A chance meeting in the airport with a Buckeye fan sparked consideraton of which Ohio State team, baseball or basketball, will be first to achieve national success.
Omaha, NE – Sitting in the Columbus airport Thursday, waiting for a flight to Omaha, the man sitting next to me was waiting for a flight to Denver, and watched me as I posted the preview of this weekend’s Ohio State-Nebraska baseball series.
He introduced himself as Bob, from Westerville, and quickly proved to be very knowledgeable, and interested in Ohio State sports.
“I read about the baseball team when they were out West,” he said. “I thought they would come back home and clean up.”
The Buckeyes are currently .500 as they enter the second week of conference play.
“Baseball happened,” I answered. “It’s a young team learning to play at the highest level of competition they’ve ever known. And there is no AAU for baseball. ‘Elite’ and ‘travel’ high school baseball hardly prepares for the quick adjustments you need to make at this level.”.
Will Jake Diebler turn out to be the right hire? Can he attract the talent he’s going to need? Can hand he do it overnight with the loss of Roddy Gayle and Scotty Middleton?
“Well let me ask you this,” he continued. “Now that Roddy Gayle and Scotty Middletown have said they’re not coming back in basketball, what’s the difference in the future of Ohio State baseball and Ohio State basketball? Which team do you expect to become good, first?”
We talked for several minutes before he got up and boarded his flight. And surprisingly, his opinions mirrored many of my own.
“I can’t imagine that Roddy Gayle is going to get a better opportunity at another school at this level than what he’s gotten at Ohio State,” he added. “More money, maybe, but he’s not going to get a better opportunity to develop as a player.
“I’ll tell you this,” he concluded. “I’m concerned about all the sports at Ohio State. If money is the root of all evil, then It’s surely the root of discontent, as well. Greener pastures?”
He brought up the example of Kentucky basketball.
“No one gets more of the top high school players in the country than Calipari,” said Bob. “And he hasn’t won much with them, either. Think about it. Have you ever really heard one of them talk about being happy at Kentucky? No sir. All they talk about is how soon they can get to the money and the NBA.”
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He brought up the recent hire of Jake Diebler as basketball coach, and asked me to compare that to the hire of Bill Mosiello last year.
A lot of people questioned the hire of Diebler without first checking the landscape for other, more experienced candidates. It struck me, as it did some, as being an emotional and convenient hire.
Although he had no prior head coaching experience, Bill Mosiello came to Ohio State with the reputation of attracting top talent and developing it.
Mosiello, I think, was a more pragmatic hire and a man who had an excellent reputation at other top baseball schools, known for being one who could recruit and develop talent. After all, major leaguers Mike Trout and hall of famer Todd Helton are two of his proteges’. And after one year those who follow the program, or played in it, hope that he can reprioritize Ohio State baseball.
And frankly, that same question is being asked this week with the announcement of Gayle and Middleton leaving for other, greener pa$ture$. Is there enough priority at Ohio State for basketball, compared say, to a Purdue and Illinois?
For instance, who’s the last really dominant big man you can remember? Herb Williams? Greg Odom?
And who can see them bringing in the next Zach Edey in the near future?
And who was the last guard that really went on to bigger and better things in basketball? Mike Conley? D’Angelo Russell?
And hasn’t it been a long time since the last national championship in 1960, with Jerry Lucas? It’s true, Thad Matta got them there and gave them a chance, but it’s been a while between drinks.
I’m not sure that I can answer Bob’s question, or anyone else’s, about which program – baseball or basketball – will reach national recognition first. I know Mosiello made it a priority in his hiring press conference. But everyone gets overly happy on those days.
One might say basketball, and justly, because it gets a lot of national media attention. Baseball is largely ignored, except during the NCAA tournament and College World Series.
Publisher/editor Sonny Fulks writes the Big Ten and Buckeyes baseball for Press Pros Magazine.com.
But baseball is different for the fact of the 95 mile-per-hour-fastball – hitting a three-inch ball with a three-inch bat – and the reality that on any given day someone who can throw strikes and change speeds can literally embarrass a more talented team – Michigan, in 2019, when they got to the World Series before losing to Vanderbilt, 2 games to 1.
And 12-12, as they are presently, tells me that the Buckeyes are legitimate for the fact that they’re averaging 6 runs a game and giving the same number (5.99). If they figure that out they’ve got a shot.
So, who gets better first? Bob, I promised you I would write about it with an answer…if you’re reading in Denver.
But I’m not sure. I just have a hunch.
You can read between the lines.
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