tBBC All-Time Tourney: 1987 vs 1982 Play In Game

The one thing that the 1982 and 1987 teams have in common is that they both had superstars of their time in NCAA basketball. Both Dennis Hopson (86&87) and Clark Kellogg (1982) led there teams as Captains and in several other ways. Hops would finish his last year at tOSU with the second highest average in the nation and third in Ohio State history with 29.1PPG . Clark led his team in 1982 with a double double average on offense and stalwart D on the inside with Granville Waiters. The comparisons between these two teams are very different after these two. Three of the other four starters on Hops team averaged in double digits in points. They benefited from a 3-point line where the 1982 squad was methodical on offense and defense. Both players were selected as Big Ten POY there final years at Ohio State.

What are to follow will be several comparisons of each team’s makeup. We will be including our opinions of each comparison with who has the advantage and at the end will be guest appearances. We hope you enjoy our tournament as we look forward to the outcome!

1982 Starters and Stats

Clark Kellogg in the Record Books

Clark finished with 1,285 points for a career average of 14.9 and currently ranks 25th on the all time list and he led the Bucks in scoring in 1981 and 1982. His highest output for one game was 42 against Northwestern in 1981 and he ranks 4th for field goals made in a single game for his efforts of 18 in that game. Clark ranks 6th all time in career rebounds with 872 and 9th on single season list with 324 in 1981. He is in the top 5 for career rebounding average at 10.1 and was the season leader in steals with 1.3 a game in 1982.

1987 Starters and Stats

Dennis Hopson in the Record Books

Dennis had one of the best seasons overall in Buckeye history. He holds the single season scoring record of 958 for an average of 29.1, which ranks third overall in Ohio State history for averages. Holds the field goals made in a single season of 338 and is the single season leader in field goals attempted with a staggering 653. He holds the record for most free throws made/attempted at 215/264. In the same year he dished out 120 assists while taking the ball away 71 times and helped his team to one of the best single season steals totals at 281. He is the all time leader in scoring with 2,096 points and a career average of 16.8 and helped his team to the #1 scoring spot with 2,802 points in a season. That record wasn’t broken until the 2007 Oden and Conley team came along. He holds 8 of the top 50 scoring games in Ohio State history and only Gary Bradds has more at 10. He is second to only Jay Burson in career steals at 164. Dennis was inducted into the Ohio State Athletics Hall of Fame in 1994.

Playmaker

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary a playmaker simply put is : a player who leads the offense for a team (as in basketball or hockey). Looking back through history of Ohio State basketball there have been many scorers. There haven’t been many that did it the way Dennis Hopson did. I believe he will be considered one of the best to ever play in scarlet and gray for a very long time. Hops did it in every way imaginable on the court. A great 3-point shooter who caught his defenders off guard and posted up at times, he made things even harder when he was going to the hoop. Hops was a superb rebounder as he almost averaged a double double for the season and still managed to make his teammates better in Gary Williams new system. Clark Kellogg had his own share of success on the hardwood in St. John Arena and around the Big Ten. He did average a double double for the season and most of the time drew the other teams best scorer on defense. Clark was an All Big Ten performer and led his team in scoring and rebounds in his last two seasons with the Buckeyes. Both Hops and Clark were first round NBA picks. Advantage to 1987.

Post Presence

If you were to argue that Dennis Hopson was the better playmaker, there would be even slighter margin of error in saying that Clark Kellogg was the better rebounder and defensive presence. While only 6’8″, “Special K” averaged over ten boards in the 1982 season, and 16 points. In his first year without Herb Williams, arguably the best post player in Ohio State history, Kellogg was able to get some help from fellow future first rounder Tony Campbell. The youngster started to blossom in his sophomore campaign, coming out of nowhere to rip down 5 rebounds and average 13 points per game. Granville Waiters also emerged as a sophomore in ’82. He averaged 5 rebounds and 7 points per game while prepping his hair into the best lookin’ bald fro in NBA history.

For the 87 squad, Hopson created a lot of look in the post with his penetration to the basket and Jerry Francis is one of the grittiest players in Ohio State history.  Like the 82 squad, Hopson and co. were looking to compete without top big man Brad Sellers, who moved on to the NBA. John Anderson would add some size inside and average five rebounds per game.

But when it comes down to it, Kellogg would give the 82 team the advantage all by himself. Combine that with the fact that his squad held teams to just over 60 points per game. A lot of that was on his watch. The 87 team gave up 78 points per game.  Advantage to 1982.

Ball Handlers

Ball handling plays such a vital role in basketball that if a team doesn’t have a skilled person at that position then they will struggle. There’s a very interesting match up between the guards of these two teams. First you have a split tandem in Ron Stokes and Troy Taylor and there were a few games that Larry Huggins didn’t start and Troy and Ron started together. I won’t ever be able to get into coach Miller’s head about those times but they seemed to struggle to get just the right mix on the floor or Coach played them all. Either way all were pretty capable ball handlers. If you ask them about this match up I would almost guarantee that they will tell you that Jay Burson is the best PG that has ever played at tOSU. Currently we have a PG that reminds you a lot of Jay in the way he plays and never stops. Jay was just a sophomore on his team as well and was really coming into his own in Coach Williams system. I would almost argue that it was his ball handling skills and growing scoring prowess that allowed Hops to do his thing and score at will. Jay was also the reason they took care of the ball and got opportunities to the other players on the team. Advantage to 1987.

Head Coach

Eldon Miller might not be the most common name associated with Ohio State basketball, but he coached ten solid seasons for the Buckeyes before his contract wasn’t extended after the 1986 season. In those ten years, he would go on a roll of five straight years of .500 or better in conference play. Given the tough task of following the great Fred Taylor, Miller led the Buckeyes to a #10 ranking in 1980 and followed that up with the NCAA tournament appearance with the 1982. Working on all one year contracts, Miller always seemed to be able to get the best out of his players fundamentally. When the University went a different way in 1986, they did so by installing a up-tempo pace ‘run and gun’ offense before it existed.

Gary Williams was the number one reason that it worked. Taking over in 1987, the historic Maryland guard and coach inherited some top tier talent and boy, did he know how to get them working on all cylinders. Defensively, it wasn’t always pretty, but man – he made every single player believe they could be a scorer. What started in his three years at Ohio State, turned into one of the best winners in the game. Two Final Fours, One National Championship and in the top ten wins of all time, and it’s clear that he was a top 15 coach in NCAA history. Many would argue as well that it was him that realized the talent of the team and installed the up-tempo game. Without him, the 87 squad might not of been as successful, simply because he installed confidence in his top returners.

Though Williams without a doubt will go down in history as the better coach, Eldon Miller not only had his solid stretch, but was responsible for the recruiting of William’s top players. Miller’s structure game also gave his team a better chance to win if a top player was shut down. Advantage to 1982.

1982 Team Stats

Offensive Averages:

Defensive Averages:

1987 Team Stats

Offensive Averages:

Defensive Averages:

What Do You Think?

Make sure you share your thoughts in the comments as well! Coming up on Thursday, we continue the tournament with two more of Ohio State’s top teams in history.