Greetings. I am pleased to announce that the Ohio State men's basketball team will be going to the Final Four this year. First reported here.
Iowa is officially on notice. Luka Garza <<<<<< Zed Key. Get your finger guns ready.
Word of the Day: Haughty.
LIKE A PROUD FATHER. Candidly, I think it's been a while since Ohio State fans were sincerely proud of the team's linebacking corps, but I think we were finally there this season.
And with four of them now heading to the next level, Al Washington's feeling the pride, too.
“Before the first day [of Senior Bowl practice], I told [Flores and Campanile], ‘Don’t take it easy on these guys,’ just busting their chops a little,” he told Yahoo Sports this week. “But I told them for real: ‘My guys will be ready to be coached hard.’”
Then Washington sat back and hoped for the best. So far, he’s feeling like a gratified father.
“The first day [Campanile] hit me back and told me how professional they were, how well they worked, how well they picked everything up right away,” he said. “That made me proud.”
...
“I wish I had more time with these guys,” Washington said. “Two years have flown by. You just see how much each of them has improved and grown over that time and you just see how good each of them are and how good they can become.”
It was nicer than I even realized to have that security blanket, especially with the suspect secondary and a pass rush that was missing a Chase Young or a Bosa. Team just couldn't run the ball, and that was very cool and good!
But now we're gonna have to test that "next man up" adage – and probably get some help from the trusty transfer portal, which has been unreasonably kind to Ohio State the past few years.
“HE'S GOING TO SEND ME TO AN EARLY DEATH.” Next time you yell obscenities at the television watching Duane Washington huck up a deep contested three early in the shot clock in a five-point game, just know that Chris Holtmann is right there with you.
"I love him. I love coaching him. But he's going to send me to an early death."
Duane should commemorate that quote with a tattoo right next to the Prayer of Serenity.
Personally, I love him and am extremely happy he is on my team instead of somebody else's, but I'm pretty sure I'd hate him if the rest of the team wasn't also good.
An ill-advised shot is much easier to stomach when you can just feed E.J. Liddel on the next possession or find an open Justin Ahrens for an automatic three.
I'm not sure Chris Holtmann would survive a team that absolutely lives and dies by Duane Washingon's hot hand.
SOTOS STILL OUT. This is the deepest Ohio State basketball team since at least peak Thad Matta years with like three to five guys who could legitimately carry a game if they need to along with a bunch more who are solid role players.
And it could be even deeper!
Jimmy Sotos will be out Sunday vs. Michigan State. Chris Holtmann: "He's making progress. We'll know more early next week on him in terms of return to play."
— Colin Hass-Hill (@chasshill) January 29, 2021
He says the decision of if he'll play again this season will ultimately come down to whether or not he needs surgery.
I'm not going to pretend that Ohio State's success hinges on whether or not Jimmy Sotos can return to the squad this season, but he was shockingly solid in the last game he played and I had high hopes about how he'd contribute the rest of the season.
But hey, the Buckeyes pretty much played without a point guard for a month and everything was more than fine. So I'm sure they'll figure it out regardless.
MURDER BUCKS. I'm sure y'all are very much aware of the men's hoops team's hot streak, but a fun fact is that the women's team actually has the more impressive murder spree.
The women slapped both No. 12 Michigan and No. 7 Maryland with their first losses of the season to take first place in the Big Ten, then followed that up with a road victory over No. 16 Indiana to make it three ranked wins in three games.
Now, they head to Not Chicago to make it four against Northwestern, who is ranked No. 23 (for now, but that's gonna go up in today's AP Poll).
If you haven't watched them play yet, they're fun as hell, but in a totally different way than the Kelsey Mitchell days. Instead of one girl dropping 40 points and making every shot on the court, you've got an absolute death machine with no weakness with all five starters averaging double figures and playing damn sound defense.
It's complete bullshit that they can't compete for a natty this year, essentially because players that are no longer on the roster were sexually harrassed by a coach who is not longer with the program.
But hey, that's not going to stop them from rolling through the entire Big Ten. Buckle up, Wildcats.
SONG OF THE DAY. "Backyard Boy" by Claire Rosinkranz.
NOT STICKING TO SPORTS. How Mexican drug cartels are using TikTok to entice young people into organized crime... Is watching TV actually a good way to relax?... The life and crimes of mafia groups around the world... Why wombats poop cubes... A farm has made £50,000 during the pandemic by offering Zoom calls with goats... You have to stop hating on the books you read in high school... What eating hot chilies does to your body...
