Latest news with #MyronMetcalf
USA Today
4 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
ESPN names Ohio State as a college basketball team that could 'make a jump' this season
We are all getting ready for the start of the college football season now just a little over a month away, but the college basketball season won't be too far behind. In fact, we're now within 100 days of the Ohio State basketball season, and ESPN took a big look at previewing hoops for 2025-2026 by looking at many different angles and storylines. One of the things Myron Metcalf and Jeff Borzello touched on was ten teams that "could make a jump" this coming season. And, if you are an Ohio State fan, then you have to like what the ESPN duo things of the Buckeyes this season because they were named as one of those ten teams. OSU was able to retain some key pieces of its core group, but outside of that, there's been a major overhaul of the guys suiting up in the scarlet and gray this season. The mix of old and new will have to come together for the Buckeyes to get back to the NCAA Tournament, but there's good reason to believe that it could happen. Here's what Borzello says about Ohio State this winter: "The Buckeyes showed flashes of their potential last season but couldn't quite string together a consistent run of form. With a terrific trio back in Bruce Thornton, Devin Royal and John Mobley Jr. -- plus the additions of Christoph Tilly and Brandon Noel up front -- Jake Diebler's team should find itself in the NCAA tournament." It sure seems like Ohio State hasn't had a shortage of talent over the last few years, but getting the team to come together and play as a team has been an issue that seems to be a problem in today's day and age of the transfer portal and name, image and likeness. Here's to hoping ESPN is right and that the Buckeyes make it back to meaningful games late and on into the postseason this basketball season. Contact/Follow us @BuckeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Ohio State news, notes and opinion. Follow Phil Harrison on X.
USA Today
01-06-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Florida basketball earns top grades from ESPN on 2024-25 report card
Florida basketball earns top grades from ESPN on 2024-25 report card College athletes are still technically students, so what better way to assess a team's season than by giving them a grade? That's the approach ESPN took on Wednesday when college basketball writer Myron Metcalf took one last look at the 2024-25 college basketball season. Metcalf rounded out his series of conference breakdowns by assigning all 16 SEC teams a grade between A and F. What did the conference and national champions get? An A, naturally. No, plus and minus grades are not a part of this system. We checked. "Last summer, Walter Clayton Jr. withdrew from the NBA draft to return to Florida after a season worthy of an All-SEC first-team selection," Metcalf wrote. "He wanted to prepare for the pros while helping the Gators win at the highest level in college basketball. Todd Golden had the solution: He moved Clayton to point guard and added talent like Florida Atlantic transfer Alijah Martin, which helped the Gators capture their third national championship (and their first since 2007)." Florida isn't the only SEC team to earn that coveted top grade, though. The SEC earned seven A grades from Metcalf, which is easily the most of any conference Metcalf has covered. He released the same list for the ACC, Big East, Big Ten, and Big 12 earlier in the month. Alabama, Auburn, Kentucky, Missouri, Tennessee and Vanderbilt are the other programs from the conference with an A. In the B tier are Arkansas, Georgia, Mississippi State, Oklahoma, Ole Miss and Texas A&M. That's 13 out of 16 teams with a strong grade. LSU, South Carolina and Texas underperformed this year, earning Ds all around, but it's no surprise to see the SEC finish without a single F in the conference. It's a shame that Metcalf didn't break the no plus or minus rule for this breakdown, though. Florida wasn't taken seriously as a title contender until the final days of the regular season. Even then, a No. 1 seed was not guaranteed. Golden built the perfect beast, and that kind of planning and execution deserves a bit more praise than the rest. Follow us @GatorsWire on X, formerly known as Twitter, as well as Bluesky, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.
