Gyms all across the country are closed, but that ain't stopping Ohio State commit Michael Hall from getting his lift in.
#QuarantineAndChill pic.twitter.com/34KrnIY9F6
— . (@MichaelHallJr_) April 5, 2020
Give him his fifth star, cowards.
Song of the Day: "Hard Times" by Paramore.
Word of the Day: Loutish.
THE TOTAL PACKAGE. There's a long, long list of freak athletes who fizzled at the next level because they were just athletic and weren't actually good at football.
Julian Fleming won't be one of those guys.
Fleming is a physical freak – shocking to hear that about a five-star athlete, I know – but according to his former head coach, he doesn't just rely on his physical gifts to be great, his innate understanding of the game and comfort level on the field enhances those gifts.
(Jim) Roth later then described how he would watch Fleming running his routes, doing things that none of his coaches had ever taught him. Depending on the coverages, he would lure defenders in with some deceleration and then accelerate and leave them behind. Roth wasn’t even sure he should be doing it, but he checked with the college coaches who were recruiting Fleming and what they told him was both a relief and a surprise.
“They said that’s definitely a technique that is used on some routes against some coverages,” he explained. “It’s a high level kind of thing that is incorporated in route running and he was just doing it naturally. I mean, I didn’t teach it to him. We didn’t have a receivers coach teach it to him. But he kind of had a feel for doing that. He just started to incorporate that at some point.”
...
“I’ve never even had a coach ask me his 40 time. Not once, not one time. I’m not even sure what his 40 time is,” Roth said. “I just think he’s one of those guys, whatever his speed is, he’s gonna run faster on the field anyhow. But he finished second in the state in the 100 meters his junior year in track and field, and he’s always been a guy that I felt regardless of what the clock said, if you timed him, he’s always been a guy that is going to have better field speed because he’s just one of those that when he’s competing, he raises to that level. He’s gonna do what he needs to do.”
Here's the list of things his coach extensively praised about Fleming:
- His motivation
- His advanced route-running
- His size
- His speed
- His blocking ability
- His ball skills
- His hands
That's all fine and good, but how's his trash talk? Because there's a damn strong correlation between "excellent trash talker" and "Hall of Fame wide receiver." But if he needs help, I'm sure Michael Thomas can offer his services, because he's the best in the game on that front too.
HINDSIGHT IS 20/20. I'm fully aware that redrafting most NBA drafts from the past 20 years wouldn't yield particularly tremendous results for former Buckeye hoopsters, but at least one of them would.
In hindsight, Michael Redd clearly should have been the No. 1 overall pick in the 2000 draft.
Notable for a shooting stroke you'd never teach (the ball often got behind Redd's head before his catapult-style release), the 6'6" guard set the NBA record for most three-pointers made in a fourth quarter. He drilled eight treys as a reserve against the Houston Rockets in 2002.
From 2003-04 to 2008-09, Redd averaged at least 21 points per game, peaking with an average of 26.7 in 2006-07. He was an All-Star and an All-NBA third-teamer in 2003-04.
If that seems like a modest list of achievements for a top pick in a re-draft, note that Redd has the top two (and four of the top nine) individual seasons produced by members of his class, as measured by box plus-minus.
...
A career 38.0 percent shooter from deep who fired away at high volume long before the three-point revolution made it cool, Redd tops all 2000 draftees in BPM and win shares per 48 minutes. He didn't have the staying power of others in this group, but he provided the most value during his short peak.
It's at this point that I have to admit that I've never watched an Ohio State basketball game that took place earlier than like 2003, but I'm damn certain I would have loved everything about watching Redd and Scoonie Penn play together. I even have a shirt that alleges they went to the Final Four!
TIGER WOODS MEETS DUDE PERFECT. It's looking like walk-on punter Michael O'Shaughnessy is playing the wrong sport, because he's got some of the best short golf game I've ever seen.
Behold, the Dude Perfect of golf.
These are my runner up trickshots for the #BuckeyeTrickShots challenge...call me OS-dUde perfect #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/RrXEqeFHiO
— Michael O'Shaughnessy (@mikeosh23) April 5, 2020
I have no idea what his driver is like, but at the very least he'd rock the hell out of any minigolf course.
33 DUNKS IN 60 SECONDS. Outside of the national title, this hasn't been the world's most spectacular month for Ohio State hoops.
But fear not, the future is bright and full of dunks.
33 dunks in 60 seconds @LuHiBasketball @OhioStateHoops @NYJayhawks @OSU_Hoops @OSUHoopsInsider @Buckeye_Nation @SportsRushN12 @WhosNextHS @BuckeyeNutHouse @thekidet @BarstoolOSU @Landgrant33 @SteveHelwagen @alexgleitman @AdamJardy #luhi #Buckeyes #OhioState #BuckeyeNation pic.twitter.com/QGNcOzHRzI
— Zed Key (@iamzedkey) April 6, 2020
Players are leaving, but new ones are coming, too. And they're even good!
The sky isn't falling, unless Zed Key is pulling it down with him.
CHAMPIONS ARE MADE. Just one enemy stands between Nick Mangold and his rightful throne.
Get dumped then, Reggie Bush.
This is it. This is our time. God willing, with your help, I will become the greatest @AABonNBC player of all time. Its finals time baby. Tomorrow the battle begins. We as Americans love an underdog and what greater of an underdog is this?!? pic.twitter.com/RzuHA9MZcD
— Nick Mangold (@nickmangold) April 5, 2020
The Finals are Set @ReggieBush vs. @nickmangold
— All-American Bowl (@AABonNBC) April 5, 2020
Voting will take place on April 6 to see who the fans crown as our #AllAmericanBowl #FightOn #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/YzR2TytrMT
Our hero has already bested Justin Tucker, Adrian Peterson, Ezekiel Elliott, Vince Young and Derrius Guice, and now he's pitted against a dude who he actually outrushed in their respective final NFL seasons.
This should be no contest, but let's go ahead and make sure to vote for our boy anyway.
NOT STICKING TO SPORTS. The King of Thailand 'isolates' in a luxury hotel with an entourage of 20 women... Five people were shot dead in Russia for 'talking loudly'... The honeymoon couple trapped at a five-star resort... Following a kilo of cocaine from field to street... Give a pep talk to someone – it will help you, too... The highest-paid athlete of all time was a Roman Charioteer worth $15 billion in today's dollars.
