# 2009–10 Ohio Bobcats men's basketball team

The 2009–10 Ohio Bobcats men's basketball team represented Ohio University in the college basketball season of 2009–10. The team was coached by John Groce and played their homes game at the Convocation Center.
At the end of the regular season Ohio was seeded 9th in the 2010 MAC men's basketball tournament with a conference record of 7–9. However, the Bobcats reeled off four straight wins to win the MAC tournament, including an overtime win over Akron in the championship game. The victory earned them an automatic bid to the 2010 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament. On Selection Sunday they were given the 14 seed in the Midwest region and slated to play the 3 seed Georgetown.
In a huge upset, the Bobcats dominated the Hoyas almost the whole game in the first round of the NCAA tournament, beating them 97–83. The win was Ohio's first NCAA Tournament win since 1983, when they toppled Illinois State in the first round. The Bobcats advanced to face the #6 seed Tennessee. They were knocked off by Tennessee 83–67 to finish the season 22–15.

## Before the season
### Roster changes

The Ohio Bobcats lost six players from last year's team. Out of those six players, three were starters and two players recorded over 10 points per game. Jerome Tillman, who averaged 17.7 points and 8.1 rebounds per game for the Bobcats, now plays for the French team ÉS Chalon-sur-Saône The other two starters that departed from last year's team were Justin Orr and Michael Allen. Ohio has recruited six players to replace those players for the current season.

### Recruiting

College recruiting information :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Ivo Baltic PF | Kansas City, MO | Park Hill South HS | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 214 lb (97 kg) | Apr 6, 2009 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 88 ||||||
| D. J. Cooper PG | Chicago, IL | Seton Academy | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | 165 lb (75 kg) | Sep 22, 2008 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 87 ||||||
| Marquis Horne SF | Cincinnati, OH | Princeton HS | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 224 lb (102 kg) | Sep 7, 2008 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 85 ||||||
| Reggie Keely PF | University Heights, OH | Cleveland Heights HS | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 263 lb (119 kg) | Sep 22, 2008 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 85 ||||||
| James Kinney PG | Champaign, IL | Centennial HS | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | 178 lb (81 kg) | Oct 6, 2008 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 85 ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: ||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "Ohio Commit List for 2009". Rivals.com. Retrieved October 23, 2009. "Scout.com: Men's Basketball Recruiting". Scout.com. Retrieved October 23, 2009. "Ohio Basketball Recruiting 2009". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 23, 2009. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved October 23, 2009. "2009 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved October 23, 2009. ||||||
Following Ohio's exhibition win against Ashland on November 13, John Groce announced that Marquis Horne had left the team for, "personal reasons." Horne accrued 15 points and 10 rebounds in his two exhibition games as a Bobcat.
James (Jay) Kinney was dismissed from the team on February 12, 2010 due to repeated violation of team rules and policies.

## Coaching staff

| Name | Position | College | Graduating year |
| John Groce | Head coach | Taylor University | 1994 |
| Chris Holtmann | Assistant coach | Taylor University | 1994 |
| Dustin Ford | Assistant coach | Ohio University | 2001 |
| Ramon Williams | Assistant coach | Virginia Military Institute | 1990 |
| Aaron Fuss | Director of Operations | Ohio State University | 2005 |

## Preseason
### Preseason men's basketball poll

On October 28, the members of the MAC News Media Panel voted in the Preseason Media Poll. Ohio was picked last in the MAC East
East Division :
| Place | Team | 1st | Points |
| 1 | Akron Zips | 19 | 190 points |
| 2 | Kent State Golden Flashes | 3 | 108 points |
| 3 | Buffalo Bulls | 1 | 97 points |
| 4 | Miami RedHawks | – | 78 points |
| 5 | Bowling Green Falcons | 1 | 54 points |
| 6 | Ohio | – | 32 points |
West Division :
| Place | Team | 1st | Points |
| 1 | Central Michigan Chippewas | 10 | 113 points |
| 2 | Northern Illinois Huskies | 4 | 102 points |
| 3 | Eastern Michigan Eagles | 3 | 94 points |
| 4 | Ball State Cardinals | 3 | 87 points |
| 5 | Western Michigan Broncos | 4 | 79 points |
| 6 | Toledo Rockets | – | 29 points |

