Thad Matta was getting ready to run his Ohio State basketball team through its paces Monday when it struck him that he doesn’t have all of his horses.

“It’s funny,” said the sixth-year OSU coach. “I was out there in pre-practice and I was looking and thinking, ‘Geez, we’re down a starter here.’ Dallas (Lauderdale) started all but maybe one or two games last year. Getting him back into the flow of things will be good. It’ll be a great addition for us when he comes back.”

The 6-8 Lauderdale did not put up huge numbers as a sophomore center last season – just 4.7 points and 3.6 rebounds per game – but he started 31 of 33 games, led the team with 67 blocked shots and made an impressively high percentage (71.8) of his field-goal attempts. Therefore, it can be considered a somewhat crippling blow if he can’t make a quick recovery from a fractured ring finger. He suffered the injury Oct. 12 in a pickup game and doctors determined he fracture the fourth metacarpal in his right hand and could be out anywhere from four to six weeks.

Lauderdale said teammate P.J. Hill, a 6-1 point guard, stripped the ball from him while he was going up for a layup.

“I didn’t think anything of it at first because I kept practicing and even had a couple dunks,” said the Solon, Ohio, product. “It didn’t really affect me until I went to class and it looked like I had a little golf ball on my hand.”

Lauderdale texted trainer Vince O’Brien, who had him come in for X-rays. Doctors repaired the break by fitting three screws into the bone on Oct. 14 and Lauderdale attended the team’s picture day and media interviews the following day with his hand heavily wrapped.

A reporter asked Lauderdale how long he was under the knife.

“You know what, I don’t know,” he said. “They took me in the room and gave me some anesthesia and I was knocked out in two minutes. So I don’t know how long. The next thing I knew there was a lady standing next to me with a cup of ice.”

All reports indicate that Lauderdale is progressing well, although he was expected to have more X-rays taken of his hand today. The Buckeyes have an exhibition game with Walsh College at Value City Arena on Wednesday night (8 p.m. Eastern, BigTenNetwork.com) and the season opener is Monday against Alcorn State. OSU also hosts James Madison on Oct. 12 and travels to New York City the following week to play North Carolina and either Syracuse or Cal.

Clearly, Matta would like to have his big man back by then. Lauderdale is even more hopeful.

“For me the Alcorn State game is a target,” he said. “But it’s about whenever my trainers … actually not even that, it’s about when God wants me to come back on the court.

“If this was going to happen it did happen at the correct time, right before the season. I’m not missing too much. Hopefully I’ll be back as soon as possible.”

Matta said yesterday he was hoping doctors would clear Lauderdale to return to practice with some sort of protective device a la Greg Oden and his wrist guard of three years ago.

“We’re kind of hoping that we can devise something that if we get it done in time he’ll be able to practice (today),” Matta said.

However, the head coach added that there is no scenario where Lauderdale will play against Walsh and that the team wants to proceed cautiously. Without Lauderdale in the pivot, the Buckeyes have but two options – seldom-used senior Kyle Madsen, a sophomore transfer Zisis Sarikopoulos, the team’s only newcomer. Sarikopoulos is listed 7-0 and Matta praised his basketball I.Q. this summer. However, he suffered a knee sprain while playing for the Greek national team in an overseas event and also “tweaked” his knee earlier this week and was held out of practice on Monday – the team’s 18^th of preseason camp.

Matta probably wasn’t going to rush Sarikopoulos into starting anyway.

“I’m leaning toward probably starting Kyle (on Wednesday),” Matta said. “He’s been in the program for four years now and he’s really done well. He’s had a couple very good weeks in practice and I’ve been very pleased with his play.”

The 6-9 Madsen has been a bit player throughout his career but averaged 7.7 minutes per game last season along with 1.1 ppg and 1.3 rpg. At media day, he said he was preparing himself to play a bigger role.

“I definitely know that I have to be ready and that Dallas will be out for a few games,” Madsen said. “Since I have been here so long I guess it doesn’t make me nervous or make me worried or anything like that. I have confidence that I can step up and help the team out.”

The youngest member of the team at 19, Sarikopoulos also got the memo.

“Both Coach (Alan) Major and Coach (Jeff) Boals help instruct the big guys and they told me how important it is to step up now and be able cover the loss of Dallas, whether that’s rebounding, blocking shots, scoring or just attacking the glass,” he said. “I’m going to put double effort into that because I know Dallas is an important part of the team.”

