Men's basketball will be better than predicted.
During a Friday practice, junior forward Antonio Campbell was pestering freshman forward Doug Taylor during a five-on-five intrasquad scrimmage.
Campbell was tugging at the back of Taylor's penny and trying to chat with him as Taylor pushed off Campbell in an attempt to break a fullcourt press.
It wasn't a veteran leader harassing a young-gun fighting for minutes in the rotation, nor was it a mind game.
Actually, it was a sign of how close the Bobcats have come in the past eight months since finishing an abysmal 10-20 in March.
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"Those two, in particular, it's definitely a big brother-little brother relationship," Ohio coach Saul Phillips said. "Tony will go at (Taylor) and then catch it in the post and be like, 'Come on. Come, come at me.' Like sparing partners."
"I think all of the older guys have embraced the young guys, but I think (Campbell) has embraced them more than anybody. Yeah, they'll get after each other. Two big dudes, there's not that much space, there going to bump into each other a little."
In his second season, Phillips will improve on his mere 10 wins from a year ago. It's seen in his confidence, and in the conviction of the players.
With five new freshman and the addition of two transfers, Kenny Kaminski and Jaaron Simmons, Ohio will be in a similar position women's basketball was a year ago; a team with low expectations and raw talent.
In 2014, women's basketball earned an NCAA Tournament bid after winning just nine games the season prior.
Similarly, men's basketball is deep. Aside from Simmons, Kaminski and Campbell, Phillips will have an array of flex players to utilize, including Mike Laster, Khari Harley, Treg Setty, Gavin Block and Wadly Mompremier.
"Honestly, its a completely new culture," Kaminski said. "We have a winning mentality, we're holding guys accountable. We're a Division I program now. I came from Michigan State and there was one way. They would do things totally different, but at the end of the day, I won at Michigan State, and we're going to win here."
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Along with an arsenal of players that can run the 2-4 positions, Ohio's strength of schedule should provide a catalyst of improvement.
The Bobcats will play only two non-conference games, and a tournament in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, before taking on Ohio Dominican, Jackson State, Arkansas-Pine Bluff and UC Riverside at home. Those teams combined for 46-76 in 2014.
But in the interim, Campbell and the Bobcats will look to incrementally improve and, maybe, "pester" each other a little more before the season starts.
"I had some ups and downs in the summer time myself. I wasn't too happy about last season and I actually thought about leaving, transferring," Campbell said. "But I stuck with it. I have Jaaron here, Kenny here, two guys that can help this program win."
@Lukeoroark
Lr514812@ohio.edu
