BUCKEYES 101

Former Ohio State guard William Buford is drawing reviews from scouts at the NBA pre-draft combine; he might not be getting noticed for the things Buckeye fans think.

Questions began to surface about the strength and conditioning of Buford, and were reaffirmed when his body fat was measured. Buford checked in at 11.3 percent body fat, tying him for second highest among all athletes attending the combine.

William Buford was shocked to hear the results himself, and had said that the stomach virus he had just overcame had something to do with the results of that particular test. “But that’s no excuse for my body fat” Buford said, also stating that that number has never been that high.

William Buford averaged 14.5 points and 5 rebounds his senior year as a Buckeye but shot just 42 percent from the field and 35 percent on three-pointers, both career lows. As of now he is projected as a second-round pick but even that doesn’t make him a lock to be drafted.

Since his freshman year, Buford stepped on the Columbus campus scoring the basketball. Coming off the bench earlier in his career made William hungrier as his Ohio State career progressed.

As William Buford grew into one of the greatest scorers in Buckeye basketball history there were bumps in the road along the way. William has had his role on the team change, going from wide eyed freshman scorer to veteran emotional leader of his team.

Buford has always battled consistency, but most nights you knew what you were going to get from him, he would get his average numbers in points and rebounds, give you great minutes, and play hard on the defensive end of the court.

In his senior year, Buford’s role shifted once again, being the only senior on a very young Buckeye team, the entire team was looking up at him. There were times during last season where you could tell something was going on with William like he wasn’t himself.

The only explanation for this is that William Buford the person has an even bigger heart than William Buford the basketball player. Taking everything head on and never batting so much than an eye lash, he was the go to guy on the young Buckeye team.

Buford at times would take on more than he could chew, only because he knew that his Buckeye family was looking to him for leadership, advice, and camaraderie.

There were times during the season that you could tell the stress was getting to him, it affected the way he was playing. After taking a couple steps back from everything, Buford stepped up and took on the challenge that many didn’t think he could, leading his Buckeyes to the Final Four in his senior season.

Some would say it was the scoring of sophomore Deshaun Thomas, not taking anything away from Thomas' amazing tournament, but after taking more than a quick glance at the tournament run you will begin to notice that Buford played every minute he could and was the spark for his Buckeyes when they needed him to be.

With that all being said, we here at Buckeyes101 would like to take the time to say thank you to William Buford for all that he has done for the Ohio State University basketball team and good luck in all that he will do in his professional career.  

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Twitter @The_JDam

Tags: Buckeyes, Deshaun Thomas, NCAA, Ohio State, William Buford

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