Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports Try as anyone may, there are pitfalls in relying on freshmen to play consistent winning basketball. Ohio State is feeling that right now. It doesn’t help if coaches aren’t willing to trust them. This is the era of one-and-dones. That’s cool and fine; all of the bluster about college basketball play being harmed by it is way overblown, in my opinion. The reality is college basketball’s aesthetic has been pretty similar over the past few decades, regardless of NBA eligibility rules. There are teams that know how to utilize very good freshmen like Kentucky (and Duke, as much as Coach K may protest); Ohio State has been good at it as well, but this year has been a trial even though Ohio State had one of the best recruiting classes in 2015. It’s early yet, obviously, but Ohio State has lost to UT Arlington, Virginia, Memphisand Louisiana Tech. Aside from Virginia, they shouldn’t have lost to any of those teams. The Buckeyes have looked over matched and discombobulated this season. At the end of the day, though, they shouldn’t look this far behind. Thad Matta’s offense isn’t terribly complicated and he’s proven his ability to assimilate young players to his system. They brought in a lot of talent this offseason, so seeing them struggle so much, even early in the season, should be disconcerting for State fans. So, what’s going wrong? Marc Loving has proven himself to be a stud, averaging 17 points and 6 boards a game thus far. …
Continue Reading: Ohio State Buckeyes Prove Youth is Still a Problem in College Basketball
