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Ohio St.: An SI Breakdown
Sports Illustrated's Tim Crothers examines the Buckeyes
Posted: Thursday March 25, 1999 11:06 AM
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Michael Redd is one of the Buckeyes' offensive threats, but may need help from others to advance in the Final Four. AP |
Starting
five
Scoonie Penn and Michael Redd are the team's dynamic duo,
combining for nearly 50% of the team's points. Forward Jason Singleton is
an accurate shooter and an effective complementary scorer and rebounder. Center
Ken Johnson emerged as the key to the win over St. John's with 12 points
and seven blocked shots. Defensive specialist Brian Brown will likely
round out the lineup.
Bench
OSU's reserves are anonymous role players at best who provide little scoring
punch.
Coaching
Jim O'Brien has always preached aggressive defense and likes to build his teams
around solid backcourt play; this year's Buckeyes have thrived in both areas.
Offensive
style
The Buckeyes like to run the break when it's available but they are also an
effective halfcourt team that runs its sets largely on the perimeter. The
Buckeyes don't score much in the paint, but Redd is a creative slasher and Penn
shoots nearly 40% from behind the
arc.
Defensive
style
A variety of aggressive pressure defenses have limited opponents to just 40%
shooting from the
field.
At crunch time, watch...
Penn, who likes to have the ball in his hands. He sank huge shots down the
stretch against Auburn and St. John's in the South Regional and is one of the
Buckeyes' few reliable free throw
shooters.
How they beat
you
The Buckeyes have relied on their defense to shut down opponents' offenses and
create nearly 20 turnovers a game, which lead to easy scoring opportunities in
transition.
How they can be
beaten
OSU is a very inconsistent rebounding team that can struggle when it doesn't
control the defensive glass. St. John's exploited OSU's weak 61% shooting from
the free throw line, proving that a narrow Buckeyes lead isn't safe in the final
minute.
Weak
link
Whether O'Brien starts Brown or Jon Sanderson, he lives with a player who
poses very little threat on
offense.
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