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March 2008
Mr. Cordero makes his debut
This is the pitch-by-pitch performance by Reds closer Francisco Cordero during his Cincinnati debut in the ninth inning. Note the first pitch.
Chris Snyder, the Arizona catcher, blasted Cordero’s opening offering right back at him, but just to hit right. It was as solid as contact can be against a guy with a $40 million-plus contract to not allow hits like that.
“It was scary,” Cordero said when asked for thoughts about his first appearance. “Not because of the fans, but because a line drive almost hit me. But it was good to get the first one out of the way. I would hope it was a different situation, a save situation, but it’s always good to get work and get your job done.”
After Snyder’s line drive single, Cordero got Mark Reynolds to fly out to center, Stephen Drew to fly out to left and Justin Upton to swing and miss at a 95-mph fastball. Cordero threw 15 pitches (11 strikes) to get three relatively easy outs.
Minus the screamer, that is.
“There’s no time to do anything, you just have to get out of the way,” Cordero said of Snyder’s guided missile. “That’s what I did, I moved a little bit to the left. Fortunately, it missed me, because it was not going to be good if I got hit by that.
“It was a bullet. It would’ve been ugly if I got hit by that. I was able to come back from that base hit and go 1-2-3 after that.”
Cordero provides hope that the Reds have solidified their bullpen, because David Weathers didn’t seem to be the answer for the past two seasons. Together, Jared Burton, Weathers and Cordero allowed two hits in the game’s final three innings (although one of those hits, a Jeff Salazar blast against Burton, was a pinch-hit home run in the seventh).
“Being here before, not as a Cincinnati Red, but with Texas a couple years ago and with the Brewers, a lot of people talk about this park as a hitter’s park,” Cordero said. “But as long as you keep the ball down you’ll be OK.”
Yeah, and as long as you can quickly get out of the way.
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This is what you do during a rain delay
We’re now expecting a 3 p.m. first pitch, so hopefully many of these people will soon be in their seats. But, for the time being, they’re looking for shelter.
On another note, even sports writers have their favorite baseball players, and one of my heroes growing up was Mark Grace. Well, I grabbed some coffee next to him in the media dining room, so sometimes there are still goose bumps even when you’re never supposed to look at the players as a fan.
When it comes to Mark Grace (or Ryne Sandberg, for that matter), I’m a fan.
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Beautiful day in Cincinnati
Not quite. Here’s how it looks from my seat.
But, it is Opening Day, even if we’re threatened with a rain delay and the Great American Press Box windows are still shut. It is baseball season, however.
Just how good of a season is it going to be? We just finished an interview session with Reds GM Wayne Krivsky, who praised the new members of the pitching staff — and there are plenty of them: Jeremy Affeldt, Francisco Cordero, Johnny Cueto, Josh Fogg, Mike Lincoln, Kent Mercker and Edinson Volquez. The lineup, like last year, is pretty solid. Pitching is the question.
If you want some optimistic reading while waiting for the game (and the rain to stop), check out this column from Bob Hunter of the Columbus Dispatch. He’s hoping for a Reds-Indians World Series, and he does give a few realistic reasons why that can happen.
We have a little less than two hours until we see the newest version of the Reds. As long as they take the tarp off the field.
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Opening Day, champagne and a beard
I figured Lee Duteil would be an interesting interview because when I left a message on his answering machine it wasn’t a message at all. It was a riddle. Interesting guy, I thought.
He called me back a few hours late and said he thought his friends were playing a joke on him. But no, I told him, I really am a Dayton Daily News reporter calling to do a story on Duteil and his 34 straight years going to the Cincinnati Reds’ Opening Day, one of the longest streaks in the area.
“A few years ago I went down without a ticket and went to the bar where WLW was broadcasting,” Duteil said.
Tracy Jones, the former Red and WLW contributor, eventually got on Duteil’s side to help him find a ticket to keep his streak alive. People were putting money on the bar, and a man in the bar sold Duteil one of his tickets.
Those are the lengths some fans will go to keep history alive, and it’s the tradition that Opening Day in Cincinnati inspires. Duteil and others like him fight to keep these customs alive every year, even if it means finding tickets in interesting ways.
One year, for instance, Duteil was holding up one finger when a man walked by and said his wife couldn’t make it this year. But, the man said, he didn’t want to sell the ticket to someone just trying to turn a profit.
“I told him I would walk in with him,” Duteil said. “They were the best seats I’ve ever had.”
Duteil was inspired to continue his own streak when, after just a few years, he noticed that the Reds put long-time Opening Day attendees’ names on the scoreboard. He thought that would be a pretty cool thing, so he started his traditions.
He plants himself at Fifth and Vine for the Findlay Market Parade, during which he brings his own drink. He wouldn’t give away the entire recipe, but he did surrender that it includes champagne.
Many times, he sees the same folks in the same spots every year. One year, he saw a reporter from Channel 7 walking along and yelled out, “Hey, Dayton!” He made it on TV for that one.
The biggest thrill was, about five years ago, meeting Joe Nuxhall. Nuxhall was walking with the parade when he passed Duteil’s spot and Duteil called out, “Hey, ol’ Lefthander!”
“He was just as nice as could be,” Duteil said. “Then he snuck back in the crowd.”
Duteil already has his ticket for this year, so he won’t face the same anxiety about continuing his streak. He’ll also be without a beard for the first day since Thanksgiving, as he always starts his facial hair that holiday and shaves it the night before the baseball holiday.
It is, after all, a holiday.
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So … about that UD-OSU prediction
The first e-mail in my inbox when I got home from watching Dayton-Ohio State was from Hal McCoy. The subject like was “HUH?”
I was expecting it.
“Uhhhh….tell me AGAIN how UD is going to beat Ohio State,” it said.
Unfortunately, I had already said plenty when I wrote yesterday that Dayton would beat Ohio State in the NIT quarterfinal by seven points. But then, the Buckeyes got a big game from Kosta Koufos and topped Dayton 74-63.
