Dancin' in Atlanta!

For the first time since 1968, Ohio State will be going to the Final Four! Well, officially, anyway. Those of you with decent memories will recall a certain Scoonie Penn/Michael Redd led squad that made it to the Final Four in 1999. However, the NCAA expunged that from the record after Jim O'Brien's admitted indiscretions. Paying players is not in line with the NCAA's rules, and it cost him his job. Not that fact that he paid players, mind you, the fact that he (allegedly) paid Boban Savovic. The best coaches know that you need to pay better players than that to have a successful program, but I digress...

I love what I'm seeing out of the Buckeyes right now. The senior-on-his-way-out, Ron Lewis, is absolutely raising his game! And, Mike Conley is coming into his own as a player. One might argue that he's the best freshman on the team. That could be true, simply because the other larger freshman that starts tends to find himself in foul trouble too often. They're also getting timely contributions from the likes of Lighty, Hunter, Cook, and others, with a different player or two stepping up each game. It's amazing that the nearly half of the rotation is made up of true freshman!

Regardless, this team played its best game today against arguably its best opponent in Memphis, and rose to the occasion. Whoever wins between UNC and Georgetown will pose a formidable challenge, no doubt, but I'm not going to worry about that right now. I'm going live in the moment for a few more days!

Go Bucks!

Kevin