Ohio State to recognize 1998-99 team that (shh!) reached the Final Four
George Reese is doing his part to recognize the past.
When he’s not working with his ACE mentorship program or spending time with his three kids, the former Ohio State player likes to remind his followers on social media about the 1998-99 Buckeyes squad he was part of.
“I call it, ‘Your favorite Buckeye’s favorite Buckeye,’ ” Reese said.
Ohio State’s first Final Four team since the 1960s can no longer be officially recognized by the university owing to sanctions agreed upon for the NCAA violations that led to coach Jim O’Brien losing his job during the summer of 2004. It’s such a cut-and-dry ruling that athletic director Gene Smith, on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of OSU's deep postseason run, told The Dispatch it wasn’t something he’d spent time fighting because the compliance report made it clear there was no way to change the sanctions.
Sunday, though, when this year’s team hosts No. 2 Purdue inside Value City Arena, the 1998-99 players will be recognized during a timeout for an achievement that can’t be taken away.
As part of its season-long celebration of 25 years of the Schottenstein Center, Ohio State will officially welcome back “the USA Today Coaches Poll No. 4 team.” It’s not a recognition of a Final Four run that helped put the program back on the national radar, or an acknowledgement of a 27-9 overall record, but it’s a way to give some due to a team went from 8-22 the year before (and 1-15 in the Big Ten).
“Every time we come into the building people still talk about that team, so why not?” Reese said. “That elephant in the room was always there, like, come on man, we remember it. You see all the stuff the NCAA does. Now it’s our time to actually be recognized. The NCAA can’t take that away.”
The NCAA did take away the 1999 Final Four banner, which was raised before Ohio State hosted Vermont on Nov. 29, 1999 and hung in the arena for one year before being moved to the practice gym. When the facility was renovated, the banner was removed and its whereabouts remain unknown.
That’s never sat well with Scoonie Penn, captain of the 1998-99 team.
“It’s nice to have something, to be recognized,” he said, ”but it still has a sour taste in my mouth and I’m sure the rest of the guys, coaches, everybody that was a part of what we did that special season feels like that. The people who were around, they understand, they remember. But what about all these people who became Buckeyes and Buckeye fans these last 22 years that go into the Schottenstein Center and don’t see that?
“Hopefully those who don’t know, this will help them recognize and understand a little bit better.”
Every member of the roster will be in attendance save for Boban Savovic, who is coaching in France and couldn’t make it back. Head coach Jim O’Brien and assistant coach Rick Boyages won’t be on hand, but nine managers including current director of basketball operations David Egelhoff will be recognized.
Including family members, the group will number roughly 70 attendees.
“I’ll have my kids there so it’s always different when you tell them that daddy used to play, daddy was a bad man or something else,” Reese said. “To actually be on that court and they can see how the fans love daddy and Uncle Scoonie and Uncle Brian (Brown), that’s a different feeling.”
Penn said the group will arrive in Columbus on Saturday, reuniting nearly the entire team for the first time since their postseason banquet. They’ll also have a pregame brunch at the arena in addition to being recognized during a timeout.
Ohio State Buckeyes: Join the Ohio State Sports Insider text group with Bill Rabinowitz, Joey Kaufman Adam Jardy
The camaraderie is what Penn, now an assistant coach with the Memphis Grizzlies, said he’s most looking forward to.
“Yeah, it’s going to be good to be recognized, but to see these guys and have some laughs, that’s the biggest thing,” he said. “We were a special group. Our brotherhood that we’ve had for all these years, that’s what I’m looking forward to the most.”
He also had a suggestion for Smith as he prepares for retirement this summer.
“You know how when the president leaves, he pardons people?” Penn said. “Gene, when you walk out the door, pardon our Final Four. How about that?”
Get more Ohio State basketball news by listening to our podcasts
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Final Four (shh!) team from 1998-99 to be recognized at Ohio State
