Article published March 19, 2008
OSU tops team with BIG man on campus
UNC Asheville's Kenny George, who stands 7-foot-7, towers over Ohio State's Matt Terwilliger, Jamar Butler and Dallas Lauderdale (52). George scored 12 points and grabbed 11 rebounds.
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ASSOCIATED PRESS
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By MATT MARKEY
BLADE SPORTS WRITER
COLUMBUS - First-round games in the National Invitation Tournament are often lacking in historical significance. For the Ohio State Buckeyes, their 84-66 NIT win over North Carolina at Asheville last night will likely find its place in their lore for simply one very big reason.
Ohio State faced the nation's tallest player, 7-7 Kenny George, and worked ahead, around and over the big guy often enough to coast to the victory at Value City Arena, in front of an announced crowd of 7,117. The Buckeyes don't expect to forget playing against George, a junior from Chicago who stands 7-9 in the custom size-26 shoes made for him by Nike.
"He's a tremendous player, and I can tell my grandkids later down the road I played against him," said Ohio State freshman Kosta Koufos, a seven-footer who weighs 265 pounds, but was dwarfed by the 360-pound George.
The Buckeyes pretty much had their way inside against UNC Asheville when George was off the floor, and then worked the ball back outside when he occupied the middle. Ohio State helped its cause significantly by shooting 56 percent for the game (36 of 64), and hitting 10 of 12 3-point shots.
"When you got a guy 7-7 in there, it's kind of hard to get to the basket," Ohio State sophomore David Lighty said. "So we were just trying to kick the ball back out to the guards, and get up and down the floor."
Ohio State coach Thad Matta said a presence like George required the Buckeyes to have a Plan B ready."We went in with two different game plans, because they are two different teams - when he's on the floor and when he's not," Matta said. "He did a lot of things I didn't think he'd be able to do."
George finished with 11 rebounds, a block, and 12 points in 27 minutes of play, with all but one of his baskets coming on dunks where his feet hardly left the floor. Ohio State was led by guard Jamar Butler with 21 points, Othello Hunter with 16 and Koufos with 15.
The Buckeyes (20-13) jumped out in front 14-7 five minutes into the game, having their way with UNC Asheville inside. George then entered the game, and changed things immediately. He dunked over the seven-foot Koufos to get Asheville within two about a minute later, then forced Koufos to alter a move to the basket and travel on the ensuing possession.
After the Bulldogs (23-10) tied it at 14 on Bryan Smithson's driving basket, Ohio State got better ball movement against the Asheville zone and quickly pushed the lead out to 27-16 with 10 minutes left in the half. Another lull allowed Asheville to work back into it, and when a flat-footed George dropped in a basket off an offensive rebound, the Bulldogs were down just 29-28 with almost seven minutes to play in the first half.
A winded George left the game, and Ohio State went on a run that ended with Matt Terwilliger's 3-pointer from the corner that gave the Buckeyes a 45-35 halftime lead.
Ohio State, the No. 1 seed in the NIT, still led by 10 with 13 minutes left in the game, but the Buckeyes went on a run that put the Bulldogs away. Butler hit a long 3-pointer to beat the shot clock, and then lofted a floater over George.
Jon Diebler knocked in a 3-pointer from the corner, and when Butler added another triple on the break, the lead was 70-54 with less than nine minutes left. Ohio State forced 21 Asheville turnovers, but the Bulldogs still shot 52 percent from the field.
"I was a little disappointed in our defensive intensity," Matta said, "but we did a very good job of moving the ball. Our game plan was to try and speed up the game [against George]. I didn't know how we'd respond, but I thought the guys had good energy."
The Buckeyes next take on the winner of tonight's game between California and New Mexico. The second-round NIT game will be played Monday night at St. John Arena, with the starting time yet to be determined.
Contact Matt Markey at:
mmarkey@theblade.com
or 419-724-6510.
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