Marc Loving Could Be Primed For Monster Senior Year

Marc Loving’s career at Ohio State is now heading into its final chapter after the Buckeyes were bounced from the NIT yesterday by Florida. With so many questions left unanswered after a tough season, Loving could finally be ready to become more of an answer than the question mark that he has been for three seasons now.

When Jae’Sean Tate was lost for the season after undergoing surgery on a torn labrum in late February, the Buckeyes were left searching for a way to replace their most aggressive player in the post, and a guy who was averaging just shy of 12 points a game.

To make matter even more pressing, Ohio State was entering a brutal stretch run that would have them closing the regular season with two games against Michigan State, and one against Iowa. They would likely need to win two of those three games to even have a shot at an NCAA tournament bid.

With the chips down, and the task looming large, Thad Matta asked for more out of his lone junior than he ever has in their time together. And Loving delivered.

In the final 7 games of the season, including the Big Ten and NIT tournaments, he played less than 36 minutes only one time. That came against Michigan State in the Big Ten tournament, a game in which it didn’t matter who was on the floor in the second half. In the other 6 games he recorded 38 minutes three times, and never left the floor in both of their NIT games.

It wasn’t just the amount of minutes he was playing, though. What he did with them, and how he did it,

could mean big things for a guy who always seemed stuck on the verge of breaking out.

Tate’s absence left a scoring void on the post for the Buckeyes, and nothing about Loving’s two plus years at Ohio State would have led anyone to believe that he could be the guy that could help make up for it. While he has great size at 6’8″, he’s never been labeled as an aggressive player. In fact, he’s been the subject of a ton of scrutiny because of his often “soft” nature.

Something changed in his approach during the stretch run. Whether it stemmed from an internal decision made by Loving, himself, or from Thad Matta’s pleas to assert himself, he began to look like the very talented and smooth basketball player that won him “Mr. Basketball” in Ohio back in 2013.

Over the final 7 games of the season Loving averaged just over 19 points a contest. That stretch was highlighted by his 25 point performance in the upset win over Iowa, and his 24 point performance in the win over Penn State in the Big Ten tournament. Both outbursts came in games in which the Buckeyes’ backs were absolutely up against the wall.

His effectiveness came from all over the floor, inside and out. Loving has always been an above average shooter from distance, but his game has been limited to just that many of times throughout his career. He elevated his game with his ability to get to the rim, and to the free throw line.

In the first 28 games of the season, Loving attempted 10 or more free throws twice. In the final 7 games he recorded double digit attempts 3 times, and just missed on a fourth. He averaged 8 attempts over that span, and shot 80 percent from the line.

Even though the Buckeyes fell well short of what they needed to do in those final 7 games, Loving became a more complete basketball player, and it was something they absolutely had to have.

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Whether or not the proverbial light bulb has come on, and it sticks, remains to be seen. It would be hard to fault anyone for being skeptical at best about the chances of Loving finally becoming a dominant force. He’s spent the majority of three years looking perfectly comfortable in the background.

His demeanor probably isn’t going to change. He is never going to be the fiery type, and fans will continue to wonder at times if he even has a pulse. Defensive lapses are something that he will undoubtedly have to eliminate, but then again that can be said emphatically about the entire roster.

Don’t expect him to all of the sudden fill the tremendous void of leadership that was painfully on display throughout the course of the year. That just isn’t who he is, and expecting him to grow into that now would be a waste of time.

That is not a knock on him. Leadership is a quality that some gravitate towards while others shy away from. There are great players up and down every sport that are quiet and do not show a lot of emotion. Nobody says anything about those guys when their performance is carrying teams to wins.

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It is now or never for Marc Loving. With the Buckeyes entering a critical offseason, full of question marks, he could provide some much needed certainty. If that 7 game sample size is any indication of what is to come out of his final year as a Buckeye, do not be surprised when he is garnering attention for player of the year in the Big Ten next year.