Let’s look at the stats and see where I went wrong:
— “Koufos has much better range, but Huelsman can guard him with his hustle.” Oops. Koufos had 21 points and made 9-of-11 shots, basically eating Kurt Huelsman alive. He did, though, only have five rebounds. But hey, Huelsman had … oh, four points and one rebound.
— “Roberts can outplay Butler.” Roberts did play well, scoring 20 points on 8-of-20 shots. Butler had some key early baskets for the Buckeyes and finished with 12 points. But he’s the one on his way to New York and the NIT semifinals in Madison Square Garden.
— “Johnson can nearly out-jump Lighty.” Johnson throttled back on his recent scoring barrage and finished with nine points. Lighty is taller by a few inches and, once again, is the one moving on.
— “Little and Wright are just as athletic (if not more) than Turner and Hunter.” I still feel confident with this, although Hunter did miss plenty of time with four fouls. Wright was very strong from the moment he came in, but he still isn’t quite in game shape. He played an admirable 18 minutes, during which he scored 12 points and grabbed four rebounds. Little had 10 and 4.
Dayton made too many mental mistakes (how many times did they throw the ball into thin air and out of bounds?) and doesn’t have the right depth. The Flyers’ best lineup — Roberts, Johnson, Little, Wright and Huelsman — can hang. But once you get outside of those five, you have Binnie, Warren, Sandoval, etc. That’s not a set that can beat Ohio State.
Yesterday’s entry got plenty of attention, and criticism. Some examples:
From Doug: “You’re kidding right?! Buckeyes by 20.” We were both wrong.
From Chris: “I wish the Dayton Daily News would quit hyping the Dayton program when they have not proven themselves for many years.” There is a large group of Dayton fans that would disagree with you, thinking the Dayton Daily News never has anything positive to say about the Flyers.
From andy: “ud over ohio state, are you kidding me??? it all comes down to depth and talent which OSU has more of.” The depth part I agree with.
From Pat: “The Big 10 is nowhere near as athletic as the A-10. They play slowdown ball. If UD can make OSU run, UD wins. Period.” Like I said, Dayton matches up well with Ohio State athletically. As for the leagues overall, well, I wouldn’t want to see a combine competition between the two.
From JT: “My prediction for tonight’s game is OSU:74 - UD:63.” Of course, that one came at 2 a.m. Maybe I should’ve gone back and edited my own.
The most accurate comment, though, came from McCoy earlier in the day: “Bucks will win by 10. You heard here.”
What can I say? The man’s good.
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Dayton will beat Ohio State tonight, and here’s why
Ohio State has been set as an eight-point favorite tonight against Dayton in the NIT quarterfinals, which makes sense in some ways. The Buckeyes, even though their RPI didn’t match Dayton’s, is still the big bully in the state. Any time another Ohio school plays Ohio State, no matter what their personnel, it’s advantage Buckeyes out of the gate.
But I think Dayton is going to win tonight, by seven points. Here’s why:
The Flyers match up well
With their best lineups on the floor, here’s how they stack up: For Ohio State, it’s 6-1 Jamar Butler, 6-5 David Lighty, 6-6 Evan Turner, 6-8 Othello Hunter and 7-0 Kosta Koufos. For Dayton, it’s 6-2 Brian Roberts, 6-3 Marcus Johnson, 6-6 Charles Little, 6-8 Chris Wright and 6-10 Kurt Huelsman.
It’s more than just similar in size. Dayton matches the Buckeyes in athleticism, and might even trump them. Of course, if it were just analyzing lineups, we wouldn’t even have to play the games, but the Flyers (particularly with new-found confidence) stack up against the Buckeyes man-to-man quite well.
Koufos has much better range, but Huelsman can guard him with his hustle. Roberts can outplay Butler. Johnson can nearly out-jump Lighty. Little and Wright are just as athletic (if not more) than Turner and Hunter.
True, athleticism itself doesn’t win you games. But the Buckeyes won’t overwhelm the Flyers based on size and speed, so it will take more to take down Dayton.
Confidence with Chris Wright
Having Wright on the floor helps Dayton, without question. Not just because he can jump and alter shots better than anyone.
With Wright in the game, or even on the bench ready to come in, the other players feel a greater confidence. They can take a few more chances on defense, first of all, because Wright can be there to clean up the mess. Plus, it’s like in anything, when you have a guy that might be the best player on the floor on your side, you puff out your chest a little bit more. That’s just how the psyche works.
When Wright was injured, Dayton lost that edge and confidence it enjoyed early in the season. One of the dangers, though, is that you work too hard to get Wright involved. Ohio State dealt with that problem last year when Greg Oden returned from injury. The Buckeyes forced it to him. So, the Flyers shouldn’t force it to Wright, but let him find his rhythm.
Chips on their shoulders
Locked out of the NCAA tournament, UD has been made to feel like an underdog, an area in which the Flyers don’t always excel. One of the reasons Xavier has been so successful, to use an example close to home, is because the Musketeers often play with an I-Have-To-Prove-Something attitude. Dayton doesn’t consistency show that.
Now, in the NIT, the players feel snubbed, and I’m sure Brian Gregory is only picking at the sore. As the underdog in tonight’s game and a No. 3 seed in the tournament (which UD athletic director Ted Kissell has publicly said is too low), the Flyers do have something to prove.
Bright lights
For the Buckeyes, the chance to appear on national TV is old hat. For Dayton, it happens a handful of times per year.
OK, so the Flyers’ first two NIT games were on ESPNU, and that is part of Time Warner Cable’s expanded basic package. But that doesn’t get near the audience as ESPN’s two main platforms, the main channel and ESPN2.
