[Sly Fox]

The webbies screwed up the title again, Chris. But nice read as always.

LU’s Ohman converst first-year failure into a success story

By Chris Lang
Sports writer
Published: January 10, 2009

Kyle Ohman often wonders how his story would have turned out had he actually made the Liberty basketball team on his first attempt.

Ohman, a homeschooled athlete from Mechanicsburg, Pa., played basketball for tiny Emmanuel Baptist Christian School on a loophole that allowed children who attended the school’s church to play varsity sports.

Ohman, who was one of 11 students in his graduating class, scored 27 points a game for the school as a senior, but college recruiters weren’t exactly rushing to south central Pennsylvania to watch Ohman play. Emmanuel Baptist played independent, private school basketball. It rarely competed against public schools in the state.

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[paradox]

Tim Tebow, the Sanders brothers, Kyle Ohman..... Hey, wasn't there a frequent Winthrop poster who bodly proclaimed that homeshoolers were essentially worthless and soft, or something to that effect?

[paradox]

BTW, great piece Chris! I have a new favorite Lang article.

[Chris Lang]

Sigh. Headline fixed.

[SuperJon]

That changed when Liberty hired McKay. The new coach had little film to judge Ohman on. Instead, he watched him in workouts and noticed a gritty defensive player with an outstanding outside shot.

Oh how I wish he would go back to that.

[kingaling42]

He came up big, showed us why he is getting the minutes he is.

Props, KO, keep it up. Asheville doesn't stand a chance if you drop 20+ on them.

Love how UNCA enter's the thought processes when there are many games before we meet again.. So if KO scores 20+ vs the 6 he did in the first meeting- what's that mean?? LU only loses by half of the 28 point margin next time??

[PAmedic]

He came up big, showed us why he is getting the minutes he is.

Props, KO, keep it up. Asheville doesn't stand a chance if you drop 20+ on them.

Love how UNCA enter's the thought processes when there are many games before we meet again.. So if KO scores 20+ vs the 6 he did in the first meeting- what's that mean?? LU only loses by half of the 28 point margin next time??

Tue Mar 04, 2008: 2239

you need to look to the left.

Literally.

He posted that LAST season.

[kingaling42]

My bad- super old thread- recently revived I guess.. Didn't notice (obviously... )

[Hold My Own]

KO you still manage to frustrate me at times!

[SuperJon]

Ha, you should've seen/heard our whole section the entire game.

[Cider Jim]

Super, I looked for your section today, but I never could locate you. Where were you all sitting? Due to an amazing stroke of luck, I got to sit with the Curry family today.

[Hold My Own]

we win by 30 if those shots he took are divided up to anyone else...not just Ant or Seth

[LUMU11]

OK, after today I have to bring this question to the board. First, i'll start by saying Kyle contributed on the boards and some defensively as he always does. And he played well offensively for the last 4 or 5 minutes.There I gave him credit for something, I feel better. More importantly, I was at Winthrop and thought it was interesting that he doesn't ever seem to look for Seth, thought it was an abberation. Then I was at the game against CSU, noticed the same thing several times, then CCU, same thing, then today was even worse. I swear he threw the ball to Seth 1 time. I've been telling the guys I sit with, "hey look and see how often he throws the ball to Curry" and after Ohman missed him about 3 or 4 times today about 4 of them turned around and said "wow, he never throws the ball to Seth" no maybe i'm just hating a little bit bc he frustrates me. But I had to ask, has anyone else noticed this?

[treyjman24]

Better yet has anyone noticed that when kyle and smitty dont play down low that our defense, rebounds, and everything goes straight away.... kyle puts up some key points, but i don't see him as i saw him in the beginning... he seems more greedy. like i'll admit in the beginning of the season he had some good games and i was glad he was taking shots, but now he seems to just be really cocky. And the fact that jessie sanders is ever playing down low and the only guy going for a rebound most of the time absolutely appalls me. That should be all Smitty and Kyle... i don't know maybe im just venting, but lately nothing in me has wanted to be a KO fan....

[LUMU11]

TreyJ, you and I are on the same wavelength. I got no issue with Kyle taking some shots because he can shoot and late in the game he had some clean lanes to rim and took them and finished. But I feel like he's been greedy. I don't feel like he's taking what he gets in the offense I feel like he's trying to take control of the offense at times and be "the guy" and he's not. We have 2 guys that can take games over in Ant and Seth, they are undoubtedly our best options. Kyle needs to settle for being that 3rd scorer, which is extremely important for us, we need that. He needs to let those guys create and take control and sit back and strike with his opportunities and believe me he will get plenty of them in that role. And I agree, we need him down low. He's much more athletic and physical than I thought and we need his presence on the boards, that is definitely a positive that he brings to the floor. When he let the game come to him late in the 2nd half bc they were jumping Ant and Seth he become much more effective that's his role, he needs to accept it.

