Men’s Basketball Closes Exhibition Play vs. Marathon – Ohio State Buckeyes
11/12/2000 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 12, 2000
Game Notes in .PDF format
Opponent: Marathon
Site: Value City Arena (19,100)
Game Time: 8:07 p.m. (EST)
TV: ESPN Plus
Local TV: WBNS-TV 10
TV Talent: Mike Gleason (P-by-P)
Bill Hosket (Color)
Radio: OSU Radio Network (62 stations)
Local Radio: WBNS FM-97.1 AM-1460
Radio Talent: Paul Keels (P-by-P)
Ron Stokes (Color)
Buckeyes receive votes on both major preseason polls
Ohio State received 18 votes in the Associated Press preseason men’s basketball poll and 17 in the first ESPN/USA Today coaches poll. The Buckeyes are rated 39th nationally in both polls.
Three student-athletes added for 2001-02 season
Jim O’Brien signed one of the best recruiting classes of his coaching tenure Nov. 8, the first day of the fall NCAA men’s basketball signing period.
Matt Sylvester (Loveland, Ohio/Moeller), Terence Dials (Youngstown, Ohio/Boardman) and Brandon Fuss-Cheatham (Beaver Falls, Pa./Blackhawk) all signed NCAA National Letters of Intent to play for Ohio State.
Sylvester, a 6-foot 7-inch, 200-pound wing forward, is considered to be among the top two players in Ohio. He is ranked by Prep Spotlight Magazine as one of the Top 60 players in the country. Sylvester played for the powerful Cincinnati AAU summer program.
As a junior, he averaged 22.0 points and 8.0 rebounds. As a sophomore, Sylvester helped guide Carl Kremer’s Moeller squad to a Division I State Championship.
Dials, the second recruit from Ohio to sign with the Buckeyes, is a 6-foot-9-inch, 240-pound power forward/center. He gives the Buckeyes an athletic big man.
As a junior, Dials averaged 18 points and 12 rebounds and 4.0 blocks at Boardman.
Fuss-Cheatham (6-1, 190) is the No. 1-ranked point guard in the Midwest by Vince Baldwin of Midwesthoops.com and the No. 6 nationally-ranked point guard. He also is considered a Top 30 all-around player in the high school class of 2001. He averaged 21.3 points, 4.5 assists, 4.0 steals and 3.1 rebounds as a junior. He shot 59 percent from the field (279-476) and 77 percent (123-160) from the free-throw line. He has been Blackhawk’s starting point guard since his freshman season. The Cougars are 85-11 during that time. Over the last two seasons, Blackhawk is 62-4 with two conference championships and a state title.
Savovic, Robinson pace Buckeyes in exhibition opener
The Ohio State men’s basketball team opened exhibition play by defeating the One World All-Stars, 101-78, Nov. 7 in front of a crowd of 15,604 in Value City Arena. The Buckeyes took the lead for good at the 17:04 mark in the first half on a 3-point basket by sophomore point guard Brent Darby. OSU extended the lead throughout the rest of the first half. The Buckeyes’ largest lead of the half was a 14-point difference with 2:15 remaining. Both Darby and Brian Brown scored nine points in the half to give Ohio State a 48-37 lead at the break. The first half also was marked by fouls. A total of 32 fouls were called in the first 20 minutes. Both teams committed 16. In the second half, Ohio State extended the lead by outscoring One World, 53-41. Junior guards Boban Savovic and Doylan Robinson led the Buckeyes with 15 points each. Robinson was 3-for-4 from 3-point range. Freshman Zach Williams scored 14 points in his collegiate debut and pulled down a game-high nine rebounds. The All-Stars were led by PG Greene with 24 points.
Marinchick to sit out 2000-01 campaign
Jim O’Brien, Ohio State head men’s basketball coach, announced Nov. 7 Buckeye freshman Matt Marinchick will redshirt the 2000-01 season and will retain four years of eligibility with the Buckeyes beginning with the 2001-02 season. Marinchick, a 6-foot-10-inch, 240-pound center from Hudson, Ohio, will use the 2000-01 season to build strength and physically mature, O’Brien said. Marinchick will not participate in any games, including the exhibition schedule, during the 2000-01 season.
