Heading into the season, Ohio coach Jim Christian said the Bobcats’ ability to have different players enter the limelight on any given night gives his team an edge when it comes to versatility in setting an offensive game plan.
“I think we have a lot of talented offensive players, and as long as we continue to play right, it could be a different guy every night,” he said after the Bobcats’ exhibition win against Mercyhurst.
So far, his outlook has been spot-on.
Bobcat guards Nick Kellogg, a junior, and D.J. Cooper, a senior, led Ohio with 18 points apiece in the season opener; senior forward Ivo Baltic put home a 20-spot in the Bobcats’ second game; and Reggie Keely, a senior forward, had 16 in Sunday’s win against Wofford.
Just as a different player has taken control in each contest this season, every opponent has chosen to approach its game against Ohio differently.
Portland was defined by its defense and guards’ offensive game. University of North Carolina at Wilmington primarily relied on its post play, while Wofford preferred to slow the game and work off set pieces.
Each offered a unique test, in which the Bobcats excelled, building up a different facet of their game to fit the occasion.
Against Hampton on Tuesday, the Bobcats (3–0) will have an opportunity to throw their offense on full tilt, as the Pirates (0–2) prefer to push the floor rather than set up in the half court.
“They’re going to try to create a lot of shots for themselves by utilizing their one-on-one abilities and pushing the ball,” Christian said. “I think from that perspective, it’s different. We haven’t played anybody like that.”
Cooper said that the Bobcats will probably implement a full-court press off inbound passes often to try and keep Hampton from establishing a rhythm offensively. The look was successful at times against Wofford, as the Terriers were forced to call a timeout at one juncture and scrambled to get across center court in several instances.
“It is our first year doing it, so after a while, we’re starting to get better at it,” Cooper said.
“Just to keep the offense off balance is a good thing. You never know what we’re going to come out and play, so it’s not that easy to plan for us.”
Unlike the Bobcats, who will play their final of three games in five days Tuesday, Hampton’s most recent game was a 10-point loss to Richmond Thursday.
As a result, the Pirates have potentially had five days of practice before heading to Athens, as opposed to the Bobcats’ single practice session Monday.
Although the turnaround seems to be of an advantage to Hampton, Keely said there’s nothing wrong with taking the court on short rest at this point in the season and that there is no major momentum sway given to the team with more time to prepare.
“You don’t really have much time to get used to their sets and what they like to do as a team, and you just have to really go off your own system and what you do as a program,” he said.
jr992810@ohiou.edu
