By BRUCE HOOLEY
FOXSportsOhio.com
Feb. 24, 2011
William Buford isn't quite sure what to make of Ohio State coach Thad Matta sometimes.
Like when Matta says, "Will is Will."
Could be good; could be bad.
Don't ask Buford.
"I don't know what he means by that," the junior from Toledo said. "If you find out, let me know. Hopefully, it's good."
These days, it's all good for Ohio State that Will is Will, because he gives the Buckeyes something they do not get from any other player on their roster.
You want radar-enabled 3-point shooting?
For that, there's John Diebler, the Big Ten career leader in 3-point field goals.
You want daring drives to the basket and sick finishing moves at the rim?
For that, there's David Lighty, who's as spectacular as he is streaky.
You want both the triples and the highlight-reel finishes, with an array of mid-range jumpers and step-back moves to go with them?
For that, there's Buford.
And only Buford.
Now is the time even the most successful college basketball teams start to crystallize and determine where the big shots will come from in March Madness.
A year ago this month, eventual national player of the year Evan Turner's sustained excellence began showing that however far OSU advanced, it would do so on his back.
The last time Ohio State made a run to the Final Four, in 2007, now is when freshman point guard Michael Conley began taking control of the team and setting the tempo for everything good that would happen.
Earlier in the season, it looked like this season's stretch drive would be placed upon the broad shoulders of freshman center Jared Sullinger.
That's still up for consideration, but it's looking more and more likely of late that the epitaph for the 2010-11 Buckeyes could be, "Where there's a Will, there's a way."
Lighty claimed the headlines Tuesday with a freaky second-half surge against Illinois in which he scored 13 points in just under three minutes.
He had three of his six steals in that spurt and scored after all of them. Lighty also tossed in a 3-pointer and added a ridiculous drive and spin to punctuate his takeover.
No one was wrong to focus on Lighty's excellence afterward.
But everyone was wrong to forget that Ohio State could easily have suffered its third loss in four games without Buford's 17 first-half points.
Illinois shot an unconscious 8-of-9 from 3-point range before the break, yet trailed by 15 points. Without eight of Buford's points and two of his rebounds in the first four minutes, doubt could have crept into the Buckeyes' mindset coming off a loss Sunday at Purdue.
Illini coach Bruce Weber did what he could to slow Buford in the second half, deploying a triangle-and-two defense to devote man-to-man pressure to him.
It worked to keep him in check, but gave Lighty the freedom to break the game open.
That's why Ohio State is so dangerous
