Men’s Basketball Gets Back Into Action – Ohio State Buckeyes
12/23/1999 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 23, 1999
No. 16 Ohio State Buckeyes
Probable Starters (6-2)
G 12-Scoonie Penn, 5-10, Sr.
G 22-Michael Redd, 6-6, Jr.
G 13-Brian Brown, 6-3, So.
C 32-Ken Johnson, 6-11, Sr.
F 40-George Reese, 6-7, Sr.
Oakland Grizzlies
Probable Starters (2-9)
G 11-Steve Houston, 6-0, Jr.
G 2-Mychal Covington, 6-4, So.
G 21-Jason Rozycki, 6-3, So.
F 50-Sebastian Bellin, 6-6, Jr.
F 3-Myke Thom, 6-5, Sr.
Redd, Penn each with 103 career 3-pointers at Ohio State
Ohio State junior guard Michael Redd has connected on 103 of 318 (.324) career 3-pointers at Ohio State. Senior Scoonie Penn, in two seasons as a Buckeye, has knocked down 103 of 281 (.367) at OSU. Penn has made 207 of 604 (.343) 3-pointers in his career, which includes two seasons at Boston College.
Johnson one block short of 200, 12th on Big Ten list
Buckeye senior Ken Johnson has 199 career blocks in his career after swatting four shots against Toledo. Johnson will become just the second Buckeye and the 12th Big Ten player to reach 200 career blocks. Herb Williams (1977-81) leads OSU and is fourth all-time among Big Ten players with 328 rejections.
Redd 86 points away from OSU Top 10
Redd moved into 14th place all-time at OSU in scoring with 17 against Toledo. With 86 more points this season, he will crack the OSU Top 10 list in career scoring. Buckeye great Allen Hornyak (1971-73) is currently 10th on the scoring list with 1,572 career points. Opposing offenses struggle
The Buckeye defense has managed to hold five of the eight opponents this season under 40 percent from the field and all opponents to a combined 35.3 percent (167-473). Only Notre Dame (.500), Coastal Carolina (.441) and Kansas (.477) have managed to shoot over 40 percent against the Buckeyes. Three teams–Duquesne (.283), Florida A&M (.224) and Eastern Kentucky (.242)–managed a shooting percentage in the 20s.
OSU starters carrying load
The Buckeye starting lineup of Redd, Penn, Brown, Johnson, Reese have been responsible for nearly 80 percent of the OSU offense this year. Starters have scored 479 of the team’s 603 points this season. In five of the eight games, at least four starters have been in double figures. Last year, four starters scored 10 or more points in six of 36 contests.
Johnson records second career double-double in win over Toledo
Ken Johnson scored a career-high 17 points and Scoonie Penn added 16, including two free throws with 18 seconds left, as No. 20 Ohio State rallied from a 10-point halftime deficit to defeat intrastate rival Toledo, 64-61. Trailing 36-26 at the intermission, the Buckeyes took their first lead of the second half on Johnson’s basket that made it 55-54 with just under four minutes left. Penn sank two free throws to give Ohio State a three-point lead with 18 seconds remaining. Toledo’s last chance to tie it was thwarted by Penn, who stole a pass from Albert Wilson and dribbled out the clock. Michael Redd also scored 17 points for Ohio State , which avenged a 64-63 loss in Toledo last season and posted its sixth win in seven games. Justin Hall scored 17 points and Greg Stempin added 13 for Toledo (6-5), which was playing its 10th straight road game. Johnson added 10 rebounds for the Buckeyes to record his second-career double-double. The game also marked the sixth-consecutive game in which the Buckeyes placed four starters in double figures.
