By ZAC JACKSON
FOX Sports Ohio
March 4, 2011
Sunday's highly anticipated rematch and regular-season finale between No. 1 Ohio State and No. 10 Wisconsin will include all the pomp and circumstance of Senior Day, when a crowd of nearly 19,000 will say its formal -- and probably emotional -- goodbyes to Buckeye seniors David Lighty, Jon Diebler and Dallas Lauderdale.
Lighty, a fifth-year senior who seemingly has been playing at Ohio State since, well, Ohio became a state, has been so good and so versatile that Buckeyes coach Thad Matta has half-jokingly called on school officials to build a statue of Lighty outside Value City Arena. Diebler, the Big Ten's all-time leader in made 3-pointers, was so good earlier this week against Penn State that he sank a school and conference record 10.
But there will be a looming but unspoken question, too, as 29-2 Ohio State tries to wrap up the outright Big Ten title and avenge its first loss of the season.
Is Sunday also the last home game for hometown hero and National Player of the Year candidate Jared Sullinger?
The freshman has been so good that it's fair to not just ask, but guess that the answer is yes. Sullinger is the No. 1 reason the No. 1 Buckeyes are the nation's most complete team, bullying opponents under the basket at both ends and setting up his talented older teammates for open shots with pinpoint passing and all-too-rare unselfishness.
Sullinger, who celebrated his 19th birthday Friday, has long been a man. He's been The Man for the Buckeyes, and Matta has known all season that there's a chance Sullinger will become the latest one-and-done NBA defection from the OSU program.
At 6-foot-9, 260, he's too strong for many college opponents in the post and carries a basketball IQ that many upperclass point guards nationwide would envy. He lacks ideal NBA athleticism, and NBA scouts evaluating him against other elite prospects probably wish he was an inch or two taller.
He carries enough baby fat -- and a baby face -- to indicate that extra inch or two may still come, as will added muscle. He's probably never going to guard true NBA centers, but he has a unique skill set and an underrated/underutilized outside game that will come in handy when (whenever) he makes the jump and will help him make up for a lack of true explosion off the dribble.
He might not be the No. 1 overall pick this June; he might not even be third. But he's a basketball player and an NBA team that sees him as a fit to its system will take him high in the lottery.
If he enters the draft, of course. And it's still an "if."
Sullinger's father, a longtime successful high school coach in Columbus, has told all who have asked that his son will be back for his sophomore season. He's announced his retirement from coaching at the end of this month's tournament run, citing a desire to watch Jared's road games and avoid Saturday scheduling conflicts next year.
Saying he'll be back is a fine and fair answer, and chances are Satch Sullinger means it. But it's not a binding answer.
It's also not an easy decision; far from it, in fact. Jared Sullinger loves the college life, living in the dorms and walking to campus like any regular student, and is probably five miles from the house in which he grew up. His oldest brother was an Ohio State captain in 2006, and he was a longtime AAU teammate of three of his current Buckeye classmates and teammates.
The question becomes what, exactly, Sullinger will still have to prove -- or even have to consistently challenge him -- at the college level. He's known the Buckeye seniors for years, and their chemistry is a big reason they're going to be a No. 1 seed and a very tough out later this month in the NCAA tournament.
As they chase that One Shining Moment, will it also mark the end of Sullinger's run at Ohio State? Probably, but such decisions can wait. Buckeye Nation -- and Jared Sullinger himself -- first wants to enjoy this ride.
