INSIDE THE NUMBERS

2000-01 record: 24-8; 11-5 in Big Ten (Tied 1st) Postseason: Lost to Missouri 83-67 in second round of NCAA West Region. RETURNING LEADERS Points: Darby 15.4 Rebs: Williams 5.8 Assists: Darby 2.9 FG: Dials 42.1% 3pt: Connolly 37.4% FT: Darby 78.5% 01-02 Stats: Ohio State | Big Ten KEY LOSSES Brian Brown | 16.3 ppg Boban Savovic | 11.9 ppg PROJECTED STARTERS G | B.Fuss-Cheatham | So. G | Brent Darby | Senior G | Sean Connolly | Senior F | Zach Williams | Junior C | Vel. Radinovic | Junior Player to Watch Brent Darby Will likely lead team in scoring, while also distributing ball to others. DATE TO REMEMBER Nov. 29 O'Brien isn't going to be able to be criticized about his early season schedule this year. The Buckeyes face Alabama in the Hall of Fame Game. Four days later, Ohio State will play Duke in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. Those two games will show where Ohio State really is.

 

OHIO STATE BUCKEYES

Some things simply don't change: The college basketball season is about to begin and people think this will finally be the year when Ohio State struggles. It could happen, but Jim O'Brien has finished enough times in the Big Ten's top three that it's hard to believe that will change. While many of the league's teams recruit McDonald's All-Americans on a yearly basis, there might not be a coach who gets more out of his team than O'Brien. Over the past four seasons, the Buckeyes have gone 47-17 in Big Ten play, won two titles and haven't finished lower than third. This season, however, might be O'Brien's biggest challenge because of depth issues and questions on the perimeter. Senior Brent Darby is the only true known commodity back for the Buckeyes after averaging 12.8 points per game last season. Darby, however, will have to deal with increased interest from defenses as both Brian Brown and Boban Savovic have graduated. No other returning player averaged double figures though forward Zach Williams came the closest (9.6).

TOUGH ENOUGH..............................
While O'Brien's trademark since leading the Buckeyes to the 1999 Final Four has been guard play, the strength of this team is its front line. Williams has developed into a nice player while Terence Dials was one of the Big Ten's biggest surprises. As a freshman, Dials, who wasn't heavily recruited, improved as the season went along and showed a knack of getting a big basket at the right time. Center Velimir Radinovic has shown improvement and could be a factor this year.

TOUGH ENOUGH?..............................
Sophomore guard Brandon Fuss-Cheatham has to be more of a factor this year. While Darby can play point, O'Brien would prefer if Fuss-Cheatham is ready for the position. That would allow Darby to slide to shooting guard and Sean Connolly can be a wing. That's crucial as Connolly isn't athletic enough to guard the Big Ten's better shooting guards. Fuss-Cheatham, however, didn't see a lot of minutes as a freshman and averaged just 1.2 points per game.

BOTTOM LINE..............................
In the shadow of the Buckeyes football program, O'Brien quietly goes about his business of building one of the Big Ten's better hoops programs. This, however, is probably the season in which Ohio State drops out of the league's top three, but the Buckeyes aren't going to drop much further than that. The Buckeyes will still likely be an NCAA Tournament team.