Monday Mailbag: December 16, 2019

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent sports editor

This week’s Monday Mailbag features questions about Eggerrs Stadium, low scoring basketball games, Ohio State basketball and expanded college football playoffs.

Q: How soon until we found out what’s going to happen with Eggerss Stadium and what is the timeline for getting the renovations done? It seems like this process has dragged on forever. Name withheld upon request

A: I doubt we’ll have a timeline until it’s determined how much money is raised to begin or cover renovations at the stadium.

A feasibility study is being done for renovations and the possible addition of a baseball/softball complex. Once that’s done, fundraising efforts will begin, and those efforts will define what can be done and when.

Continued patience is required, because this likely will not be a quick process.

Q: I’m sure this isn’t a new topic — the aggressive defenses that seem to be dominating high school basketball. I think of the 19 Friday night scores shown on your website, only two losing teams got into the 50s. I was at a game where the score was 17-13 at the half!

I know it takes great athleticism and great coaching to shut teams down like this and maybe it’s not new, but it certainly makes for some ugly basketball. Your thoughts? Name withheld upon request

A: Personally, I think it’s a combination of things. A number of fine basketball senior players graduated after last season, taking a lot of points and experience with them. Van Wert and Crestview are two prime examples of that.

Now you have players who previously played limited varsity minutes on the court full time and are trying to adjust to a higher level of play, which takes time. Plus, you have to keep in mind that these players may not have much on-the-court time with each other – you’re meshing some varsity players with previous junior varsity or freshmen players – which again, takes some time to click.

Something else to keep in mind – in sports like basketball and football, defense tends to come around a little faster than offense. Generally, if you can hold a team under 50 points, you stand a decent chance of winning. Yes, the offense has to score points, but coaches tend to hang their collective hats on defense.

Q: What are your thoughts on Ohio State basketball? Is this team for real? Name withheld upon request

A: The Buckeyes certainly look the part of a top team right now, but I want to see how they look when they get into the meat of the schedule.

Yes, this team is vastly improved and Chris Holtmann has things headed in the right direction, Sunday’s loss to Minnesota not withstanding. A big test awaits Saturday at Kentucky.

Q: I don’t understand why people are still pushing for an eight team college football playoff. This year shows a four team playoff is all that’s needed. What are your thoughts? Name withheld upon request

A: As I’ve said before, it’s only a matter of time before an eight team playoff becomes a reality.

There are some years where you could make an argument for an expanded playoff, but this isn’t one of them. One can easily argue there’s a clear drop off between No. 3 and No. 4 and from No. 4 on, and I tend to agree with that argument.

Personally, whenever expansion occurs, I’d rather see a six team tournament, with the five conference champions and one at-large team. The top two seeds would get a bye. But that’s probably not going to happen.

Your questions and comments are what makes this feature successful, so if you’d like to chime in, feel free to email me at sports@thevwindependent.com.