Gregory should be stressing that much more of the country will be watching tonight. I don’t know how appealing this matchup is beyond, say, Indiana, but if a casual fan is flipping by, he or she might stop. Those fans are much more familiar with the Buckeyes, so the Flyers have a greater need to prove themselves. Dayton, despite its early success, still doesn’t hold a high place in the national basketball respect.
They know that on ESPN2 they can do that.
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Mike Cusack, Chris Wright and a boatload of news
Almost too much going on. It wouldn’t make sense to do a separate entry on each item, so here goes …
Mike Cusack announces retirement
He received a nice reception today at the Nutter Center’s Berry Room, where the Wright State athletic director said he’ll retire June 30. He’s still going to be around the school, teaching and writing, but he’s passing on the duties of a seemingly growing department.
The Raiders have a set of newish facilities, a hot-shot men’s basketball coach, unprecedented success in men’s basketball, its main sport, and positive movement almost everywhere. But, there are also many challenges involved in the job that didn’t exist when Cusack took it.
For one, the new AD has to help the Horizon League figure out what to do with its Horizon League Network, or other ways to get the conference’s games on television. There are skyrocketing prices for coaching talent. There are greater basketball expectations since the construction of the Setzer Pavilion/Mills-Morgan Center, a beautiful basketball building.
And, as WSU trainer Tony Ortiz perhaps said best, “We need some fresh blood, get some ideas about how to fill this place.”
The Nutter Center, indeed, has been too empty.
Chris Wright plays!
Dayton is in the NIT quarterfinals, most feel, because this guy put on a uniform. He changes a team’s confidence. All of a sudden, the Flyers have one of the best freshman in the conference, if not all of mid-major basketball or beyond, and that makes everyone feel a little more dialed-in on jump shots and passes.
Hard to argue with a guy who can reject shots like that.
Welcome Stadium wants new stuff
Apparently, a deal between UD, Dayton Public Schools and Kettering Medical Center will get Welcome about $3 million in renovations. That includes some badly needed things like new turf, an improved press box and other visual improvements to complement the fresh paint job of about a year ago.
This news has been coming for some time, as the state had money waiting as soon as UD and DPS could get together and come up with an operating plan for the stadium. Those two sides couldn’t make it happen, but with an influx of money from the medical center, the wheels seem to be moving.
The building holds a special place in the area athletic landscape. Hopefully it will hold a greater amount of respect statewide following these (keep your fingers crossed) renovations.
Goodyear not so good?
The Arizona town is now waffling on whether it should pony up the dough to build the Reds a new spring training facility. I don’t know why the Reds need a new place (in fairness, I haven’t asked, either), but some of the town’s leaders have said the money could go for something better, like, you know, a library.
Plenty of Reds fans would be thrilled to see the team stay in Sarasota, which by all accounts has done too little, too late to keep the team in town. The local paper doesn’t have a writer covering the team in the spring, as many of Florida’s towns with major league teams in spring training do. Local shops and restaurants are starting to embrace the team, but some think the Reds aren’t really feeling any love.
But, it looks like they won’t have as much of a choice pretty soon.
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Johnny Cueto is getting some serious pub
SARASOTA, Fla. — Jayson Stark of ESPN.com has put together a list of the players who have been used spring training to create a buzz. He begins the column by asking how to get an otherwise sleepy scout to come to attention:
And, especially, when he then feels the need to start texting the gun numbers to his disbelieving friends. “94-mph 2-seam … 96 4-seam … 96, 95, 94, 95, 94 … 95 fb, 88 sli (slider), 87 sli, 96, 88 sli, 86 (change).” The vignette we just described is true. Those text-message excerpts? Also 100 percent true. The scout will remain nameless. The pitcher who provoked this text-a-thon? He will not remain nameless.
It’s Johnny Cueto, the Cincinnati Reds starting pitcher (sensation?) who has turned in a spring to inspire hope not just amongst Cincinnati Reds fans but National League fans for a hot young pitcher to watch this season.
He is the captain of Stark’s “Spring Training All-Eye-Popper Team, which also includes traded Josh Hamilton and Edinson Volquez, the pitcher the Reds received for Hamilton who should join Cueto in the rotation.
Neither story, though, is as hot as Cueto, who is scheduled to pitch again Sunday against Tampa Bay. Says Stark:
Cueto has been putting on a show from day one, blowing mid-90s fastballs past good hitters, freezing them with his dive-bombing slider, throwing invisible changeups on any count and doing it all with a presence and command that makes it tough to believe he’s still only 21.
But wasn’t this supposed to be Homer Bailey? As Cueto has risen, Bailey has fallen. On Thursday, there seemed to be even a who-cares attitude to the fact he was starting against Minnesota.
Now Bailey seems destined for Class AAA Louisville instead of the Reds rotation, which should include Cueto, Volquez and Josh Fogg, three newcomers. As optimism continues to grow inside the clubhouse and throughout fan discussions, the most excitement surrounds Cueto.
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More (thoughtful) Aaron Harang
BRADENTON, Fla. — For his first few years, Aaron Harang had the reputation of being quiet and reserved, not saying all that much when you talked to him. Now, as the clear staff ace (and lights out this spring, 3-0 with a 2.25 ERA after giving up four whole singles to the Pirates this afternoon), Harang has matured into a thoughful interview.
Here are some snippets from our conversation with him today after his performance, in the quiet of the clubhouse.
“When I was in college, the first time I really talked to Bud Black, he asked me … first question he asked me, I just met him, and he goes, ‘What’s the best pitch in baseball?’ It kind of caught me off guard, and I said, ‘Fastball’ or whatever. He said, ‘No.’ He goes, ‘Strike one, it’s the best pitch in baseball.’ So, that’s always stuck in the back of my head. It automatically puts the hitter to a disadvantage. You get ahead of the hitter, it puts him at a disadvantage right off the bat.”