Noting the win over Toledo
Ohio State improves to 20-2 all-time at Value City Arena withthe win. The Buckeyes are now 48-13 vs. the MAC, 5-4 vs. Toledo and56-20 vs. Ohio Division I schools. Ohio State has now connected onat least one three-point goal in 228 consecutive games afterScoonie Penn drilled a trey late in the first half. Penn has nowstarted in 100 games during his career. Fifty-six came while atBoston College and the other 44 have come at OSU. Ken Johnsonscored a career-high 17 points, breaking his previous high of 15,set vs. Vanderbilt (11/28/99) and Indiana (3/5/98). He alsorecorded his second career double-double. The first was in theMarch 1998 contest vs. Indiana. Johnson’s five offensiverebounds tied a Value City Arena record for OSU. OSU placed fourscorers in double figures – Johnson and Redd (17), Penn (16) andGeorge Reese (10). OSU has had at least four in double figures insix straight games. Michael Redd moved into 14th place onOSU’s all-time scoring list with his 17-pointperformance. Passing Jerry Francis (1,486), Redd now has 1,487points. Toledo went 9:40 in the second half without hitting a fieldgoal. After a Robierre Cullars’ three-pointer at the11:51 mark, the Rockets failed to connect on another field goaluntil Justin Hall’s layup at the 2:11 mark.
Penn, Redd, Johnson, Buckeyes leading Big Ten in several categories
Ohio State senior center Ken Johnson is leading Big Ten players in blocks this season. Johnson is sending back 5.13 shots per game with 41 blocks on the year. Senior Scoonie Penn is leading league players in assists with 5.13 a contest. Junior Michael Redd is the conference’s best free-throw shooter. He has connected on 21 of 23 freebies for a .913 shooting percentage. As a team, the Buckeyes are first among Big Ten teams in scoring margin (+16.9), rebounding (42.4 rpg.), field goal percentage defense (.353) and blocked shots (7.13 bpg.). The Buckeyes are second in rebound margin (+9.0), free throw percentage (.714), turnover margin (4.50) and defensive rebounds (27.4).
Penn makes 100th career collegiate start vs. Toledo
Ohio State senior guard Scoonie Penn made his 100th start of his career against Toledo. Penn has started every game in which he has appeared over two seasons at Boston College and two at Ohio State. As an Eagle at BC, Penn started 56 games from 1995-97. To date at OSU, Penn has 44 starts over the last two seasons.
Redd on double-figure scoring streak
Ohio State junior guard Michael Redd has appeared in 74 games as a Buckeye. He has failed to reach double figures in scoring just twice, a nine-point effort vs. BYU (12/30/97) and an eight-point outing at Michigan (1/16/99). Redd has scored in double figures in 26-consecutive games since the game at Michigan. He scored 10 or more in 34-consecutive contests after the BYU game his freshman season. Redd has scored in double figures in 39-consecutive home games (17 as a freshman, 15 as a sophomore and seven as a junior). Redd is the only Buckeye to score in double digits in all eight games this season.
Johnson likely has made final move on OSU career swat chart
Ohio State senior center Ken Johnson likely made his final assault on the Buckeye career blocked shots chart with his eight-rejection night against Eastern Kentucky, which moved him into second-place all-time at Ohio State in career blocks. Johnson trails the 328 recorded blocks by Buckeye great Herb Williams (1978-81). Johnson averaged 1.9 bpg (58/30 gms.) as a sophomore, 2.8 bpg. (100/36 gms.) as a junior and 5.1 bpg. (41/8 gms.) so far this season.
Redd/Penn closing in on 1,500 points
The Ohio State guard tandem of senior Scoonie Penn and junior Michael Redd are each closing in on career point 1,500. Redd has 1,487 career points, good for 14th on the OSU career list, leaving him 13 points shy of 1,500. Penn, who spent two seasons at Boston College, has scored 1,471 career points. Penn tallied 737 while at BC and has 734 at Ohio State.
