Ohio State must recover from offseason woes

Last season, for the first time in coach Randy Ayers' four years at the helm of the Ohio State men's basketball team, the Buckeyes did not qualify for a postseason tournament. And that was the good news for Ayers, whose squad plays Penn Saturday at the Palestra. Bigger problems loomed in the immediate future of this once proud basketball institution. In May, Ayers' prized incoming freshman, Damon Flint, was ruled ineligible to play for the Buckeyes after at least 17 NCAA violations were tied to his recruitment. The 6-foot-5 swingman has since enrolled at Cincinnati and OSU has been placed on probation. From there, the trouble just got worse. After two transfers and three dismissals, the Buckeyes will now have to struggle to repeat last season's success. And last season did not exactly go OSU's way, as the Buckeyes finished with a 13-16 record, their first losing season in 17 years. While other teams were dancing in the NCAA tournament, OSU received its second major blow. Charles Macon, a 6-7 forward and former Indiana Mr. Basketball, pleaded guilty to theft, drunken driving and marijuana possession. While serving a one-year suspension from the team, Macon failed out of the university. In April, Gerald Eaker, who led the team with 36 blocked shots last season, got in trouble with his teammates. His scholarship was lifted after he shot out the tire of a car owned by Antonio Watson. He left OSU after this incident. The month for Ayers, however, was just beginning. Rickey Dudley, one of the few big men on the Buckeyes was charged with drunken driving. After he failed to pay his $300 in fines and $69 in court costs, a warrant was issued for his arrest. Dudley paid these dues and returned to play tight end for the football team, and should be joining the hoops squad in the near future. Throughout these months, junior guard Greg Simpson was involved with an array of incidents. First he was arrested for drunken driving, then an assault charge was dropped and finally he was the get-away driver involved in the team shooting incident. As if these charges and problems were not enough, he was recently involved in a fight with a former girlfriend. And as the Buckeyes' days in courts mounted, the few remaining stars fled before the situation got worse. Derek Anderson, who led Ohio State against Penn last season with 23 points and some amazing heroics, transferred to Kentucky. Following this lead, Nate Wilbourne left for South Carolina. After all these defections and dismissals, OSU returns only 10 percent of its scoring, 11 percent of its rebounding and 12 percent of its assists. Last year's success may be hard for the Buckeyes to repeat

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