OSU coach feels at home

Steve Carp

Thursday, March 25, 1999 | 11:51 a.m.

O'Brien has had to beat several familiar teams en route to Final Four

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- The irony of it all isn't lost on Jim O'Brien.

How can it be? O'Brien must feel like he is still joined at the hip with eastern basketball, even though he has conducted one of the nation's great turnarounds in just two years at Ohio State.

The Buckeyes are vying for the national championship, but if O'Brien feels like he's in Madison Square Garden right about now, cut him a little slack. After playing and beating St. John's last weekend in the South Regional final, the one-time Boston College coach meets another familiar adversary -- Connecticut -- in Saturday's national championship semifinals at Tropicana Field.

Maybe some ex-New Yorkers can drive some taxi cabs and get some guys to sell pretzels outside the stadium just to make him feel at home. O'Brien must think he's in a mini-Big East tournament instead of the Final Four.

"I think there's a lot of ironies for me personally," O'Brien said. "I grew up in Brooklyn. Lou Carnesecca recruited me heavily to St. John's. And had I not gone to Boston College, I'd have gone to St. John's. Plus, I know (SJU coach) Mike (Jarvis) very well.

"The obvious connection with Connecticut is I worked for Dom Perno for five years. And having Jim there, I know Jim a long time, going back to when he was at Northeastern. We got into the Big East together and we find ourselves together in the Final Four for the first time.

"Am I boring you? I've got more if you want."

Actually, those ironies probably explain that if UConn and Ohio State virtually mirror each other it isn't by accident. You'll see that when you watch Saturday's semifinal, which kicks off this year's Final Four at 2:42 p.m. Duke-Michigan State will follow.

Scoonie Penn is the "now" player in the nation as the OSU junior point guard has elevated the Buckeyes into the national spotlight. Of course, Connecticut's Khalid El-Amin is no slouch himself at the point.

He and Penn will make for a great individual matchup.

So will Richard Hamilton of UConn and sophomore Michael Redd of Ohio State. The respective leading scorers of their teams are obvious keys to Saturday's outcome.

And then there's Kevin Freeman and Ken Johnson. Jake Voskuhl and Jason Singleton. The matchups are competitive all the way around.

But when you weigh all the evidence surrounding Ohio State's getting here, one thing is irrefutable -- without Penn, the Buckeyes are probably watching the Final Four on television.

Last year, with Penn sitting out after having transferred from Boston College, the Buckeyes were 8-22. But with Penn on the floor, OSU is 27-8 and in the Final Four for the first time since 1968.

How good is Penn? Listen to UNLV senior Brian Keefe, who was briefly at Boston College in 1996 before transferring to play for the Rebels.

"I've known Scoonie since fifth grade and he's always been an unbelievable competitor," Keefe said. "He knows how to win, so it doesn't surprise me to see what he's done at Ohio State. I've seen him do it practically all my life."

Calhoun said: "He seems to have a flair for the moment. He knows when to take the big shot."

O'Brien said: "It helps coaches when your best players are your hardest workers. Scoonie is so meticulous about his game. He works extremely hard and that's rubbed off on his teammates."

O'Brien knew the year layoff would be hard for Penn and that his game could suffer while in mothballs. So he challenged him last year to compete every day in practice.

"His approach to practice on a daily basis really helped," O'Brien said of Penn's redshirt year. "We told him last year to treat the practices as your games and try and win in practice. Scoonie would be with three or four of the walk-ons and they would beat the starters in scrimmages."

O'Brien said Penn's familiarity with his system obviously eased the transition, as did playing overseas this summer on touring teams.

"When he got here, he was much more familiar with what we do, and it was easier for him than the players who were already here," O'Brien said. "But even though he knew the system, he needed game action. So he played for the NIT All-Stars and went on a trip to Greece with a touring team. It was important for him to be involved in competitive games with officiating."

Still, as good as Penn is, he and the Buckeyes face a formidable challenge against a Connecticut team that is 32-2 and survived a rigid test in the West Regional final from Gonzaga.

The Huskies appear to be primed for their first-ever Final Four appearance, and UConn's deep bench will be a big obstacle for Ohio State to overcome.

But with the coaches so familiar with each other and the players evenly matched, there doesn't figure to be any secrets come Saturday.

"O.B. knows my guards and I know his," Calhoun said. "When you get here (to the Final Four), all bets are off. You're starting over."