Last year’s Buckeyes team started out strong going 15-0 and being ranked #2 in the country. Their run was stopped by Michigan State in a close loss. From there, the team went on to finish 10-10 in their last 20 games.
“Last year losing 10 games was frustrating in a sense that we had the lead in 9 of the 10 games. It would be something different for each game. Watching film and analyzing stretches of possessions and showing that a loss could be 1 or 2 possessions where we could have changed the outcome.”
In order to reach another Final Four, the players must spend their fair share of time in the gym. Not only are the players putting in their time in the summer, coaches must get better themselves. I asked Coach Boals on how he made himself a better coach. There is a lot of time spent “reading articles, talking to other coaches, watching coaching clinics, etc.” Not only with that, he analyzes what other teams did so the coaching staff can challenge the team and put them in the right situation to succeed.
Looking forward to the upcoming season, three players were lost due to graduation or the NBA Draft – Aaron Craft, LaQuinton Ross, and Amadeo Della Valle. I asked Coach Boals what Craft meant to the team and the Buckeye community.
“Aaron Craft’s contributions to this program the last 4 years were phenomenal. He is one of the best point guards to ever play here. His win total, steals record (Ohio State and Big Ten career) and assists record for his career speak volumes of who he was as a player. You knew every day what you were going to get, and that was maximum effort on every play, every practice and every game. His contributions off the court within the campus and the Columbus community will also be missed.”
With 4 returning seniors, Ohio State will lean on the veterans to provide leadership to the team. They also will feature 4 true freshmen and 1 redshirt freshman. I asked Coach Boals to give us a quick preview of what they expect from the “diaper dandies.”
The Diaper Dandies
Kameron Williams: A redshirt freshman, is a very good shooter and very athletic. He has put on 20 pounds of muscle in a year.
D’Angelo Russell: A combo guard that can score the basketball and has a very good basketball IQ.
Keita Bates-Diop: An athletic combo forward with a 7’3” wingspan. Diop can shoot the ball very well.
Jae’Sean Tate: Can play multiple positions with great effort/energy and displays good toughness.
Dave Bell: Is long and has a great motor. He is like a sponge and absorbs as much knowledge about the game as he can.
Coach Boals expects the Big 10 to be tough from top to bottom. If you look last year, Michigan State won the Big 10 tournament, Michigan won the regular season title, and Wisconsin reached the Final Four. There is no slouch of a team in the conference and the team will need to be mentally focused to finish out each game. If they do this, there’s no doubt they will have success.
“I really like the length and athleticism of this team. Our chemistry is really good as well. We will need to continue to work on closing out games and having a next play mentality.”
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