Jeff Boals has kept his promise.
He has repeated ad nauseum since taking over the Bobcats in 2019 that his main goal has been to win a Mid-American Conference Tournament. It has been his top priority as a coach, a former player and an alum. He wanted to give back to the college, team and community he has held an inch from his heart since 1991.
His mind has always wandered back to Athens. It’s been on his mind since he left in 1996 to become an assistant coach at Charleston. It was on his mind during the seven seasons he worked under Thad Matta at Ohio State. It was on his mind during his three-season tenure as the head coach for Stony Brook.
Ohio has never left his mind. Not even for a moment.
Two years ago during his introductory press conference, he called Athens home. His four seasons playing under the late coach Larry Hunter was instrumental in who he is today. When he mentioned Hunter for the first time during the press conference, he needed to pause to collect himself.
Hunter was a mentor like no other. He helped Boals begin his coaching career. During the conference, Boals wished that Hunter was there to see him take on the mantle.
Well, look at him now.
Boals, in just his second year commanding the Bobcats, brought home a MAC title. Ohio put Buffalo under heel in the first half and bled it dry. Rally as it might, Buffalo didn’t have the foothold to climb out of its hole, and Ohio left the court with an 84-69 victory.
The Bobcats trailed once— for 75 seconds after LaQuill Hardnett sank a 3-point jumper less than a minute into the game. What followed was a turkey shoot for the Bobcats.
The Bulls had been a crick in the neck all season. The two traded losses in the regular season with the Bulls leaving a nasty 86-66 mark after visiting the Convo on Feb. 27. Ohio had been shown up in its own house and had only won against Buffalo in January by a point.
The Bulls had the best offense in the MAC. If Ohio met them early in the tournament, the Bulls might’ve ended its bid then and there.
But Saturday was different. Boals was confident. The Bobcats were playing with swagger and having the time of their lives. They were pounding their fists on the benches and hollering at the top of their lungs. Colin Granger was screaming so hard he could’ve popped a blood vessel.
Ohio had obliterated Kent State and and upset top-seeded Toledo. Buffalo had to pay, and a new banner in The Convo was the receipt.
Sitting on the post-game Zoom call, Boals reminisced. Whenever he looks up at the banners hanging from the rafters in The Convo, his emotions swell. He remembers his own time playing for Ohio and the 1994 title he helped win. He remembers the good times.
He remembers coach Hunter.
Now, Boals’ players get to feel what he still feels 27 years later.
“This team is gonna have a memory of a lifetime,“ Boals said. “They're gonna be bonded for life. And they're gonna be in each other's weddings, doing reunions together. And that's what's special about being part of a team, and even more so a championship team.”
Half a season ago it all seemed like wishful thinking. Ohio was under .500 in conference play and losing to the titans of the MAC. The 89-79 loss to Kent State on Jan. 15 stung the worst. It was a wakeup call. Ohio had to shape up or ship out.
It chose the former.
Ohio hammered at its glaring weakness, its mediocre rebounding, and the schedule turned around. Six straight wins brought confidence. At every press conference, Boals’ goal carried more weight. Not even COVID-19 slowed Ohio down.
“From that point on, I think the accountability, peer accountability, was huge,“ Boals said. “And for that game on, I think we won nine out of 10 games now...You know I'm not sure there was a more dominant MAC title run through three games in three days than this group, and they bought into unselfishness.”
The only team to stop the Bobcats dead in their tracks was Buffalo, and Ohio returned the favor two weeks later on a much bigger stage.
Now, Boals has to prepare for Ohio’s first entry onto the national stage since the days of D.J. Cooper. Boals isn’t afraid. He’s been there countless times. His squad is young, talented and has proved itself to be ready for anything. The Bobcats didn’t flinch when COVID-19 shut them down for three weeks in February. They weren’t afraid when Kent State and Toledo knocked on their door. No one blinked when Buffalo stood between them and Indianapolis.
Why? Jeff Boals is why.
He’s a player’s coach. He understands how they feel and wants them to trust him. On his first day at practice in 2019, Boals gathered the players in a meeting and told them he wanted to earn their respect, not they earn his. He has spent two seasons molding them into a championship team, and the Bobcats have poured their faith into him.
After all, Boals keeps his promises.