(On zero Cy Young votes two years ago and just four last year while going 32-17 with a 3.75 ERA during that period) “I look at it as my team knows what I’m doing, the opposing hitters know what I’m doing, they know what they’re going to get out of me, they know what to expect when I step on the mound. That’s what matters to me, that my team knows I’m out there trying to help them win. That’s first off. You want your team to know you’re out there battling, out there playing with them.
“Cincinnati’s not as big a market as LA or Chicago or New York. Of course, a lot of people are going to see them, those are more national markets for media. It’s no big deal to me. They probably just don’t see as many of our games as they would big-market teams, and some of those have their own stations to broadcast for them full-time.”
(On the possibility of two rookies, Johnny Cueto and Edinson Volquez, starting in the rotation) “I was a young guy in the rotation once too. They’re going to have to go out there and make sure they’re really paying attention and seeing what other guys do, find their niche, their routine to go out there and be successful, throw strikes, that’s the biggest thing.
“I came up with the Big 3 in Oakland. We’re all the same age, but they just have more experience than I do. You look to your veteran players, your veteran catcher. I was fortunate enough Greg Myers caught me the first year, and then I pitched to Ramon Hernandez and came over here and I was throwing to LaRue, throwing to Valentin. They’re veteran guys, they know what they’re doing out there.”
(On advice he would give to younger pitcher) “Be aggressive. Don’t look at who’s in the lineup, who you’re facing. That’s the biggest thing is guys get up there and all of a sudden they’re facing a big guy and they’re like, ‘Oh God, I’ve been watching this guy play, and he’s a big hitter.’ All of a sudden, they start getting tentative, and you can’t be. You just have to go out there and be aggressive and trust that their stuff is good enough to do the job. It’s all about confidence.”
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Aaron Harang for Cy Young (someday)
BRADENTON, Fla. — There’s not much to this post. Just listen to (well, read) what Dusty Baker likes about Aaron Harang as we get ready to watch him pitch against Pittsburgh this afternoon:
“Strike one. See, I saw Harang when Harang wasn’t this Harang. I saw Harang in Oakland. I hate the word potential, because that’s a dangerous word because whatever a guy does we’ll always be talking about potential.
“Where he was and where he is now … I saw Harang in Oakland, and he was a lot larger, throwing probably harder but with less command. Then the light came on, for whatever reason, you don’t know. All I know is strike one, hides the ball, he’s probably the most pitch-efficient pitcher almost in the league.
“He can get double plays, he can strike you out. He hides the ball, you don’t see the ball. He doesn’t throw any harder than a lot of guys, but he has better command and he hides the ball. I’ve heard hitters say the ball comes out of nowhere.
(Next question: He never seems to get rattled, either):
“He’s the same way off the mound as he is on the mound. He’s like a lot of good hitters, because you can’t tell when a hitter is … a real good hitter, you can’t tell if he’s about to swing or take or if he’s even awake. He’s half-asleep half the time anyway. Stike one.
“And he can hit low and away. That’s the pitch hitters don’t want to swing at early in the count, low and away. Right-handed hitters really hate it because what are you gonna do with that pitch? The worst place to hit the ball as a right-handed hitter is a ground ball to second base, and that’s what that pitch is. If you hit a ground ball to second base, they can knock ball down, they can step on it, they can kick it, and you’re hauling butt to first base and still see that first baseman about to stretch out.
(Next question: The last couple years his stats have been as good as anyone in the league, but he doesn’t necessarily enter into that conversation … )
“I had him in my conversation at ESPN. He’s probably the most unheralded potential Cy Young candidate in baseball. It doesn’t seem to bother him. He just wants to win.”
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Breakfast pizza, as unusual as Dusty Baker
FORT MYERS, Fla. — This is breakfast pizza. I had never seen this until, while shuffling to my gate at the Dayton airport this morning at 4:45 a.m. I spotted an open Sbarro. I like having something in my stomach early in the morning, so I stopped by to see two pizzas — one looking like the mishmash above and one pepperoni.
I know we live in a society where people get what they want, but this is just silly. Then again, I’ve never tried it (I chose the pepperoni), so maybe it’s the best food since cheese pizza.
Now, a transition from breakfast pizza to Dusty Baker. Today is my first of a few days in Reds spring training camp, and I had yet to meet the new Cincinnati manager. I was told he was the kind of manager reporters love — that is, he’ll give you an honest answer to any question you ask and he can sometimes expose a nugget without being provoked.
This, you see, has been a big problem for the Reds reporters. There have been (in succession) Bob Boone, Dave Miley and Jerry Narron (with the entertaining Pete Mackanin mixed in on an interim basis). Any of those three could calm a 30-child kindergarten class into a mid-day sleep. There was rarely a question posed that they couldn’t meet with an I-don’t-know, I-can’t-tell-you or deer-in-headlights surprise.
All of them were good guys, friendly and so forth. But when it came to providing useful and/or entertaining information, they whiffed like Adam Dunn in a wind storm.
Today, for instance, the Reds reassigned (read: cut) Jay Bruce to the minor-league camp, ending the hopes he could be on the Opening Day roster. One of Baker’s predecessors would have likely boiled this down to “just not the right time,” but Baker went further, making predictions.
“When he gets here,” Baker said, “he’ll be here for a long time.”
In their defense, Boone, Miley and Narron could have been more nervous about their job status. None of them had the reputation — and the fat contract — that Baker holds. Both will make it difficult for the Reds to part with him, meaning that he can say what he wants. That’s why he worked for ESPN between jobs, because he has opinions and expresses them well.
Unlike the breakfast pizza, I’m willing to give Baker a nice, long try.
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Mount St. Mary’s supernatural sixth man
The first thing you noticed when walking into UD Arena a half hour before tonight’s Play-in (err, Opening Round) game was the loud group of … wait, were those students? From the cheers, you could quickly tell that the group waaaay up in Section 408 supported Mount St. Mary’s, but you wondered if that many people would really come from Emmitsburg, Md., for this game.
