The pre-season #4 team in the country gets things started off with a scrimmage of sorts against the Cavaliers of Walsh University from North Canton, Ohio. Still competing in the NAIA in basketball, they will be making the switch to NCAA D2 for the 2013-14 season. Led by former player Jeff Young in his 10th season at head coach, they will provide us with an opportunity to see what bench players will give us this season. The Cavs and the Buckeyes have met six times with the first exhibition taking place in 2006-07.
| School: | Walsh University |
| Location: | North Canton, Ohio |
| Founded: | Walsh University was first founded as LaMennais College in Alfred, Maine in 1951 |
| Student Population: | 2,500 |
| School Type: | Private – Roman Catholic Church |
| Division: | NAIA D1 – Moving to NCAA D2 by 2013-14 |
| Conference: | Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference |
| Stadium: | Alumni Arena |
| Seating: | 1,800 |
| Built: | 2009 |
| Head Coach: | Jeff Young – Walsh University |
| Experience & Accomplishments | 224-44 (9th yr.) For seven consecutive seasons, Jeff Young took the Cavs to the heights of the NAIA. Walsh made seven straight trips to the National Tournament, won a national title in 2005, and finished as runners-up in 2010. After a year of playing in limbo, Young is poised for his next challenge; elevating the Cavs to the elite of the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and NCAA Division ll. Young enters the 2012 season with the highest winning percentage of all active coaches. |
| Program History | First yr. of basketball: 1962-63 Overall all-time record: 868-555 No. of yrs. in NAIA Tournament:13 Last Post Season Appearance/opponent: Cedarville 3/3/12 Result: won 78-77 OT/OIC Title Game |
As a team, the Buckeyes have lost some good experience but look to just reload this season as evidenced by their early ranking. Let’s take a look at the rosters for this exhibition game.
Ohio State Buckeyes #4/#4 No Record
| No. | Name | Pos. | Ht. | Wt. | Yr. | Hometown (Prev School) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | Aaron Craft | Guard | 6-2 | 195 | JR | Findlay, Ohio (Liberty Benton) |
| 33 | Amedeo Della Valle | Guard | 6-5 | 190 | FR | Alba, Italy (Findlay Prep) |
| 2 | Andrew Goldstein | Guard | 6-3 | 200 | JR | Marlboro, N.J. (Marlboro) |
| 34 | Jake Lorbach | Forward | 6-7 | 210 | SO | Elyria, Ohio (St. Edward) |
| 55 | Trey McDonald | Center | 6-8 | 240 | SO | Battle Creek, Mich. (Battle Creek Central) |
| 30 | Evan Ravenel | Forward | 6-8 | 250 | SR | Tampa, Fla. (Brandon) |
| 14 | Alex Rogers | Guard | 6-2 | 200 | JR | Cincinnati, Ohio (Christian Brothers Univ.) |
| 10 | LaQuinton Ross | Forward | 6-8 | 220 | SO | Jackson, Miss. (Life Center Academy (N.J.)) |
| 3 | Shannon Scott | Guard | 6-1 | 185 | SO | Alpharetta, Ga. (Milton) |
| 32 | Lenzelle Smith, Jr. | Guard | 6-4 | 210 | JR | Zion, Ill (Zion-Benton) |
| 1 | Deshaun Thomas | Forward | 6-7 | 215 | JR | Ft. Wayne, Ind (Bishop Luers) |
| 12 | Sam Thompson | Forward | 6-7 | 200 | SO | Chicago, Ill. (Whitney Young) |
| 23 | Amir Williams | Center | 6-11 | 250 | SO | Detroit, Mich. (Detroit Country Day) |
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Thad Matta’s Buckeyes earned their third-consecutive Big Ten regular-season title in 2011-12 when William Buford’s late-game heroics at Michigan State helped clinch a share of the crown in East Lansing. Not since Fred Taylor’s teams in the 1960s had Ohio State won three consecutive Big Ten championships. The 2012-13 Buckeyes are vying for their fourth title in as many years, edging closer to the Big Ten record of five championships in succession accomplished from 1960-64 by Taylor’s troops.