[SumItUp]

KO may or may not be a cocky player/person. He wouldn't be the first to ever set foot on the mountain. I don't have an issue with someone pointing out flaws in his game, but let's not get personal. This thread seems to be moving closer to that line. Coach can handle any issues. We don't need to divide our support for the team. Coach McKay will put the best squad on the floor. If that includes Kyle, he'll be out there.

[treyjman24]

Sum thats not what i mean at all. I think KO is a great player!! but its understanding his role and part of the team. He becomes SO VALUABLE when he plays under that basket and passes more. If you look at most of the stats in the big games we won check out his rebounds in the paint. I'm telling ya i love that he's a starter he's great but dude needs to understand his role....

[olldflame]

Better yet has anyone noticed that when kyle and smitty dont play down low that our defense, rebounds, and everything goes straight away.... kyle puts up some key points, but i don't see him as i saw him in the beginning... he seems more greedy. like i'll admit in the beginning of the season he had some good games and i was glad he was taking shots, but now he seems to just be really cocky. And the fact that jessie sanders is ever playing down low and the only guy going for a rebound most of the time absolutely appalls me. That should be all Smitty and Kyle... i don't know maybe im just venting, but lately nothing in me has wanted to be a KO fan....

We just beat the undefeated conference leaders on their court by 11, and some know it alls are being critical. Smitty and Kyle had 24 rebounds today. The fact that Jesse gets a lot of boards is not a condemnation of them. He goes after rebounds like a maniac. It is a major part of his game. We used to rave about what a terrific rebounder BJ was for a guard, and Jesse is much better. We don't have a dominant big, and with this group, rebounding is very much a team effort. That's the way it is and will be. We are small on the front line, but work hard, and have guards who can rebound, and that's how we stay competetive on the boards. Who would have thought going into this year that Kyle would be averaging 6 rebounds a game and be one of our key interior defenders?

I think some people are being way to judgemental of Kyle based mostly on nothing but gestures and body language. I trust Richie. I'm sure if it gets to where it is a negative for the team, he will reign him in.

[LUMU11]

Flame i'll admit that I don't like the way he carries himself, but i'm past that. I'm just talking about his game. I will continue to say that he is a major part of what we do. And he gets minutes bc he rebounds, plays D, and just for the most part plays his butt off. I don't think people are questioning that. I just think that people are noticing that they are times and recently there have been a lot where he is really stepping out of his role and trying to be more than what he is. Which takes away from what Ant and Seth can do. Not that it's all about them, but we need those guys getting looks and taking shots. I think people see that there are times in the game sometimes when Kyle is in a certain "mode" that he really hurts us, at times he did today, with some turnovers at inopportune times, missing some guys on the break, and not making the extra pass once or twice. Our fans have seen what he can bring to the table when he plays his role and that's what we need. But it's frustrating for people when we're in big games or close games and he's out there stepping away from what he does well. I don't think anyone is questioning Ritchie playing him or why he plays. Like I said previously his physicality and athleticism are needed in the post, particularly on D and today the last 4 or 5 minutes he was one of the reasons we sustained their run and finished them off. He plays like that the whole game and the rest of the season we're in good, good shape.

[treyjman24]

Better yet has anyone noticed that when kyle and smitty dont play down low that our defense, rebounds, and everything goes straight away.... kyle puts up some key points, but i don't see him as i saw him in the beginning... he seems more greedy. like i'll admit in the beginning of the season he had some good games and i was glad he was taking shots, but now he seems to just be really cocky. And the fact that jessie sanders is ever playing down low and the only guy going for a rebound most of the time absolutely appalls me. That should be all Smitty and Kyle... i don't know maybe im just venting, but lately nothing in me has wanted to be a KO fan....

We just beat the undefeated conference leaders on their court by 11, and some know it alls are being critical. Smitty and Kyle had 24 rebounds today. The fact that Jesse gets a lot of boards is not a condemnation of them. He goes after rebounds like a maniac. It is a major part of his game. We used to rave about what a terrific rebounder BJ was for a guard, and Jesse is much better. We don't have a dominant big, and with this group, rebounding is very much a team effort. That's the way it is and will be. We are small on the front line, but work hard, and have guards who can rebound, and that's how we stay competetive on the boards. Who would have thought going into this year that Kyle would be averaging 6 rebounds a game and be one of our key interior defenders?

