Somehow, the BasketBucks still have an outside chance to win the Big Ten or at least finish in the top-four and get that coveted tournament double-bye. But there's no game bigger than tonight.
Get dumped then, Illinois.
Word of the Day: Chaste.
FUTURE PROS. I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say that both E.J. Liddell and Malaki Branham will be playing basketball professionally when their time at Ohio State is done.
And you'll be shocked to hear that NBA Draft prognosticators agree!
New ESPN 2022 NBA mock draft has E.J. Liddell going 14th overall and Malaki Branham being selected at No. 41.
— Griffin Strom (@GriffinStrom3) February 23, 2022
I have absolutely no idea where I would have expected to see Liddell drafted, but I guess No. 14 might be a little higher than I would have guessed? But at the end of the day, the dude took feedback from the draft process and has completely transformed his game in less than a year. If nothing else, it shows that he's one of the most coachable and moldable players in the draft.
As for Branham, I'm not the one staring life-changing money in the face, but you have to think his stock will be a hell of a lot higher after a year as the focal point on this team instead of second fiddle to a potential lottery pick. If he comes back next year, the dude's a lottery pick in 2023 (Malaki, if you're reading this, please don't break my heart like Duane).
WATCH FILM LIKE A COACH. I'll be the first to admit that when I watch a high school teen's highlight reel, I have no idea what the hell I'm looking at. Shit, if it was up to me, I would have hitched my team's future to 12-year-old Cody Paul based on a four-minute YouTube video.
Thankfully, Ohio State's coaching staff is a little more discerning. And Brian Hartline is here to help us out.
Ohio State receivers coach Brian Hartline, who coaches arguably most talented receiver group in the country: I’ll get really nervous when I don’t see fast guys playing fast on film. … If I can’t see that on the film, it makes me nervous because the more I tell you, and the more pre-snap plan and post-snap execution that we do, and if you can’t really mentally calculate that and apply it, it’s gonna make it hard for you to play fast.
If you play at your max capacity, I’m really, really excited. You’re a 16- or 17-year-old-kid. (Buckeyes strength coach) Mick Marotti is going to turn you into a Greek god, and I’m gonna teach you how to play football, and you’re gonna maximize whatever you’re capable of as you get faster and stronger because you’re already maximizing your skill set. I love seeing that.
Most impressive receiver film Hartline has seen in a while?
Jaxon Smith-Njigba. His production was off the charts and he was doing it against really tough competition in Texas, and it was his sudden-ness, explosiveness, and his ball skills were off the chart, and the way he would seamlessly run through a catch point, pluck the ball and transition to YAC. It was like a long handoff. That was different. His receiver coach did a really good job with him.
I'd like to say that was helpful, but truly nothing that he said talks me out of Cody Paul's peewee tape, so I guess I'm just going to have to concede that he's paid millions for a reason and why I blog about him from my couch.
In any case, we need to address one of Hartline's quotes.
"Mick Marotti is going to turn you into a Greek god, and I’m gonna teach you how to play football."
Ohio State needs to just pop that quote on a recruiting graphic, mail it to every five-star teen in the country, and call it a day.
JUST LIKE FOOTBALL. A strong portion of y'all are only here for what Ohio State does on the gridiron and the hardwood. I'm not about to tell you how to live your lives, but allow me to direct your attention to the rest of the athletic department.
18 ranked Buckeye squads !
— Ohio State Buckeyes (@OhioStAthletics) February 23, 2022
: @OhioStateWhky host St. Cloud State this weekend in their quarterfinal matchup!
: https://t.co/He7w8aQLnY | #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/hzFasWnJv9
I could be missing something, but I believe this is out of 21 Ohio State teams that are actively competing and could possibly be ranked. The only ones not ranked are men's track, baseball and women's lacrosse (which is also undefeated on the season with a perfect 3-0 record).
So that means more than 85 percent of the Ohio State teams currently competing are nationally ranked in their respective polls, and more than half of them are ranked in the top 10. Seems good!
And again, that doesn't even include the synchronized swimming team, which wins national titles more regularly than the football team wins games.
BUCKEYES UNITE. New head coach Eddie George appears to be going with the tried-and-true method of surrounding yourself with Buckeyes to make your team successful.
Sources: Cincinnati quality control coach Michael Brewster has accepted the tight ends coach job at Tennessee State. The former Buckeye captain and NFL lineman joins Eddie Georges staff.
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) February 23, 2022
If y'all needed an FCS team to root for...
SONG OF THE DAY. "Dunked On" by Froggy Fresh.
NOT STICKING TO SPORTS. A brain scan of a dying man suggests it’s possible that your life flashes before your eyes... I went to a brothel with my boyfriend and it was nothing like I expected... While most people are fast asleep, some ultra-introverts are going about their lives, reveling in the quiet and solitude at night... Inside the underground economy of solitary confinement... How the pandemic changed the bra...
