BuckeyeBallersTV - Bucks at Thunder - Three Buckeyes take Center Stage in Final Regular Season Contest

(Buckeyes in the building! Veteran Michael Redd lays it up in front of fellow Buckeyes Daequan Cook & Byron Mullens - 4.13.2011 - Oklahoma City, Oklahoma)

4. 13.2011 - Oklahoma City Thunder 106 vs Milwaukee Bucks 110 OT (Final Regular Season Game)

- Michael Redd: 11 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists
- Daequan Cook: 11 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal
- Byron Mullens: 10 points, 5 rebounds, 1 steal

- Former Buckeyes Represent in Oklahoma City: The last regular season game for the Milwaukee Bucks & Playoff bound OKC Thunder took place on 4.13.2011 in Oklahoma City. Buckeye teammates Daequan Cook & Byron Mullens received extended run for OKC against Michael Redd & the Bucks. (Milwaukee outlasted the Thunder in OT)

Redd Successfully Completes Comeback - He said he would come back, and he did. Michael Redd participated in ten games from late March until the end of the season (a major accomplishment considering the long road back).

In those ten games, we saw a player who was simply trying to get acclimated to the game again after being away for a long period of time. Mike received limited minutes in a majority of his 2011 games, but he played 29 minutes vs OKC which produced a season high 11 points. If this was indeed his last game in a Bucks' uniform..know this about Redd..he went out on his terms..on the basketball court.

And something else occurred during this game, not only did Redd complete his comeback and possibly bid farewell to the Bucks..but he also passed the torch to another Buckeye sharp-shooter.

The Shooter is Always Ready - This OKC team serves as a roster model for aspiring playoff squads in that each player is able to use their unique skill-set to contribute. In the 2nd half of the season, Daequan Cook gradually developed into Oklahoma City's primary three point shooter off the bench.

Daequan has mastered the art of finding the open spot for catch & shoot situations. His quick release is awfully dangerous for teams that are mainly worried about the dribble drive threat of Durant, Westbrook & Harden. Cook played 29 minutes vs Milwaukee..the same amount of playing time as Redd..and the two former Buckeyes were matched up with each other for a good part of their time on the court. Cook was pretty sharp vs the Bucks, he hit 3 of 4 three point shots including a big trey in overtime.

Long Time No See - One of the happiest men in the building had to be 2nd year pro Byron Mullens who had not played in an NBA game since way back on January 1st (DNPs & D-Leauge games in between).

Byron played a career high 29 minutes (the same as Redd & Cook, super weird!) vs the Bucks. The young center seemed a little rusty at first, but he turned it on late by scoring all of points in the 4th quarter & overtime. It is going to be extremely interesting to see where Mullens fits in with this OKC team down the line.

BuckeyeBallersTV - Bucks at Thunder 4.13.2011 (Noteworthy clips, a couple head to head scores between Buckeyes Michael Redd & Daequan Cook! Plus a few dunks from Byron Mullens)

2011 Buckeye Check-In Video - Terence Dials !

(Terence Dials - Ohio State - Circa 2006)

2011 "Buckeye Check In" - Terence Dials
Posted: April 15, 2011
Web: GeorgeLReese.com

The latest installment of George Reese's "Buckeye Check In" series features Ohio State great Terence Dials!

Dials (pictured left: France 2007) gives Buckeye Nation a brief review of where he has played as a professional and explains how each location brings a unique expeience. The five year pro touches on technical aspects of the European style of basketball, and he also shares some advice to young players on making the off-court transition to overseas basketball.



Current Status - Terence Dials wrapped up his 2010/2011 stint with Apollon of Cyprus in mid-March (Apollon fell to AEL in the first round of the 2011 Cypriot Playoffs). T.D's current playing status as of May 2011 is looking like a return to Asia for the Chinese NBL's upcoming season (more on that in a later post)

- Dials' Pro timelime -

• 2006/2007 - Entente Orleans - France (Rookie Season - French League All-Star)
• 2007/2008 - Pau-Orthez - France (Played in the ULEB Cup aka the Eurocup competition)
• 2008/2009 - Entente Orleans - France (Played in the French League Finals, playoff runner-ups)
• Nov. 2009 to Jan. 2010 - Paderborn Baskets - Germany (Reunited with former Ohio State teammate Matt Terwilliger for 11 games)
• Feb. 2010 to Mar. 2010 - BBC Nyon - Switzerland (Six games)
• May. 2010 to Aug. 2010 - Western Liaoning - China (Led team to the playoffs)
• Oct. 2010 to Mar. 2011 - Primetel Apollon - Cyprus (5th different country)

Top Performances of April - #7 Othello Hunter's Double-Doubled Helped Sassari Prevail over Bologna (Italy) 4.3.2011

(Italian League All-Star Othello Hunter slam dunks it in the first matchup vs Bologna - 12.12.2010 - Sassari, Italy)

4.3.2011 - Dinamo Sassari 87 at CS Bologna 81 (Italian Regular Season)
- Othello Hunter: 19 points, 10 rebounds, 5 steals!

