Darby Named MVP for 2002-03 Season – Ohio State Buckeyes
4/10/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
April 10, 2003
COLUMBUS, Ohio–Jim O’Brien, Ohio State head coach, announced Thursday the 2002-03 Ohio State Men’s Basketball team awards at the annual banquet.
Senior Brent Darby was selected as the 2002-03 Jerry Lucas Most Valuable Player. Sophomore Ugo Nwankwo earned the Fred Taylor Award for Academic Excellence, junior Velimir Radinovic was selected for the Most Improved Player Award and junior Shaun Smith was presented with the John Havlicek Most Inspirational Award.
Darby turned in his most productive season as a Buckeye during the 2002-03 campaign. The 6-foot-1-inch guard from Detroit, Mich., led the Buckeyes in games started (32), minutes played (1,219), field goals (163), free throws made (205) and attempted (253), assists (141) and steals (58).
His efforts placed him among the all-time leaders in several single-season and career Top 10 lists at Ohio State.
Darby’s Career Records Rank 3-Ptrs. Made (153) 1(T) Free Throws Made (395) 6(T) 3-Pt. Shooting Pct. (.362/153-423) 7 Games Played (122) 9(T) Free Throws Att. (499) 10 Points (1,386) 20
2002-03 Single Season Rcds. Rk. Free Throws Made (205) 2(T) Free Throws Att. (253) 2(T) 3-Pt. FGs Made (55) 8(T) Steals (58) 8 Assists (141) 8 Points (586) 17
Darby became the 41st player in OSU history to reach 1,000 career points with a 28-point effort against Indiana Jan. 11. He finished with 1,368 career points, the 20th most in OSU history.
His was the iron man all season. He missed a total of 66 minutes of game action in 2002-03 and led the Big Ten with an average of 38.1 minutes per game.
He led the Buckeyes to their second-consecutive appearance in the Big Ten tournament title game with an average of 21.0 points per game in Chicago. He also connected on 88 percent of his foul shots (29-33). Those efforts earned him 2003 All-Big Ten Tournament honors. He also landed a spot on the 2002 all-league tournament squad for his efforts in Ohio State’s first postseason tournament title run.
In four seasons as a Buckeye, Darby was part of three NCAA tournament teams, two co-Big Ten regular season titles, a postseason league tournament title and four-consecutive trips to postseason tournaments.
Nwankwo, a native of Ann Arbor, Mich., has qualified for 2002-03 Academic All-Big Ten honors and Ohio State Scholar Athlete accolades. Both honors will be given later this spring.
Nwankwo, a biology major, joined the Buckeyes following walk-on tryouts in November of 2002. He played in one game, a win over Radford Dec. 23, 2002.
Radinovic started 25 of 30 games during his junior year at center. He led Ohio State with 183 rebounds for an averaged of 6.1 a game. That total tied junior Shun Jenkins for the team lead in rebounds per game.
Radinovic reached double figures offensively 15 times as a junior after reaching double digits just twice his first two seasons in Columbus.
At the 2003 Big Ten Tournament, Radinovic averaged 10.3 points and led Ohio State with 5.8 rebounds in four games.
His .514 (95-185) field goal shooting percentage for the season and 22 blocks led all regulars in 2002-03.
The banquet also was the last for senior guard Sean Connolly.
Connolly, a native of Peabody, Mass., will be a two-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree and a three-time Ohio State Scholar Athlete. As a senior, Connolly recorded 56 assists and was the second-leading scorer with 11.8 points a games.
He led the Buckeyes with 66 made 3-pointers and tied Darby with 162 attempts.
In three seasons at Ohio State, he scored nearly 800 (792) points and reached 1,000 (1,122) for his career, which included one season at Providence College, with a 13-point effort at Penn State Feb. 12.
Connolly connected on 147 of 368 3-pointers as a Buckeye. His 147 career makes are tied for the No. 3 spot all time at Ohio State. His .399 3-point shooting percentage is the second best and his 66 made 3-pointers during his senior season are the fifth most in a single season at OSU.
In the 2003 Big Ten Tournament, Connolly made 14 of 25 3-pointers (.560) and averaged nearly 15 points a game to earn a spot on the all-tournament team.
Darby, Connolly and senior manager Chris Penny received framed jerseys as well.
A Look Back
The 2002-03 Ohio State men’s basketball team was poised for a difficult non-conference schedule and the always difficult Big Ten Conference slate when early-season injuries to key players made for a difficult season. Sophomore Brandon Fuss-Cheatham, expected to run the team from the point guard position, went down with a torn ligament in his left knee during the second exhibition game of the season against the Harlem Globetrotters. Junior college transfer Shun Jenkins, a power forward, also experienced a setback, suffering a broken left little finger against the Globetrotters.
Sophomore center Terence Dials, who set a freshman record for field goal percentage in 2001-02, was lost for the season just six games into the non-conference schedule with a stress fracture in his lower back.
Shorthanded and without starters Sean Connolly (sore ankle) and Velimir Radinovic (dislocated finger) for short stretches during the Big Ten season, Ohio State still managed 17 victories and a fifth-consecutive trip to postseason play (2003 National Invitation Tournament). Four wins in 2002-03 were against Indiana, Purdue, Michigan State and Wisconsin, all of which qualified for the 2003 NCAA Tournament. Wisconsin advanced to the NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen and Michigan State made the the Elite Eight. The Buckeyes also claimed victory over Minnesota during the regular season. The Golden Gophers advanced to the final four of the 2003 NIT.