Marathon opens with win over Penn State
The Penn State men’s basketball team dropped a track meet of a game to Marathon Nov. 3 113-109 in the Lions’ first exhibition game of the season. The Nittany Lions trailed by as many as 21 points in the second half, but their late rally fell short as the Lions could get only as close as four points at the end. Joe Crispin led all scorers with 38 points and seven assists. Senior Titus Ivory and sophomore Jon Crispin also displayed clutch shooting in recording 23 and 22 points respectively. Marathon then fell to Pittsburgh 86-85 (Nov 4), New Mexico State 100-93 (Nov. 6) and Connecticut, 100-87 (Nov. 8), Indiana 79-75 (Nov. 10) and Indiana State 79-59 (Nov. 11) before traveling to Columbus.
Yale roster has Ohio flavor
Ohio State will open the 2000-01 regular season at 8 p.m. Friday, Nov. 17 against Yale at Value City Arena. The Bulldogs have four players who played high school basketball in the state of Ohio. Seniors Neil Yanke (Akron/Walsh Jesuit) and Tom Kritzer (West Chester/Lakota) along with sophomores Chris Leanza (Parma/Benedictine) and T.J. McHugh (Cleveland/Ignatius) all hail from the Buckeye State. Neil, the Bulldogs’ captain, and Kritzer are both centers. Leanza and McHugh are both guards. Leanza was named Ivy League Rookie of the Week three times last year. He had one of the best games ever by a freshman at Yale when he scored 33 points against Columbia. Yanke was second in the Ivy League in rebounding (7.7 rpg.) and third in blocked shots (43) last season.
Big Ten coaches, media select Johnson preseason First Team All-Big Ten
The Big Ten men’s basketball coaches and league media chose Ken Johnson (Sr., Detroit, Mich./Henry Ford) as a preseason First Team All-Big Ten selection. The announcement was made Oct. 30 at the annual Big Ten Men’s Basketball media day. Johnson joins Cory Bradford (Illinois), Charlie Bell (Michigan State), Kirk Haston (Indiana) and LaVell Blanchard (Michigan) on the squad selected by the coaches. The media selected the same squad with the exception of Haston. Joe Crispin of Penn State filled that spot. Johnson, who averaged nearly eight points, over six rebounds and 5.4 blocks a game last year as a junior, is the only senior on Ohio State’s squad this season. The Buckeyes open the season officially Nov. 17 at home against Yale.
Four new scholarship players ready for Buckeye debuts
Seven players return from the 1999-00 season with four more set to make debuts as Buckeyes this season.
Two players, junior Tim Martin (Dayton, Ohio/Dunbar) and sophomore Sean Connolly (Peabody, Mass./Bishop Fenwick) sat out last season following transfers from Kent State and Providence, respectively.
Three freshmen will get their first taste of Division I basketball as well. Velimir Radinovic (Toronto, Canada/T.A. Blakelock) and Zach Williams (Middle Village, N.Y./Christ the King) begin their careers. Matt Marinchick (Hudson, Ohio/Hudson) will sit out his freshman season as a redshirt and will have four years of eligibility with the Buckeyes beginning with the 2001-02 season.
Buckeyes add 3 to roster for 2000-01
Jim O’Brien added three student athletes to the men’s basketball roster for the 2000-01 season.
A trio of Ohio products was selected following two days of walk-on tryouts during preseason camp.
Junior Kel Frazier (Columbus, Ohio/Upper Arlington) and sophomores Ryan Heflin (Dayton, Ohio/Meadowdale) and Shaun Smith (Cincinnati, Ohio/Walnut Hills) have joined the Ohio State men’s basketball team.
Johnson on watch list for Naismith Award
Ken Johnson (Detroit, Mich./Henry Ford), a senior on the Ohio State men’s basketball team, is among 30 preseason candidates for the 2000-01 Naismith College Basketball Player of the Year Award.
The Naismith Awards program, now in its 33rd year, honors the outstanding college basketball players in the United States. The program was founded by the Atlanta Tipoff Club, an organization dedicated to recognizing the achievements of student-athletes in basketball.
Charlie Bell (Michigan State), Cory Bradford (Illinois) and Mike Kelley (Wisconsin) also represent the Big Ten on the list.
Wooden Award a possibility for Johnson
Johnson is a candidate for the John R. Wooden Award, which began its Silver Anniversary celebration with the announcement of the Top 50 Preseason Candidates for the 2000-01 All-American Team in late August.