Numerically noting the Buckeyes
Scoonie Penn: Penn needs two made free throws to reach 300 inhis career…he has made 298 of 392 (.760) career freethrows…Penn reached 100 career starts vs. Toledo (12/22)…he has44 at Ohio State..Penn is closing in on 400 career assists…with41 this year, his career total is 382, 195 coming at OSU…500career field goals will be reached with 17 more this season, Pennhas 483 in his career, 240 at Ohio State. Michael Redd: Redd hasstarted all 74 games of his career…he reached 100 career3-pointers made with three at Kansas (103-318)…he claimed 14th onthe OSU career scoring list with 17 points vs. Toledo…Redd has1,487 career points…Redd is 21 of 23 (.913) from the foul linethis year. George Reese: Reese has nearly doubled his offensiveoutput from a year ago…he averaged 5.5 points last season and isthird on the team this year at 11.0 ppg. Reese needs 15 points toreach 300 at Ohio State. Ken Johnson: Johnson has started the last45 games at center…Johnson has 199 career blocks and is averaging5.1 bpg. (41) this season…Johnson has 15 career games with fiveor more blocks, he had three as a freshman, seven last year andfive this season in seven games…Johnson is a career 53 percentshooter from the field (206-392) and is connecting on 69 percentthis season (29-42). Brian Brown: Brown has doubled his offensiveoutput this season with an average of 8.5 points a game…heaveraged 4.1 as a freshman…he also is shooting nearly 30 percentbetter from the foul line…Brown shot just 51.9 percent as afreshman (27-52) from the free-throw line…this season, Brown hasconnected on 17-21 (.810). Will Dudley: Dudley is a career 69percent shooter from the field…he has connected on 27-39 shotsfrom the field in 23 career games.
Blocks, steals excels OSU defense
Ohio State, led by senior center Ken Johnson’s 41 blocks, has rejected 57 shots this season while foes have just 21. Senior guard Scoonie Penn leads the team with 15 steals. OSU leads opponents 47-39 in thefts.
No DQs are Ok with OSU
Ohio State has not had a player foul out this season and has not had a player disqualified since Jason Singleton fouled out in the Big Ten Tournament loss to Illinois last season (3/6/99). OSU has gone 13-consecutive games without a disqualification. Guard Scoonie Penn has not fouled out of a game in his last 49 contests (last vs. Villanova 2/27/96 while at Boston College). The OSU starting five (Redd (1), Penn (0), Johnson (1), Reese (1) and Brown (1)) have combined for just four ejections in the last two seasons.
Buckeyes spend last 17 weeks in AP poll
Ohio State spent the final 10 weeks of the 1998-99 season and the first seven weeks of 1999-00 ranked among the Top 25 teams nationally in the Associated Press Poll. The Buckeyes finished 1998-99 No. 14 in the AP and No. 4 in the ESPN/USA Today polls. OSU is currently 16th in the AP and 20th in the ESPN/USA Today polls (12/20/99)
Buckeyes hit the boards early on with Columbus connection
Ohio State is averaging 42.4 rebounds a contest, which is 9.0 more than opponents (33.4) after the first eight games of the season. Junior Michael Redd leads the way with 7.4 rpg. Senior George Reese is next at 6.8 rpg. Both Redd and Reese hail from Columbus.
Centers click for Buckeyes
The OSU center position, made up of senior Ken Johnson and sophomore Will Dudley, has combined to shoot 42 of 60 (.700) from the field so far this season. Johnson is 29-42 (.690) and Dudley is 13-18 (.722) from the floor in 1999-00. Both, by the way, play the piano.
Oakland falls to Cleveland State
Jason Rozycki led three Oakland players in double figures with 19 points but Cleveland State prevailed 81-67 to drop the Grizzlies to 2-9 on the season. Cleveland State won the battle of the boards, 42-29. Mychal Covington (12) and Myke Thom (10) each reached double digits for Oakland while four Cleveland State players scored in double figures. Sonny Johnson led all scores with 20 points for Cleveland State.
Grizzles drop 9 of 11 games, still in early stages of transformation
Oakland is in their second year of Division I basketball following several successful seasons at the Division II level. The Grizzlies were 12-15 last season in its first at the Division I level as a member of the Mid-Continent Conference. Oakland has played a demanding schedule this season with games at Michigan (L 82-62), vs. LSU (L 87-80) and at Michigan State (L 86-51). The two wins this season were at Hawaii Pacific (82-74) and at home to Southern Utah (78-65). The Grizzlies have lost twice to Toledo (74-65 and 90-76) and have home losses to Bowling Green (69-57) and Western Michigan (89-87, OT). The Grizzlies face the Buckeyes following an 81-67 loss to Cleveland State, Dec. 20.
