Buckeyes Won’t Rely On Frosh For A Change

Most of the Ohio State Buckeyes have returned to make this season’s men’s basketball team a veteran group.

Associated Press
Published: October 16, 2009

COLUMBUS, Ohio—Most of the Ohio State Buckeyes have returned to make this season’s men’s basketball team a veteran group.

All five starters are coming back. And that doesn’t count last year’s captain and floor leader, David Lighty, who is returning after playing just seven games last season before breaking a bone in his foot.

After three straight years of having to blend at least two newcomers into the starting lineup, coach Thad Matta has no freshmen on the roster.

The only missing piece is substitute B.J. Mullens, who became the third consecutive freshman center at Ohio State to jump to the NBA and be taken in the first round of the draft.

The Buckeyes are coming off a 22-11 mark that included a tie for fourth in the Big Ten and a first-round exit from the NCAA tournament.