I mean, it is the NCAA tournament and everything (except that, too, is up for debate). And Mount had never won a game in the tournament.
But a packed group of fired-up Mount Maniacs, here this early and with such force?
There’s more to the Mount St. Mary’s basketball story, and it’s part of the reason all of those kids were here.
You begin to learn more when you meet Jason Werden, a Mount junior who has to remove one of his two foam fingers to shake your hand. He’s smiling, and he seems like a ring-leader of sorts.
“Three buses,” he says, “left at 7 a.m.”
But then you ask why there’s a ribbon-like band on everyone’s arms, and who is this “Puff” referenced on the backs of their T-shirts.
“We’re all family here,” Werden says.
Google News provides the rest. Last week, as Mount St. Mary’s was on an inspired charge to take the Northeast Conference championship and earn a spot against Coppin State in the play-in game (which the Mountaineers won, by the way), a Mount student named Dustin Bauer lost a fight for his life after a fall in an apartment complex:
On the close-knit campus of the Catholic university - the school has fewer than 1,700 undergraduates, the majority of whom come from in-state - it’s been an emotional week, swinging from the high of the basketball team winning its conference and heading to the NCAA tournament, to the low of Bauer’s accident and death.
A sad story, to be sure. But Werden and the other students in the UD Arena corner (who did they tick off that controls tickets?) say that Mount’s run that will continue Friday against North Carolina is part of the healing process.
Bauer would have wanted to be here, they say.
“He’s the sixth man,” Werden says.
So the Mount students continue to go crazy (even though the Coppin State pep band is definitely as entertaining) and Mount wins the basketball game. Did Dustin Bauer tap in a few of those free throws for the Mountaineers, or was he more lifting the voices of those who cheered when they crossed into Ohio because they were so excited for this game?
Either way, it was simply a win in a basketball game. To some in the Mount community, though, it meant more.
“It’s something to take your mind off somebody passing away,” said Chris Vann, the Mount guard.
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Outrage! Fury! UD and WSU fans revolt!
Let’s take a breath and really look at this. Calmly.
Dayton didn’t make the NCAA tournament and Wright State didn’t earn a postseason at all. Neither was totally unexpected, and neither is outrageous.
UD fans are upset because of the Flyers’ high RPI (32) and its record against what became a very respectable non-conference schedule. Its strength of schedule ended at 33, a statistic that shows a schedule doesn’t need to have all power-conference schools to be competitive.
Beyond the numbers, though, UD should not be in the tournament. The Flyers finished in eighth place in the Atlantic 10 Conference, meaning UMass, Charlotte and Richmond might have bigger beefs, because they finished better in the conference. Dayton clearly wasn’t the same team at the end of the season as in the beginning, and not just because Chris Wright wasn’t physically on the floor.
Maybe because of Wright’s injury, and maybe because of mounting losses, Dayton had only a sliver of its former confidence and swagger when the season ended. Yes, a team’s overall season must be judged, but the Flyers of Dec. 29 wouldn’t be playing in the NCAA tournament. It would be the current Flyers, a group struggling with foul shooting (often, coaches say, a mark of concentration) and consistency.
There’s no doubt AD Ted Kissell and coach Brian Gregory figured out the best way to schedule to shoot to the top of the RPI rankings, but the selection process isn’t robotic. If it were only numbers and stats, a computer could decide the field. There remains, however, a human element, an objective ability to judge a team’s performance and skill.
The numbers for Dayton were fine. But you could see when watching the Flyers that they didn’t seem hungry. I know that’s not a statistical breakdown of their season, but if we were only dealing with statistical breakdowns, we wouldn’t even have to play the tournament. The subjective makes our hearts pump, but it can also break them.
As for Wright State, 21 wins and an 11-game winning streak this season would seem to merit some sort of postseason, but the Raiders weren’t chosen for any, not even the new College Basketball Invitational. WSU likely could’ve been as competitive as many of the teams in the NIT, but late-season collapses are the worst. Perhaps it’s like the BCS — better to lose early than late.
Things are looking up for Wright State. We expect to see improved post play next season with a backcourt of two experienced junior guards. Season tickets should be on your next birthday list.
Both UD and Wright State played wonderfully in stretches this season, but only one moves on.
Both sets of fans remain upset.
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The surprise and definitive D-I champion
COLUMBUS — I’ll admit, I didn’t think Newark had a chance.
Heading into the Division I state championship game, Lakewood St. Edward seemed a very imposing opponent. On Friday, it had beaten St. Xavier, which seemed to be everyone’s favorite for the state title. And the Eagles did it impressively, rallying from a double-digit deficit.
Newark … well, is Newark. It’s just not a sexy name in the state’s big-school basketball, even though it did have three state titles. Those championships, though, came in 1936, ‘38 and ‘43. But St. Edward had much superior size and 6-foot-9, Indiana-bound center Tom Pritchard.
Newark, instead, has Greg Avery. The senior guard scored 33 points on 14-of-18 shooting and grabbed 11 rebounds as Newark won the state title with a 65-52 win just moments ago.
These Wildcats from just up the road frustrated the St. Edwards big men all night, leaving Pritchard with nine points and six rebounds when he fouled out with 4:43 left. That was a far cry from his 26 points and 14 rebounds from the night before.
Newark played what seemed to be a near-perfect game. The Wildcats shot 50 percent (25-50), controlled the boards 36-29, had 14 team assists and used a barrage of on-point passes and layups to put its city east of Columbus on the Ohio basketball map.
(Before this, the only reason I knew it athletically was because Shane Montgomery, the Miami University football coach, played quarterback for Newark Catholic.)
This is the same Newark team that Trotwood-Madison led by nine points in the third quarter of the regional semifinal, and now it is the big-school state champion in Ohio. Just one question now (although it’s not really much of a question). Which made Newark coach Jeff Quackenbush’s heart pump more — winning this state championship or welcoming his first child, a son, Friday morning?
