The new version of the Buckeyes are different, and that’s a good thing.
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Vibes aren’t tangible. They aren’t something you can reach out and touch. File it in the same category as someone having an aura. Even so, you can sense it. It’s a feeling that radiates off a person or in the case of Ohio State women’s basketball: an entire team.
Covering and following this team for the past three seasons, there are of course roster changes. A player’s time in college is finite, and the transfer portal allows a player to make the most of that time and find the environment that suits them best.
What’s going on with the Scarlet and Gray this year is different, but don’t take it from someone covering it.
Cotie McMahon is one of those people who radiate vibes. She’s someone who shares her emotions and thoughts freely. They make McMahon the dominate force that she’s become for Ohio State.
When McMahon arrived in Columbus though, it was already an established side with upperclassmen who all had an extra year of eligibility due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We’ve had an older team,” said McMahon. “They’ve been in college for so long, like they have a routine and then, you know, they just want to be by themselves.”
Now, the roster reset of losing six upperclassmen to graduation or the portal isn’t only about a new on court product but the chance to create a different kind of family.
For the new edition of Buckeyes, that means looking beyond classes.
“We don’t have that upperclassmen mentality where if you’re upperclassmen, you know, you can do all the things. But if you’re underclassmen, you can only do some of the things. We don’t have that. We kind of just rely on each other, whether you’re upperclassmen or not.”
The way the family operated before didn’t seem to hamper McMahon on the court. The AP All-American Honorable Mention was second on the team in points per game (14.4), first in rebounds (6.3) and fourth in assists (2.1).
However, now, from the outside looking in, the trust is different. There is no longer the larger leadership group and the other players falling in line.
Take Ajae Petty for example. The graduate senior forward has a strong resume including playing for two premier SEC programs in LSU and Kentucky. Last year, the forward averaged over 10 rebounds per game and was a bright spot in an otherwise down year for the Wildcats.
Entering Ohio State for her final season, Petty has the experience to be someone that the underclassmen look up to, and they do, but it’s reciprocated from one of the most elder Buckeyes to the newest.
“I always be telling her like I trust anything that she’s doing,” said Petty about incoming freshman point guard Jaloni Cambridge. “Like one play yesterday I was running down the court I was open and she saw something different she came up to me talking I’m like I trust you like you most of the time she’s trying to get me the ball so I don’t know she’s just great at demanding the floor.”
That’s a level of trust that isn’t only given to Cambridge because she’s highest ranked prospect ever to choose the Buckeyes. In practice, the coaching staff treats everyone the same. That means no preferential treatment for the upperclassmen.
If an underclassmen doesn’t grab a rebound, or lets their practice squad opponent score on them, head coach Kevin McGuff and his coaches make them run laps. If an upperclassmen does it, it’s the same response.
“McGuff and the rest of the coaches have done a great job of setting that standard and just really leading us in that way,” said fifth year redshirt senior Madison Greene. “And it makes us not only care about them more but makes us care about the team more and just really respect each other and work hard for each other.”
The entire 14-player roster is part of that family, no being off on your own for too long. Whether it’s meeting at assistant coach Jalen Powell’s place to bake, going out to eat together or trying to plan a trip to a haunted house.
“That’s a sensitive topic,” said Petty. “She keeps saying she don’t want to go.”
New teammate Chance Gray snapped back at the accusation.
“It’s not just me. It’s not just me,” laughed Gray.
What can be scary is the transition from high school to college, or transferring from one school to another. Despite the confidence that radiates from McMahon, there were likely nerves knowing your first collegiate game was against the Tennessee Volunteers in front of a home crowd.
That experience hasn’t made her someone that rules a team from her upperclassmen perch. Instead, knowing the team, the coaches and the university has her in the unique position to help mold the identity of this new class of Buckeyes.
Despite not being able to see an actual “vibe,” where this Scarlet and Gray team sits with less than a week until the start of the regular season is a side that in a relatively short period of time already feels the cohesion off the court.
That bond can’t be contained in out of practice hangouts around campus. It’s going to find its way onto the court.
“We’re the perfect bunch,” said McMahon. “We’re perfect for each other as far as our bond on the court and off the court. I mean, I feel like that just helps. It makes everything easier, so much easier when we’re on the court playing with each other. We can be honest with each other. We can push each other. No hard feelings.”
Now, how do the vibes stand up against the next test. The real test — competitive games of basketball.
Tune in Tuesday to start finding out.