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OSU men's basketball preview: Buckeyes very short on vets

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COLUMBUS (AP) -- Ask Thad Matta to talk in detail about his Ohio State Buckeyes and he falters.

"Ummmm," he says. "I would say, uh, let's see, ..."

It's hard to describe somebody you hardly know. And for the third year in a row, Matta has a collection of players who are primarily first- and second-year players.

So when he opened practice a few weeks ago, maybe Matta should have hosted a meet-and-greet. There are no seniors on the roster and only one scholarship player, junior David Lighty, has been on the floor for even the past two years.

"I was used to looking up to seniors, but I guess I'm the guy who people are looking up to," Lighty said.

Other than Lighty, and maybe sophomores Jon Diebler and Evan Turner, who saw substantial playing time a year ago, about the only way you'd know most of the others is if you read recruiting magazines. The Buckeyes have lots of players who were megastars in high school, including 7-foot freshman B.J. Mullens, considered one of the plum recruits in the country, and reigning Ohio Mr. Basketball William Buford. They make up the core of a class that gives Matta a lot of talent to work with but keeps him up nights because of their lack of experience.

"We have pretty much a little bit of everything," said Turner, who stepped in to a young team a year ago to log valuable minutes. "We could have a very special team; we just have to put the pieces together."

You may remember that two years ago Matta had to mix several veterans with an extraordinary recruiting class that included three players (Greg Oden, Mike Conley Jr. and Daequan Cook) who went in the first two dozen picks in the NBA draft after playing one year for the Buckeyes. That team went 35-4 and made it all the way to the NCAA title game before losing to defending champ Florida.

Last year, Matta picked up the pieces again, rebuilt around the one returning starter (Jamar Butler) and posted a 24-13 record, missing out on the NCAA but going on to win the National Invitation Tournament. Butler graduated and prized freshman big man Kosta Koufos went in the first round of the NBA draft to Utah.

So for the third year in a row, Matta finds he not only has to put the pieces together again but that he's starting with entirely different pieces.

"I'll tell you where my mind is: Be 1-0 after Nov. 20," he said with a laugh, referring to the season-opener against Delaware State, which will be played at old St. John Arena because of a scheduling conflict at the team's home court at Value City Arena.

Matta believes that the Buckeyes have loads of talent, but it's raw. He knows they're versatile and deep, but it may take a while to find out who should be starting or even what position they should be playing.

"It's going to take time," he said. "I don't think that we're going to have a lot of answers until we've played eight, nine, 10 games. How does this team do on the road? How do we handle runs made by other teams? Those are the things that quite honestly we have to see before I could ever say that, hey, this team is going to win this many games."

The team could do a "We Are The World" sing-a-long. There are eight new faces, including four scholarship freshmen, two junior-college transfers and transfers from Vanderbilt and UAB. There are players from five states (Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois and Minnesota), Serbia and Greece. There are two 7-footers, two others who are relative shrimps at 6-1 and about everything in between.

"If we come into every single game mentally ready, prepared to go hard, I don't really see us losing," said 6-8, 255-pound power forward Dallas Lauderdale, who has toned and strengthened his body after seeing only minimal action a year ago. "But if we don't come mentally prepared, I see anybody being able to beat us."

Mullens will undoubtedly be presented the chance to live up to his advance billing. Lighty, a defensive specialist, and Turner, who developed as the season went on last year, will definitely be in the top rotation.

At point guard, Matta says he's sorting through six candidates: Turner, P.J. Hill (a juco transfer from a year ago), Jeremie Simmons (a juco transfer this year) and freshmen Anthony Crater, Buford and Walter Offutt. That's a lot of inexperience at a position that supposed to be the metronome for a team.

"That's the main focus right now, teaching guys how to play hard, focused and smart for the whole 40 minutes and not just for one period," said Lighty, an elder statesman at 20.

Matta has his fingers crossed. He's once again like a chef presented with a dozen ingredients and no recipe.

"There's a spot for everyone to contribute," he said.

But first, he has to get their names down pat.