Sassari gets revenge in Bologna - 3rd year pro Othello Hunter of Dinamo Sassari opened up the month of April with a nice double-double performance in a crucial road 87-81 win over CS Bologna on the 3rd. Hunter (pictured left with head coach Romeo Sacchetti) scored 19 points off an efficient eight of ten shots on the floor to go with 10 rebounds & five steals.

Sassari was held to just 66 points in the first matchup with Bologna (an early season L 66-73 on 12.12.2010), but Hunter's big day coupled with 25 from his American teammate Travis Diener would be the driving force behind the mild upset on 4.3.2011. Othello Hunter has recorded seven double-doubles in the regular season.

(Short clips, a Hunter dunk from a Diener pass is seen at the 0:36 second mark.)

Top Performances of April - #8 Evan Turner Scores 21 points in Boston 4.5.2011

(Rookie Evan Turner rises for a shot against the Celtics. L to R: Turner, Rajon Rondo, 'Big Baby' Davis, Thad Young, Nenad Kristic - Boston, Massachusetts - 4.5.2011)

4.5.2011 - Philadelphia 82 at Boston 99 (NBA Regular Season)
- Evan Turner: 21 points, 5 assists, 3 rebounds!

The Kid Debuts in Bean-town: The number eight game on our top performances list features Evan Turner in his Boston debut at TD Garden Arena. The Ohio State rookie played an aggressive floor game vs the Celtics, he scored 21 points (9-14) with 5 assists in 33 minutes. It would be Turner's 3rd 20+ scoring game on the season.

Game Context - This was the last regular season road game for the 76ers. Both teams used their regular rotations as playoff seeds were still in contention. And that is why we thought this game was significant because Turner was able to play well against some of the NBA's best. Philly competed with the Celtics for 3 quarters, but the defending eastern conference champs pulled away in e 4th for a 99-82 final.

BuckeyeBallersTV - Evan Turner's Regular Season Debut in Boston!

(Clips of Note)

• Blows by a hedging Kristic and shoots over Rondo (pictured above)
• Runs the floor in transition and follows a Spencer Hawes shot
• Posts up all-star guard Rajon Rondo!
• Isolates Glen Davis on the perimeter & takes him to the hoop
• Nice one handed dunk off the steal!

" With the 5th Pick in the 2011 WNBA Draft, the Los Angeles Sparks Select Jantel Lavender from The Ohio State University " !!

(4.11.2011 - Renee Brown, WNBA Chief of Basketball Operations & Player Relations presents Jantel Lavender with her new #11 L.A Sparks jersey! - Bristol, Connecticut)

Buckeye Star reaches basketball's highest Level - Cleveland, Ohio's Jantel Lavender was selected as the 5th overall pick by the L.A Sparks in the 2011 WNBA Draft. Lavender enters the WNBA as one of the most accomplished players in NCAA history. Her extensive court resume includes an unprecedented four straight Big Ten Conference Player of the year awards and three First Team All-American honors.

Destination Los Angeles! - Jantel Lavender will be the first Ohio State Buckeye to play for the storied Los Angeles Sparks franchise. The Sparks are one of eight original WNBA clubs (1997). They have three Western Conference titles & Two WNBA Championships. L.A features perhaps the best player in women's Basketball, Candace Parker. Lavender will complement Parker along with veterans Tina Thompson, DaLisha Milton-Jones, and Ebony Hoffman. Jim Jackson is the last Buckeye to hoop in the Los Angeles area (Lakers 2006).

Buckeyes in the Draft - The now former Buckeye, Lavender, was the 5th overall pick in the Draft, and she is also the 5th Ohio State player to be selected in the WNBA Draft.

• Debbie Merrill - 2006 - #28 (2nd round)
  
• Jessica Davenport - 2007 - #2 (1st round)
  
• Brandie Hoskins - 2007 - #33 (3rd round)
• Marscilla Packer - 2008 - #41 (3rd round)
• Jantel Lavender - 2011 - #5 (1st round)

* WNBA great Katie Smith was already a pro when the league was created, she joined Minnesota in 1999.