### MAC tournament winner

Akron (19), Buffalo (2), Northern Illinois (1), Kent State (1), Bowling Green (1)

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition ||||||
| October 30* 7:00 p.m. | | Taylor | W 76–40 | — | Convocation Center (1,217) Athens, Ohio |
| November 7* 2:00 p.m. | | Ashland | W 63–53 | — | Convocation Center (2,019) Athens, Ohio |
| Regular Season ||||||
| November 13* 7:00 p.m. | | Ohio Valley | W 101–72 Stats | 1–0 | Convocation Center (3,189) Athens, Ohio |
| November 15* 4:00 p.m. | | Middle Tennessee Global Sports Invitational | W 81–68 Stats | 2–0 | Convocation Center (3,355) Athens, Ohio |
| November 17* 7:00 p.m. | | North Carolina A&T Global Sports Invitational | W 93–83 Stats | 3–0 | Convocation Center (3,822) Athens, Ohio |
| November 23* 7:00 p.m. | | Lamar Global Sports Invitational | W 71–46 Stats | 4–0 | Convocation Center (3,827) Athens, Ohio |
| November 28* 7:30 p.m., WSAZ-TV WTAP-TV | | vs. Marshall Global Sports Invitational | L 53–60 Stats | 4–1 | Charleston Civic Center (2,515) Charleston, West Virginia |
| December 6* 3:00 p.m. | | at Tulsa | L 80–81 Stats | 4–2 | Reynolds Center (4,886) Tulsa, Oklahoma |
| December 9* 7:00 p.m. | | Austin Peay | L 66–68 Stats | 4–3 | Convocation Center (3,086) Athens, Ohio |
| December 12* 2:00 p.m. | | at Delaware | W 86–70 Stats | 5–3 | Bob Carpenter Center (2,269) Newark, Delaware |
| December 16* 7:00 p.m. | | Illinois State | W 75–57 Stats | 6–3 | Convocation Center (3,694) Athens, Ohio |
| December 19* 2:30 p.m. | | Eastern Kentucky | W 74–62 Stats | 7–3 | Convocation Center (3,714) Athens, Ohio |
| December 22* 7:00 p.m., ESPN Regional FSN Pittsburgh | | at Pittsburgh | L 49–74 Stats | 7–4 | Petersen Events Center (9,261) Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
| December 29* 7:00 p.m. | | Elon | W 71–59 Stats | 8–4 | Convocation Center (4,822) Athens, Ohio |
| January 2* 7:00 p.m. | | at Robert Morris | L 79–81 Stats | 8–5 | Charles L. Sewall Center (763) Moon Township, Pennsylvania |
| January 6* 7:00 p.m. | | vs. IUPUI | W 63–62 Stats | 9–5 | Conseco Field House (1,450) Indianapolis, Indiana |
| January 9 2:00 p.m. | | Kent State | L 60–62 Stats | 9–6 (0–1) | Convocation Center (8,359) Athens, Ohio |
| January 13 7:00 p.m. | | Akron | L 62–67 Stats | 9–7 (0–2) | Convocation Center (6,834) Athens, Ohio |
| January 16 12:00 p.m., ESPNU | | at Miami (OH) | L 67–79 Stats | 9–8 (0–3) | Millett Hall (2,204) Oxford, Ohio |
| January 20 7:00 p.m. | | at Bowling Green | L 57–65 Stats | 9–9 (0–4) | Anderson Arena (1,585) Bowling Green, Ohio |
