As Ohio prepared to begin its third practice of the season Wednesday, several team members crowded around an iPad near center court, poring over the latest sign of their expectations for this season — a Sports Illustrated story touting Ohio as the next big mid-major power.
A lot has changed since the Bobcats, who are now led by new coach Jim Christian, were in this position last season. They now have a Mid-American Conference championship and NCAA tournament run to their credit. But if there’s one prevailing message coming from Ohio’s locker room, it’s that the Bobcats are putting each of those things in the past, yet ensuring that they get the opportunity to make them happen again.
Before the Bobcats can set their sights on long-term goals, they first have to make the adjustment to their everyday practice schedule, which is different than last season’s regimen under then-head coach John Groce.
Ohio has welcomed Christian’s more up-tempo practice style, said Stevie Taylor, a sophomore guard. He noted that practices seem more intense, which drives intrasquad competition and keeps players sharp.
“We all enjoy coming to practice,” he said. “I’d say we all sometimes last year were like, ‘let’s just get through practice today … It’s going to be a tough one.’
But this, he works us out hard and we love doing what he asks us to do. And for a new coach coming in, that’s all we can ask for.”
Just as Christian is experienced in the MAC, the Bobcats return a wealth of talent that saw significant playing time last season. Each player that saw playing time in all of Ohio’s 37 games last season has returned for the 2012-13 campaign.
Senior D.J. Cooper and redshirt senior Walter Offutt, both guards, will lead Ohio’s heralded senior class through a season that has largely unprecedented expectations. The key, they said, is keeping their heads down and going to work without the weight of their prospects in mind.
“We have to remain humble — we know that,” Offutt said. That’s what got us far last year, remaining humble throughout the whole season, playing every game like it was pretty much our last. I can’t think of one game where we were not right there at the end.”
Although the Bobcats haven’t had much time to learn Christian’s style of play, what they’ve picked up thus far has been positive, Cooper said, noting that there are not many significantly jarring changes to the way he’s told to run the offense.
“There’s not much adjusting,” he said. “Coach Christian and Coach Groce kind of run the same system — different terminology — but for the most part it’s the same concepts.”
Offutt said that Christian would like the Bobcats to run more ball screens than they have in the past and push the ball differently in the open court. Otherwise, they are only implementing tweaks to the offensive scheme that was used last season, he said.
jr992810@ohiou.edu
