It is a bit early to plan the coronation ceremony. Same goes for the victory parade, or even the pomp and circumstance that accompanies the raising of the Big Ten championship banner.
Still, Ohio State junior point guard Jamar Butler said Sunday, “When you walk around campus now, you hear people shouting out, `We want two national championships.'”
That is merely fan-speak, a language accompanied by a mind-set all its own. In reality, there is more to it than merely collecting a lot of former high school stars.
That, of course, is just what Buckeyes coach Thad Matta has done. He is busy massaging an acclaimed freshman class that includes 7-foot-1-inch center Greg Oden. This class is the reason Columbus is so crazed, the reason so many favor the Buckeyes to win the Big Ten title, spend the season in the Top 10 and end the year at the Final Four in Atlanta.
“But none of these guys ever played with a shot clock,” Butler said. “They’re just now starting to get used to that.”
That’s hardly the only reason to hold off on measuring them for their championship rings. Yes, Oden is a special performer, so special that he is likely to be the top pick whenever he decides to enter the NBA draft. And yes, the freshman class he heads is one of the two best in the country (North Carolina’s is the other) and considered one of the very best in history.
But all the talk of their imminent success is still hyperventilation. Oden underwent surgery in June for a detached tendon in his right wrist and is not expected back until Jan. 1, the start of the Big Ten season.
Freshmen must learn that the intensity level is much higher in college than it was in high school. They must learn that every play is important in college. They must be integrated with returning veterans. They must earn the trust of those veterans. They must understand that they cannot get by on talent alone. They must understand that consistency is paramount.
But none of those issues is as grave as the injury that has sidelined Oden, no matter that even now he can run and jump and develop his left hand and stay in aerobic condition.
“It’s just different being able to practice for two hours a day [as opposed to] running or riding a bike and that sort of thing,” Matta said.
He won’t be in game shape when he returns, and even if he does return Jan. 1, it will be the first time in more than eight months that Oden will have played in a meaningful game. That means, said Matta, “It’s going to be a process. I don’t care if he’s still playing high school basketball, just coming back and getting acclimated to playing. Now throw in you’re going into the Big Ten, he’s going to face some challenges.”
Compounding those uncertainties are the challenges facing Matta himself, who is uncertain how he should mold his young team.
“That’s been the question in my mind since Greg had his surgery,” Matta said. “You’re riding home from the NCAA tournament and thinking, `OK, we can do this.’ Now all of a sudden that’s taken from you. The question you have to ask yourself is how we want to play.
“In essence it could be two teams. It’s hard. More defensively than anything else. From a pressing standpoint, do we rotate our big guys out, and when we get him back, do we keep him [under the basket]? What do you want to teach? Do you want to teach what you’ve got now or what you’ve got coming?
“I don’t think we know exactly how it’s going to turn out.”
Indeed, it is a bit early to plan the coronation ceremony.
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