Ohio
Drastic 3-point shooting differences proving differences between Ohio State’s wins, losses
Video: Ohio State’s Bruce Thornton, Felix Okpara after Michigan loss
Ohio State’s Bruce Thornton and Felix Okpara talk with reporters after a loss at Michigan on Jan. 15, 2024.
It took five and a half minutes for Ohio State to hoist its first 3-pointer inside the Crisler Center. On their first eight possessions against Michigan, the Buckeyes either got the ball into the paint, turned it over trying to do so or attempted a shot from somewhere near the basket while building a 10-7 lead.
Then with 14:30 to play, Bruce Thornton attempted his team’s first 3-pointer on Monday afternoon, and it bricked off the rim. On the next possession, Jamison Battle missed one from the right corner. And on the next, Battle hit the side of the backboard from the same spot.
It was a sign of what was to come. Continuing what has become a trend this season, an inability to make shots from 3-point range directly tied into another loss for the Buckeyes.
To borrow an old cliché, Ohio State’s shooting inside the Crisler Center matched the temperatures outside: frigid. The Buckeyes finished 3 for 25 (12.0%) from deep in a 73-65 loss to the Wolverines, marking a third straight game where they failed to make more than one-third of their 3-point attempts.
Not coincidentally, Ohio State has lost all three of those games. As the Buckeyes try to avoid letting this streak turn into what last year became, the need to at least shoot better – if not spectacularly well – from deep has to be atop the list of concerns.
“What we can do is really evaluate the quality of our looks,” coach Chris Holtmann said. “Then they’ve got to trust their stroke. That’s really what we’re trying to evaluate: what are the quality of our looks?”
For the most part, Ohio State would appear to be getting shots it wants by guys it wants taking them. When the Buckeyes went to Indiana’s Assembly Hall on Jan. 6, they were shooting 38.0% from 3-point range. Battle was leading the way at 44.7% (42 for 94) with Roddy Gayle Jr. next at 39.5% (17 for 43) and Thornton close behind at 37.3% (28 for 75).
Three games later, Ohio State’s season 3-point shooting percentage has dropped to 35.2%. The Buckeyes have collectively shot 22.9% (16 for 70) from deep in losses to Indiana, Wisconsin and now Michigan. Entering Tuesday’s games, the Hoosiers ranked ninth in the Big Ten in 3-point percentage defense (32.9%), the Wolverines 12th (33.9%) and the Badgers 13th (34.9%).
Ohio State Buckeyes: Poor shooting dooms Ohio State at Indiana: 5 takeaways from another road loss
Against those teams, Battle has shot 43.5% from 3 (10 for 23) despite missing seven of his eight attempts against Michigan. Thornton is 3 for 19 (15.8%). Gayle is 0 for 12.
When shots aren’t falling, “It’s hard (to win),” Thornton said after the Michigan loss. “I’m not going to lie to you. Even though I’m not shooting well at all, I’ve got to shoot it like I’m going to make the next one every single time. That’s my thought process.”
Ohio State’s shooting splits between wins and losses are significant. The Buckeyes are shooting 38.8% (104 for 268) from 3 in their 12 wins and 27.0% (31 for 115) in their five losses. Battle has 15 of those 31 makes. The Buckeyes are 4-4 when shooting 33.3% or worse from 3 and 8-1 when bettering that mark.
Ohio State Buckeyes: Join the Ohio State Sports Insider text group with Bill Rabinowitz, Joey Kaufman Adam Jardy
There’s a few things that could help with those numbers. Ohio State has not experienced as much success in transition as it hoped for this year, but those numbers have also dipped in losses. The Buckeyes average 6.9 fast-break points in their wins and 4.8 in their losses, but win or lose they’ve only gotten into double figures in one of their last 11 games. Ohio State has also gone away from posting up centers Felix Okpara and Zed Key with any regularity, instead relying on them to get their production from lobs or put-backs.
That has meant fewer kick-outs to open shooters for shots that are generally the highest percentage 3-point attempts.
“We’ve struggled in general getting some transition where we were getting that earlier in the season,” Holtmann said on Tuesday’s radio show. “We’ve got to be better at that and getting some buckets on the glass.”
It all fits together. A few more made 3s will open up the opportunities down low, which will give the Buckeyes better opportunities at the rim and, in turn, better 3-point looks. And maybe, eventually, it will lead to winning again.
ajardy@dispatch.com
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Ohio
Former Ohio State 5-star corner Aaron Scott Jr. lands at Big Ten rival
Former 5-star commit Aaron Scott Jr. has found his new landing spot, and it’s with a rival in the Big Ten. According to an announcement made on social media by Hayes Fawcett, Scott will continue his career with the Oregon Ducks.
