The Ohio State Buckeyes replaced Duke as the top-ranked team in this week’s college basketball polls.
The Buckeyes remain unbeaten and are fresh off a scare this past weekend against Penn State. Freshman Jared Sullinger hit a late three-point field goal to lift Ohio State to a 69-66 win.
Sullinger was stud at the high school level, grabbing a state title as a junior and leading Columbus Northland High School to 95-4 record during his four-year career at the school.
The 6-foot-9, 270-pounder has legitimate top 10 NBA talent right now and will only get better. He leads the Buckeyes with 17.0 points and 9.9 rebounds per game.
Despite losing Evan Turner, last season’s Player of the Year, early to the draft the Buckeyes appear poised to build off of last year’s Sweet 16 appearance and make a serious run at a title.
They returned some key cogs from last season and brought in six talented freshman, led by Sullinger, to the mix.
Sullinger is the fourth freshman phenom to play forward or center at Ohio State since the NBA began requiring in 2006 that Americans be at least 19 and a year out of high school to enter the draft.
Among the four, he also is the most productive, slightly more than 7-0 Greg Oden four years ago and far more than 7-footers Kosta Koufos the following season and B.J. Mullens in 2008-09.
|
Year
|
Player
|
PPG
|
RPG
|
Minutes PG
|
|
|
|
2006-07
|
Greg Oden
|
15.7
|
9.6
|
28.9
|
|
|
|
2007-08
|
Kosta Koufos
|
14.4
|
6.7
|
27.1
|
|
|
|
2008-09
|
B.J. Mullens
|
8.8
|
4.7
|
20.3
|
|
|
|
2010-11
|
Jared Sullinger
|
17.6
|
9.9
|
29.6
|
MORE ON SULLINGER (USAToday.com)
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College Hoops
ohio state buckeyes, jared sullinger, thad matta