Good morning, this is March.
ABSOLUTE MADNESS
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) March 8, 2022
Chattanooga wins the SoCon and a trip to the NCAA tourney AT THE BUZZER! pic.twitter.com/mQ77OIjOWM
Word of the Day: Traipse.
SPRING PRACTICE IS HERE. I know y'all are already yearning for Football Season, but for now, Football Season Jr. will have to do.
As of this morning, spring practice is officially underway. So stay tuned for practice observations (from the 30 minutes media is allowed to spectate) followed by a press conference with Ryan Day, Jim Knowles and Kevin Wilson.
We'll try to let you know if the defense is fixed ASAP.
INDEFENSIBLE. You wanna know what Ohio State's football and basketball teams have a bad thing in common – they're both going to have to overhaul their defenses this offseason after back-to-back atrocious seasons.
You already know about the football numbers and statistics – I'm sure we don't need to hash those out again – but the hoops numbers may be even more jarringly bad than football.
The defensive numbers are not good. Ohio State entered Sunday ranked 121st nationally in adjusted defensive efficiency, allowing 100.4 points per 100 possessions. Northwestern (14-15, 7-13 Big Ten) and Nebraska (10-21, 4-16) posted their best offensive games against the Buckeyes (19-10, 12-8). Ohio State came in allowing 68.1 points a game, which ranked 142nd.
...
What’s a bit confusing is the dismal defensive numbers are not new. Ohio State had top-25 defenses in two of Holtmann’s first three seasons, but this is the second consecutive year things have misfired.
Unfortunately, in this sport, the solution has to be a little more nuanced than Ryan Day's approach of "burn everything to the ground and rebuild from scratch," because the players have to play both sides of the ball.
But Ohio State's going to have to do *something* because one of the laws of March is that you can't make a deep tournament run without a good defense.
DIRECTOR OF NIL. If you're in the market for a new job and have an extremely versatile skillset and expertise, I'd like to direct you to Ohio State's newest job posting.
The Buckeyes are looking for a "Director of NIL" to do... well, a lot.
Job Description
Ohio State Athletics Department is looking for an enthusiastic individual to oversee and provide leadership focused on NCAA Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) education, brand development, and partnerships. This position will also serve as a key adviser to the Senior Associate Director of Athletics and the EDSLI Leadership Team on strategic initiatives and the overall advancement of the department.
Serve as the primary contact for NIL for the department. Coordinate with external engagement to support brand building and personal business development initiatives. Manage software related to NIL. Create business focused educational opportunities in conjunction with student-athlete development and EDSLI career enhancement. Generate, analyze, and distribute monthly NIL transaction reports. Develop NIL working collaboration with units on campus. Provide technical support to student-athletes utilizing Opendorse or other platforms. Develop and implement market evaluation criteria as system of checks and balances for student-athletes in their search for and negotiation of agreements. Create and develop mentor relationships with student-athletes. Develop relationships with coaches and sport program support staff, in addition to compliance, multimedia rights holder, student-athlete development, external engagement, and the Office of Innovation. Coordinate the development of the NIL content on website as well as other written educational materials. Collaborate with sport programs to provide educational programs to share with prospective student-athletes. Provide NIL education and opportunities to participate for multimedia partners and donors. Develop relationships with key local, regional, and national stakeholders - sponsors / donors. Serve as the liaison to compliance on all questions and concerns regarding NIL and communicate with compliance on any questions or concerns. Generate annual NIL report. Stay updated on the latest NIL trends, including legislative advancements, NCAA compliance regulations and vendor landscape evolutions. Communicate with Office of Legal Affairs on state law application and adherence and other legal concerns.
I ruled myself out after like three sentences, but I'm confident at least somebody currently reading this could qualify.
TRANSFORMATION TUESDAY. Avery Henry and Luke Montgomery are still in high school, but that's not stopping them from already putting in the work to get themselves Buckeye ready.
Two years ago today, I started my journey to be the best possible individual I could be. I went from almost weighing 400lbs to weighing In this morning at 305lbs. I challenge everyone that sees this to make a change. Its not to late its the perfect time!! Go bucks pic.twitter.com/iUMV0a9ODy
— King_Henry2.0 (@AveryHenry731) March 7, 2022
Currently up in weight. Was 260 during basketball and over the past couple of weeks I have gotten up to 272 and still feeling like Im 250!!! Also 65 pic.twitter.com/wBmycS6ETD
— Luke Montgomery (@lukeMonty8) March 8, 2022
As much as I admire the work ethic of every current Ohio State football player, I'm way more impressed by high schoolers doing this without Mickey Marotti and co. directly training them and seeing them every day.
Also, I say all of this while typing from my couch and snacking on Cheez-Its and Dr. Pepper. I appreciate Avery's challenge for me to make a change, but the only thing I plan to change is snacks – I'm about to trade in these Cheez-Its for some pizza rolls.
SONG OF THE DAY. "Turn My Swag On" by Soulja Boy.
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