Don't understate what Ohio State lost in Jon Diebler and David Lighty

Its amazing when you think about it.

Ohio State, the team that many believed to be the best in the country for much of last season, returns their slimmed-down all-american center in Jared Sullinger, an underrated sophomore point guard poised for a big season in Aaron Craft, and a senior in William Buford that is an 18 ppg season away from becoming the program's all-time leading scorer. Throw in productive sophomore DeShaun Thomas and a loaded recruiting class, and you would think this team had national title favorite written all over it.

But they don't.

In fact, they barely have hype heading into the season, but that's what will happen North Carolina returns their entire team, Kentucky once again reloads on the recruiting trail, and UConn restocks their shelves in late August with the best high school big man in the country.


Its astonishing, really. Ohio State lost three games last season. One was on the road at Wisconsin, where no one wins. Another was on the road at Purdue, where, well, ditto. The third was in the Sweet 16, where Kentucky needed a horrific night from Buford and a last-second shot from Brandon Knight to advance. And no one is talking about them.

"We won 34 games, were the No. 1 overall seed, and we had the No. 51 player drafted in the NBA, and that was it," Ohio State coach Thad Matta told ESPN's Andy Katz in a column Katz posted on this subject yesterday.

Quantitatively, Matta is right. They bring back sophomores -- and rising stars, arguably two of the best at their position in the country -- at the two most important positions on the floor, point guard and center. They have a potent scorer on the wing and they have plenty of young talent to fill in the gaps and the minutes that are left over.

But by referring to the graduation of David Lighty and Jon Diebler as losing nothing more than "the No. 51 player drafted", Matta is doing an incredible disservice to what those two seniors provided the Buckeyes. Their value to that team goes well beyond the numbers that showed up next to their names in the box score. (Those numbers weren't insignificant, either -- 24.7 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 5.7 apg and 165 threes on 47.7% shooting from deep.)

"The intangibles will be missed, and those two were phenomenal practice players," Matta told Katz. "They brought energy every single day. They were upbeat and always smiling and always wanting to give more."

Leadership is immeasurable, and there's no doubt that the leadership those two provided the Buckeyes last season made a difference on their record. But both Diebler's and Lighty's contributions go beyond the intangibles.

Its hard to put into words just how good of a shooting performance Diebler had as a senior. He was the most efficient player in the country last season by a wide margin, which is a large reason he was tops amongst wing players in terms of value added despite using less than 1/7th of his team's possessions. He shot 50.2% from beyond the arc while taking more than six attempts per game. That's an unreal number.

What Thad Matta would do is use Diebler as Sullinger's primary post-feeder. This put defenses in the unenviable position of having to double off of Diebler on the wing, sending a double team from Craft/Buford/Lighty (37.7%/44.2%/42.9% from three, respectively) at the top of the key, or try to double team with the other big man, which leaves a wide open post player on the opposite block. Diebler's ability to feed the post and bury open threes made him the definition of a floor-spreader. He was a huge reason that Sullinger was able to get opportunities to operate one-on-one in the post. (See the image below, where Luke Winn broke down Ohio State's standard offensive set last season.)


Lighty's value was in his versatility. There wasn't anything on a basketball court that he couldn't do. For starters, he was a terrific defender, capable of guarding any position one through four, and a good enough rebounder that Ohio State could afford to play with four guards around Sullinger. Offensively, he was a good enough shooter that you couldn't leave him open, an explosive enough penetrator that you couldn't play up on him, and unselfish and skilled enough to make the right pass when he drew an extra defender.

You will find little argument that Lighty and Diebler were role players throughout their careers. But as seniors, both players were the best in the country at playing their role; Diebler the best spot-up shooter and Lighty the best glue-guy. Throw in the fact that both were perfectly happy to play within their role on the team, and Matta had the best of both worlds -- seniors that were talented enough to be stars at many other schools across the country, but that wanted to win badly enough that they would play a complimentary role to a freshman.

That is what made Ohio State such a good team in 2010-2011. Talented and experienced role plays that understood and perfected their role in maximizing the talents of an all-american center.

So while Diebler and Lighty will leave Ohio State as nothing more than "the No. 51 player drafted", the void they leave in the Ohio State lineup will be very, very difficult to fill.

I'm not saying the Buckeyes won't be the favorite in the Big Ten or a national title contender.

I'm just saying there is a valid reason why they aren't being talked about in the same sentence as Kentucky, North Carolina, and now UConn.
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David Lighty's more valuable than you think

On any list of college basketball's best glue guys, you're certain to find the name David Lighty.

And in last night's 89-70 over Illinois, the Ohio State senior guard proved why.

He finished with 21 points, six steals, four rebounds, and two assists. He scored 17 of his points in the second half, including a stretch early in the second half where he scored 13 straight points after Illinois had cut a 15 point lead down to seven.

"I've said since the beginning: I love him," Illinois head coach Bruce Weber told reporters after the game. "I think he's the MVP. He probably won't get it because people aren't smart enough. But he's their heart and soul."

"If you have a Lighty, a heart and soul who comes every day and does what you need. We just don’t have that toughness, that leadership — that difference-maker," Weber said.

And that, precisely, is why Lighty is such a perfect fit for this Ohio State team. Lighty isn't great at any one thing. He doesn't have one skill that is NBA ready. He's one of those guys that can do everything on a basketball, and can do it well. He rebounds the ball, he defends, he can hit a three, he can get to the rim and dunk on you, and he can even play a little bit of point guard or power forward if the situation calls for it.

What makes Lighty such an important piece to this Ohio State team is that they already have every piece you need to be a successful basketball team. Aaron Craft is the point guard. Jon Diebler is the shooter. William Buford is the slasher and the mid-range scorer. Jared Sullinger is the post presence. Dallas Lauderdale is the enforcer.

And Lighty?

Lighty is the guy that picks up the slack. He's the guy that does the dirty work. He's the guy that steps in and helps handle the ball if Craft is being pressured, or hits the defensive glass if an opponent is getting too many second chances, or switches onto an opponent that has the hot hand.

I've written a lot in this space about teams lacking the leadership needed to win big games.

Lighty is the perfect example of what a team leader should be.
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David Lighty Injured

Senior wing David Lighty broke a bone in his left foot late Ohio State's win over Jacksonville. The injury is a huge blow to the Buckeyes as Lighty is one of their most experienced players.

The good news is for Ohio State is that while this injury may hurt their depth while he is out, Lighty should be back by the end of the season. In his absence, freshman William Buford will see a lot more minutes and will have to mature much more quickly. Assuming Lighty returns to 100% before the postseason starts, this could injury could be a blessing in disguise. Continue reading...