Juniors Aaron Craft, Lenzelle Smith Jr. and Deshaun Thomas are returning starters with lineup staples William Buford (eligibility) and Jared Sullinger (NBA-Celtics) gone from the program. Thad Matta will have several options to fill the void with six underclassmen and senior Evan Ravenel competing for opportunities. Sophomores Amir Williams and Trey McDonald,
along with Ravenel, will battle for minutes in the paint. Sophomores Shannon Scott, Sam Thompson, and LaQuinton Ross will find time at guard and small forward respectively, along with freshman shooter Amedeo Della Valle, an import from Italy via Findlay (Nev.) Prep.
Walsh University No Record
| No. | Name | Pos. | Ht. | Wt. | Yr. | Hometown/High School |
| 1 | Rian Burrell | G | 6-3 | 185 | So. | Zanesville, OH/HS |
| 3 | Davonte Beard | G | 6-2 | 180 | So. | Akron, OH/SVSM/Siena |
| 4 | Ryan Vanderhorst | G | 6-3 | 180 | Jr. | New Knoxville, OH/HS |
| 10 | Jeff Copeland | F | 6-5 | 205 | So. | Toledo, OH/St. John’s Jesuit |
| 11 | Brad DuPont | G | 6-0 | 195 | Jr. | Massillon, OH/Jackson/Wheeling Jesuit |
| 14 | Jon Thompson | G | 6-0 | 181 | Jr. | Radford, VA/HS/Richmond |
| 21 | Jordan Walker | F | 6-6 | 180 | Jr. | South Holland, IL/Seton Acad./Midland CC |
| 22 | Jesse Hardin | G | 6-1 | 170 | Fr. | Warren, OH/Harding |
| 23 | Melvin Burke, Jr. | G | 5-10 | 160 | Fr. | Cleveland, OH/Villa Angela-St. Joseph |
| 30 | Hrvoje Vucic | F | 7-1 | 245 | Jr. | Split, Croatia/Faust Vrancic/Valparaiso |
| 32 | Nikola Knezevic | G | 6-2 | 175 | Sr. | Belgrade Serbia/Conotton Valley |
| 33 | Kenny Kornowski | F | 6-9 | 235 | Sr. | Marshallville, OH/Smithville |
| 42 | Kyle Arnold | F | 6-4 | 210 | So. | North Canton, OH/Hoover |
| 44 | Josh Henniger | F | 6-5 | 200 | R-Fr. | Massillon, OH/Jackson |
| 52 | L.J. Campbell | F | 6-8 | 215 | So. | Weirton, WV/Weir |
Head Coach: Jeff Young
Assistant Coaches: John Hippley, Luke Crump, Jeremy Shardo, Ben Tucker, Ryan Gracia
Junior Varsity Coach: Brad Rader
From Walsh’s Website
Walsh returns three starters and seven letter winners for their first season of Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play. Walsh will have to replace a pair of 1,000 point scorers in Ron Kinney and L. J. Sutton. Kinney, despite playing with a fractured finger on his shooting hand, averaged 18.6 points, shot 54% from the field and 45% from three-point. Sutton averaged a career-best 12.7 points; shot 54% from the field a grabbed 6.6 rebounds. Their leadership and game-changing abilities will be missed.
Young returns starters Brad DuPont (6-0, Jr., Massillon, OH/Jackson) at the point; sophomore Rian Burrell (6-3, Zanesville, OH/HS) at the three and post man Kenny Kornowski (6-9, Sr., Marshallville, OH/Smithville). DuPont transferred from Wheeling Jesuit and took command of the offense right away, leading the team in assists (7.5) and earning honorable mention All-American Mideast Conference honors. He has the uncanny ability of finding the open man in the tradition of the outstanding point guards at Walsh. He became only the second Cavalier to post a triple-double and nearly missed on several more. Having DuPont in the system for a full year will make him even more effective.
The Buckeyes have an opportunity, as they have the previous five seasons, to kick things off with a bang. This exhibition game will go a long way for Thad Matta’s group to get away from just practicing against each other, and finally give us a chance to see these guys on the floor.
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