If nothing else, it makes the story of this state title run that much better.
Permalink | | Categories: State Boys Basketball Tournament 2008
With this defense, who needs an offense?
COLUMBUS — Playing against the Ottawa-Glandorf defense is kind of like running the football drill in which the back must hold on to the football while teammates pummel him with pads.
OK, so there wasn’t that much contact in the Division III state championship game between Ottawa and Sugarcreek Garaway, but the ball came out just as often. The frustrating defense, which removed Anna from the tournament the day before, helped Ottawa drop Garaway 62-44 in a game that was almost never in contention.
It was the day’s second straight title game — after New Knoxville beat Worthington Christian 74-52 in D-IV — that was barely a contest, an unsettling trend heading into the Division I final tonight. Luckily, the D-II final, the first game of the day, was one of the best we’ve seen in some time, as it was decided in the last 5.1 overtime seconds (see below for more on that).
But this Ottawa team was on a serious roll. It entered the state tournament 15-5 then won its first six tournament games by 35, 9, 13, 10, 9 and 11 points. That got Ottawa and coach Josh Leslie, the Wittenberg University graduate who coached Springfield Catholic Central before taking over basketball-crazy and traditionally successful Ottawa.
In some ways, it’s unfortunate for Garaway. On Friday, this team took Cleveland Villa Angela-St. Joseph to the wire and got an unlikely 3-pointer from Chase Stingel with about 1 second left to move into the final.
Despite all that drama in that semifinal, the final provided none. Ottawa had 10 steals in the first half. Garaway had 19 turnovers in the game. Garaway made 1-of-13 3-pointers as part of its 31.4-percent overall shooting performance. Ottawa shot 56.1 percent.
With those numbers, it’s no mystery. Ottawa used that sometimes-zone, sometimes-man, pressure defense to hammer Garaway to a second-place finish and move itself back on top of Division III.
Permalink | | Categories: State Boys Basketball Tournament 2008
New Knoxville-Worthington Christian updates
Final: New Knoxville has its first state championship.
The Rangers were already up 50-37 heading into the fourth quarter but then ran away and won 74-52 against Worthington Christian for the Division IV state championship. With the win, New Knoxville becomes the only undefeated team in Ohio this season and lives up to its No. 1 state ranking.
Third Quarter: New Knoxville took its biggest lead of the game at 48-32 with 3:17 left in the third quarter on Austin Luck’s 3-pointer, and the Rangers are one quarter away from their first state championship.
Worthington Christian got a 3-pointer from Tyler Joseph and a layup from Zach Joseph in the final two minutes of the quarter but still trail 50-37.
Halftime: The 3-pointers keep coming.
Both teams are heavily taking advantage of long-range shots, but New Knoxville holds the advantage in that category and in the score, as the Rangers lead 38-29 at halftime. New Knoxville has made 7-of-12 3-pointers, while Worthington Christian is 5-for-10.
Tony Meyer leads New Knoxville with 12 points, on 4-of-5 3s. The Joseph brothers have been potent for WC, as senior Tyler has 11 points and sophomore Zach has 10.
First Quarter: New Knoxville has found an early rhythm, making 9-of-15 shots and 5-of-6 3-pointers to take a 23-13 lead after one quarter. Guard Tony Meyer is the most on-target, with three long-range makes in three attempts.
Worthington Christian is known for its outside shooting and the play of D-IV player of the year Brian Hecker. Both are slow out of the gate, as WC has made 6-of-15 shots and Hecker has four points.
Pregame: New Knoxville has to be confident. The Rangers are the only undefeated team remaining in Ohio and enter this Division IV state final against Worthington Christian (26-1) at 26-0 and ranked No. 1 in the state.
At this level for the first time since 1947, New Knoxville has certainly had a season to catch the imagination of the town whose main drag runs for a half-mile along Rt. 29 in western Ohio.
Worthington Christian won the 1999 state championship against Fort Recovery in triple overtime. There’s also some history on the WC bench surrounding this game. Coach Kevin Weakley was the point guard on the 1994 team that lost the title game to McGuffey Upper Scioto Valley, and he even rimmed out a last-second shot. Then, his brother, Jason, sent the ‘99 championship game into overtime with a last-second shot.
No matter what happens, unfortunately, it will be difficult to match the D-II final we just saw that ended with a buzzer-beating layup in overtime.
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What … a … game
COLUMBUS — There’s a lot of setting up with background I could do, but here’s the bottom line:
Chillicothe’s Anthony Hitchens took the inbounds pass with 5.1 seconds left in overtime, dribbled too fast down the floor for Toledo Libbey players to catch him, passed to 6-foot-7 team Ray Chambers wide open under the basket and watched as Chambers threw up a layup that bounced several times before going down as the horn sounded.
With that, Chillicothe won the Division II state championship with a 70-69 victory.
Of course, there are more factors to mention, like Chillicothe rallying from a 16-point deficit in the third quarter, suffering a tying shot at regulation with 3 seconds left and the two pressure free throws Libbey’s Julius Wells with 5.1 seconds left in overtime to give Libbey a 69-68 advantage that wouldn’t last.
Let’s look at some numbers:
— Hitchens, a guard headed to the University of Akron, finished with 24 points and made 8-of-27 shots but had eight assists, six rebounds and four steals.
— William Buford, the Libbey senior guard headed to Ohio State, made 13-of-25 shots for 29 points.
— Chambers finished with 23 points to pair with the 31 points he scored in the semifinal victory against Poland Seminary.
— Chillicothe had 10 steals.
It was one of the most back-and-forth, exciting games I’ve ever seen, and that feeling was shared along press row. It’s the kind of game we expect to see in a state final.
Permalink | | Categories: State Boys Basketball Tournament 2008
Summing up Friday’s boys basketball tournament
COLUMBUS — It’s state championship day, and we start with Toledo Libbey against Chillicothe in about an hour. Here’s what happened yesterday.