| January 23 2:00 p.m., FS Ohio | | Buffalo | W 99–77 Stats | 10–9 (1–4) | Convocation Center (10,689) Athens, Ohio |
| January 27 8:00 p.m. | | at Northern Illinois | W 99–84 Stats | 11–9 (2–4) | Convocation Center (1,498) DeKalb, Illinois |
| January 31 2:00 p.m. | | Ball State | L 66–67 Stats $^{OT}$ | 11–10 (2–5) | Convocation Center (5,596) Athens, Ohio |
| February 4 7:00 p.m. | | at Toledo | W 65–58 Stats $^{OT}$ | 12–10 (3–5) | Savage Arena (3,408) Toledo, Ohio |
| February 6 4:30 p.m. | | at Eastern Michigan | L 61–70 Stats\ | 12–11 (3–6) | Convocation Center (1,362) Ypsilanti, Michigan |
| February 9 7:00 p.m. | | Western Michigan | W 90–74 Stats | 13–11 (4–6) | Convocation Center (2,880) Athens, Ohio |
| February 11 7:00 p.m. | | Central Michigan | W 89–76 Stats | 14–11 (5–6) | Convocation Center (4,051) Athens, Ohio |
| February 14 2:00 p.m. | | at Akron | L 88–91 Stats $^{2OT}$ | 14–12 (5–7) | James A. Rhodes Arena (3,469) Akron, Ohio |
| February 17 7:00 p.m. | | at Kent State | L 67–74 Stats | 14–13 (5–8) | Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center (3,763) Kent, Ohio |
| February 20* 4:00 p.m. | | Wright State ESPN BracketBusters | W 64–59 Stats | 15–13 | Convocation Center (8,164) Athens, Ohio |
| February 24 7:00 p.m. | | Miami (OH) | W 70–68 Stats | 16–13 (6–8) | Convocation Center (7,044) Athens, Ohio |
| February 27 7:00 p.m. | | at Buffalo | L 69–72 Stats | 16–14 (6–9) | Alumni Arena (2,321) Buffalo, New York |
| March 4 7:00 p.m. | | Bowling Green | W 82–60 Stats | 17–14 (7–9) | Convocation Center (6,792) Athens, Ohio |
| MAC tournament ||||||
| March 7 2:00 p.m. | (9) | at (8) Ball State MAC First Round | W 85–77 Stats $^{OT}$ | 18–14 | John E. Worthen Arena (2,667) Muncie, Indiana |
| March 11 7:00 p.m., FS Ohio | (9) | vs. (1) Kent State MAC Quarterfinals | W 81–64 Stats | 19–14 | Quicken Loans Arena (4,125) Cleveland, Ohio |
| March 12 9:30 p.m., FS Ohio | (9) | vs. (4) Miami (Ohio) MAC Semifinals | W 54–42 Stats | 20–14 | Quicken Loans Arena (5,089) Cleveland, Ohio |
| March 13 6:00 p.m., ESPN2 | (9) | vs. (3) Akron MAC Championship Game | W 81–75 Stats $^{OT}$ | 21–14 | Quicken Loans Arena (9,533) Cleveland, Ohio |
| NCAA tournament ||||||
| March 18* 7:25 p.m., CBS | (14 MW) | vs. (3 MW) No. 12 Georgetown NCAA First Round | W 97–83 Stats | 22–14 | Dunkin' Donuts Center (10,788) Providence, Rhode Island |
| March 20* 3:35 p.m., CBS | (14 MW) | vs. (6 MW) No. 15 Tennessee NCAA Second Round | L 68–83 Stats | 22–15 | Dunkin' Donuts Center (11,271) Providence, Rhode Island |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. MW=NCAA Midwest Regional. ||||||

