When the man we’ve come to know as Sully takes the court to start the 2011-12 season, he might have a smaller waistline. His Ohio State uniform might surround a bit more muscle and intimidation. He certainly won’t resemble the young man that took to court as a freshman a year ago. It’s hard to imagine an improvement that goes beyond the contribution of Jared Sullinger’s first year on campus. 
When the Buckeye’s main man takes over as the leader on the floor in the upcoming months — gone is the baby fat, two minute breathers, and struggles in the paint on D. If it’s these minor issues that fans of college basketball critique and consider flaws, than opponents of the Scarlet and Gray have another thing coming. There’s a reason media outlets like CBS Sports has dubbed him the best player in the game of college basketball.
He has the intangibles, talent, motivation, and leadership to carry a team to the next level.
Hometown: Columbus, OH
High School: Northland HS
Position: Forward/Center (4/5)
Year: Sophomore
Height: 6-9
Weight: 264
High School Awards:
– 2010 McDonald’s All-American.
– 2010 High school Naismith Award Winner.
– 2010 Jordan Brand High School Al-American.
– 2010 Parade Magazine Player of the Year
– Ohio’s Mr. Basketball (2009, 2010)
– 2010, 2009 First Team All-State
– 2010, 2009 AP Player of the Year in Ohio
– 2008 Third Team All-State
It was expected to start the season last year that Jared Sullinger would have a major impact on the team. Nobody would of guessed that he would of filled the role of Evan Turner, the only starter not to return from the 2009-2010 season. That’s what so impressive about the future number one pick in the NBA Draft. He can hurt you in so many ways. If you leave him single covered in the post, he’ll find a way to get to the hoop. If you double team him, he’ll kick it out to his teammates with the best efficiency of any big man in college basketball.
He’s the only player in the game that can help exploit any defensive strategy. That’s what makes him so valuable.
Not to mention his desire to win a national championship.
When last season came to an abrupt end against Kentucky in the NCAA Tournament, even fans of the Buckeyes could feel the raw emotion the young man felt for his teammates whose collegiate careers came to a screeching halt. When national pundits thought that the nation’s best post player was making the jump to the NBA, Buckeye Nation could see the fire in his eyes. After discussing with head coach Thad Matta to make the move to power forward, fans started to create a nearly improbable basketball player in their minds. Thirty pounds later, it’s hard to deter Buckeye Nuts from envisioning a basketball superstar. Just as Jared Sullinger told Athlon Sports earlier this off-season — at this point of his career, it’s about doing whatever it takes.
It’s not just his talent that has Buckeye fans in love with him. It’s his Buckeye swagger that he brings to the court. The hometown kid believes in himself and his team, but he’s not too cocky. He understands that his future is bright and full of dollar signs, but that doesn’t matter. He wants to take it all in while he can.
It’s also because from the get go, Ohio State wasn’t about getting to the next level. It’s about accomplishing a dream.
Strengths:
Where do I Start? The most dominant part of Jared Sullinger’s game is his post play offensively with his back to the hoop. The physical play he brings to the paint wears down opposing defenders and gives him an advantage on the defensive glass. When he gets the basketball, he doesn’t waste possessions.
He is also the best big man in the nation at being efficient with the basketball. Very rarely does Sullinger turn over the basketball. You can double and even triple team in the post and his passing skills are so developed that he can find any open man on the court.
Along with his great offensive ability to offset a game comes Sullinger’s ability to rebound the basketball. Sullinger finished the year just above 10 rebounds a game, and brought down 26% of opponents misses in his freshman campaign. On the offensive side, he was able to bring down 3.5 offensive rebounds per game. Though we haven’t seen it, he has some of the best shooting range in the country (for a big man). It will be interesting to see him use it at the power forward position off the block. As dominate as he was on the glass, there were points last season where he was out pointed by better positioned athletes.
Things To Work On:
Part of the reason Sullinger dropped the weight and is moving to power forward has to do with his sometime lack of physicality and positioning on both defense and offense at the center position. Though some of the issues were taken care of in the off-season (strength, endurance), it’s impossible to know whether the sophomore has made all the adjustments to be aggressive enough to shut down some of the stronger and better interior players in the country.
Take for example last year’s tournament battle with Kentucky. Big man Josh Harrellson wasn’t one of the more elite players in the country, but he did get drafted into the NBA and has a future because of his rebounding ability and physical nature inside. Sullinger would be the first to tell you that it was his play that was the difference in the game. He scored at will through points of the ballgame (17), but more importantly he shut down Sullinger down in the post. He even got better positioning on the offensive side of the ball off of Kentucky shots. All year Harrellson was one of the best offensive rebounders in college basketball. He got the best of Sullinger a couple times in that tournament game by reaching over him and grabbing the basketball with pure will and moving around Sullinger.
After a year of experience and an off-season of slimming down and getting in better shape, it’s assumed that Sullinger will become more dominate though. At times last year, the big man seemed intimidated. A lot of that had to do with the lack of depth up front, and foul trouble. That should change with the emergence of Amir Williams at the 5.
One thing that Buckeye fans would like to see more of in Sullinger’s Sophomore campaign is a stronger defensive pressure in the paint. The Buckeye center had 20 blocks on the season, just three more than guard David Lighty. His total was good for 18th in the Big Ten. It would be unreasonable to think that he should be an elite shot blocker, considering his skill set, but It is also a part of his game he could improve on. Knowing his drive to be the best player he can be, I would be more surprised if we didn’t see defensive improvements on the floor in 2011-12.
Role For the Team:
With David Lighty and Jon Diebler now at the professional level, this team belongs to Jared Sullinger. He was groomed last season to be this team’s leader and it will be fun to see him take over that role. On the court, where Sullinger plays is a lot more dependent on the players around him. If Amir Williams can emerge early in the season as a physical defensive body that can stick with the strength of Big Ten centers, than we should see Sullinger settle in at power forward. If Williams shows that he needs to be spelled at center, and he can only handle short minutes there a game, then we will see Sullinger in the middle of the paint.
Whether he is playing center or point guard, one thing is certain. He is the heart and soul of this basketball team. Buckeye basketball fans should feel blessed to witness yet another season from one of the most exciting players in the country.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
