Lots of interesting things going on in the Big Ten so why not run through these interesting developments on night where the Buckeyes win the NIT tournament. Coach Matta even got to close the Nasdaq exchange during the trip to NYC.
Michigan
I’ll go with the good news first for the Wolverines program. Michigan received a pair of commitments from Ohio, the more noteworthy one being highly touted cornerback Justin Turner. Turner hails from Massilon, one of the most historic high school programs in the country and is a big addition for the Wolverines.
The bad news is that there are more rumblings of defections coming. A slew of players have decided to leave the program since Rich Rodriguez has taken over as head coach including starting guard Justin Boren. Recently Boren’s dad ,a local to the Columbus area as well as a former Michigan player, indicated that Justin was very interested in transferring to Ohio State.
Yesterday reports came out that Justin’s younger brother, Zach, received a scholarship offer from Ohio State. Connecting the dots of the Boren’s timeline as well as credible rumors, points to both Boren brothers coming to Ohio State. Justin who will finish up this semester at Michigan will have to wait to announce a decision but its likely that an agreement has been consimated behind the scenes.
The timing works out as Justin Boren will have to sit out one year and will become eligible when both current guards (Steve Rehring and Ben Person) graduate. As for Zach, most feel he will be in the mix at the fullback position and that his scholarship ensured the additon of older brother Justin.
If all of my speculation comes to fruition, Justin will be the first Michigan football player to transfer to Ohio State. Hard to think two parents who met at Michigan will be sending both their kids to Ohio State.
With a massive talent exodus from Ann Arbor and a new offensive system to implement it looks like Michigan may be in jeopardy of missing out on a bowl next season.
Indiana:
Also another good news bad news thing for the Hoosiers. The good news is that they made an excellent hire in naming Tom Crean as new head coach.
Crean knows midwest recruiting and will get the Hoosier program back a top 25 program.
The bad news is that all the coaching turnover in costing the program a lot of talent. Star DJ White is a senior while Eric Gordon is by everyone’s account already set on going pro. Two IU recruits have asked to reopen their recruitment after Sampson was fired.
More crippling was the dismissal of two prominent players on Monday for disciplinary reasons. With Ellis and Bassett kicked off the tea, its looking likely that the Hoosiers might not see the NCAA tournament for a couple of years.
Penn State:
Joe Paterno made news making some newsworthy comments about not caring that his contract expires after the season. The 81 year old Paterno eluded that the decision for when he should move aside should be up to him with the track record he has compiled.
The reality is (and PSU fans know it) that his continued role as head coach has been detrimental for the program the last several years and will drag down the program going forward. Paterno built Penn State into a powerhouse but its clear that under his leadership the program has become a second or even third tier football program.
Players are having unprecedented amount of legal issues (its really bad despite the media ignoring it), he no longer is resonating with recruits, he rarely leaves PSU to actually recruit players, and his talent development of top rated players has been pretty abysmal of late. He’s left the sideline feeling ill, coached from the box, and seems to be more of a distraction of late.
Its like taking the keys away from someone you respect. Has to be done just the right way and that time is now.
Ohio State:
My Buckeyes won the NIT. I have some extensive thoughts on that that I put on the Bucknuts premium board that garnered this response “Benny – easily the best bball post of the year. Thanks, good read.”
I have reposted it on the free board if you care to check it out (if you a buckeye basketball fan I suggest you do). A lot of it discusses the future of Kosta Koufos who can either A) come back to play for the buckeyes b)enter the nba draft and earn a mid-late pick (potential for 2-6 million dollar contract) c) play professionally in Greece (national icon making 2-3x what he would make in the nba currently)
With Koufos the Buckeyes are likely to be ranked 8-12th next year, without him probably 18-25.
