With the beginning of school basketball season in early November, we’ll study the convention as a complete and Indiana’s roster over the approaching weeks.
As we speak, our staff previews proceed with Ohio State.
Beforehand: Penn State, Washington, Minnesota, USC, Northwestern, Nebraska, Iowa, Oregon, Maryland, Wisconsin
A tumultuous 2023-24 season in Columbus led to Chris Holtmann’s late-season dismissal, however it additionally provided Jake Diebler the chance to earn the Ohio State job.
Diebler did simply that after captaining the Buckeyes to an 8-3 report. Ohio State’s season ended with a third-round NIT loss to Georgia, however the sturdy end supplied purpose for optimism beneath Diebler.
As Diebler enters his first season as this system’s head coach, he welcomes again a powerful forged of returning gamers coupled with one of many league’s finest hauls from the switch portal.
The Buckeyes graduated Jamison Battle and Dale Bonner and misplaced Roddy Gayle Jr., Scotty Middleton, Zed Key and Felix Okpara to the switch portal. These losses imply the beginning lineup and rotation will look a lot completely different than a season in the past, however Ohio State returns its finest participant, Bruce Thornton.
The 6-foot-2 guard is again after a superb sophomore season by which he averaged 15.7 factors, 4.8 assists, 3.7 rebounds and 1.2 steals in 33.6 minutes per sport. His perimeter capturing wasn’t nice – 33.7 p.c – and is a transparent space for potential enchancment in his junior season.
Meechie Johnson Jr. will be part of Thornton within the backcourt. He started his profession at Ohio State and performed two seasons for the Buckeyes earlier than taking part in the final two years at South Carolina. Johnson Jr., an Ohio native, will use his further season of eligibility at Ohio State. Final season, he helped lead the Gamecocks to an NCAA event look and averaged 14.1 factors, 4.1 rebounds and a pair of.9 assists in 29.1 minutes per sport. He’s a greater ball-handler than Gayle and will permit Thornton to spend a while taking part in off the ball.
The Buckeyes additionally dipped into the portal for San Diego State switch Micah Parrish, a 6-foot-6 wing who will use his further season of eligibility in Columbus. Parrish performed vital minutes for San Diego State’s nationwide runner-up staff in 2023 and began for the Aztecs final season, averaging 9.3 factors, 4.1 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.2 steals in 27.5 minutes per sport. He ought to begin on the wing alongside Thornton and Johnson.
A revamped Ohio State frontcourt will function a pair of former five-star massive males who’re potential breakout candidates. Sean Stewart, a 6-foot-9 sophomore ahead who performed at Duke final season, noticed little run for the Blue Devils. Stewart performed simply 8.3 minutes per sport in Durham behind Kyle Filipowski however ought to get a chance to crack the beginning lineup for the Buckeyes.
Aaron Bradshaw was one of many centerpieces of Kentucky’s 2023 recruiting class. Nonetheless, he battled a foot harm and was inconsistent in his lone season in Lexington. A legit 7-footer, Bradshaw can step out to the perimeter and has NBA-level athleticism.
The backcourt rotation off the bench ought to function Kansas State switch Ques Glover and freshmen Juni Mobley and Colin White.
The 6-foot Glover by no means performed final season at Kansas State resulting from a knee harm, however the 6-foot guard averaged 14.7 factors, 2.5 rebounds and a pair of.1 assists within the 2022-23 marketing campaign at Samford. Mobley was a top-50 recruit within the closing 247Composite rankings for the 2024 class and can have a chance to study from Thornton and Johnson within the backcourt. And White brings dimension – he’s 6-foot-6 – and capturing capacity to the wing.
Up entrance, junior Evan Mahaffey returns after averaging 22.1 minutes final season. A 6-foot-6 ahead, Mahaffey isn’t a scoring menace however is a strong rebounder and defender who can guard a number of positions.
Sophomore Devin Royal performed extra minutes late within the season beneath Diebler and is working to stretch his sport to the perimeter. The 6-foot-6 ahead is a artful scorer within the paint and scored practically 5 factors per sport final season in just below 12 minutes per contest.
Austin Parks, a 6-foot-10 sophomore and Ivan Njegovan, a 7-foot-1 freshman from Croatia, will present further put up depth behind Bradshaw.
Bart Torvik’s 2024-25 season projections have Ohio State at No. 34, the eighth-highest rating for a Huge Ten staff. The Blue Ribbon school basketball yr and Lindy’s Sports activities basketball preview journal picked the Buckeyes to complete fifth within the league, which might make them a strong NCAA event staff.
Backside line: Ohio State’s late-season resurgence earned Diebler the job on a everlasting foundation and there’s optimism the Buckeyes can get again to the NCAA event subsequent spring. Thornton and Johnson shall be an excellent guard duo, however the play of Stewart and Bradshaw will decide this group’s ceiling. Each have been prime 15 gamers out of highschool and Ohio State wants them each to place forth productive sophomore seasons. Ohio State’s 3-point capturing is a official concern getting into the season, as Thornton and Johnson each shot lower than 34 p.c from distance final seasob.
Quotable: “I need folks to see an aggressive, assured, powerful staff. And a staff that has enjoyable, performs with a pleasure. That’s considered one of our values right here is pleasure. After we stroll by this constructing and we’ve the assets we’ve and all the things, we’re gonna function with a way of pleasure and pleasure in what we do. And I feel our followers will see that.” – Diebler on Ohio State’s type of play sooner or later.
(Photograph credit score: Ohio State Athletics)
Filed to: 2024-25 Huge Ten preview, Ohio State Buckeyes
