Ohio State Buckeyes Balanced, Impressive in Exhibition Win

The No. 4/5 Ohio State Buckeyes unofficially started out the post-Evan Turner era on Sunday with a bang in a 102-56 rout over division-two foe Walsh in exhibition play.

Ohio State fans were saddened when the player of the year declared a year early for the NBA and now plays in red, white and blue of the Philadelphia 76ers instead of the scarlet and gray. But some relief can be felt due to the performance of their returning veterans and incoming freshman class.

Freshman Jared Sullinger, younger brother of former Buckeye JJ Sullinger and two time reigning Mr. Basketball in Ohio, led all players in scoring with 22 points and pulled down 10 rebounds.

Ohio State out-rebounded Walsh 45-22 and 16-9 in the offensive zone, including six alone from Sullinger.

A big question looming for the Buckeyes was who would step up and fill in the void left by Turner at the point position. At the start of the game, junior William Buford handled the ball at point for Ohio State, who finished with 16 points and eight rebounds. But freshman Aaron Craft really shined at the position, dishing out eight assists and scoring 12 points coming off the bench.

Craft also made a highlight reel dive into the crowd going after a loose ball earning applause from the fans in attendance.

The Buckeyes used a nine man rotation which consisted of the four returning starters of Buford, David Lighty, Dallas Lauderdale and Jon Diebler and incoming freshman Sullinger, Craft, Deshaun Thomas, Jordan Sibert and JD Weatherspoon. Each player saw at least 10 minutes of playing time and scored during the game. 

While Turner brought a superstar presence last season and took over games, the Buckeyes lacked depth outside of a six or seven man rotation. This year, it seems that is much more balance up and down the lineup and coach Thad Matta will be able to mix and match rotations with more ease then in years past.

This perhaps is Matta's deepest team since the 2006-07 squad with freshman phenoms Greg Oden, Mike Conley and Daequan Cook. That team had the freshman impact like this year's will seemingly have, but also has the veteran leadership that Ron Lewis, Ivan Harris and Jamar Butler provided four years earlier.

The Buckeyes will officially open their season Friday night against North Carolina A&T.