Champagne bubbles with offense
OU junior forward Dan Champagne leads the Grizzlies in scoring at 18.0 ppg. He is one of a set of twins playing for the Grizzlies. Jon Champagne, another junior forward, averages 2.2 ppg. Dan also is the team’s leading rebounder at 6.3 rpg.
Kampe in 16th season at Oakland
Greg Kampe has compiled a record of 254-157 in 16 years at Oakland. Fourteen of those season were at the Division II level where he posted a 240-132 mark. Oakland, though not eligible to complete for the Mid-Continent title, finished with an 8-8 mark against league opponents last year. That would have put them in fifth place in the league. The Grizzlies played one of the toughest schedules in Division I last year with games against two eventual Final Four teams (Ohio State and Michigan State), Cincinnati and Northwestern.
Buckeyes open Value City Arena vs. Grizzlies
Ohio State began its run to the Final Four last year (11/13/98) with an 89-61 win over Oakland in the only meeting between the two schools. The Buckeyes were led by the 29 points turned in by Michael Redd and the 17 scored by Scoonie Penn. Penn added eight assists. Mychal Covington led Oakland with 17 points off the bench.
Buckeyes 5-0 vs. the Mid-Continent
Ohio State has met just three of the nine teams representing the Mid-Continent Conference. The Buckeyes have two wins over both Chicago State and Youngstown State and a lone victory over Oakland.
Chicago State 2-0
IUPUI n/a
Missouri-Kansas City n/a
Oakland 1-0
Oral Roberts n/a
Southern Utah n/a
Valparaiso n/a
Western Illinois n/a
Youngstown State 2-0
Totals 5-0
Ohio State owns winning record over Ohio Division I schools
The Buckeyes have an overall record of 56-20 (.737) over the Division I Ohio universities. None of the 11 intrastate rivals has a winning record over OSU. Only Cincinnati (4-4) has split with the Buckeyes.
Akron 6-1
Bowling Green 3-2
Cincinnati 4-4
Cleveland State 4-1
Dayton 3-2
Kent 4-0
Miami, Ohio 4-1
Ohio University 17-4
Toledo 5-4
Wright State 2-0
Xavier 2-1
Youngstown State 2-0
Totals 56-20
Redd leads Big Ten teams in free throw shooting
Ohio State junior Michael Redd has connected on 21-23 of his free throws this season. He leads all Big Ten players from the foul line with .913 shooting percentage. He is a career 63 percent foul shooter (286-454). As a team, the Buckeyes are shooting 71 percent (132-185) from the line this season.
OSU 3-point field goal streak extended to 228
Ohio State has connected on at least one 3-point field goal attempt over the last 228 games. Senior Scoonie Penn extended the streak with a trey late in the first half against Toledo. The last time an OSU team missed all attempts from 3-point range was Feb. 2, 1992 when the Buckeyes went 0 for 5 in a 68-58 OSU win over Michigan. Buckeye opponents have a streak of 220-consecutive games with at least one 3-pointer made. Michigan went 0-10 from long range March 3, 1992 in an OSU 75-66 victory, marking the last time an opponent was held without a 3-pointer.
Home Sweet Home
OSU will play nine of its first 10 games at home, including 7 of 8 contests in December. The only road trip before Big Ten play begins Jan. 6 on the road at Illinois was the matchup at Kansas.
1999 Final Four banner unveiled
A banner celebrating the 1999 Final Four appearance by the Ohio State men’s basketball team was unveiled in a pregame ceremony Nov. 29 vs. Vermont. The banner will hang at Value City Arena throughout the 1999-00 season and then will be moved to the Ohio State practice facility. The banner was raised by 1998-99 captains Neshaun Coleman and Jason Singleton.