Founded in 1976, The John R. Wooden Award is the nation’s pre-eminent trophy given annually to the most outstanding collegiate basketball player in the United States.
Johnson helps Olympic team prepare for Gold in Syndey
Ken Johnson was selected as one of 12 collegiate players who gathered to practice against the 2000 U.S. Olympic Men’s Basketball team last summer in Maui, Hawaii
Johnson was the only true center on the 2000 USA Basketball Men’s Select team and its tallest player at 6-feet 11-inches.
The Select team scrimmaged the Olympic team each day during the week-long camp. The camp ended with a nationally-televised (NBC) contest Sept. 2 at the University of Hawaii Stan Sheriff Center.
Other Select team members included: Shane Battier (Duke), Cory Bradford (Illinois), Nick Collison (Kansas), Joe Forte (North Carolina), Casey Jacobsen (Stanford), Terence Morris (Maryland), Troy Murphy (Notre Dame), Jason Richardson (Michigan State), Jamal Tinsley (Iowa State), Jason Williams (Duke) and Michael Wright (Arizona).
Johnson No. 2 on OSU career swat chart
Ken Johnson made a serious assault on the Buckeye career blocked shots chart in 1999-00 with 161 blocks, which moved him into second-place all-time (319) at Ohio State in career rejections. Johnson is nine behind the 328 recorded blocks by Buckeye great Herb Williams (1978-81). Johnson averaged 1.9 bpg (58/30 gms.) as a freshman, 2.8 bpg. (100/36 gms.) as a sophomore and 5.37 bpg. (161/30 gms.) in 1999-00.
Parkhill joins Buckeye coaching staff
Bruce Parkhill, a native of State College, Pa., who directed Penn State’s men’s basketball program for 12 seasons (1984-95) accepted an offer to become the associate head coach on Jim O’Brien’s Ohio State men’s basketball staff.
Parkhill, began his appointment Sept. 1.
In 18 seasons as a collegiate head coach, Parkhill had an overall record of 270-244, which included six seasons at William & Mary (1978-1983) where he amassed a record of 89-75 before building a record of 181-169 at Penn State.
Johnson, Brown selected captains
Jim O’Brien announced Ken Johnson (Detroit, Mich./Henry Ford) and Brian Brown (Brooklyn, N.Y./Bishop Loughlin) will serve as team captains for the 2000-01 season.
Johnson, who will be a fifth-year senior for the 2000-01 season, led the nation in blocked shots as a junior with 161. He has started 92 games in the last three seasons and has appeared in 96 contests.
In three years on the court, Johnson has compiled 319 blocks, nine shy of the OSU career record of 328 held by Herb Williams (1977-81). Johnson has a chance to become the all-time record holder for blocked shots in the Big Ten Conference. With 110 more rejections, he will overtake Calvin Booth, who swatted 428 during his career (1995-99) at Penn State.
Brown, a junior, has started the last 35 games at guard for the Buckeyes, including all 30 contests as a sophomore. He averaged 8.9 points per game last year, more than doubling his 4.1 scoring average from his freshman season.
Buckeyes among few to use same starting lineup in 1999-00
According to STATS Inc., Ohio State was among just six schools to use just one or two different starting lineups in 1999-00. Hawaii has used the same starters all season. Ohio State, Southern Illinois, St. John’s, Vermont and Wofford used just two lineups in 1999-00.
Johnson reaches 300 career blocks, 6th on Big Ten list
Buckeye senior Ken Johnson has 319 blocks in his career after swatting four vs. Miami, Fla. (3/19/00). Johnson is just the second Buckeye and the sixth Big Ten player to reach 300 career blocks. Johnson is fifth in Big Ten history with 319 rejections. Herb Williams (1977-81) leads OSU and is fourth all-time among Big Ten players with 328 rejections.
