The Ohio State men’s basketball team will close out its exhibition season tonight, but they won’t be playing just any opponent.
The Buckeyes are scheduled to face the legendary Harlem Globetrotters in their second preparatory game before the regular season tips off on Monday.
As of late, the Globetrotters have entered a style of competitive basketball far different from their traditional entertainment act. The team from Harlem has traveled to a number of Division I colleges already this preseason, and will visit the Schottenstein Center on its next stop to compete with OSU.
“As long as we’re not the Washington Generals I think we’re in good shape,” said OSU men’s basketball coach Jim O’Brien. “It is actually a very different format compared to what many of us are accustomed to when we talk about the Globetrotters. It’s one of the most difficult exhibition games we will play.”
After defeating Team Nike on Nov. 12, the Buckeyes will need to improve a struggling inside game. OSU’s big men were pushed around by a more mature Team Nike and failed to finish on a number of key opportunities inside the paint.
“If we’re going to be a focal point of the offense we’re going to have to finish inside,” said sophomore center Terence Dials. “They have some big veterans with old-man strength, but hopefully we’ll be able to get something done.”
The Globetrotters’ muscled-up front court is loaded with a number of NBA veterans. On top of that list is former NBA all-star Cedric Ceballos. Ceballos shared time with a number of NBA teams but played his best professional basketball with the Phoenix Suns.
“They’re very physical and very mature, so these categories may not be in our favor,” O’Brien said. “Either way, I’d rather play games like this rather than a game where you win by 25 or 30 points and get nothing out of it.”
Dials said he was aware of the challenge his team would face against the stronger Globetrotters.
“The Harlem Globetrotters are going out there to win with a lot of NBA veterans,” Dials said. “They get after it so we’re going to have to go out there and play as hard as possible.”
With the regular season only three days away, the Buckeyes’ focus will center on preparation. Unlike in its first exhibition game, OSU plans to treat its meeting with the Globetrotters no different than any other Big Ten conference game.
“The coaches want us to play hard so they can see if we can execute the offense,” said sophomore guard Brandon Fuss-Cheatham. “This is definitely a preparation game for Monday.”
Dials agreed with his teammate’s mind-set.
“We will treat this like it’s Big Ten tournament time, so hopefully it will tune us up,” he said.