Another One Out: Anna was the third of three local hopefuls that came to Columbus this weekend. Graham lost on Thursday in Division II before New Knoxville won that night in D-IV (and the Rangers will play in today’s 2 p.m. state final against Worthington Christian). Then Anna went on a frozen start, missing its first 10 shots and trailing 10-0 before it could make a shot.
The Rockets, who entered the game No. 2 in the state, went on to lose 65-57 to Ottawa-Glandorf in the D-III semifinal while committing 20 turnovers and making 5-of-26 3-pointers. Anna controlled the boards 41-32 but O-G shot 50.9 percent and always had an answer with Justin Schomaeker, the senior guard who scored 26 points on 13-of-18 shooting.
The Beast: Tom Pritchard is headed to Indiana, and it’s not hard to see why. In leading Lakewood St. Edward to a 68-59 win against St. Xavier in a D-I semifinal (an upset in most minds), Pritchard had 26 points (on 12-of-15 shooting) and 14 rebounds.
He also got pretty mouthy a few times with St. X players, but those St. X students will wear on you. Perhaps more impressive than his numbers has been Pritchard’s ability to lead St. Edward to the title game after the team lost Michigan State recruit Delvon Roe very early in the year. He still watches games from the bench.
So, after losing to Moeller in last year’s semifinals, St. Ed’s got its Greater Catholic League revenge.
Big Shot: Like many, I’m not a fan of holding the ball when you have a lead because there’s no shot clock. I mean, I understand why coaches do it, but it can bite you.
Two times, Cleveland Villa Angela-St. Joseph tried to dribble out long stretches of the clock, and two times it failed. On one, a missed shot, Sugarcreek Garaway scored to erase a lead. On another, Garaway called a timeout with 10 seconds left and found Chase Stingel open in the left corner for a 3-pointer with 1 second left in Garaway’s 50-47 win in the D-III semifinal.
VASJ was bigger, stronger and much more athletic but continued to shoot 2-pointers (despite making just 5-of-21). Garaway took advantage and set up Stingel’s memorable shot that sent the Garaway section into a frenzy.
Oh, Trotwood, What Could Have Been: After beating No. 1 Moeller in a district final at UD Arena, Trotwood-Madison traveled to Columbus to face Newark in the regional semifinal last week. The Rams even had a nine-point lead in the third quarter before the bottom fell out, and Newark advanced.
Well, now Newark will play for a D-I state title after beating Toledo Whitmer 63-44 in the final game on Friday. It was impressive enough when Trotwood made the D-I state final two years ago, but it could have potentially been two times in three years if the Rams could have held that lead.
Instead, Newark will deal with Tom Pritchard.
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Anna vs. Ottawa-Glandorf updates
Final: A second area team that advanced to the state semifinals for the first time won’t appear in the championship game.
A day after Graham did the same in Division II, Anna dug too deep a hole early and lost 65-57 to Ottawa-Glandorf in this D-III semifinal.
Jade Billing, who didn’t score in the first half, made a second fourth-quarter 3-pointer with 3:42 left for Anna to cut Ottawa’s lead to 55-52, the closest the Rockets had been since the first half. It was also as close as they would get.
Third Quarter: Things seemed bleak when Justin Schomaeker hit a runner layup with 2:57 left in the third quarter for a 13-point lead, but Anna scored 8 of the quarter’s final 10 points and trails 45-38 entering the final quarter.
It has been the Ottawa pressure and Schomeker’s continued drives to the basket (he has 22 points on 11-of-16 shooting) that have hurt Anna. And, no Rockets player has been able to consistently make shots.
But, Anna is beginning to better handle the Ottawa pressure and is being more aggressive to the basket, which could prove helpful in the final period.
Halftime: Again, Anna has fought uphill to trail 31-24 at halftime.
In overcoming the original 10-0 deficit, Anna tied the game once, on Derek Billing’s 3-pointer that hit the front of the rim and the backboard before falling with 5:24 left in the first half. That 16-16 tie, though, became a 31-21 lead on a fast break layup from Ottawa’s Taylor Pothast with 36 seconds left.
A free throw by Wesley Hunsucker and a backcourt steal and layup by Billing in the final 17 seconds cut the lead before the break.
After the dreadful 0-for-10 shooting start, Anna made 10 of its next 18 but still struggled with turnovers and have 14 at halftime. The Rockets are controlling the boards 20-13, and Billing leads them with 7 points. For Ottawa, Justin Shomaeker has 12 points on 6-of-10 shooting.
First Quarter: The way the game started, it’s a major accomplishment that Anna trails just 16-11 after one quarter.
The Rockets missed their first 10 shots as Ottawa-Glandorf took a 10-0 lead. Nathan Snyder scored Anna’s first points with 3:57 left in the quarter when he took a pass in the lane and half-hooked it into the basket. The Rockets recovered to make 5-of-18 shots in the quarter but have six turnovers, many due to the quick pace.
The 3-pointers aren’t falling either. From that range, Anna is 1-for-8.
Pregame: And now, we come to the second area team that advanced to the state semifinals for the first time this season. Anna (25-1), ranked No. 2 in the state, and Graham both held that distinction when yesterday’s games began, but Graham lost its Division II semifinal to Toledo Libbey.
Anna is preparing for its D-III semifinal against Ottawa-Glandorf, which won the 2004 state title. The Rockeys have to be confident, considering that one of the most feared D-III teams in the state — Cleveland Villa-Angela St. Joseph — lost the other D-III semifinal on a 3-pointer with 1 second left to Sugarcreek Garaway. The Garaway players are scouting this game and waiting for the winner.
The Rockets have won plenty. Their only loss, in fact, came in the season’s third game to New Knoxville, which remains undefeated and ranked No. 1 in D-IV and is scheduled to play Worthington Christian at 2 p.m. Saturday for the state championship.
