Ohio State coach Kevin McGuff refused to let his team use a bunch of early season injuries as an excuse for a lost season.Instead the Buckeyes persevered and made a run deep into the Big Ten tournament. Now McGuff has the No. 23 Buckeyes ranked for the first time since 2012.”I’m proud of our players,” he said. ”This team has improved throughout the season more than any team I’ve been around.”Before the season really got underway, McGuff lost three players to knee injuries and the second-year coach also dismissed the one returning senior from the team for disciplinary reasons. After a slow early going, the Buckeyes started rolling behind stellar freshman Kelsey Mitchell. They won 12 of 14 before losing by three points to No. 4 Maryland in the Big Ten championship game Sunday.”From day one, myself and the staff said we’re not going to use that as an excuse,” McGuff said. ”We’re not going to give these kids a crutch. We are going to keep expectations high. Even though we don’t have a lot of numbers, we can still do the things we want to do. We emphasized that.”Down to seven players, McGuff added graduate Amy Scullion, who was at Ohio State’s medical school and had a year of eligibility left. While Scullion couldn’t make every game or practice because of her class schedule, she provided another player and leadership to a very young team when she was around…
Continue Reading: Ohio State enters women's basketball Top 25
