This season, Ohio does not have a proven leader.
The Bobcats will play without All-MAC forward Jerome Tillman. They will not have All-MAC center Leon Williams, nor will they have proven sharp-shooting guard Bubba Walther.
No, this Ohio team was predicted to finish last in the Mid-American Conference East Division by a 24-member MAC news media panel Oct. 28.
The departure of Tillman and Justin Orr, the team's leading scorers, leave Ohio without a clear leader for its young team.
Junior forward DeVaughn Washington and sophomore guard Steven Coleman will need to step up, but even they are not guarantees.
This season Ohio will be forced to rely on young players, and if the exhibition season is any indication, many of those players will be freshmen.
Freshman forward Reggie Keely led the Bobcats in scoring in each of the exhibition games. Freshmen point guard D.J. Cooper and forward Marquis Horne also logged major minutes in the preseason. Freshmen led the Bobcats in points, assists, and rebounds in the two exhibition games.
Keely scored 15 points and grabbed six rebounds in 18 minutes of playing time against Ashland and led all scorers with 18 points in 21 minutes against Taylor in Ohio's first game of the season.
(Keely has) been consistent and he has played like he's practiced
coach John Groce said. He has produced and finished well and he's rebounded well.
Possibly the most intriguing player on Ohio's roster is junior guard Armon Bassett. An Indiana Hoosier transfer, Bassett is suspended indefinitely for violating team rules. Even without the suspension, transfer regulations prevent the Third-Team All-Big Ten guard from playing until grades are released for the Fall Quarter.
In addition to Washington, Coleman, Bassett and the freshman, players like center Kenneth van Kempen, guard Tommy Freeman and forward Asown Sayles will have bigger roles.
But after just two exhibition games, Groce has specific areas of improvement he will be monitoring in his team.
We've obviously got to take care of the ball better than we did last weekend Groce said.
The Bobcats' 29 turnovers against Ashland allowed the Eagles to stay in the game and even pull within six points with about three minutes remaining.
Both teams played sloppily, but good defense and success on the boards gave Ohio the victory.
Our positioning defensively was very good
Groce said. But I would like for us to be a little tougher on the basketball.
Ohio out-rebounded Ashland 48-34, including 16 offensive boards.
Rebounding is something that is really important to us
Groce said. The better we rebound
the more we're able to push the ball to the other end and play at the pace we want to play.
Lance Jones, who led Ohio Valley in scoring last year with 12.3 points per game, is the Division II team's biggest threat.
Ohio guards Coleman and Jay Kinney will serve the final game of their suspension tonight. They were suspended for violating team rules.
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Sports
Rob Ogden
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