Welcome to the Skull Session.
With your stupendous standout Skull Session writer Chase Brown on a well-earned vacation the rest of this week, I, Andy Anders, will be navigating your early morning Eleven Warriors #content the next two days.
Let’s all strive to have a good Wednesday.
NEW COURT! The design of the hardwood tread upon by Ohio State basketball teams in Value City Arena is changing.
On Monday, the Buckeyes announced the new design, although the design itself will not be unveiled until Friday.
Coming
https://t.co/0kyELKtOER#GoBucks pic.twitter.com/V45XbiBThF
— Ohio State Hoops (@OhioStateHoops) June 9, 2025
With the announcement, the Ohio State athletics website put together a timeline of every floor the Buckeyes’ cagers have played on since St. John Arena opened in 1956. OSU hoops has seen 10 different courts in that 69-year span (nice), during which it moved into Value City Arena at the start of the 1998-99 season.
Complaints about the cavernous Schottenstein Center compared to the raucous environment that was St. John’s aside, I’m eager to see what this new iteration of the court looks like, and to cover games in press row once more come 2025-26.
Perhaps the program can leave its recent demons in the past with its old floor. This is a pivotal season for Jake Diebler and company as Ohio State searches for its first NCAA Tournament berth in four years.
“EVERYTHING GETS BLOWN UP IN THE OFFSEASON.” Much was made of the shoulder soreness that limited C.J. Stroud’s participation in the Houston Texans’ voluntary OTAs last week. But according to the Buckeye great, who was a full participant during Houston’s minicamp day Monday, much shouldn’t have been.
“I was already throwing before you guys saw me out there, pretty normally,” Stroud said with a smile. “I think y’all don’t have much to talk about, so y’all just – everything gets blown up in the offseason. I’m fine, man. I’m really OK.”
Stroud isn’t wrong. As a football reporter myself, sometimes it’s easy to make a bigger deal out of an offseason angle because there just isn’t a lot to write about during these summer months. At the same time, it’s easy to understand the anxiety surrounding Houston’s fan base.
A 2024 sophomore slump hit Stroud coming off his 2023 Rookie of the Year campaign, with his completion percentage dipping from 63.9% to 63.2% and yards per pass attempt falling from 8.2 to seven. He went from five interceptions to 12, though the Texans saw the same postseason result, winning in the wildcard round against the Chargers before losing in the divisional round to the Chiefs.
Many, many, many great NFL quarterbacks have seen a sophomore slump before reaching toward their potential in year three. Stroud hopes that’s the case for him, and extra offseason workouts to get there are part of why his shoulder was sore, he said.
“I took this offseason very serious,” Stroud said. “Just working hard. I’m trying to get my body right. So I was here pretty early with Clint (Martin), our strength guy. So I’ve been working really hard on getting my body right, losing body fat, trying to be faster, stronger. It went really well, but there’s always risk and reward. There’s always risks to working hard.”
I, personally, expect 2025 to be Stroud’s best season yet. And his sore shoulder might actually be evidence as to why.
A NEW CHALLENGE. The NCAA is implementing a new challenge system for college basketball.
In an effort to make games “flow” better, especially under two minutes, the new rule eliminates voluntary reviews from officials for out-of-bounds calls. Instead, each coach gets one challenge per game that can be used at any point to review an out-of-bounds call, basket interference/goaltending or whether a secondary defender was inside the restricted arc.
To initiate a challenge, a team must have a timeout available. If its first challenge is successful, it gets a second for the rest of the game. If it fails, no more challenges. NCAA officials can still use voluntary video reviews to review potential timing mistakes, 2-point versus 3-point field goals, shot clock violations, scoring errors, flagrant fouls and so on.
I think this is, overall, a good change that will increase the pace of play. But I have concerns.
College basketball officials suck sometimes. What if there’s a critical out-of-bounds call that’s wrong and a team has no challenges left? If you were successful on your first two challenges and the refs blow a third call, it seems silly to have your hands tied by this rule.
Also, since the NCAA is moving to a challenge system, why not let fouls be challenged like the NBA does? The “judgment call” argument always seemed silly to me. Just review the play in slow motion and make a new, better judgment. I’m not a fan of half-measures.
Overall, I think this is a positive change. But I do think some avoidable flaws could appear in the system – then again, no system is perfect.
BIG KAT. Today is the day, 12th Warriors, that you get the chance to go behind the scenes with an Ohio State legend. Today at 4 p.m., we will kick off the 12th Warrior Happy Hour, an exclusive new series where members of our selfless perks program will have direct access to Buckeye greats in a live, exclusive Q&A.
When it comes to Buckeyes that I heard near-mythic tales about being raised as a young Buckeye fan in Chillicothe, Ohio, few surpass Andy Katzenmoyer (hey, that’s my hypocorism!). My father graduated from Ohio State in the mid-1990s, just before Big Kat started his career, but that didn’t stop him from raving about one of the most feared linebackers in college football history at multiple turns during my youth, especially as I played a spot of football myself.
That’s why I’m elated to have him as the first guest on our new Happy Hour program. During the relaxed, interactive experience, 12th Warriors will hear untold stories, have the opportunity to ask questions and connect with Ohio State history like never before. It’s our way of saying thank you for backing independent coverage, representing 11W and being like the great state of Ohio — The Heart of It All.
So, 12th Warriors, select a drink of choice, log on and let’s make some memories. We’ll share further details in the Premium Lounge.
Not a 12th Warrior?
It’s a great time to join.
For $85 a year (just $7.08 per month, which I will point out is well below the cost of most subscription-based sports coverage outlets), you can join a selfless perks program designed to flip the paywall system, keeping our coverage free for all, by paying it forward. Membership includes perks like admission to 12th Warrior Happy Hour, a voucher for $40 off a purchase from Eleven Warriors Dry Goods, access to the fabled Premium Lounge and more.
Want to chat with Big Kat, help the site, and score other perks? Sign up to become a 12th Warrior!
SONG OF THE DAY. “Stray Cat Strut” – Stray Cats.
AROUND THE WEB WITH ANDY. A runaway pet zebra is finally captured in Tennessee (not Florida? I expected Florida)… A town that sharpens a giant pencil every year… Officials track down 60 cows that got loose in California… Man breaks world record for longest time buried in snow… Turtles are cute, I like turtles, here’s one returning to the sea after a successful flipper amputation.
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