SPORTS

Ohio ends season of rebuilding

The painful, rebuilding year is over for Ohio.And though first-year coach Bob Boldon didn’t lead the Bobcats to the Promised Land, he put them on a road to recovery.In a frustrated season full of growing pains, Ohio finished with a 9-21 record, which shows improvement in comparison with the team’s worst year in program history last season, when the Bobcats went 6-23.There were also plenty of mood swings for the young, largely inexperienced squad.After two seniors weren’t medically cleared to play, junior guard Mariah Byard became leader of the Bobcats’ three sophomores and seven freshmen.Following a 78-62 loss to Bowling Green midway through Mid-American Conference play, Boldon said he had been impressed with his team, which had to learn a new system with new coaches with the majority of the roster new players.“I’m thrilled with our freshman class,” he said. “I think they’re all doing a great job. Our goal is to be good in three years. We’d like it to be sooner than that, but we’re in a process that can be uncomfortable at times.”If Boldon was uncomfortable in early February, then he must have been in a living nightmare by March.After dropping numerous winnable games, including a loss to Miami in the regular season finale, he belittled everything the team had worked for throughout the season and said the Bobcats were “not a good basketball team.”But there were bright spots in a year overshadowed by a ten-game losing streak and just one win in the final 15 games.Though they did not win the games, they gained experience in a pair of losses to Top Ten opponents, and the Bobcats began MAC play by winning three of their first four contests.In an announcement by the MAC on Monday, sophomore guard Kiyanna Black received honorable mention All-MAC honors, while freshman guard Quiera Lampkins earned All-MAC freshman squad honors.In addition to postseason accolades, redshirt sophomore guard Kat Yelle played her first full season for the Bobcats after injuries plagued her in both 2011-12 and 2012-13 and will return with experience.Whether improvements are apparent, Boldon said in every interview (except after Miami’s game) that the Bobcats were maturing and moving in the right direction, as the team will not lose any players next year.And Boldon knows a thing or two about improvement. Before taking over at Ohio, he transformed the Youngstown State he inherited from a 0-30 team to a 23-10 squad in 2012-13.Boldon said he expects a competitive team will come in three years, and he’s done it before.gh181212@ohiou.edu@CharlieHatch_

’Cats head north for ‘war’ against RedHawks

Ohio has swept the Battle of the Bricks so far this season, defeating Miami in both Athens and Oxford.Now the Bobcats look to continue this season’s dominance of the RedHawks in Cleveland, as the teams will take the court for the third time in a second-round Mid-American Conference Tournament game Wednesday.Wins didn’t come easy for Ohio in the teams’ previous two meetings. The Bobcats climbed back from a 16-point second half deficit to defeat the RedHawks at home in their first game on Feb. 8, and needed overtime to squeeze out an 82-76 win last Saturday.Taking down Miami a third time will come down to matching its intensity, Ohio coach Jim Christian said.“It’s going to be a war out there,” he said. “If we meet them at their competition level, then it’s going to be one heck of a game. If we don’t, then we’re going to be in trouble because we know how they’re going to play.”Part of meeting Miami at its “competition level” will come down to playing smart basketball and avoiding the turnovers that often plague the Bobcats, who have averaged 14.1 giveaways in their seven MAC losses.Miami is a team that feasts on swiping the ball from its opposition, leading the conference with 8.8 steals per game and ranking second in the MAC with an average of 14.8 turnovers forced. And in last Saturday’s game, the RedHawks forced 19 Bobcats giveaways.Ohio freshman forward Antonio Campbell said he and the rest of his teammates need to play intelligently if they want to move past the RedHawks for the third time this season.“I’m sure it’s not going to be easy,” Campbell said. “I’m pretty sure they’re going to try to double in the post again. I’ve just got to be smart and make the right plays out of the double.”Campbell has been one of the Bobcats’ key contributors of late, taking the starting job from junior forward Maurice Ndour, whose season-long back problems have recently flared up and forced him to play fewer minutes when coming off the bench.In the three games Campbell has started in place of Ndour, he’s shot 15 of 20 from the field, averaging 12 points and four rebounds.“The thing that he’s done better than anything is he’s able to play through his mistakes now,” Christian said. “In the beginning of the year when you’re a freshman, the weight of the world kind of goes on your shoulder, and now he’s able to play through it.”Ohio will need players such as Campbell to continue their better-than-average play in order to pull off the task of winning four games in the next four days. But despite the daunting slate ahead, Christian is just focused on beating Miami again.“It’s conference tournament time,” he said. “Is it going to get up another notch? It’s going to be hard to because I think both teams played unbelievably hard on Saturday.”ch203310@ohiou.edu@c_hoppens