David Lighty, who is coming off a broken foot that shelved him from Dec. 18 to the end of the season, will line up at power forward. A 6-5 swingman, Lighty will have to adjust depending upon who is next to him inside.

“It’s different, because they’re two different type of players – all three of them are really different players,” he said. “If Dallas comes in and sets a ball screen you’re really going to look for him to roll to the basket and cut and things like that. Kyle is more of a pick-and-pop type of person. He’ll spread the defense out a little bit. And Z is more of a person who can post up and find cutters. It’s three different players and things are different when each one is out on the court.”

“I have total confidence in them,” Lauderdale said. “I know they’re great players. They’re here for a reason. And I have total confidence in my teammates that they will get the job done in my absence.”

Matta had 6-8 combo forward Nikola Kecman rep some at center yesterday with both Lauderdale and Sarikopoulos held out of practice. Still, he plans to divvy the center spot between Madsen and Sarikopoulos almost equally until Lauderdale returns.

Matta said that twosome is doing well in practice.

“I think one thing is they’re getting a ton of reps,” he said. “All three guys should be in ultimate shape.”

That statement includes Lauderdale, who is still able to do cardio work. In fact, he’s been running more than ever under the tutelage of strength and conditioning coach Dave Richardson.

“That’s a blessing in disguise, because while I’m out Coach Rich is going to be having me running on the side a lot,” he said.

Big Z

Even if Madsen logs more time and shows some measure of improvement, there isn’t much mystery left to his game. He’s a hustler and solid defender who excels mainly in outside shooting. In fact, he’s particularly comfortable firing medium-range jumpers and even threes from the baseline.

“We have confidence that Kyle is going to hit that corner shot when you pass it to him,” guard/forward Evan Turner said.

Sarikopoulos, on the other hand, is more of an untapped talent. He played very sparingly as a 17-year-old as a freshman at UAB and has been using his time since to get in better shape and have a clearer understanding of the American game.

When he decided to leave Alabama, he figured a year off would be best served in a Big Ten program. He also had his release sent to Indiana and Purdue before landing in Columbus. All of last season, he practiced with the team and sat on the Buckeye bench for home games, working and waiting for the chance to prove his worth.

“It was difficult, but I think it was definitely worth it,” he said. “It was probably the best year I could have. I didn’t think I had to rush. I didn’t mind sitting out a year because I’m still 19 years old.

“It gives me another year to get ready for a Big Ten season, to be more physical, to become stronger. I think it helped me. I knew my redshirt year would be tough but I felt Ohio State would be the place for me if I wanted to redshirt. It helped me definitely going against these guys every day and B.J. (Mullens).”

Sarikopoulos had a very busy summer as he rejoined his Greek teammates for a couple international tournaments and also logged a lot of time in the OSU weight room and on the practice courts.

“We worked a lot in the offseason and did a lot of conditioning,” he said. “I know I am in good shape. I just don’t know how I’m going to react if I play 20 minutes. It helped me some to play on my national team, getting some playing time and some improvement. I think it’s going to be fun and I’m really excited to see how I’m going to be doing out on the court.”

Sarikopoulos said he got a pretty good idea of his value to the team when he injured his leg and Major flew all the way to New Zealand to check on him.

“That was great,” he said. “I had contact all summer with the coaches. We were talking all the time, especially after my injury. They called me the same day. They said, ‘We read that on a website.’ They called me and I told them, ‘This is not something really bad. It’s better for me to sit out a couple games.’

“I didn’t know Coach Major was flying over to see me. That was really impressive and I really appreciated it. That meant that they need me and they care about me and I’m important.”

In his short time in the program, Sarikopoulos already has won over his teammates as a heady offensive player and effective defender and rebounder.

“He’s a great player,” Lauderdale said. “He’s a very big body, very strong, an excellent passer. He’s a threat down low, because if you don’t guard him well he will score and if you double-team him or triple-team him, he’ll find the open man. He’s a great passer.”

Now Sarikopoulos has the next several weeks to nail down a major role with the Buckeyes.

“I think me and Kyle are going to split the time,” he said. “I don’t even care how much I’m going to play as long as I’m out there. I’ll be trying my best. And shape-wise, I know I’m ready to go.

“It definitely is (an opportunity). I’ll get more playing time and be able to show what my game is and how I can help this team win basketball games. I’m excited for the season and I’m totally excited about playing basketball, playing official games.”