By Ari Wasserman
BuckeyeSports.com
If personnel is the lone factor when dictating the identity of a basketball team, Ohio State coach Thad Matta likely did not take long to realize this year’s team would rely far less on 3-pointers.
Of course, there was the obvious clue for Matta: The Buckeyes said goodbye after last season to Jon Diebler, the most prolific 3-point shooter in the history of the Big Ten.
But then there’s the continued emergence of sophomore big man Jared Sullinger, whose dominance in the paint commands Ohio State’s offense to always run the ball through him, making lower-percentage shots from the outside less of a priority.
Despite Diebler’s proficiency from beyond the arc – he made 227 3-pointers a year ago – there were times when the he got cold from long range. Relying on lower percentage shots, though worth more in points, can be liability at times. With Sullinger, who either scores or draws a foul most of the time he attacks the basket, it’s harder for the way he provides Ohio State points to go cold.
“I think it is tough to focus on the 3-point shot when we have a presence like Jared in the post,” sophomore point guard Aaron Craft said. “It is tough not to want to throw it into him and playing inside-out with him. That’s the best offense we have.”
Ohio State is getting only 18.9 percent of its scoring from beyond the arc, which through Sunday ranked 332nd out of 344 teams nationally in percentage of points. With the aid of Diebler a year ago, the Buckeyes got roughly 30 percent of their scoring from long range and ranked among the top 100 in the nation.
“Offense last year, we could have just stood there and knocked down 3s,” said Sullinger, who leads this year’s team in scoring with 17.4 points per game. “This year, we’re a little more athletic. We’re slashing a little more.
“Having a guy like Jon Diebler was a real help for my freshman season, but in this offense we kind of know what we have to do to score with the basketball. When we play inside-out or drive the basketball, we’re very hard to guard.”
Matta acknowledged that 3-pointers can be great equalizers, momentum builders or ways to put up a barrage of points in a short amount of time. But the Buckeyes haven’t had a need to rely on that kind of scoring this year. In the third-ranked Buckeyes’ victory Saturday at No. 19 Wisconsin, the team made only 1 of 7 shots from beyond the arc. Granted, the 3-pointer Ohio State did convert came from senior William Buford late in the contest and gave the Buckeyes a four-point lead that eventually led to the 58-52 victory.
The Badgers — a team known for relying on the 3-point shot — made only 5 of 27 from beyond the arc. Wisconsin, which also lost to Iowa at home on Dec. 1 because of a cold night (3 for 28 from long range), illustrated perfectly what results look like for a team that relies on the three on a cold shooting night.
But even as Wisconsin continued to fire attempts from long range toward the hoop — moments when Matta acknowledged being “scared as hell” — Ohio State’s offensive philosophy remained constant. And it came in the form of getting Sullinger the ball in the paint.
“We did a decent job of taking what was given to us,” Matta said. “For instance, a lot of times our 3s come in transition, and Wisconsin is a really, really good transition defensive team. For points per possession against a great defense, I thought we were pretty effective with what we were trying to get done.”
But the question begs to be asked: Will there be a time when an opposing athletic big man neutralizes Sullinger, forcing Ohio State to rely on the 3 to keep itself in the game?
And if that were to happen, it still remains unclear if the Buckeyes have the proven consistent shooting weapons to overcome such a situation if they’re faced with it come NCAA tournament time.
Though Ohio State lost to Kentucky in the Sweet 16 after a clutch shot late, Diebler tied the game with a crucial 3 with less than a minute remaining the previous possession. Who would make that shot this year? Perhaps nobody, as the Buckeyes could opt to throw it into Sullinger and extend the game.
Ohio State’s top weapon from long range is sophomore shooting guard Lenzelle Smith Jr., who had converted 44.7 percent of his 3s entering Tuesday. However, Smith had attempted only 38 shots from beyond the arc and remains a question mark offensively despite showing signs of proficiency in that area.
The Buckeyes attempted only 336 3-pointers through 23 games, which equals roughly 14 attempts per contest. Only 47 other teams out of 344 have attempted a lower average of treys.
“My thing is — take good ones,” Matta said. “If we have good shots, let’s take them. We haven’t really talked about shooting 3s (because) at this stage of the season our guys know when they should shoot it and who should shoot it and, hopefully, the difference between a good one and a bad one.
“I haven’t really thought about only shooting seven 3s (against Wisconsin) because when I first started coaching here everyone was saying, ‘You guys take too many 3s.’ I’m trying to even it up.”
Sophomore Jordan Sibert was being molded into a sixth man who would come off the bench and knock down 3s, thus changing the pace of the game and causing defenses to adjust. However, Sibert is shooting only 26.5 percent from long range and has seen his minutes decrease in recent games.
Buford has shot the most number of 3s, making 36 of 97 (37.1 percent). Sophomore Deshaun Thomas has made 23 of 70 (32.9), but there hasn’t been a clear-cut, go-to shooter who can be relied on to make shots of that sort.
Matta prefers higher-percentage looks inside, especially because Sullinger is one of the best finishers in college basketball. Making that strategy even more important is the big man’s proficiency at the free-throw line: He is 93 for 122 (76.2 percent).
No one has been able to force Ohio State’s hand offensively, as Sullinger has typically outdueled opposing teams’ big men. And the Buckeyes’ strategy will remain the same as long as Sullinger continues to dominate the paint.
“It is not like it was last year when Jon Diebler was knocking down every shot,” Thomas said. “We have a guy like Sully, and we can play inside-out. And we have multiple guys who can drive the ball and get three-point plays — a layup and one. That could be our three-point play. We are just trying to win ballgames.”