Pass college, go directly to D-League

The National Basketball Association’s Developmental League, most commonly known as the D-League, is not the most legitimate feeder system into the big leagues. With small-town markets, trivial venues and lack of talent compared to its big brother organizations, it’s no question why not all NBA teams have a D-League affiliate.Last week, Dallas Mavericks owner and notorious loudmouth Mark Cuban took a shot at the NCAA’s role — or lack thereof — in developing student-athletes into NBA prospects. In college basketball, the heralded “one-and-done rule” allows players to leave their respective college programs after one season and enter the NBA Draft.However, Cuban argued the D-League has the potential to grow as a viable alternative to college. “A major college has to pretend that they’re treating them like a student-athlete, and it’s a big lie and we all know it’s a big lie,” Cuban said. And he’s right.First, let’s address the elephant in the room that the D-League is often referred to as a joke. It’s evident in team names like the Bakersfield Jam, which sound more like an artisan brand of marmalade than a basketball team, and with the D-League All-Star Weekend that is paradoxical to players’ developmental status.Yet, it may be in the best interest of the most talented high school players to skip their first year of school and head to places like Sioux Falls, S.D. or Portland (Maine, that is).Cuban claimed college players hardly attend classes and the term “student-athlete” gets thrown around more as a pleasantry in conversation than an actual practice. Students are compensated indirectly at the collegiate level, but cases of impermissible benefits seem to be a growing norm for star athletes.P.J. Hairston, a former North Carolina Tar Heel, was expelled from UNC for accepting illicit benefits, as well as for marijuana possession and reckless driving. Instead of transferring schools or playing professionally in Europe, Hairston turned to the D-League to showcase his talents in hopes of becoming an NBA Draft pick.And the D-League is growing. The New York Knicks are in the process of starting an affiliate, which will add to the existing 17 teams. Yet the growth lies in the ability of the D-League to help young players adjust to life. College may institute a sense of an agenda and help players mature — the D-League is at best a stripped-down version of that.With the NCAA’s dubious policies in place, it may prove easier for the D-League to shift the culture of college basketball and the NBA alike. But it’s essential that one steps forward in looking out for the best interests of its players.  Colin Hanner is a junior studying journalism and is a sports writer for The Post. Do you think players may begin to choose the D-League instead of the NCAA? Let him know @ColinHanner.

Women's Basketball: Ohio ends with a losing season

Poor does not begin to describe Ohio’s shooting performance against Toledo on Monday when it was knocked out of the first round of the Mid-American Conference Tournament.

Kellogg looks towards his future

An hour and a half before each home game, senior guard Nick Kellogg can be found on the court, putting the finishing touches on his fluid shooting motion that earned him the Mid-American Conference record in made three-pointers.

Players are eager to put the new fieldhouse to use for practices

Building an indoor practice facility was not Ohio football coach Frank Solich’s first priority when he accepted his current position, but it was certainly on his list.

Hockey: New head coach finds early success

It is not easy being new to anything, let alone coaching.

Men's Basketball: Bobcats shoot their way to Cleveland

From the opening tip to the final horn, there wasn’t a doubt of the end result of Monday’s first-round Mid-American Conference Tournament game.

Men's Basketball: Bobcats take on Cardinals

Running the table in the Mid-American Conference Tournament will not be an easy task for Ohio, but the Bobcats have shown the ability to come from behind with their backs to the wall all season.

Men's Basketball: Ohio vs. Ball State in-game notes

PREGAME

Hockey: Ohio ends season with tournament loss

Not only can one game change a season, but it can also end it.

Wrestling: MAC champions Cody Walters and Jeremy Johnson lead a pack of Ohio national qualifiers

Heading into this weekend’s Mid-American Conference Championships, Ohio coach Joel Greenlee said that he wanted six national qualifiers.

Women's Golf: Bobcats find confidence with 11th place finish

Women's Basketball: 'Cats looks ahead to MAC Tourney after Miami loss

If it wasn’t obvious already, Ohio coach Bob Boldon originally made it clear he wanted the Bobcats to open the Mid-American Conference Tournament at home on Monday.

Softball: Bobcats lose 11 of 12 during spring break

Spring break was no vacation for Ohio, as it took on its first set of ranked competitors and encountered adversity for the first times this season.

Women's Basketball: 'Cats struggle, fall to RedHawks

OXFORD — With four-and-a-half minutes to play, the scoreboard powered down in Miami’s Millet Hall and it never really recovered, similar to the Bobcats’ play.

Hockey: Ohio prepares to begin ACHA Tournament play

It's national tournament time for the Bobcat hockey team.

Bobcat Bowl Cuts

Some came with mullets. Some came with a typical male groom. Some even came with a shoulder-length “hockey flow.”

Men's Basketball: Bobcats snap skid, use energy to defeat Falcons

With junior forward Maurice Ndour out because of a lingering back injury, freshman Antonio Campbell was thrust into the starting lineup and a forced to take on a bigger role on both sides of the ball.

Women's Basketball: Falcons blow out Bobcats

If the season ended Sunday and Bowling Green was able to lock in the No. 1 seed for the Mid-American Conference, its performance against the Bobcats would show exactly how dominant the Falcons are.