When Kyle Madsen arrived at Ohio State, he made an interesting first impression.
“He was a little bigger and had long, floppy hair,” junior David Lighty said. “When I first saw him, he looked like Shaggy [from] ‘Scooby-Doo.'”
Three years removed from his first season in Columbus, however, Madsen has changed a lot. He has shed the cartoon character image and, for the first time in his career, the senior on the OSU men’s basketball team has made a consistent impact on the court.
In his final season Madsen has come off the bench for the Buckeyes and averaged a career-high 12.7 minutes per game, but more importantly, he has made his minutes count. He has scored in each of the last six games, including a career-best 11 points in the Buckeyes’ win at Indiana last Wednesday.
Perhaps aiding Madsen’s emergence is the recent play of starting center Dallas Lauderdale. Like Madsen, Lighty said, Lauderdale is playing what may be the best basketball of his career.
Against Indiana, Madsen and Lauderdale “came out and had terrific games,” Lighty said. “Both of them are playing at their peaks right now and that’s a really good thing for us.”
As Lauderdale continues to improve, opposing teams have started to pay him more attention on the offensive end. They are forced to prepare for the specific style that he brings to the floor — a style that Madsen said is much different than his own.
“Me and Dallas are really different players,” Madsen said. “Dallas is a lot more explosive blocking shots and dunking the ball. My game is a little bit more cerebral, stepping outside and shooting the shots when I’m open.”
Like Madsen said, he might not provide the crowd-pleasing thunderous dunks or blocks that Lauderdale often features. However, he may have one of the best mid-range games on the team and has seemingly mastered the art of the 15-foot baseline jumper.
Though he doesn’t take the shot all that often, when he does take it, it’s a virtual certainty that it is going to go in. For coach Thad Matta, it’s that consistency that makes Madsen so valuable.
“You never worry with Kyle that he’s going to make the wrong read,” Matta said. “I love it to death that you know what you’re getting with him.”
For a Buckeye team that is heavily dependent on its five starters, Madsen has become OSU’s most reliable option off the bench. Although his increased contribution may have come as a welcome surprise to most Buckeye fans, his teammate said it didn’t necessarily come out of nowhere.
“His skills have always been there,” Lighty said. “He’s been knocking the shots down. We see him do it every day in practice and he’s doing it in games now.”
