As Thad Matta's top lieutenant at Ohio State, John Groce wasted little time helping to make the big recruiting scores necessary to take the Buckeyes to the top of the Big Ten as well as the NCAA Tournament final.
While it might be a little unrealistic to project Ohio into an NCAA final -- seeing as how the Bobcats finished last in the MAC East last season -- Groce has again wasted little time injecting a roster with high-profile recruits. Groce's second Ohio squad features five touted freshmen as well as former Indiana point guard Armon Bassett.
"Our big key is blending our returners with our newcomers," said the perpetually positive Groce.
Ohio lost its top two scorers from last year, including first-team all-MAC forward Jerome Tillman (17.7 ppg, 8.1 rpg), but retains four players who made at least 14 starts. Sophomore shooting guard Steven Coleman, who made the league's all-freshman team, is the top returning scorer at 9.8 ppg. "He really put it together the last eight games," Groce said.
Coleman will help ease the pressure on Ohio's trio of new point guards. Bassett won't be eligible until approximately Dec. 1 (when Ohio's fall quarter ends), so freshmen D.J. Cooper and James Kinney will hold things down. Cooper led Seton Academy to the Illinois High School Association's Class 2A state title while Kinney paced Champaign Centennial to the Class 3A state title. Kinney finished fifth in Illinois' Mr. Basketball voting while Cooper was eighth.
"Those guys believed in our vision," Groce said. "Our vision to compete for championships."
Ohio's other freshmen will be found in the frontcourt: Small forward Ivo Baltic (6-8, 205) from Kansas City, small forward Marquis Horne (6-6, 185) from Cincinnati and power forward Reggie Keely (6-8, 230) from Cleveland. Ohio also brought in power forward Alex Kellogg from Providence, but Clark Kellogg's son must sit out a transfer year.
Groce hopes the mix of intriguing newcomers and solid veterans will help the Bobcats climb the MAC East ladder this year.
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