Lucas named to SI All-Century Team
Ohio State basketball legend Jerry Lucas (1960-62) was selected to the Sports Illustrated All-Century Team, one of only five players to be so honored. Lucas is joined on the team by Bill Bradley (Princeton, 1963-65), David Thompson (N.C. State, 1973-75), Oscar Robertson (Cincinnati 1958-60) and Lew Alcindor (UCLA, 1967-69). Lucas averaged 24.3 points a game in his OSU career and an astounding 17.2 rebounds a contest. He was a three-time All-America selection and the Big Ten’s only three-time player of the year. Lucas’ 1,411 career rebounds stands as the career record. His 17.2 average also is a career record. He averaged 17.8 rebounds as a senior, which stands as the OSU single season record.
Penn named 1st Team AP All-American
Senior guard Scoonie Penn was named to the Associated Press Preseason First Team All-America team. Penn joins Mateen Cleaves, Michigan State, Terence Morris, Maryland, Chris Porter, Auburn and Quentin Richardson, DePaul.
VCA sold out for 1999-00 Big Ten season
The entire 1999-00 home Big Ten men’s basketball season at Value City Arena is sold out. All 19,100 seats are sold this year, including 4,000 student season tickets. A total of 10,000 student season ticket applications were submitted for the 4,000 available seats. Split season tickets were distributed to 8,000 students who submitted applications this year. Last season 650 student season tickets were sold. The Buckeyes averaged 17,228 fans last season. Ohio State was 14-1 in its first season a VCA.
Buckeyes sign three for 2000-01
Jim O’Brien, Ohio State head men’s basketball coach, announced the signing of three highly recruited players to be added to the Buckeye program. Matt Marinchick (Hudson, Ohio), Velimir Radinovic (Toronto, Ontario, Canada) and Zach Williams (Middle Village, N.Y.) all signed letters of intent Nov. 11.
Marinchick (Ma-RIN-chick), a 6-10 center from Hudson (Ohio) H.S. is ranked No. 20 nationally at his position by Athlons Sports. He led his high school team with 12.8 points per game as a junior.
Radinovic (VEL-ah-mere Ra-DIN-o-vich) is a 7-0 center/forward from Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Last season, he averaged 16 points and 12 rebounds at T.A. Blakelock High School in Toronto.
Williams, a 6-6 power forward comes to Ohio State as the No. 4-ranked player in New York. Williams, of Christ the King High School, averaged 15 pts. and 8 rebs on his high school team that was ranked No. 3 in the nation last season
Penn, Redd earn preseason Big Ten recognition by both coaches and media
Ohio State senior guard Scoonie Penn (Salem, Mass./Salem) was selected as the preseason Big Ten Player of the Year by the league coaches during the conference-sponsored media day.
Michigan State senior Mateen Cleaves was selected by the Big Ten media as its preseason player of the year candidate. Ironically, the coaches tabbed Cleaves the Big Ten Player of the Year at the conclusion of last season while the media selected Penn. Penn along with OSU junior Michael Redd (Columbus, Ohio/West) were both selected as first team all-conference members by both the media and coaches.
The coaches also added Cleaves and Morris Peterson of Michigan State to the first team along with A.J. Guyton of Indiana. The media selected a similar first team but replaced Guyton with Cory Bradford of Illinois. League coaches picked Michigan State to win the conference this year followed by Ohio State, Illinois, Purdue and Indiana. The media picked MSU, Ohio State and Illinois as its top three.
Redd, Penn named OSU captains
Senior Scoonie Penn and junior Michael Redd were named team captains during preseason camp. It will be the second season Penn has served in that capacity at Ohio State. He along with seniors Neshaun Coleman and Jason Singleton served last season. Redd will be serving his first season as an OSU captain.
Both Buckeye captains named to Wooden Awards watch list
Scoonie Penn along with running mate Michael Redd were named Wooden Award preseason All-Americans. The OSU guard tandem is among the 25 of the nation’s elite players to be considered for the award.
Penn, Redd listed on several preseason All-America lists
Buckeye senior Scoonie Penn is listed on several first team All-America teams. Some of the publications or preseason pollsters who have deemed Penn among the nation’s best include: Sport Magazine, Athlon Sports, Basketball Times, Street & Smith’s and Blue Ribbon. Lindy’s picks Penn and junior Michael Redd as First Team all-Big Ten Conference selections. Redd has been consistently deemed a second team nomination in most of the preseason publications.