Big Ten Career Blocked Shots leaders 1. Calvin Booth, PSU 1995-99 428 2. Acie Earl, IOWA 1989-93 365 3. Joe Barry Carroll, PUR 1977-80 349 4. Herb Williams, OSU 1977-81 328 5. Ken Johnson, OSU 1998- 319 6. Brad Sellers, WIS-OSU 1981-86 307 7. Roy Tarpley, MICH 1982-86 251 8. Kevin McHale, MINN 1976-80 235 9. Greg Stokes, IOWA 1981-85 229 10.Randy Breuer, MINN 1979-83 228
Big Ten Season Blocked Shot leaders 1. Ken Johnson, OSU 1999-00 161 2. Calvin Booth, PSU 1997-98 140 3. Jim Pitts, NU 1965-66 123 4. Acie Earl, Iowa 1991-92 121 5. Acie Earl, Iowa 1990-91 106 6. Joe Barry Carroll, PUR 1977-78 105 7. Calvin Booth, PSU 1995-96 101 8. Ken Johnson, OSU 1998-99 100 9. Dean Garrett, IND 1987-88 99 10.Roy Tarpley, MICH 1985-86 97 Brad Sellers, OSU 1985-86 97
Johnson led nation in blocks, average fifth in NCAA
Ohio State center Ken Johnson led the Big Ten and the nation in blocks in 1999-00. Johnson sent back 5.37 shots per game with 161 blocks on the year. Johnson has the fifth highest block per game average in NCAA history.
NCAA Single Season Blocks Avg. 1. #Adonal Foyle, Colgate 1997 6.43 2. #Keith Closs, C. Conn. St. 1996 6.36 3. #David Robinson, Navy 1986 5.91 4. Adonal Foyle, Colgate 1996 5.69 5. #Ken Johnson, OSU 2000 5.37 # Led nation in blocks.
2-year home record rates high at OSU
Ohio State has compiled a 29-3 (.906) record over two season in Value City Arena. The Buckeyes were 14-1 in the inaugural season in VCA (1998-99) and notched a 15-2 record at home in 1999-00. In back-to-back season in which the Buckeyes have won at least 25 games at home, the current record of 29-3 stands fourth all-time for home record in consecutive seasons. The 1962-63 teams posted a 25-0 record during a span of 50 home games in which the Buckeyes were undefeated from 1960-64.
Ohio State home record in back-to-back seasons
Seasons 2-yr. home Rec. Win Pct. 1962-63 25-0 1.000 1991-92 30-1 .968 1990-91 27-2 .931 1999-00 29-3 .906 1985-86 26-5 .839 1982-83 25-5 .833 1986-87 26-7 .788 1985-86 26-5 .781
Team Notes from 1999-00
Ohio State scored 70 or more points in 17 games in 1999-00 and had a 15-2 record in those games…Ohio State held 17 of 30 opponents under 65 points and had a 16-1 record in those games…Ohio State has blocked at least one opponent shot in the last 67 games (0 vs. Penn State, 2/28/98)-Ken Johnson started the last 66 games…an OSU player scored in double figures 108 times in 1999-00…Michael Redd had 29, Scoonie Penn 26 and George Reese 22…four different players reached the 20-point plateau with Redd leading the way with nine followed by Reese and Penn with five each…Penn was the only Buckeye with a 30-point game, he did so against Michigan State (30 pts.) Feb. 16…10 times a player reached double digits in rebounding led by Ken Johnson with five followed by Redd with four…the Buckeyes were 16-1 when leading at the half and came back to win seven of 13 games when trailing at the break…when the OSU bench outscored the opponent bench, the Buckeyes were 14-2 but were still 9-5 when the opposing bench held the advantage…the Buckeyes were 9-4 in games decided by 10 points or less and 14-3 in games decided by 11 or more points.
Blocks spark OSU defense
Ohio State, led by center Ken Johnson’s 161 blocks, rejected a school-record 200 shots in 1999-00 while foes had just 79.
OSU vs. the Big Ten
The Buckeyes open the Big Ten season Jan. 3, 2001 at home against Northwestern. The Buckeyes have more victories over the Wildcats (97) than any other league school. Ohio State has 78 wins each over Michigan and Wisconsin. Illinois has the most wins over the Buckeyes with 94. This will be the 89th season of Big Ten play for Ohio State in men’s basketball.
Big Ten Series Records Illinois 56-94 Indiana 66-92 Iowa 59-67 Michigan 78-67 Michigan State 44-51 Minnesota 69-50 Northwestern 97-44 Penn State 11-11 Purdue 67-77 Wisconsin 78-53 Totals 625-606
OSU 3-pt FG streak extended to 250
Ohio State has connected on at least one 3-point field goal attempt over the last 250 games. Brian Brown extended the streak late in the first half against Miami, Fla. (3/19/00). 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 242-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.