All-Time WNBA Draft List

WNBA.com - Jantel Lavender Highlights Sparks' 2011 Draft

WNBA.com - Five Questions: Jantel Lavender

Web - Tony Stockman 2011 Assis Basket (Brazil) Highlight Video!

(Tony Stockman)

Buckeye: Tony 'Boom' Stockman
Experience: Just wrapped up his sixth professional season (2005-2011)
Last Squad: Assisi Basket (Brazil)
2011 Brazilian League All-Star


Here Comes the Boom! - In late March, former Ohio State guard Tony Stockman uploaded a video with highlights from some of his 2011 games with Assisi Basket! (Brazil) His club did not make the Brazilian League Playoffs, but Tony ended the season as one of the top scorers in all of Brazil. We can't wait to see where Stockman will play next!

(The soundtrack of Tony's highlight film contains some of the songs off his selected playlist which appeared on the LNB blog earlier this year.)

- Tony Stockman Playlist - LNB Blog
- Tony 'Boom' Stockman 2011 Highlight Film - LNB Blog



(Behind the scenes practice footage of Tony & his sons Maddox & B-Ray!)

Top Performances Of April - #9 Kosta Koufos Ties (Pro) Career High vs Warriors 4.11.2011

(Screen-cap - Pregame - Kosta Koufos is introduced with a young Nuggets fan - 4.11.2011 - Denver, Colorado)

4.11.2011 - Denver Nuggets 134 vs Golden State 111 (NBA Regular Season)
- Kosta Koufos: 18 points, 9 rebounds!

Koufos ends season on high note: Canton native Kosta Koufos left a good impression on the Denver Nuggets in the latter part of his third NBA season. Starter rest and injuries allowed Koufos to get some extended playing time in the last week of regular season action, and the former Buckeye responded with three straight double figure scoring games. His best outing was a 18 point/9 rebound effort vs the Golden State Warriors on April 11.

No Nene, No Problem: Kosta started the 3rd quarter for Denver with Nene out due to injury. Koufos immediately went to work against a bit of an undersized GSW front-court, scoring all of his season high 18 points in the 2nd half.

BuckeyeBallersTV: #9 Koufos vs GSW 4.11.2011

(Clips of note)

• Koufos shows good mobility with a nice face up move on Ekpe Udoh
• Left handed hook shot over Vladimir Radmanovic
  
• Two three-point plays, one on Udoh & the other on Lou Amundsun
• Big slam over UConn's Jeff Adrien!

(Notes)

• He's a Gamer: As you will see and hear in the video, the Denver announcers lauded Kosta with compliment after compliment in this game. These comments are similar to other announcers from the league who have gotten a chance to see Koufos play. In our opinion he really opened up some eyes this season with his pro approach & improved game.
• NBA Bloopers: Kosta seems to be prone to blooper type incidents. (30 secs into the clip!) Following the hook shot over Radmanovic, Koufos accidentally bows Kenyon Martin in the nose during a high-five! LOL..young Kosta was obviously (and rightly) concerned about the inadvertent shot to his veteran teammate, but it looked like Martin had a good laugh about it haha!
• Career Mark: Koufos' 18 point scoring game vs GSW is his highest total in an NBA game. He also scored 18 points vs Dallas in his rookie season (2008/2009). Hey NBA..Koufos is ready for rotation minutes now.
  

Top Performances of April - #10 Ron Lewis v. Liege (Belgium) 4.9.2011

(New Look: #11 Ron Lewis is going with the sleek bald look for spring 2011)

4.9.2011 - Dexia Mons 72 at Liege 63 (Belgian League Regular Season)
- Ron Lewis: 17 points, 3 rebounds, 2 steals

Catching Up: (April 2011 featured several top solo performances. School coursework prevented us from providing updates throughout the month..so we are reviewing some of these games in the form of a top ten list.)

#10 Lewis leads Mons past Liege: The first game of our top performances of April list took place in Liege, Belgium on April 9, 2011. Former Buckeye Ron Lewis scored 17 points with 3 boards and 2 steals in a 73-62 regular season road win over Belgacom Liege. Ron's work in this game was exclusively inside the arc, he dropped eight 2 point field goals out of 11 attempts.

Dexia Mons-Hainuat is currently 3rd place in the Belgian League Standings with a 18-10 record.

(Couple clips of Ron vs Liege, #11 hits a three and also does a nice two handed slam from a transition feed!)


Ron Lewis v. Liege clips 4.9.2011 by BuckeyeBallersTV

(BuckeyeBallersTV: Clips of Ron Lewis vs Aalstar on 2.12.2011. He's fearless!)