## Statistics
### Team statistics

    Final 2009–10 statistics
| Record | Ohio | OPP |
| Scoring | 2763 | 2569 |
| Scoring Average | 74.68 | 69.43 |
| Field goals – Att | 925–2153 | 905–2165 |
| 3-pt. Field goals – Att | 278–759 | 222–711 |
| Free throws – Att | 635–883 | 537–767 |
| Rebounds | 1371 | 1397 |
| Assists | 524 | 515 |
| Turnovers | 473 | 566 |
| Steals | 278 | 214 |
| Blocked Shots | 97 | 130 |
Source

### Player statistics

| | | | Minutes | Minutes | Scoring | Scoring | Total FGs | Total FGs | Total FGs | 3-point FGs | 3-point FGs | 3-point FGs | Free-Throws | Free-Throws | Free-Throws | Rebounds | Rebounds | Rebounds | Rebounds | | | | | |
| Player | GP | GS | Tot | Avg | Pts | Avg | FG | FGA | Pct | 3FG | 3FA | Pct | FT | FTA | Pct | Off | Def | Tot | Avg | A | PF | TO | Stl | Blk |
| Armon Bassett | 33 | 29 | 1150 | 34.8 | 564 | 17.1 | 164 | 421 | 0.39 | 72 | 208 | 0.346 | 164 | 202 | 0.812 | 9 | 99 | 108 | 3.3 | 117 | 44 | 77 | 41 | 2 |
| D.J. Cooper | 37 | 36 | 1313 | 35.5 | 498 | 13.5 | 156 | 417 | 0.374 | 65 | 204 | 0.319 | 121 | 158 | 0.766 | 67 | 131 | 198 | 5.4 | 218 | 76 | 99 | 93 | 11 |
| Tommy Freeman | 37 | 35 | 1017 | 27.5 | 388 | 10.5 | 115 | 239 | 0.481 | 93 | 195 | 0.477 | 65 | 76 | 0.855 | 15 | 58 | 73 | 2 | 37 | 89 | 44 | 18 | 3 |
| DeVaughn Washington | 32 | 20 | 823 | 25.7 | 363 | 11.3 | 121 | 240 | 0.504 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 121 | 176 | 0.688 | 84 | 88 | 172 | 5.4 | 20 | 94 | 59 | 33 | 13 |
| Kenneth van Kempen | 37 | 34 | 1028 | 27.8 | 251 | 6.8 | 112 | 246 | 0.455 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 27 | 39 | 0.692 | 67 | 180 | 247 | 6.7 | 26 | 124 | 45 | 20 | 23 |
| Reggie Keely | 37 | 17 | 602 | 16.3 | 200 | 5.4 | 83 | 167 | 0.497 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 34 | 84 | 0.405 | 64 | 94 | 158 | 4.3 | 19 | 84 | 41 | 12 | 27 |
| James Kinney | 19 | 3 | 426 | 22.4 | 185 | 9.7 | 69 | 172 | 0.401 | 31 | 96 | 0.323 | 16 | 21 | 0.762 | 3 | 26 | 29 | 1.5 | 29 | 34 | 27 | 15 | 3 |
| Steven Coleman | 10 | 4 | 248 | 24.8 | 113 | 11.3 | 31 | 77 | 0.403 | 12 | 30 | 0.4 | 39 | 46 | 0.848 | 6 | 36 | 42 | 4.2 | 25 | 35 | 15 | 15 | 3 |
| Ivo Baltic | 37 | 2 | 421 | 11.4 | 108 | 2.9 | 41 | 84 | 0.488 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 26 | 52 | 0.5 | 27 | 69 | 96 | 2.6 | 14 | 57 | 42 | 16 | 8 |
| Asown Sayles | 29 | 5 | 448 | 15.4 | 72 | 2.5 | 25 | 73 | 0.342 | 3 | 10 | 0.3 | 19 | 26 | 0.731 | 29 | 56 | 85 | 2.9 | 16 | 50 | 16 | 12 | 4 |
| David McKinley | 14 | 0 | 44 | 3.1 | 14 | 1 | 5 | 11 | 0.455 | 2 | 8 | 0.25 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0.1 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| Adetunji Adedipe | 16 | 0 | 30 | 1.9 | 7 | 0.4 | 3 | 6 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 0.4 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 37 | - | 7550 | - | 2763 | 74.7 | 925 | 2153 | 0.430 | 278 | 759 | 0.366 | 635 | 883 | 0.719 | 443 | 928 | 1371 | 37.1 | 524 | 696 | 473 | 278 | 97 |
| Opponents | 37 | - | 7550 | - | 2569 | 69.4 | 905 | 2165 | 0.418 | 222 | 711 | 0.312 | 537 | 767 | 0.700 | 472 | 925 | 1397 | 37.8 | 515 | 746 | 566 | 214 | 130 |
Source

## Awards and honors
### All-MAC Awards

Postseason All-MAC teams :
| Team | Player | Position | Year |
| MAC Freshman of the Year | DJ Cooper | G | Fr. |
| All-MAC Freshamn Team | DJ Cooper | G | Fr. |
Source