COLUMBUS Buckeyes look forward to a better hoops season

The team is hoping to redeem itself after an embarrassing 14-16 record.
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- All is new for the Ohio State Buckeyes, who are still trying to find their way after a turbulent summer.
"That's a beautiful thing about getting a new coaching staff: It's a completely new start," forward Matt Sylvester said. "There's that saying, that you only get one chance to make a first impression. The fact that we get to make a first impression is great."
Major college basketball teams hit the court for their first official practice today. Finally getting back to work gives the Buckeyes a chance to take the first steps toward blotting out the bitter memories of last year's embarrassing 14-16 season.
Need to rebuild
Selfish play, poor shot selection and inept defense led to a 6-10 conference record. Fans were disgusted by the team's me-first play, staying away from Value City Arena by the thousands.
But that was just a prelude to the troubles that rocked the program in the summer, when coach Jim O'Brien was suddenly fired after athletic director Andy Geiger said O'Brien admitted paying a recruit $6,000. Six weeks later, after a nationwide search that many thought would begin and end with Bob Knight, Geiger hired Thad Matta away from Xavier.
Now Matta, who has never failed to make the NCAA tournament during one year at Butler and three at Xavier, is trying to gauge just how far the Buckeyes have fallen and what needs to be done to rebuild a once proud program.
"I believe this: people really want Ohio State to do well," Matta said. "We've tried to do as much as we can to drum up the interest again and get them excited. We know this program's not where we want it, but the good thing is it's not where it was two days ago. The guys have done a great job working. That's going to be the big challenge for us, to keep this thing moving forward."
Finding a fit
The only starter missing from a year ago is the graduated Velimir Radinovic. Captain Terence Dials, the former Boardman High standout, is a lock to start because he was the Buckeyes' best inside player a year ago, and the roster this season has only one other big man, Matt Marinchick.
Leading scorer Tony Stockman, swingman J.J. Sullinger and guard Ricardo Billings will vie for playing time on the perimeter, with sophomore Ivan Harris and the 6-foot-7 Sylvester in the rotation at forward. The 2004 Associated Press Mr. Basketball in Ohio, Jamar Butler, will battle for the point guard spot with senior Brandon Fuss-Cheatham.
The next few weeks leading up to the Nov. 15 opener against Towson in the Guardians Classic will be spent learning Matta's system and seeing who fits where -- or doesn't fit at all.
Stockman senses a different mood on this year's team.
"I thought we thought we were too good at times -- at the very beginning, before we started playing [games] last season," the senior shooting guard said. "Maybe that had something to do with it. When we were talking with each other and people around the program, everybody was saying, 'We're going to be good.' I think we got ahead of ourselves."
Asked if he was humbled by the way the season turned out, he added, "Yes. Very, very much."
Sullinger was privately disciplined by Matta -- the coach wouldn't disclose the nature of the punishment -- after being arrested for drunken driving earlier this month. Sullinger said there isn't a player on the team who doesn't look at the upcoming year as a chance to make up for the woes of the past year.
"We start off new and it can be happy if we let it," he said. "If we do the things we need to do to make it happen."