Originally from Springfield, Ohio, Scott committed to the Buckeyes over Michigan and others in the class of 2024 as one of the best corners in the country. At the time, it was expected that he could be a big part of the future of the defensive backfield in Columbus. And while Scott received some playing time, he had yet to break into the starting lineup through the first couple of seasons and will have two seasons remaining at Oregon.
Scott had 11 tackles and 1 pass defended through his sophomore season and was expected to be in-line to compete for a starting spot at cornerback next season. It was a surprise when he entered the portal, and we may never really know what kind of situation and conversations occurred behind the scenes.
As a transfer, according to 247Sports, Scott is ranked as the No. 19 cornerback and 291st prospect. Oregon and Ohio State are scheduled to meet each of the next two years, but the Big Ten schedules have not been set when it comes to dates and times
We’ll continue to track the comings and goings of players in the portal as we move forward until it all calms down.
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Ohio
Northeast Ohio native Suzanne Conway brings experience back home to run Cain Park
CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, Ohio — It all started at Cain Park for Suzanne Conway, who will now be returning to the historic amphitheater as its general manager.
City officials announced her hiring Friday (Jan. 16) with Conway starting next month at the oldest operating municipally-owned performing arts venue in the country.
Conway stated in a city press release that she looks forward to “returning to Cain Park, where I began my career all the way back in 1999, and where I first fell in love with live venue entertainment.”
A Northeast Ohio native, Conway brings a wealth of experience back home, having worked in recent years for the country’s largest music venue operator, the House of Blues (HOB).
She has served as general manager at HOB Chicago and San Diego, as well as Director of Music Hall Operations for HOB Dallas.
Conway actually started in 2018 as the assistant general manager for HOB’s operation of Masonic Cleveland.
“After the incredible opportunities I’ve had to grow and do what I love all over the world, I am beyond proud to come home to Cain Park,” she added.
“I cannot wait to bring the best, most diverse live entertainment to Cleveland Heights.”
Her resume also includes early stints in patron services for Great Lakes Theater and a position at Cain Park as Assistant Operations Manager.
Conway then branched into tour management for David Copperfield, film festival operations for Sundance, and managing theater companies at The Old Globe in San Diego.
“She returned for a second tour of duty at Cain Park as Marketing and Public Relations Coordinator,” the city press release noted, adding that her experience has not been limited to the entertainment industry.
“Ms. Conway also counts race director for Susan G. Komen Northeast Ohio, as well as community development manager for the American Cancer Society’s Greater Cleveland Chapter among her career accomplishments,” city officials added.
As she steps into her role operating the entertainment complex at Cain Park, it will look like more of a renaissance than ever.
“Conway’s taking the helm at Cain Park comes at a time of great opportunity, driven in part by the city’s investment of over $5 million in infrastructure improvements,” largely through post-pandemic federal grants, officials said.
The overhaul included seat replacements in the theater and amphitheater, upgrading the audio/visual system, completely renovating the artist and administration building, pavilion roof repairs and adding new lighting on paths and throughout the park.
“In addition, the city built amphitheater-style seating and improved ADA access to the park on its South Taylor end where reinvestment in the Cain Park Village plan continues,” the press release stated.
The work includes restoration of the Taylor Tudor buildings, a $25 million renovation of a mixed-use space near the park.
“We’re truly excited to welcome Suzanne Conway to manage Cain Park. She will arrive at a very exciting time for the city,” Cleveland Heights Mayor Jim Petras said.
Petras added that with unanimous approval from City Council, Cain Park’s 2026 production budget was doubled and the decision was made to elevate Cain Park to its own city department in the near future.
“We were so impressed with her appreciation and reverence for Cain Park as a venue and as a community asset.”
Her salary has also been bumped up to a pay range in line with the city’s communications chief and parks and recreation director.
To learn more, log on to cainpark.com.
Read more from the Sun Press.
Ohio
Bodyguards for GOP gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy didn’t have required Ohio licenses
COLUMBUS, Ohio—During several of Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy’s recent public appearances, he was accompanied by at least two bodyguards who weren’t registered with the state as required by law, a cleveland.com analysis shows.
The revelation comes as the Columbus-area entrepreneur is moving to fire the Ohio company providing his security after one of his family’s bodyguards was arrested on federal drug‑trafficking charges.
Social-media photos posted by ARK Protection Group of Wayne County; Rpm Gazbpda. the company’s owner who describes himself online as Ramaswamy’s “head of security”; and Ramaswamy’s campaign depict at least two men with Ramaswamy’s security detail during recent events who state records show either had an expired Ohio security-guard license or no such license at all.
Under Ohio law, all security personnel – including personal bodyguards – have to be registered with the state and pass a background check, then renew that registration annually.