I think some people are being way to judgemental of Kyle based mostly on nothing but gestures and body language. I trust Richie. I'm sure if it gets to where it is a negative for the team, he will reign him in.

Its not being judgemental. I think Kyle is an awesome, valuable, asset to our team, i'm just saying collectively as a team we do some much better when we smitty and KO are found under the hoop alot more than they have. I'm not trying to dis anyone i just want the best out of them! and if you don't beleive me, look at all the big games we won and look at how many MORE rebounds KO and smitty had and how much LESS jessie had. The stats speak for themselves and i know a few of the players even feel the same way....

[coolhandluke]

I'll agree on that. I think a few players on the team are not liking the way McKay seems to let Kyle keep on shooting even when he's playing like crap. I'll agree that when he's off, he still brings intense D and rebounding to our team, but in my opinion he causes too many turnovers and misses too many shots.

We just can't let Kyle keep shooting when he's 5-14 and 3-10 from 3. If he is going to take that many shots he has to make more of them.

Smitty and Curry were both 10-15. If Curry hadn't went off for 35, we lose this game.

I think Kyle does some great things for this team, but I really don't think he does anything that Bill Weaver or Johnny Stephene can't do. I really think we have to start limiting his minutes and giving more of them to Bill, or we are going to lose that kid. I think he has the potential to be huge for us, like Richie said, a poor man's Shane Battier.

Basically I just can't justify giving Kyle 35 minutes while Bill and Tyler both combine for only 5. I think he should play something like 25-28 minutes a game to open up more time for Bill and Tyler.

I also can't figure out how Spencer is consistently getting about the same amount of minutes that Bill is. His numbers definitely don't justify his playing time. But that's a topic for another day/slash thread I guess.

[olldflame]

If the argument is that Kyle is playing too many minutes, and Weaver and Baker should play more, there may be some validity in that based on the need to prevent breaking down from wear and tear and develop other players. That doesn't sound like the argument being made though.

You just can't say that if a player is not having a good night shooting, that they should stop looking for their shot. Seth has had several games like that recently. Do we say he should stop shooting? Of course not. Seth is a shooter. Kyle is a shooter. He has added some other dimensions to his game, but he is a D1 scholarship player right now because he can shoot the rock. When Kyle has a goot look, he needs to take the shot and believe it is going in, no matter what happened on the last shot, or the last 5 shots. He hasn't forgotten how to shoot. His 3 pt % and assist/turnover ratio are both better than Smitty, and he is shooting 90% from the line. Kyle is one of our best players in a number of ways.

Kyle did not "play like crap" yesterday. 5-14 shooting overall doesn't look particularly good, but when you break it down he was 2-4 from 2 (which I think we all can agree is fine) and 3-10 from 3, which is one make away from a very good night. He had 7 rebounds. Remember, this is a guy who is 6'4 and has played mostly on the perimiter his entire life til now. Yes, he had 5 turnovers; so did Jesse, and Smitty had 6. We had a lot of turnovers as a team yesterday, which is about the 1 bad thing I can say about how we played.

[Schfourteenteen]

I think Kyle does some great things for this team, but I really don't think he does anything that Bill Weaver or Johnny Stephene can't do. I really think we have to start limiting his minutes and giving more of them to Bill, or we are going to lose that kid.

Basically I just can't justify giving Kyle 35 minutes while Bill and Tyler both combine for only 5. I think he should play something like 25-28 minutes a game to open up more time for Bill and Tyler.

Certainly as we talk about the minutes this game shouldnt be considered in the mix. Although I completly agree with the general idea, I think he needed to be in more against VMI. Yes he is a liability handling the ball, but today Weaver didnt play good D when he was in, and Johnny Stephene was a turnover waiting to happen. Besides, Johnny refused to shoot the ball. Tyler looked absolutely awful during warmups at half.

[Hold My Own]

Ive given up on KO's attitude...I was speaking solely on him jacking up almost as many shots (while not being on) as our primetime players

[sweetnahmah1]

It seems like every time we get an offensive rebound and someone kicks it to him he shoots right away like he's trying to beat the shot clock. Chill, take your time, get set, don't just chuck it up there as soon as you get it Kyle. And on fast breaks he forces it sooooo much.