Thursday, March 16, 2000
OSU will live or die with Penn
O'Brien faithful to slumping senior guard
BY SCOTT MacGREGOR
The Cincinnati Enquirer
COLUMBUS — Jim O'Brien made the statement emphatically and repeatedly: Ohio State is Scoonie Penn's team, and it doesn't matter how many shots he misses.
The Buckeyes are going to live or die on Penn's jumper.
“We told him, "You're our guy, keep shooting,'” the Buckeye coach said after Penn's 3-of-16 shooting performance in Ohio State's Big Ten tournament loss to Penn State last Friday.
“This is my fifth year coach ing this kid, and there's a tremendous track record. My insides tell me he's going to come out of it, and he's a better shooter than he's shown. As long as he gets good looks, I'm going to expect him to keep taking shots.”
On the eve of the NCAA Tournament, it's the same old story for Ohio State. As Penn goes, so go the Buckeyes.
Last year, Penn helped them reach the Final Four for the first time in 31 years. Playing his first season in Columbus after transferring from Boston College, he energized a lifeless Ohio State team that had gone 8-22 the year before.
This season, who knows? When No.3 seed Ohio State (22-6) opens NCAA play Friday against No.14 seed Appala chian State in the South Regional in Nashville, the Bucks will need better shooting across the board — and especially from Penn.
There were moments last week when the 5-foot-10 Penn didn't look like one of college basketball's best players — 13 of them, in fact. As in 13 missed shots against Penn State, 12 of them in 14 attempts from 3-point range. As a team, Ohio State missed 22 of 26 3-pointers.
The miserable shooting may not keep the Buckeyes from beating Appalachian State. But as one of their few weaknesses, it could be their undoing in later rounds.
They generally defend extremely well and have enough other offensive weapons in swingman Michael Redd and forward George Reese to make a deep tournament run if the shooting is there.
O'Brien, though, was more concerned the Buckeyes didn't defend well in the Penn State game, just the second time they've allowed an opponent to shoot 50 percent this season; Notre Dame was the other in its season-opening upset in November.
“I looked at the tape, and 18 of the 3-pointers we took were open,” O'Brien said. “If we get 18 wide-open 3s in our next game, you'll see a smile on my face like you can't believe. I have to believe if that was the same situation again, we'd make more than 4 out of 26.”
The Penn State loss was one of the low points in a tough shooting season for Penn, who remains one of the nation's best point guards and floor leaders despite his shooting woes. After hitting 45 percent from the field and averaging 16.9 points per game last season, Penn slipped to 38 percent and 15.4 points this year.
But Penn is confident — true to his shooter's mentality.
“I feel real good about our team this year,” Penn said. “Last year, guys didn't know what to expect. This year we have guys with some experience. I think we're a pretty tough team to stop offensively. We've got a lot of weapons.”
Penn does so much more than shoot — he is exceptional at penetrating and distributing the ball to teammates — that he can get still control a game on a poor shooting day.
And on a good shooting day, he is one of the game's better offensive forces, scoring 30 points on 8-of-17 shooting (5-of-10 from 3-point range) against Michigan State in a February loss. He has been one of the country's most consistent, most dangerous and smartest players since he burst onto the scene as a Boston College freshman in 1996 under then-Eagles coach O'Brien.
That's why he plans to keep shooting if the shots are there.
“It's time for me to step up,” Penn said. “This is my last time out. I understand that with one loss my college career is over, so I don't want it to be over soon. I'm going to do what I have to do to help this team continue on.”
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