Buckeye Bits: Mike Conley is NBA’s HORSE champion, how to replace Jeff Okudah, more.

It’s Friday, and I don’t know about you, but this self-isolating thing is starting to get old. I miss having weekend plans and going out to breakfast the most. Why do my scrambled eggs never taste as good as literally any restaurant’s? Additionally, the weather here on the east coast is like Winter 2.0, so the option of taking a long walk around the neighborhood no longer exists.

But, I know for a fact we’ll all get through this. I included an Ohio State hype video below to help lift your spirits (and give you goosebumps, of course), along with some other bits and pieces from today’s news. Hang in there, friends!

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From around Land-Grant Holy Land...

Play Like a Girl podcast: Best Ohio State team to never win a title, NFL Draft projections, more

Tia Johnston and Meredith Hein, LGHL

This week, SB Nation looked back at some of the best teams to never win a championship. We here at LGHL have covered most of them, but 2015-16 has to be one of the best Ohio State teams to never win a title. Tia and Meredith discuss that season, the dreadful Michigan State game, and what could have been.

The best Ohio State teams to never win a title: The two calls that ruined a perfect season

Tia Johnston, LGHL

Enjoy the above podcast talking about failed hopes and dreams? Then my latest for LGHL should be fun for you, as well! I look back at last year’s team, why they were the best in the league, and where it all went wrong against Clemson in the Fiesta Bowl. Highly recommend if you’re a sadist.

Ohio State offers star Texas DB in 2022

Caleb Houser, LGHL

Okay, enough about the past, because presently, Ohio State is shaping up to be quite the national title contender... yet again. Adding to an already successful week of recruiting, the Buckeyes extended an offer to the fifth best corner in the 2022 class.

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From around the gridiron...

The insanely talented Ohio State football creative team can make you want to run through a wall whether there’s a football game coming up or not.

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Next Man Up: How Buckeyes defense can replace Jeff Okudah on outside

Spencer Holbrook, Lettermen Row

How does a program replace the best cornerback in the country, a first team All-American and a leader for the Silver Bullets defense? Holbrook attempts to answer that question. Hint: he’s already on the roster.

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Former NFL scout Jim Nagy evaluates Ohio State’s top prospects for the 2020 draft

Dan Hope, Eleven Warriors

Eleven Warriors caught up with Jim Nagy, who was an NFL scout for 18 years until June 2018, to get some perspective on all of Ohio State’s top prospects in Thursday’s draft. He explains where he thinks they can succeed at the next level and where he thinks they could come off the board.

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Ryan Day on what he learned in first season leading the Buckeyes

Patrick Murphy, Bucknuts

The Buckeye head coach joined Big Ten Network’s Dave Revsine to talk football, the impact of the coronavirus, missing spring practice and more. They also touch on the lessons he learned during his first season as a head coach, where he admits he “picked a few white hairs out of his beard in the last week.”

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From around the hardwood...

Former Ohio State guard Mike Conley has been crowned the first-ever NBA HORSE Challenge Champion.

Conley defeated 10-time WNBA All-Star and Basketball Hall of Famer Tamika Catchings, five-star NBA All-Star Chauncey Billups and Chicago Bulls guard Zach LaVine in separate games of H-O-R-S-E in their respective home-gyms/locations.

Conley gave LaVine the final letter with a layup over the back of the backboard. #GOBUCKS

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Ohio State basketball notebook: Players going through “home workouts,” Kaleb Wesson committed to NBA pre-draft process, rehabbing away from Columbus

Colin Hass-Hill, Eleven Warriors

The Ohio State basketball team’s “home workouts” are, apparently harder than they thought they were going to be, which is music to Chris Holtmann’s ears. The tricky part is ensuring players keep up with their rehab and stay motivated. Plus, any hope of Kaleb Wesson returning next season is, officially, lost.

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The WNBA draft will air tonight at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN. The New York Liberty are expected to select Oregon Ducks guard Sabrina Ionescu with the first pick. There are not any Buckeyes expected to go.

Vanessa Bryant, the late Kobe Bryant’s wife, announced that her daughter Gianna Bryant, along with Alyssa Altobelli and Payton Chester, will be honorary picks.

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From everywhere else...

“Hard to believe,” they said.

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Speaking of TBDBITL, the coronavirus won’t keep them from adding more elite talent to the squad. The band will be adding two new drum majors who they’ll introduce this May. Lots of Zoom-call backbends are happening as we speak.

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This year’s Spirit of Columbus Award, which “honors those in Columbus who exemplify bravery, determination, and the resolve to see a challenge and tackle it,” according to Columbus Foundation President and CEO Douglas F. Kridler, has been given to Dr. Amy Acton. Acton’s work in fighting this virus has been instrumental in flattening the curve in Ohio, and there’s still a lot of work to be done.

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Which, by the way, is going for over $3,600 as we speak. His 1984 Big Ten championship ring went for $12,000, for reference.