Bob Boldon finished leading the Bobcats to their best start since the 1985-86 season before he had a bite of lunch on Wednesday.
He doesn’t know what he was he was doing in December 1985, but he knows he was alive and probably watching the Cleveland Browns put together another season ending in disappointment.
“Well, the Browns were probably out of the playoff hunt,” Boldon said. “Dang, today was such a good day, too. Why’d you have to bring that up?”
Ohio remained undefeated with an 87-67 win over Morehead State on Wednesday morning, improving to 6-0 this season.
If anything, the win reiterated Ohio’s the same team it has been all year — one with a high-scoring offense that plays tight defense.
Even after a sloppy start to the contest, the Bobcats dug in defensively and returned to the fluid motion offense opponents have struggled to slow down.
“I think that confidence has come from hard work,” Boldon said. “Last year we did [motion offense], but we did it only because coach wanted us to do it. This year the players have taken more ownership and have been more responsible.”
The Bobcats held Morehead State to 34 percent from the field and forced 18 turnovers from the Eagles squad they narrowly fended off 65-56 in overtime a year ago.
But this isn’t the same Ohio lineup from a year ago.
A youthful roster that lacked experience in 2013-14 found itself leading games, but struggled to close out opponents late and fell apart.
On Wednesday, essentially that same same team continued to pile on points and battle for loose balls even as the final seconds ticked away for its 20-point win.
“It’s been amazing,” redshirt junior guard Kat Yelle said. “Even after we went 2-0 or 3-0, I’ve just been on cloud nine. “I’ve missed that feeling. Really, there’s nothing like it.”
Other than senior guard Mariah Byard, Yelle has a better idea of the significance of this start than anyone else in the program.
She was a member of the 2012-13 squad that was the worst in school history, finishing 6-23. Now, she’s on a team that has as many wins in six games.
In spite of all the success, most of which Boldon says comes from work during the offseason, he doesn’t want Ohio to get too ahead of itself and overlook other teams.
“I’m really happy for that group of players that are in that locker room right now because they’ve been through a lot,” he said. “But the reality is that we’re just in early December. We can’t get too excited. Being 6-0 wasn’t a team goal.”
It was a historic morning, and early afternoon, for the Bobcats, but they needed to get back to their daily routines once the game ended around 1 p.m.
“I have class at three,” Yelle said. “I’m really not looking forward to that.”
gh181212@ohio.edu
@charliehatch_
