikKz
— W Cooper (@WMC_3) May 31, 2018
I have two reactions:
- That doesn't even look remotely like the same human.
- He's still in incredible shape and could probably restart his career as a target receiver in the CFL tomorrow. I'd pay top dollar to see former offensive lineman Mike Adams mossing dudes with Johnny Football tossing him dimes. Hell, I might even move to Canada and get season's tickets.
KENDALL SHEFFIELD TIME. You know what happens when an Ohio State cornerback becomes a first round pick in the NFL Draft? It's time for the Buckeyes to find another one in time for the next draft.
My best bet is it's Kendall Sheffield.
I don't remember an incoming transfer arriving with the hype Sheffield had. A five-star recruit out of high school, a former Alabama player, a track star and the No. 1 JUCO player, some folks earnestly thought he was going to be shaking Mr. Goodell's hand after one season in Columbus.
That wasn't quite the case, but it wasn't hard to see Sheffield's raw athleticism and sky high potential and wonder how good he could be with another offseason under his belt.
From Tony Gerdeman of TheOzone.net:
“Yeah, I mean I heard he was fast and then I actually went and watched him,” Johnson said. “A bunch of us went when the track meet was here, and I thought someone was chasing him with a knife or something. He looked scary running.”
Physically, Kendall Sheffield has everything a coach could want in a cornerback. He has the size (6-0 193), speed, and the agility as well.
...
“I think the sky is the limit for Kendall. He and I talked about that a couple of days ago. The one thing that he made a lot of strides at was really, really trying to be very detailed in exactly what we were asking him to do. I think he did the best job of that in terms of eye-placement, anything with the techniques and it showed up. It really did show up for him this spring and he made some great strides for sure.”
If Sheffield does have a breakout season and vaults to the NFL afterwards, I guess the Buckeyes will just have to replace him with one of the half dozen five-star defensive backs they keep on the roster.
GARRETT WILSON DOES EVERYTHING. Future Buckeye receiver Garrett Wilson became Urban Meyer's highest-rated receiver commit at Ohio State, and it turns out there's very little he can't do.
From statesman.com:
Wilson, a first-team member of both the Statesman’s All-Central Texas basketball and football teams and the Lake Travis View’s male athlete of the year, has committed to play football for Ohio State beginning with the 2019 season. The 6-foot, 180-pound receiver hauled in 98 receptions for 1,773 yards and 26 touchdowns while helping Lake Travis reach its third consecutive Class 6A championship game.
In that loss to Allen, Wilson showed what Lake Travis coach Hank Carter has called “extreme competitiveness” by also lining up at cornerback against Allen’s star receiver, Theo Wease, an Oklahoma pledge who didn’t have a catch against Wilson.
The playmaking continued during basketball season, when Wilson turned in various highlight-reel plays while scoring a team-high 21 points a game. The all-state guard played in 20 of 38 games and helped the Cavs post a 30-8 record on the hardcourt and advance to a Class 6A regional final.
So let's break this down: Wilson was an all-state basketball player averaging 21 points per game and locked down a five-star receiver as a cornerback and neither of those are the things he's best at.
I think he's going to be a good one in Columbus.
GRANT GUNNELL IN ELITE 11 FINALS. Speaking of #teens, there's a good chance a future Ohio State quarterback will be in action today as a few Buckeye quarterback targets will compete in the Elite 11 Finals with a trip to The Opening Finals on the line.
Ohio State targets Grant Gunnell, Graham Mertz (Wisconsin commit), Dwan Mathis (Michigan State commit) and Ryan Hilinski (South Carolina commit) hit the beach tomorrow for the Elite 11 Finals.
— Ryan Donnelly (@L10Ryan) May 31, 2018
The winners will advance to The Opening Finals in Dallas on June 30. https://t.co/X2kWV5e5aU
In my expert recruiting opinion, one of those players should do their football at Ohio State.
THOSE WMDs. The "sex cult" that preached empowerment... The bad math that lets Coke say it gives back all the waster it uses... Chasing the Pearl of Lao Tzu... The NCAA's investigation into Mississippi football... How the Golden Knights built a brand... Did faulty evidence doom Joe Brian?