A Look Ahead
The 2003-04 season already is underway with the 12-returning letterwinners and three returning starters working out in the weight room in preparation for next season.
In addition, Ohio State will have the services of three players who were on campus in 2002-03 but unable to participate in games.
J.J. Sullinger, a transfer from Arkansas, and Ricardo Billings, who sat out to concentrate on academics, will have sophomore eligibility next year. Junior Tony Stockman, a Clemson transfer, will be eligible in the fall as well. Sullinger and Billings will have three years in OSU uniforms. Stockman has two.
Also back will be center Terence Dials, who is expected to have three remaining years of eligibility when granted a medical redshirt season after suffering a stress fracture in his back after only six games in the early portion of the 2002 non-conference schedule.
Center Velimir Radinovic, forwards Shun Jenkins and Zach Williams and guards Emonte Jernigan and Shaun Smith are an experienced bunch with a year of eligibility remaining.
Guard Brandon Fuss-Cheatham and center Matt Marinchick each are back with two years of eligibility.
Wing man Matt Sylvester completed a redshirt freshman season and will have three years left as will forward/center Charles Bass, who completed his true freshman season in 2002-03.
A trio of walkons, junior Nick Sherman, sophomore Ugo Nwankwo and freshman Nate Salley all have eligibility remaining.
The 2003 Review
Ohio State (17-15, 7-9/T 8th)
2002-03 Season Numbers
(Team)
1.000 (16-16) Best team single game foul shooting effort inOhio State history (vs. Michigan Jan. 15). 2, Number of Big Tentournament championship game appearances the last two years. 6,Number of wins in the Big Ten tournament, three each, the last twoyears. 4, Consecutive wins over Iowa in Iowa City the last fouryears following the 83-72 win over the Hawkeyes Jan. 15. 5,Consecutive years OSU has qualified for postseason play. 7, Numberof players coached by Jim O’Brien who rank among the Top 10all-time in 3-pointers made at OSU (Penn, Darby T1st, Coleman,Connolly T 3rd, Redd 6th, Savovic 7th, Brown T 10th). 17, Number oftimes Ohio State led in games with 5:00 remaining in the secondhalf. Ohio State was 17-0 in those games. 69, Wins at Value CityArena in 82 opportunities in the last five years. 156, Made3-pointers by the Buckeyes, the fifth highest total in OSU history.453, Attempted 3-pointers by the Buckeyes, the fifth highest totalin OSU history.
(Individual)
.362, Career 3-point shooting percentage by Brent Darby(153-423) to rank No. 7 all time. .399, Career 3-point shootingpercentage by Sean Connolly (147-368) to rank No. 2 all time. .573,Career winning percentage for Jim O’Brien in Big Ten regular seasongames (55-41), second only to Fred Taylor (158-102,.608) in OhioState history. 4, Brent Darby became the fourth different player inthe last four years to lead the Buckeyes in assists and steals.Scoonie Penn (130 asts./66 stls.), Brian Brown (127/43), BobanSavovic (116/38) and Darby (140/58) each have led OSU in assistsand steals the last four seasons. 12, Number of national televisionappearances by the Buckeyes in 2002-03, including each of the lastfive games of the season. 38.1, Average minutes per game played byBrent Darby to lead all Big Ten players in average minutes pergame. 41, Number of Buckeyes to score 1,000 or more points in acareer. Brent Darby is 20th all-time in career scoring at OSU with1,368. 48, Number of games missed by key players in 2002-03,including 26 by Terence Dials, 10 by Brandon Fuss-Cheatham, eightby Shun Jenkins, and two each by Sean Connolly and VelimirRadinovic. 55, 3-point field goals made by Brent Darby, tied foreighth most by an OSU player in a single season. 58, Brent Darby’ssteals total for 2002-03, eighth highest at OSU. 66, 3-point fieldgoals made by Sean Connolly, fifth most by an OSU player in asingle season. 66, Total number of minutes Brent Darby missed thisseason for an average of just over two minutes of pine time a game.141, Season assist total for Brent Darby in 2002-03, the 8th mostin a single season at OSU. 147, Career 3-pointers made by SeanConnolly, tied for third with Neshaun Coleman in OSU history. 153,Career 3-pointers made by Brent Darby, tied for first with ScooniePenn in OSU history. 122, Career games played by Brent Darby, ninth(tie) most in OSU history. 205, Free throws made by Brent Darby in2002-03, tied for second all time for single season foul shots.253, Free throws attempted by Brent Darby in 2002-03, tied forsecond all time for single season foul shots attempted. 395, Freethrows made by Brent Darby during his career, tied for sixth mostat OSU. 499, number of foul shots attempted by Brent Darby duringhis career, the 10th most in Ohio State history. 586, Points scoredby Brent Darby as a senior, 17th most in a single season at OhioState. He is the 22nd Buckeye to reach 500 or more points in asingle season. 1,219, Total minutes played for Brent Darby as asenior for an average of 38.1per game, tops among Big Ten players.1,368, Career points scored by Brent Darby, the 41st Buckeye toreach 1,000 career points and the 20th most points scored at OSU.
