8 Observations:
- Ohio State is, at this point, the best College Basketball team in the country: They will also likely be given that honor in the next edition of polls next week.
- Aaron Craft is one of the quickest players in College Basketball this season: Some may underestimate the Sophomore out of Liberty-Benton High School, but he showed up on the biggest stage last night with 17 points and 8 assists. What was maybe most impressive was his heady play and extreme quickness on the court, the kid plays fast and it's going to be fun to watch him grow even more.
- Duke will continue to grow: In my opinion, Duke can be a top-10 team this season, and will likely mature in time for March Madness. This squad will likely end up making a run in the big dance. The challenge for the Buckeyes, will be continuing to improve, and that starts with developing some younger players off the bench.
- Austin Rivers is learning: The freshmen played well in only his eighth collegiate contest, putting up 22 points on 18 shots. He isn't afraid to shoot the ball, and as he continues to get his feet wet, will improve and likely enter the NBA draft as a lottery pick next season.
- Maybe, just maybe, I can live with the chucking of Deshaun Thomas: Anyone who has watched Thomas play, including last season, has realized that this kid is a chucker. The only shot he doesn't take is likely a shot of vodka before games. Who knows, maybe he even does that. The point is, Thomas filled it up in a hurry last night, as he was 7-9 shooting at half-time. Some games it's going to get ugly for Buckeye fans when he can't find his groove. I do however think I can live with it as long as he can equal it out with games like last night.
- The Buckeyes could go undefeated *knocks on wood*: At 7-0, it's extremely early to start this talk, but the point must be made that if the Buckeyes continue to play this type of unselfish ball, the toughest opponents on their schedule have already passed. Now if I was a betting man, I'd assume the Buckeyes will drop at least 2-3 in conference games in a BRUTAL Big Ten conference this season, but time will well!
- Ohio State DOES have a bench: In years past, Thad Matta's teams have been very thin and without depth. At first glance, when fans realize that the starters scored 79 of the 85 total points against Duke, they may come to the realization that there is no bench on this Buckeyes team. Give them time though, young players like Shannon Scott and Amir Williams have the ability to eventually break the roster. I was especially impressed with the defensive play of Boston College transfer, Evan Ravenel.
- Players like Lenzelle Smith Jr and Aaron Craft breed unselfish play: With a star player like Jared Sullinger and a shot-chucker like Deshaun Thomas, you might expect some selfish play. This was completely contrary to what actually happened and last night I witnessed some of the best ball movement in Buckeye basketball for the last 5 or 6 years.
Couple of notes about the blog: I'd like to welcome Jeremy Sexton and Jacob Mowery to the staff as full-time contributors here at 'Jimbo Says'. Expect a couple of pieces from them coming soon, including an exciting piece from Mowery regarding Urban Meyer and Ohio State's football recruiting class! Also, after this weekend in college football I'll be doing a 16-team College Football Playoff simulation using www.whatifsports.com, all while explaining while I believe that D-1 College Football needs a playoff. Make sure and stay tuned, and follow the twitter at www.twitter.com/Jfleezy12!
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