Who Should Start for OSU in 2007-2008?

By Adam Kiefaber

Will Kosta Koufos be the next great Buckeye Basketballer?

After reaching the Finals in the NCAA tournament, the Ohio State Buckeyes have to replace many key parts to their basketball team. Greg Oden, as expected, is leaving to play in the NBA, as is Mike Conley Jr. Also, Daequan Cook isn’t coming back (see Blog below – ‘Should Daequan Cook Dip Out of NBA Draft’) and some have to disagree about that move, but it is his life.

Seniors Ron Lewis and Ivan Harris will be gone, leaving Ohio State with only one (Jamar Butler, fifth with 8.5 points a game) of their top six scorers. Lewis was the main reason Ohio State was able to make the run last March. He scored 27 points in the unforgettable Xavier game, added 25 points in the one-point Sweet 16 win over Tennessee and had 22 points in the Elite 8 game against Memphis. Harris was a good three-point shooter and had the size to get some big rebounds.

So, who’s going to start for the Buckeyes in 2007-2008? Are two key freshmen going to run the show again? Is Kosta Koufos going to live up to his five-star billing or is Thad Matta going to start a more experienced player at center? Which freshman, Evan Turner or Jon Diebler will start? Which one will make a bigger impact? Will David Lighty emerge as the team’s leading scorer? Will it be Butler? Could Othello Hunter be the most important player on this team?

What should the lineup be? Honestly, I’m not sure. Here’s my crack at, please correct me if I’m wrong.

Buckeye 2007-2008 Basketball Lineup

Point Guard Jamar Butler (Senior, 6-foot-2 205 pounds)*
- Butler is a definite starter and team leader for the ’07-’08 season. Butler finished fifth on the team in scoring. Butler averaged 8.5 points and 3.6 assists per game last season, which was down from the ’05-’06 season when he had 10.1 points and 4.6 assists a game. Butler is a three-point sharpshooter and can’t penetrate like Conley Jr. could, but I see Butler stepping up and leading this team to a solid season.

Shooting Guard- David Lighty (Sophomore, 6-foot-6 220 pounds)*
- Along with Butler, Lighty is a definite starter for the upcoming season. However, he could be starting at the 2 or the 3. Lighty hit some big shots for the Buckeyes. Especially in the 85-84 win against Tennessee when his three tied the game at 79 with under three minutes to play. Ohio State never fell behind after that shot. People forget how big a recruit Lighty was because of the three five-star (Oden, Conley Jr. and Cook) commitments last year. Lighty had offers from Arizona, Florida, Michigan, Michigan State and Syracuse. Lighty was ranked as the 31st best player by Scout.com and 36th best by Rivals.com in the ’07-’08 class. I believe Lighty will emerge as the team’s top scorer this season.

Small Forward- Evan Turner (Freshman, 6-foot-6 175 pounds)
- Turner might not be the Buckeyes starter, but he will make an immediate impact. Ohio State could either go with a small lineup or a big lineup. In the case of the big lineup, which would be easier to do considering the team could have freshman Dallas Lauderdale and senior Matt Terwilliger come off the bench, Turner should start here. In a small lineup, look for freshman Jon Diebler to start at the 2 with Lighty playing the 3. Turner is rated as the 59th best player by Scout.com and 48th best by Rivals.com in the ’07-’08 class. Both Turner and Diebler need to add muscle.

Power Forward- Othello Hunter (Senior, 6-foot-9 225 pounds)*
- Hunter was a savior last season spelling Oden when the superstar center got in foul trouble. This upcoming season, Hunter will start and will put up impressive numbers for the Buckeyes. Hunter really showed great potential when Ohio State played Cleveland State, he scored 17 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in only 13 minutes of playing time. Hunter was part of last year’s recruiting class as a JUCO from Hillsborough Community College.

Center- Kosta Koufos (Freshman, 7-foot-0 252 pounds)
- Koufos isn’t the same kind of center that Oden was last season. Koufos has a mid-range jumper and can drill threes with regularity. When Ohio State plays a team with an athletic big man, the Buckeyes would have defend the scorer with seniors Hunter and Terwilliger. Don’t be surprised if Terwilliger and Hunter start at the 4 or 5 to begin the season with Koufos coming off the bench. Koufos is the biggest recruit in Ohio State’s ’07-’08 class, he is ranked 14th overall by Scout.com and 16th overall by Rivals.com. Other schools that offered scholarships include Illinois, Louisville, Maryland, Michigan and Michigan State.

Top Reserves
Jon Diebler (SG- Freshman, 6-foot-6 182 pounds)
-Diebler was a scoring machine in high school. In fact, Diebler broke Jay Burson’s 22-year-old Ohio high school basketball record as the No. 1 scorer of all-time. In his senior season, Diebler averaged over 40 points, 12.6 rebounds, 6.7 assists, 5.3 steals and 4.2 turnovers per game. Also, as Mr. Basketball he shot 47% from the field and 85% from the free throw line in his senior season. Rivals.com ranked Diebler 58th in its top 150 while Scout.com had Diebler 65th in its top 100. Diebler could start, however should share time with fellow freshmen Tuner and Eric Wallace.

Matt Terwilliger (PF-C- Senior, 6-foot-8 250 pounds)
-Terwilliger is a key role player and spelled Oden and Hunter when the two got in foul trouble last season. Terwilliger’s playing time (10.4 as a soph. and 10.6 as a jr.) will increase in ’07-’08, but his role on the team should remain the same. Terwilliger was a solid recruit in 2004, being ranked 76th in Scout.com’s top 100, which at the time put him ahead of recruits Roy Hibbert of Georgetown, JamesOn Curry of Oklahoma State and Joseph Jones of Texas A&M.

Kyle Madsen (PF-C- Sophomore, 6-foot-10 240 pounds)
-Madsen spent the 05’06 as a red shirt freshman on the Vanderbilt basketball team. However, Madsen got homesick and was cleared to accept offers to play at Ohio State, Dayton, Miami (OH) and Ohio University. Supposedly it came down to Ohio State and Dayton. It should be interesting to see what role if any Madsen will play for the Buckeyes.

Dallas Lauderdale (PF-C- Freshman, 6-foot-9 230 pounds)
-Lauderdale averaged 20.9 points, 10 rebound and 4.5 blocks a game last season. He picked Ohio State over Syracuse, Louisville and Michigan. Lauderdale is ranked 93rd by Scout.com and 112th by Rivals.com in the 2007 recruiting class.

Eric Wallace (SF- Freshman, 6-foot-7 195 pounds)
-Wallace, the least talked about Buckeye freshman, had offers from Clemson, North Carolina, North Carolina State, Virginia and Wake Forest. Known for being a team player and could surprise by ending up as the Buckeye’s best recruit in this class after a few seasons. Wallace is ranked 116th in Rivals.com’s top 150.