No. 9 – Ohio State

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Forget for a moment that Greg Oden is perhaps the most ballyhooed basketball player to enter the collegiate ranks in a lifetime because of his 7-foot frame, powerful post-up game, intellect and ability to completely thwart opposing teams on defense. Now imagine a grizzly bear with double-loaded springs in his legs.

“His head is over the rim, I can tell you that,” Ohio State senior Ron Lewis says of Oden after a few pickup games with the touted center. “I didn’t know he had hops like he did.”

Unfortunately for the Buckeyes, Oden was relegated to jumping-jack status in the offseason as he underwent surgery to repair a severed ligament in his right wrist in the summer, delaying his highly anticipated debut. However, Oden will grace the college game eventually, and when he does, he figures to be surrounded by a team capable of great things.

In fact, Ohio State, which is coming off a surprising outright Big Ten regular-season title, has added lots of new firepower in the form of Oden, his high school teammate and point guard Mike Conley, highly athletic wings Daequan Cook and David Lighty and junior college power forward Othello Hunter. Another top 5 class will follow that group next year.

“I wouldn’t be surprised to see a national championship in the next five years,” outgoing forward Matt Sylvester said moments after the Buckeyes’ season ended with a loss to Georgetown in the NCAA Tournament. “I feel that strongly about the future of this program.”

OSU fans seem to share Sylvester’s sentiment, especially with Thad Matta at the helm. The 39-year-old has posted 20 wins or more in each of his six seasons as a head coach, and he has the pieces in place to keep that string going for years to come.

FRONTCOURT – While earning recognition as a two-time prep National Player of the Year, Oden added a soft hook shot and an effective 15-foot jumper to his repertoire. Even if he is limited offensively because of his wrist, he has a chance to dominate the paint.

After the fabulous freshman, the other frontliners are role players.

Matt Terwilliger could be a key figure for the Buckeyes. He will be asked to man the pivot while Oden is out and will be a valuable backup when the big fella returns intact. Plus, Terwilliger has experience at power forward and can hit jumpers off of pick-and-roll plays.

The 4 spot, though, is a grab bag going into the season. In the best-case scenario, Hunter claims the starting role and plays up to his all-around potential. In a worst case, Terwilliger is slotted there out of pure need, but that would hurt the depth at center.

Ivan Harris can provide outside shooting as a combo forward and should find a role.

BACKCOURT – Jamar Butler emerged as a reliable lead guard with nerves of steel last season, outplaying the likes of Daniel Horton and Drew Neitzel as the Buckeyes overtook first place in the league standings.

Still, the coaching staff plans to play Conley some with Butler to provide a dual point guard look. Cook is a pure scorer and willing passer who should get the majority of the minutes at the shooting guard spot. Lighty is a versatile swingman who can fill in the cracks and provide help both offensively and defensively.

Like Lighty, Lewis can man either wing spot, but look for him to start at the three even though he was arguably the Big Ten’s best sixth man last season. After two years at Bowling Green, sitting out a season and then showing he had take-over ability last season, Lewis is ready to be a featured player.

FINAL ANALYSIS – Without question, Matta has restored the program and appears to have Ohio State on the brink of joining the elite of college basketball.

However, high expectations aren’t always easily met, and with only nine scholarship players, the Buckeyes must rely on a heavy dose of maturity and production from the newcomers, especially considering that depth along the frontline is a question mark.

Even though the Buckeyes face North Carolina, Cincinnati and Florida in the early going, fully evaluating them by Christmas would be shortsighted. It will take time for a young team without its dominant pivot player to jell completely, but once it does, there appears to be enough talent to make another run at a Big Ten title.

Plus, come March, it’s very likely Ohio State could be the kind of squad no team wants to see in its bracket.