Welcome back to another heart-stopping, tear-jerking, and knee-slapping edition of “You’re Nuts,” where our basketball writers pick a basketball-related or basketball-adjacent topic and defend their respective sides until they hit a word count or run out of meaningful things to say.
This was a pretty big week if you’re a fan of college basketball in the Buckeye State. For the first time ever (?), the state’s four biggest programs — Ohio State, Xavier, Cincinnati, and Dayton — will all play under one roof on the same day in the same event. The catch, however, is that there actually won’t be a roof. The four teams are participating in the CareSource Invitational this October, which will take place on the tennis court at the Lindner Family Tennis Center in Mason, Ohio — the home of the Cincinnati Open.
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Ohio State will face Cincinnati, and Dayton will face Xavier. There’s no guarantee this event will happen again next year, but Ohio State head coach Jake Diebler conceded that it is a “good first step” towards making something similar happen during the regular season, despite the difficult logistics of doing so.
Last week, Connor and Justin debated whether the Buckeyes’ four freshmen — Anthony Thompson, LJ Smith, Vuk Lazarevic, and Alex Smith — would combine to average over or under 30.5 points. Connor went with the over, saying that both Smiths will contribute more than most people are realizing. Justin picked the under, mainly because he thinks there’s a larger range of outcomes for Thompson, including the possibility that he “only” averages 12 or 13 points per game this season.
This week, we’re having some fun with the whole “outdoor” aspect of the CareSource Invitational. Ohio State has never played on a tennis court before, and the weather could play a factor in the game. It’s fun that they’re playing somewhere that’s relatively accessible for the fans of all four schools as well.
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With all that considered, what are some other fun outdoor venues that would be fun, hilarious, and iconic to the Buckeye State? We’re giving some leeway here for practicality — it doesn’t need to be reasonable, but it can’t be physically impossible.
For example, playing in a protective glass dome at the bottom of Lake Erie would be very Ohio, but it is not practical, nor is it even possible. Playing on a floating basketball court just off the shore in Lake Erie at Maumee Bay State Park isn’t practical, but with an unlimited budget it’s not completely impossible.
