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Corn ear statues at the Field of Corn exhibit on Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2025 in Dublin, Ohio. | Samantha Madar/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Welcome back to another heart-stopping, tear-jerking, and knee-slapping edition of “You’re Nuts,” where our basketball writers pick a basketball-related or basketball-adjacent topic and defend their respective sides until they hit a word count or run out of meaningful things to say.
This was a pretty big week if you’re a fan of college basketball in the Buckeye State. For the first time ever (?), the state’s four biggest programs — Ohio State, Xavier, Cincinnati, and Dayton — will all play under one roof on the same day in the same event. The catch, however, is that there actually won’t be a roof. The four teams are participating in the CareSource Invitational this October, which will take place on the tennis court at the Lindner Family Tennis Center in Mason, Ohio — the home of the Cincinnati Open.
Ohio State will face Cincinnati, and Dayton will face Xavier. There’s no guarantee this event will happen again next year, but Ohio State head coach Jake Diebler conceded that it is a “good first step” towards making something similar happen during the regular season, despite the difficult logistics of doing so.
Last week, Connor and Justin debated whether the Buckeyes’ four freshmen — Anthony Thompson, LJ Smith, Vuk Lazarevic, and Alex Smith — would combine to average over or under 30.5 points. Connor went with the over, saying that both Smiths will contribute more than most people are realizing. Justin picked the under, mainly because he thinks there’s a larger range of outcomes for Thompson, including the possibility that he “only” averages 12 or 13 points per game this season.
This week, we’re having some fun with the whole “outdoor” aspect of the CareSource Invitational. Ohio State has never played on a tennis court before, and the weather could play a factor in the game. It’s fun that they’re playing somewhere that’s relatively accessible for the fans of all four schools as well.
With all that considered, what are some other fun outdoor venues that would be fun, hilarious, and iconic to the Buckeye State? We’re giving some leeway here for practicality — it doesn’t need to be reasonable, but it can’t be physically impossible.
For example, playing in a protective glass dome at the bottom of Lake Erie would be very Ohio, but it is not practical, nor is it even possible. Playing on a floating basketball court just off the shore in Lake Erie at Maumee Bay State Park isn’t practical, but with an unlimited budget it’s not completely impossible.
This week’s question: What other Ohio outdoor venues would be fun to host a basketball exhibition game?
Connor: “Cornhenge” – Dublin
On the corner of Frantz and Rings Roads in Dublin, OH — about 10 miles north of Ohio State’s campus — there’s a collection of over 100 six-foot-tall corn statues. The statues are aligned in a grid pattern, so you can walk in between the rows of corn in each direction. There’s not really a rhyme or reason for the corn, nor is there a big sign out front pointing you in the direction of the corn, nor are there any advertisements in Dublin encouraging people to visit the corn. It’s just always there, for whatever reason. It is truly one of the most Midwest things you can imagine.
The collection of corn statues is allegedly called “Field of Corn,” but many locals affectionately call it “Cornhenge.”
The land the corn is built on is owned by the City of Dublin — before that, it was a farm up until the 1960’s. There’s plenty of green space around, so teams could play on a temporary court that could be rolled in and set up adjacent to the corn. Attendance would be light, but fans could sit in temporary bleachers behind each basket, with the benches on the side, sitting in the shadows of the great corn.
If we are looking for iconic Ohio locations to really have a good time and enjoy outdoor basketball, why not play alongside Cornhenge?
Justin: Cedar Point Beach – Sandusky
Basketball and the beach. Nothing better than that. There are not many more iconic places in Ohio than Cedar Point, and the beach is big enough to fit some stands and make a nice basketball court.
Due to the unpredictable weather in Ohio in the fall, there is an easy backup plan: the Cedar Point Sports Center has 10 hardwood courts that they could move to. It shouldn’t be too hard to turn that into a solid court for an exhibition.
The big thing with this idea is whether all the circumstances of the event stay the same. Since it is an exhibition that is not being streamed or televised, there will be a decent crowd, but nothing crazy that a pop-up court and stands would not be able to handle. Plus, it is easy to get to Cedar Point, and everyone knows how to
get there. Go to a well-known place and put a court on a beach. That would be fun.
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