Before ever playing their first Mid-American Conference game, newcomers for the Ohio men's basketball team will get a taste of what a conference tournament is like.
The Bobcats travel to Xavier for the Dell Black Coaches Association Classic where the team will play three games in three days.
I love it
three games in three days but then a 10-day break so you can sort of work on things and it's against quality competition Ohio coach Tim O'Shea said. It's put a sense of urgency into practice in these early weeks.
We're so far ahead of where we were a year ago in terms of our execution and conditioning
he said.
Mercer, Ohio's first opponent, completed the biggest single-season turnaround in NCAA history dating back to 1974 going from 6-23 in 2001 to 23-6 last season. After losing last year's starting guards to graduation, the Bears now must deal with a seven-game suspension of guard Delmar Wilson, a senior who was expected to start this year.
The Bears' strength rests in Atlantic Sun Preseason Player of the Year Scott Emerson. The Ohio coaches liken Emerson to Providence forward Maris Laska who torched Ohio for 26 points in the Bobcats' regular season opener last year.
He can shoot the three
he has a really nice stroke to his game
but he loves to bang and if you don't hit him
he'll hit you
Mercer coach Mark Slonaker said. He's just a good hard nosed kid who loves to compete and who never takes a possession off.
The 1-4 start that had Ohio playing catch up all of last season makes a strong start even more important, Ohio forward Jeff Halbert said.
We had to wait until almost December
and I think that's part of the reason we came out so stagnant for so long
Halbert said. I think last year was a real good example... if we can get two or three wins
it can send a statement not only to the MAC but to everyone we play.
Both O'Shea and Slonaker said they are more focused on fine-tuning their respective teams' styles rather than plotting to stop a certain player on the other team.
I'm really impressed by the (Jaivon) Harris kid