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Chase Stingel enters Sugarcreek history
COLUMBUS — From the press row perspective, we couldn’t see Chase Stingel, the Sugarcreek Garaway senior guard. With the seconds ticking down in a tie game, we saw a basketball come flying out of a wall of arms as three Cleveland Villa Angela-St. Joseph players charged at Stingel in the left corner.
With a high arc because of Stingel’s falling back, the ball connected with about a second left to give Gawaway a 50-47 win in the Division III semifinal. It was one of those games that again proves why this is my favorite event to attend every year.
This kid from Sugarcreek, Ohio — the Tuscarawas County town nicknamed the “Little Switzerland of Ohio” — knocks down a 3-pointer on an otherwise normal Friday afternoon aand automatically becomes a hero among many of the 2,169 residents.
For VASJ, it’s the third straight year the team has advanced to Columbus without winning a state title. For Garaway, it’s a chance to avenge the school’s girls team, which lost the state title game to Versailles last weekend (well, Monday because of the snow).
The Pirates’ opponent very well might be Anna, which is 25-1, ranked No. 2 in the state and plays Ottawa-Glandorf in about 40 minutes in the other D-III semifinal.
We can only hope for an equally exciting game.
Permalink | | Categories: State Boys Basketball Tournament 2008
Summing up Thursday’s boys basketball tournament
COLUMBUS — Last night, if I had tried to write a recap of Thursday’s games and players from Thursday’s first day of the state boys basketball tournament, it probably would’ve come out like this, “Hdjp hdoe jowhj,” because my head would’ve been bobbing against the key board.
But now with a fresh night of sleep, it’s time to remember what happened Thursday:
One advances, one doesn’t: New Knoxville continued an undefeated season and justified its No. 1 state ranking with a 62-41 win against Haviland Wayne Trace in a Division IV semifinal. The Rangers are now the state’s last team without a loss at 26-0 and will try for the small Auglaize County school’s first state championship at 2 p.m. Saturday against Worthington Christian (26-1).
Graham, which also entered Columbus undefeated, ended its historic season with a 51-44 loss to Toledo Libbey in a D-II semifinal. It was the Falcons’ shooting that sunk them, as they made just 15-of-40 from the field and 5-of-29 from 3-point range. Libbey didn’t shoot any better (37.3 percent) but benefited from 19 Graham turnovers.
Mr. Basketball: That’s William Buford of Libbey, the 6-5 guard headed to Ohio State. Against Graham, he had 21 points and 10 rebounds. He also took half of his team’s shots (24 of 51) and missed all four from 3-point range. He said afterward that his team kept convincing him to shoot, but one wonders if that conversation was more assumed than anything.
Speaking of shooting: Poland Seminary, the No. 1 team in D-II, had some trouble with its 3-point accuracy. But, don’t think that deterred the players from trying. The team attempted 35 3-pointers and made 9, a 25.7 percent clip. Chillicothe, its opponent, took advantage of the faulty long-range radar and beat Poland Seminary 78-70 to reach the first state title game in school history.
Stat Line of the Day: Ray Chambers, a Chillicothe senior forward, had 31 points and 17 rebounds against Poland Seminary after collecting 18 and 11 in the first half alone. His close friend and teammate Anthony Hitchens scored 24 points and overshadows Chambers in attitude and personality, but Chambers is a tall, long, aggressive player who looks like he could help a MAC or Horizon League team (he and Wright State are supposedly talking) very soon.
Big Men (Relatively): When thinking about D-IV basketball, most don’t imagine big men. But, in the D-IV semifinal between Worthington Christian and Bedford St. Peter Chanel, the most interesting matchup happened between a pair of 6-5 players, Worthington’s Brian Hecker and St. Peter Chanel’s Lamar McKnight.
McKnight got the better of it personally with 21 points, but Hecker, the D-IV player of the year, got to the state final against New Knoxville with Worthington’s 66-58 victory. However, we could see this matchup again, as both are juniors.
Attendance: 12,776 for Graham-Libbey, 12,740 for Chillicothe-Poland Seminary in D-II, 11,020 for Worthington Christian-Bedford St. Peter Chanel in D-IV and 11,733 for New Knoxville-Wayne Trace.
Line of the Day: Libbey coach Leroy Bates, who has won 250 games in 16 years at the school, discussed preparing his team for the 10:45 a.m. start.
“We put them in bed at 10 and took all their cell phones,” Bates said. “I put them in my room. Then I could barely sleep because they were ringing and buzzing all night.”
Permalink | | Categories: State Boys Basketball Tournament 2008
New Knoxville-Wayne Trace updates
Final: Spectators started clearing out with four minutes left when New Knoxville had a 25-point lead on its way to the 62-41 win. The Rangers improved to 26-0 and will meet Worthington Christian for the D-IV state title at 2 p.m. Saturday.
Third Quarter: This is becoming a broken record, but New Knoxville once again took over the end of the quarter and the Rangers lead 46-25 after three. This time, it was a 13-0 run to end the period after Wayne Trace cut the lead to 33-25 with 3:35 left in the quarter. From there, Wayne Trace missed five straight shots and committed a turnover as New Knoxville went 6-for-8 to set itself up for the second state final in school history.
Halftime: Again, New Knoxville was strong late in the quarter. The Rangers scored the final six points and Wayne Trace didn’t get a point in the last 4:18 of the quarter as New Knoxville went ahead 25-14 at halftime.
The New Knoxville defense has frustrated Wayne Trace, which has 10 turnovers, seven coming on Rangers steals. Sophomore Ryan VanderHorst leads NK is both points (8) and rebounds (5), although Piehl remains the leader. In one progression, he picked up a loose Wayne Trace turnover, led the fast break, made a move near the lane that caused the collective oooohs from the NK fans and laid it in with 33 seconds left to set the current margin.
First Quarter: New Knoxville scored the last eight points of the quarter in the final 2:31 to take a 16-6 lead after the first