Oh, those Bobcats ...

Ohio University pulled off one of the big upsets of the NCAA tournament, beating #3 seed Georgetown 97-83 in the first round on Thursday.

The Bobcats' coach is Jon Groce, who actually was Murray State's first choice to replace Mick Cronin four years ago. Groce, who was Thad Matta's top assistant at Ohio State at the time, opted to stay in Columbus since the Buckeyes had a mega-star recruiting class that included Greg Oden and Mike Conley.

Ohio State made it to the national championship game the following season, losing to Florida.

Point guard D.J. Cooper is remembered, not necessarily fondly, by our neighbors to the north in Massac County. Cooper was straw that stirred the drink for the Seton Academy squad that blitzed the Patriots 83-63 in the Illinois Class 2A state championship game, handing out 12 assists. I'm still of the belief that Massac would have beaten Seton Academy, a Chicago-area Catholic school, had Cooper not been on the floor.

During the game, my seat on press row was next to that of a recruiting analyst. At halftime, as we went to the hospitality room to get a drink, I noted that "Cooper's probably a little better than Ohio U."

His response was succinct: "He'll be an impact player, probably the (Mid American Conference) freshman of the year."

I wish I remembered the guy's name — he told me he played college basketball at Virginia and was in Peoria that night to make an evaluation for recruiting guru Bob Gibbons. That's because he was on the money. Cooper, who averaged 13 points, six rebounds and five assists per game and led the league in assists, was named the MAC's top freshman.

Cooper torched Georgetown with 23 points, including a 5-for-8 performance from 3-point range, and eight assists.