During the 2005-2006 college hoops season many expected Ohio State to struggle in Thad Matta’s second season. The Bucks were selected to finish in the bottom of the pack in the Big Ten that season. Though, Coach Matta improved Ohio State during his first season leading them to a 20 win season the doubters still remained.
On paper the 2005-2006 team didn’t appear impressive in some people’s eyes, but they were more than impressive when they took the floor. I will say this was one of my favorite Buckeye teams, due to the versatility and unselfishness of each player. One of the most versatile players on that roster was J.J. Sullinger.
Sullinger played a huge role for the Bucks, and was part of the reason why Ohio State was so versatile that season. A shooting guard by nature Sullinger took the role to play several other positions even the power forward position. With four perimeter players surrounding Terrance Dials in the paint it made life easier on both parties.
Teams had trouble matching up with OSU and they won the Big Ten title silencing all critics. A team that was selected to finish at or near the bottom of their conference ended up with a No.2 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
For the group of seniors it was special to see them play in a NCAA tournament after going through so much in previous years. From a coaching change to NCAA violations it was great to see the senior class go out in great fashion. The Buckeyes tournament run fell short that season to Georgetown, but from that point forward the basketball legacy at OSU was reestablished by the 05-06 Buckeyes.
Let’s take a trip down memory to hear the March Madness memories from J.J. Sullinger.
RH: What were your fondest March Madness memories throughout your college basketball career?
JJ: “Considering I only made the NCAA Tournament once my Senior year…. It made it that more special.”
“My fondest memory was by far the open practice we had before our opening game vs Davidson… Our fans packed the house and we had one of our best shoot arounds ever!!! At the end we had an impromptu dunk contest that had little boys and girls going nuts!!!”
“Beating Davidson after being down the majority of the game was fun too!!! We realized quickly what March Madness was all about!!”
I would like to thank J.J. Sullinger for taking time out of his schedule to take part in this interview. Buckeye fans can keep up with Sullinger on Twitter by following him at @MrOH1O. Go Bucks!!