They also need additional state certification in order to carry pistols, revolvers, or semi-automatic weapons on the job – which, among other things, requires at least 25 hours of firearms training.
If anyone’s caught working a security job without state permission, both they and their employer can face criminal charges, punishable with jail time and fines.
The Ohio Department of Public Safety, which regulates the state’s private security industry, can additionally fine violators $100 for each day they broke the law, as well as put offending security companies out of business.
However, photos posted by ARK Protection Group on Facebook and Instagram showed (and tagged) Christopher Endres at a Ramaswamy speech at the University of Cincinnati on Dec. 1. Other photos show Endres standing alongside Ramaswamy at Turning Point USA event in Phoenix, where Ramaswamy spoke on Dec. 20.
Endres’ state registration with ARK Protection Group expired in February 2024, according to Department of Public Safety spokesman Bret Crow.
The company set its Instagram account to private on Friday.
Photos posted to Ramaswamy’s Instagram account on Jan. 12 show a second bodyguard, Jacob Owens, accompanying the candidate during a visit to Chillicothe. State records show no sign that Owens has ever been registered to work as security (Ohio does not recognize security-guard licenses or registrations from other states).
In an email, Crow stated that neither Endres nor Owens were included in ARK Protection Groups’ roster of private security guards that it submitted to the state.
Crow would neither confirm nor deny that state officials are investigating ARK Protection Group. However, Crow added that a post by D.J. Byrnes on his left-leaning blog, The Rooster, “contains real information.” The Rooster was first to report ARK Protection Group’s employee‑registration issues.
The Plain Dealer and cleveland.com has reached out to Owens for comment. Endres was briefly reached by phone Friday morning but hung up when a Plain Dealer/cleveland.com reporter identified himself.
A third ARK Protection Group bodyguard for Ramaswamy’s family, Justin Salsburey of Bellefontaine, was arrested Dec. 30 on charges that he and his wife received and sold counterfeit OxyContin pills containing fentanyl, as well as Adderall pills. Salsburey’s security guard license expired last June, though it wasn’t immediately clear if he continued to provide security for Ramaswmay beyond then.
In a statement Friday, Ramaswamy campaign spokeswoman Connie Luck didn’t directly answer questions about how Ramaswamy came to hire ARK Protection Group, nor what vetting – if any – he did of the company or its employees before hiring them to protect him and his family.
“The Ramaswamy family’s contract with Ark Protection Group specifies the requirement to comply with all relevant laws and regulations,” Luck stated in response.
Luck added that “in light of last week’s deeply troubling developments,” Ramaswamy and his family have “begun the process of relieving Ark Protection Group of their responsibilities and transitioning to a new service provider,” Luck stated.
When Luck was asked whether the “troubling developments” only involved news of Salsburey’s arrest, she replied, “This decision was set in motion following last week’s developments.”
Luck also provided a statement from Gazboda stating that he and his company “are sorry to have disappointed the Ramaswamy family.
“Their safety and protection remain our utmost priority, and we are supporting them as they transition to a new security service provider,” Gazboda says in the statement.
The Plain Dealer and cleveland.com has reached out to Gazboda for further comment and details.
While Ramaswamy was the most frequent public figure to show up on ARK Protection Group’s social-media accounts, he wasn’t the only one.
Other photos on the company’s Instagram account, as well as Gazboda’s Facebook account, showed the retired U.S. Air Force master sergeant with celebrities such as singer/rapper Jelly Roll and prominent conservative political leaders such as Donald Trump Jr., ex-U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, and commentator Tucker Carlson.
Theodore Owens, executive director of the Ohio Association of Security & Investigation Services, the state’s main trade group for private security services, said in a phone interview that he was “flabbergasted” to read about ARK Protection Group’s issues – first with Salsburey’s arrest, and now with its registration issues.
“I hate to say this, but it makes the whole industry in Ohio now look bad,” said Owens, who’s not related to Jacob Owens. “I wish you could see me, because I’ve got my face in the palm of my hand right now.”
ARK Protection Group is not a member of Owens’ trade group, and Owens – a 20-year veteran of Ohio’s private security industry — said he hadn’t heard of the company before reading about Salsburey’s arrest last week.
Owens said his organization has already been working with state lawmakers – he declined to say exactly who – to introduce legislation later this year to update Ohio’s regulations for private security personnel – from creating new standards for training and firearms qualification to cracking down on security companies that pay employees under the table (which means the employees aren’t eligible for workers’ compensation if they’re attacked or hurt on the job).
Owens said hearing about ARK Protection Group’s issues has motivated him to push even harder to get those reforms in place.
“I’m like, ‘Yeah, we need to talk to our legislators again and really start working on this,’” he said.
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